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ID'ing this vintage(?) snare.

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Hi, I'm new here, but I have this drum that I know nothing about. I bought it off eBay a month or so ago, and the seller knew nothing about it. It was a shot in the dark but I got it for pretty cheap so I thought it might be a fun project.

It was in pretty rough condition when I got it. I took it all apart and polished everything. I had some trouble finding heads that would fit; the shell is oversized for a 14". It measures 14 1/32" in diameter.

It originally had the orange sparkle wrap on it which I show in one of the pictures, but it was bubbling pretty badly and I think it was causing fitment issues with the heads. I took the wrap off then sanded and stained the shell. The bearing edges were almost non-existent; they were pretty much flat with no snare bed either, so I shaped the snare bed and cut the bearing edges.

Also, the strainer and butt-plate are not original, but I believe all the other hardware is original.

There are no markings whatsoever, the shell is very thin, and it does have reinforcement rings as you can see in the pictures.

It's a 14x5.5" shell, with 6 lugs.

Any ideas? I've looked through the resources on this site and searched Google images for similar lugs or features, but I can't find anything.

Thank you.

Original finish:

[IMG]https://s10.postimg.org/roblyy955/IMG_0194.jpg[/IMG]

The rest:

[IMG]https://s10.postimg.org/jev56sq15/IMG_0189.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]https://s10.postimg.org/st5o4bvm1/IMG_0190.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]https://s10.postimg.org/fxt33tqyx/IMG_0191.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]https://s10.postimg.org/8x9oosekp/IMG_0192.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]https://s10.postimg.org/6oqwtpi2x/IMG_0193.jpg[/IMG]

Posted on 8 years ago
#1
Posts: 176 Threads: 7
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Considering the vertical wood grain, it looks like a '60s MIJ (made in Japan) stencil drum. Difficult to say what brand without the badge, but the main brands were Star (the company that eventually became Tama), Pearl, and Hoshino I believe. The lugs (and wrap) look identical to this Zim-Gar snare, which was manufactured by Pearl. Have a look at this page, there's a wealth of info on MIJ drums.

I recently bought a Star brand from ebay (no badge, but was advertised as Mica, one of the many brands under Star) that was very similar to yours (pictured below). Regarding the lack of snare bed, have you removed the bottom hoop and laid the bearing edge on a flat surface? If you look at the photo of the bare shell below, you can see light peeking through the bottom toward the very rear of the shell. As you can see, the snare bed is subtle; a very shallow, gradual cut along the bearing edge.

2 attachments
Vintage kits:
1969 Rogers Holiday - black diamond pearl (20/16/13/12)
196x Star (Lyra/Majestic) - blue sparkle pearl (22/14/13) Restoration Project
1987 Pearl KC-3500 - jet black (22/16/13/12)
Not-so-vintage kits:
2007 Hart Dynamics Professional 6.4 e-kit / Roland TDW-20
Snares:
60s Gretsch 5x14 maple WMP / 68 Ludwig 5x14 Supraphonic / 93 Pearl 3x14 Free Floating brass piccolo / 60s Star (Lyra) 5x14 luan blue sparkle pearl / 87 Pearl 6.5x14 steel
Posted on 8 years ago
#2
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Wow that was quick!

From Vater

look identical to this Zim-Gar snare, which was manufactured by Pearl.

I think you nailed it. The knob for the muffler looks slightly different, but even the snare-side head looks the same as the one that came with mine. It's got to be a Zim Gar, but I'll do some more research like you said.

From Vater

Regarding the lack of snare bed, have you removed the bottom hoop and laid the bearing edge on a flat surface? If you look at the photo of the bare shell below, you can see light peeking through the bottom toward the very rear of the shell. As you can see, the snare bed is subtle; a very shallow, gradual cut along the bearing edge.

Yeah, I had done that when I was refinishing it. There was no bed at all before I shaped it, and now with the light test it is very shallow.

Posted on 8 years ago
#3
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Judging by the vertical grain lujan mahogany is a MIJ kit but the lugs are strange.

Posted on 8 years ago
#4
Posts: 176 Threads: 7
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Regarding the lugs, here are photos of a snare that I almost purchased from Craigslist a few months ago. If I recall, I think I pegged it as a Hoshino based on the strainer...but has the same exact lugs. But the Zim-Gar I linked to above looks to have a strainer that more closely resembles the one on giraffe's snare.

Vintage kits:
1969 Rogers Holiday - black diamond pearl (20/16/13/12)
196x Star (Lyra/Majestic) - blue sparkle pearl (22/14/13) Restoration Project
1987 Pearl KC-3500 - jet black (22/16/13/12)
Not-so-vintage kits:
2007 Hart Dynamics Professional 6.4 e-kit / Roland TDW-20
Snares:
60s Gretsch 5x14 maple WMP / 68 Ludwig 5x14 Supraphonic / 93 Pearl 3x14 Free Floating brass piccolo / 60s Star (Lyra) 5x14 luan blue sparkle pearl / 87 Pearl 6.5x14 steel
Posted on 8 years ago
#5
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From Vater

But the Zim-Gar I linked to above looks to have a strainer that more closely resembles the one on giraffe's snare.

Thanks for chiming in. I mentioned in my original post that the strainer and the butt-plate are not the original ones from the snare. The snare came with those one there, but there were clearly holes from the old strainer in the shell. I wish it had the original strainer, but oh well.

Posted on 8 years ago
#6
Posts: 176 Threads: 7
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From giraffe

I mentioned in my original post that the strainer and the butt-plate are not the original ones from the snare. The snare came with those one there, but there were clearly holes from the old strainer in the shell. I wish it had the original strainer, but oh well.

I completely missed that part when I read your original post yesterday... :Hmmmm

Do you have a picture of the original holes vs. the ones drilled for the current strainer? It would help to know if it originally had a round strainer like the one on the Hoshino I posted (unfortunately I don't know what the pattern is for that particular strainer, but it probably wouldn't be too hard to find out, considering the site we're on). It would also help to know what the inside of the shell looks like on that Zim-Gar I linked to. There's no mention of re-rings.

It can be tough to tell some MIJ brands apart from others due to similar construction and hardware, and the ridiculous number of names/badges used on these kits throughout the 60s.

Vintage kits:
1969 Rogers Holiday - black diamond pearl (20/16/13/12)
196x Star (Lyra/Majestic) - blue sparkle pearl (22/14/13) Restoration Project
1987 Pearl KC-3500 - jet black (22/16/13/12)
Not-so-vintage kits:
2007 Hart Dynamics Professional 6.4 e-kit / Roland TDW-20
Snares:
60s Gretsch 5x14 maple WMP / 68 Ludwig 5x14 Supraphonic / 93 Pearl 3x14 Free Floating brass piccolo / 60s Star (Lyra) 5x14 luan blue sparkle pearl / 87 Pearl 6.5x14 steel
Posted on 8 years ago
#7
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From Vater

Do you have a picture of the original holes vs. the ones drilled for the current strainer?

In the last picture I posted you can see the unused holes on the strainer side. I'm not sure if the new strainer is using any of the old holes, but here is a quick drawing of the old and new holes:

The red are the currently used holes, and the green are the unused/original holes for the strainer.

[IMG]https://s18.postimg.org/70k52ivwp/Untitled.jpg[/IMG]

Posted on 8 years ago
#8
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