Need help identifying drum kit

[Minetallica]

Hey there,
I took some pics of my former practice kit. I want to sell it and while I cleaned it at home, I wondered what series it might be. I always thought it is an 80ies export kit. I bought it second hand from an elder Jazz drummer in 2008. He said he bought it sometime in the eighties.

Having read through this forum, however, I am not sure anymore. Therefore, I could use some help from experts .

Please find some pics and some facts:

• Kick 20x16 with metal hoops
• Toms: 12x10 and 13x11
• Floor Tom: 16x16
• all toms have acoustic-coat sealing inside
• Snare: steel 14x6,5
• Finish Wine Red, all toms have wrapped finish
• all hardware as shown matches with original hardware that came along with an export

All bullet points above indicate it is an export. However, these facts below make me doubt it is an export:

• all toms have this damper adjustable by a screw to silence overtones on the batter skins
• Sticker say only Pearl, not Export or any serial number
• Steel snare looks different than standard export steel snare according to catalogue

This is the reason why I post this thread in the vintage forum instead of the Export forum.

With your help, I would like to know what series I have here and - if possible - from what year.

Thanks so much in advance for your help.

Short facts about me:
- Hobby drummer
- located in Germany
- I switched to Mapex in the meantime

Daniel

[gyorpb]

Early eighties Export. The snare is from a much later vintage than the rest of the shells, though. By about ten years.

[3pearlkits]

Early eighties Export. The snare is from a much later vintage than the rest of the shells, though. By about ten years.

Yep I agree.
Wine red wrap and coffin lugs and acousticoat sealer puts them in 83 or 84.

Did you measure the bass drum?
With the 16" floor tom beside it, it looks like a 22", and that would be Export series sizing...

[Groketor]

Did you measure the bass drum?
With the 16" floor tom beside it, it looks like a 22", and that would be Export series sizing...

This and ten lugs so it has to be 22".

[gyorpb]

[…] these facts below make me doubt it is an export:

• all toms have this damper adjustable by a screw to silence overtones on the batter skins
• Sticker say only Pearl, not Export or any serial number

These are exactly the things that make it an early Export.

• Power Toms: Export "Deep Force" series debuted in 1983.
• Plain "Pearl" badges: the familiar "Export" badges debuted in 1985. 1982 through 1984 sported the plain, rectangular badges. The catalogues show drums with slightly different badges from what we normally encounter in the wild; it seems the sets used for the promotional material had "Made in japan" badges on them. No Export set was ever produced in japan (except for the odd prototype, maybe), though. That was, after all, the basis of the "Export" name.
• Ten lugs on the 22" bass drum: 1982 through 1984. As of 1985, the 22" bass lost two sets of lugs.
• Internal damper: again, 1982 through 1984. As of 1985, internal dampers were dropped on all Export toms.

Conclusion: your kit is from 1983 or 1984.

[3pearlkits]

These are exactly the things that make it an early Export.

• Power Toms: Export "Deep Force" series debuted in 1983.
• Plain "Pearl" badges: the familiar "Export" badges debuted in 1985. 1982 through 1984 sported the plain, rectangular badges. The catalogues show drums with slightly different badges from what we normally encounter in the wild; it seems the sets used for the promotional material had "Made in japan" badges on them. No Export set was ever produced in japan (except for the odd prototype, maybe), though. That was, after all, the basis of the "Export" name.
• Ten lugs on the 22" bass drum: 1982 through 1984. As of 1985, the 22" bass lost two sets of lugs.
• Internal damper: again, 1982 through 1984. As of 1985, internal dampers were dropped on all Export toms.

Conclusion: your kit is from 1983 or 1984.

Very well put Gyorpb!

I will just add that if the question was "what other series do these badges most attribute themselves to?"
I would say the International series (USA) from 1985, but:
AFAIK, this series did not have power toms/deep force sizing or acousticoat sealer, or internal dampers,
or;
The PC or pacemaker series, 1985 Japanese market.
This series did have power tom/deep force sizings, but no acousticoat sealer, or internal dampers.

So, ultimately, it is neither of those series...

[Minetallica]

Early eighties Export. The snare is from a much later vintage than the rest of the shells, though. By about ten years.

@gyorpb: I have slight comprehension problems here. Do you mean the snare is from 1993 or 1994?

[Minetallica]

Thank you all for your quick support and great expertise!

Now I of course wonder how much a realistic price for a kit like this would be on the German/middle European market?

[3pearlkits]

@gyorpb: I have slight comprehension problems here. Do you mean the snare is from 1993 or 1994?

Correct.

Thank you all for your quick support and great expertise!

Now I of course wonder how much a realistic price for a kit like this would be on the German/middle European market?

World markets vary widely.
If this kit was in the USA, I would suggest $200-300US, it's cleaned up and looking good

The often not much liked interpretation is "whatever someone is prepared to pay".

Look on your local ebay at "completed listings". This will give some indicator of what kits sold for.

Also look at other nearby countries trading posts like marketplazz and so on.

Google translate put my post into German as:

Weltmärkten sehr unterschiedlich.
Wenn dieser Satz war in den USA , würde ich $ 200-300US vorschlagen , es auf und sieht gut gereinigt

Die oft nicht gut gefallen Interpretation ist " was auch immer jemand zu zahlen bereit ist ."

Schauen Sie auf Ihrem lokalen ebay bei " beendeten Angeboten " . Dies wird einige Indikator für was Kits für verkauft zu geben.

Betrachten Sie auch anderen nahe gelegenen Ländern Handelsposten wie marketplazz und so weiter.

I hope that translated well...

[gyorpb]

@gyorpb: I have slight comprehension problems here. Do you mean the snare is from 1993 or 1994?

Yes. The RL-25 lugs date it 1994 to 1998. This is the last but one iteration of the EX-614D Export snare drum, before Exports started coming with Sensitone style snare drums.

Thank you all for your quick support and great expertise!

Now I of course wonder how much a realistic price for a kit like this would be on the German/middle European market?

As 3pearlkits already mentioned, that is a tough question to answer. Second hand prices vary wildly, since it is a buyers' market and finding the right buyer is the key to fetching a good price. Check eBay Kleinanzeigen and Thomann Kleinanzeigen, see what Export kist go for. Asking prices for Exports vary wildly: I generally see them range from €200 to €600 or more. Mind you, those are asking prices, so there's no telling if they ever fetch that kind of money. I bought a six-piece SZX (CZX Studio) set for less than that.

Your Export kit is in good condition and being an example of an early model, might be worth a pretty penny to the right buyer. But there aren't going to be many of those buyers out there and you're not offering any rare sizes, so don't get your hopes up.

On the other hand, while the Export used to be a mid-tier range with an impressive reputation, Pearl's re-introduction of the series in 2013 as a low-tier model hasn't done much good for the Export name, in my opinion, and to many people, your kit will be "just an old Export", which doesn't help.

I will just add that if the question was "what other series do these badges most attribute themselves to?"
I would say the International series (USA) from 1985, but:
AFAIK, this series did not have power toms/deep force sizing or acousticoat sealer, or internal dampers, […]

Later (1987) KX International Series came in power sizes:



But the KX sports different lugs and lighter tom mounting hardware.

[Monday317]

These are exactly the things that make it an early Export.

• Power Toms: Export "Deep Force" series debuted in 1983.
• Plain "Pearl" badges: the familiar "Export" badges debuted in 1985. 1982 through 1984 sported the plain, rectangular badges. The catalogues show drums with slightly different badges from what we normally encounter in the wild; it seems the sets used for the promotional material had "Made in japan" badges on them. No Export set was ever produced in japan (except for the odd prototype, maybe), though. That was, after all, the basis of the "Export" name.
• Ten lugs on the 22" bass drum: 1982 through 1984. As of 1985, the 22" bass lost two sets of lugs.
• Internal damper: again, 1982 through 1984. As of 1985, internal dampers were dropped on all Export toms.

Conclusion: your kit is from 1983 or 1984.

Great research! My only question is the the coated interiors; I've never seen it factory-applied by Pearl. I'm thinking it was a dealer/owner modification.

Your thoughts?

[gyorpb]

Exports 1982-1988 had "Acousti-Coat sealer" applied to the inside of the shells.

[3pearlkits]

Great research! My only question is the the coated interiors; I've never seen it factory-applied by Pearl. I'm thinking it was a dealer/owner modification.

Your thoughts?

Hey Monday317,
nice to see you around!

Gene O's defintive Export timeline shows two periods of Exports with Acousticoat sealer.
'82 to '84, EX kits only (not on ELX)
And then '87 to '89...

[BadAstronaut]

Exports with Acousticoat sealer. '82 to '84, EX kits only (not on ELX)

83-84 ELX's had acoustic coat sealer also .. 85 ELX's had Birch interior showing

83-84 ELX = 8 ply shells .. Birch inner + outer plies with acoustic coat sealer on interior .. Metal/Wood matching hoops

85 ELX = 8 ply shells .. Birch inner + outer plies without acoustic coat sealer on interior .. Wood matching hoops

[Minetallica]

Thanks again to all!