He’d literally removed each head and affixed a two-inch wide cotton strip extending from the bearing edges an inch into the playing surface.In retrospective, it’s obvious Randy had tweaked to the Pinstripe and EC formula—except that, in those days, there were no such pre-damped, or circumference EQ-ed heads, only Diplomats, Ambassadors, and Emperors., of course, was the deciding factor but, hey, the details were fun to assimilate!Occasionally one sixties Japanese drum or drum kit would emerge as a winner, at least referring to the sound.

Remember me ranting at length and in wonder of the tone emanating from the budget Coronet drumset, the one that cost me well under US?They are not simply mis-badged prototypes for the soon-to-debut Pearl President line.I long suspected greatness when playing these drums as I’ve related to you. And in that instance, that glimpse into the crucible of truth, we both realized what a huge dent we could make on perceptions and, in fact, on the vintage market, which had previous excluded such drums from considerations, notwithstanding a couple of excellent websites dedicated to Japanese stencil brands.Randy’s drums sounded, in my opinion, cool beyond cool—perhaps I was hearing with my eyes.That retro bronze-tiger striped finish was a killer.