Early Yamaha Red Ripple Snare Drum

If any of the Japanese drums of the 60’s and 70’s stand out it’s the early Yamaha drums. They projected a professional quality in all of their drums, staying away from the appearance of beginner or entry-level and also avoiding the copycat mentality. This particular snare drum is from the late 60’s to early 70’s and has that flash to it that really stands out.

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Trauma Center: Extreme Drum Repair

The drum is a 5.5 x 14 inch Yamaha upper-line plywood snare drum, 90's era, with a stained red mahogany finish. As you can see by the photos, the snare-side bearing edge was brutalized. At one of the snare beds, the shell laminates had been torn away and were missing in a V-shaped area roughly four inches long and extending to about an inch and a half from the edge near the snare gate. Besides this major damage, the bearing edge was pretty chewed up on another part of the snare side. The shell was mostly in round otherwise. It was not a pretty sight.

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