Here are some pics of the insides of the shells:

Good find.

Those are D series toms. The mount is an aftermarket, non original.

The drums have been wrap- (outside) and paint- (inside) stripped.

They should be a combination of Birch and Mahogany.

I had a good shot at cleaning the hardware of these late 60's/early 70's kits with a bath of cola for the tension rods, screws and spacers end cleaning the lugs and hoops with tin foil and cola.

Hi there Musiqman - I thank you for your valued input. I am very curious about your cleaning methods. Please could you explain how long you let the tension rods, screws and spacers lie in the Cola - is it neat or diluted? Insofar as the tin foil and cola cleanse is concerned - how exactly does that work? I've heard about it before.

Were these drums pro or beginner drums in their day? Which years were they produced?

Lastly: How do you know that it is a D series and not a C series?

Thank you very much.

Regards

Erik

I let them lay in a bath of Coca Cola for about 3 days. But you could do it longer, you just have to refill the cola to keep the carbon dioxide fresh.

The cleaning with thin foil is that you use the foil as a towel so to speak and just rub.

The D and C series were made from 1967 up un till the mid 70's.

You can recognize these easy. The D badge is thicker, embossed and featured a serial number:

[IMG]http://www.vintagedrumguide.com/images/badges/yamaha/yamaha_badge_large.jpg[/IMG]

The 1967 and 1968 badges featured the word ''Yamaha'' in a script style, and also had the words ''Nippon Gakki'' written on it. These didn't had a serial number:

[IMG]https://reverb-res.cloudinary.com/image/upload/s--DABhhW6l--/a_exif,c_limit,e_unsharp_mask:80,f_auto,fl_progressive,g_south,h_620,q_90,w_620/v1462218738/emhz6fen62jsqduguiro.jpg[/IMG]

The C series sported a thin steel badge:

[IMG]http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x326/mobygrapefruit/IMG_1128.jpg[/IMG]

Thank you Musiqman. Much appreciated.

That Tom mount is a pearl. I did the same "upgrade" to my powersonic kit in the late 80's.

Drums might be all birch with those badges. My D20 kit is all birch.

Thanks Jim - if you have a look at this pic of the 13" tom ( I thought it was 12 but checked last night - its 13") and you look beyond the stupid varnish that someone in the past seems to have applied after stripping the wrap off, it would appear as if there are 2 different woods used. Would the lighter one be birch? Maybe its all birch, I don't know - I've never owned a birch kit in my life so have no idea what they look like.

I can't wait to play these - should be ready by this weekend. Which head do you suggest for the toms? Ambassador?

Regards

Your welcome!

If it has two color plies, it uses most likely two different wood species.

I used Suede Emperors on my DT-225 kit. It really brings out the best in the kit. Use these heads for my PHX kit now too.

Thanks Musiqman. Were the D series kits all wrapped in that "plasticky" kind of wrap that is still on the 16" floor tom as opposed to the more American kind of wrap as you would find on Luddys etc? Do you think that the fact that the wrap appears to have been removed from the 13" will have much of an impact on the sound of the tom? I plan to remove the "aftermarket" tom holder attached to the tom and to have a stainless steel cover/plate manufactured which I intend to, using the same holes, fit over the hole as I normally play my rack tom on a snare stand.

BTW - how did these Japanese kits , in the 60's / 70's compare to the American kits? From what I gather my drums are of a rather good quality - I realise that sound wise they will sound unique, but from a build and quality perspective, how do they compare to their American counterparts from the same era?

Thanks for your valued input.

Regards

Erik