To my knowlegde common vintage kit sizes are 20/12/14 and 22/13/16, making 12 inch generally the smallest vintage tom.
Do you guys know of smaller sized double headed toms from that era?
I'm after this tom that might be a good addition to my Yamaha C200 kit. At least, if it was a 10 incher.
What do you think based on the pics below? 10 inch? Yamaha?
Does it have a diagonal seam (they started with that from the first kits in 1967) and does it have dark and light plies?
That looks like a remake. They never offered 10'' (although that would have been cool)
I have often wondered if any 10in MIJs were made in the 60s (Pearl/Star/Hoshino/and indeed Yammy).
I posted here about it and...............
nothing but crickets.
Yea I don't think 10"s really started until the '70s. I can't think of any MIJ / American drums from the '60s or prior having a size smaller than 12". There were some 11" toms floating about, my '38 Ludwig & Ludwig kit has one. But most were older like mine, and not used in the music of the times. Those might be Yamaha lugs on that drum, but that drum isn't Yamaha.
They look like later 'c' series lugs and a tama mount.
These are C serie lugs indeed, and a Tama mount added. Funny DIY tom, nothing more.
Technically speaking. You could add a 10" to your kit and have it match. I don't recall exactly each wood they used. But I'm sure you can find a shell of the same material and do a custom job to match your kit. Would look the same and be a sonic match. Or maybe find a Yamaha 10" from the '70s and do a conversion on it.
This will answer the main question and confirm my earlier thoughts, reading an interview with mr Gadd:
YOU'VE PLAYED YAMAHA DRUMS FOR THIRTY YEARS.Yes--ever since I went to Japan thirty years ago. Yamaha was supplying my drums, and I got to meet Hagi. [Takahashi Hagiwara, who spearheaded Yamaha's drum division for many years.] They approached me--no one had ever done that before! So I asked for a few changes in the way they were putting drums together. For example, Yamaha's hardware was always good, but they used to have a metal rod going down the middle of the bass drum to support the tom-tom rack. There were internal tone controls too. I wanted all that stuff taken out, and I wanted to start with a 10" tom instead of a 12".
The selling process is a real slow one. It's a non-drummer, non-used to sell and ship seller.
Hope to get it sorted this week. As soon as the tom arrives I will provide some pics and info.
Whatever it will be (Yamaha or not), it will be a nice match to my set that is mainly used for practise purposes. So looks and sonics are not of a great importance for now.
But love to read your opinion on this matter. Thanks for now!
