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Overview
Produced sometime in late 2004*, only 50 of these stunning brass-shelled limited edition models were ever made, and for the Japanese market only.
This pristine example is owned by Alex Wicheard who spotted it online, fell in love with it (can't blame him!) and imported it from Japan at horrific expense. Alex didn't have any information about it, which isn't surprising; even for a limited edition, details are particularly difficult to come by for this model. I thought I remembered seeing it well over a decade ago on the Mapex Japan site and was sure it was one of Shimano San's creations. Time once again to subject the great man to my execrable Japanese then!
Shimano San was kind enough to confirm that, yes, it was one of his and was made at about the same time as the Oriental Dragon; he thought it perhaps around the turn of the millenium. At the time, the Mapex brand was still pretty new and he wanted to create a "difficult to build**" snare that Tama, Yamaha, and Pearl wouldn't want to do. The difficulty was getting the cut-sheet graphics on the shell and black "seals" on the lugs to adhere correctly. There's also the red "eyes" of the dragon that were made from heavy glass nail decorations ("chemical glass, heavy and so not popular for women's nails"). The finished product attracted the attention of many rock drummers (I bet!) and boosted the brands recognition; Japanese drummers love limited editions.
So there you go, another rarity that you're unlikely to see outside Japan***. Unless, like Alex, you can track one down and want take out a mortgage for the import duty alone!
Update October 2022
Well, Bojan Ružman must have taken the above as a challenge, as he managed to pick one up too, directly from a seller in Japan! His would also appear to be serial number #1 of the 50 produced, so doubly well done that man.
Notes
In case there's any argument, I'm counting this as a fully paid up member of the Black Panther Family, regardless of the manufacturing date or lug choice. Come on - look at it - it absolutely IS one!! Also, only the top end Mapex snares got Die Cast Hoops so...
*Shimano San wasn't 100% sure of the date. Alex thought mid-1990s. The first reference I can find to this model is on an old snapshot of the Mapex Japan site on the Wayback Machine in 2004. It mentions the snare in the news section and the entry is dated 12 Sept 2004. The first snapshot that shows a link to the page is from March 2005. Although you can see the graphical link to the snare's listing, annoyingly the photos that were on the page haven't been archived; the details are all there though. ¥44100 in 2004 is about ¥46500 in 2022 (about £290/$380) so not a cheap snare, but not off the chart expensive for a custom 10-lug solid brass shell with those graphics.
** Shimano San said "手の掛か" which translates as something like troublesome/laborious. Basically, one that was too much effort for the competitors to bother building.
***Also, there's a Steel Shelled version of it listed on the same page of the old Mapex Japan site. Can't even find a photo of that one yet!
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Original Text (原文)
Original Listing on Mapex Japan
Tattoo and Edge Brass Snare Drum ( Limited Edition)
BR765DH
税抜き定価￥42,000
税込み定価￥44,100
限定50台の「Tattoo and Edge」シリーズのブラスシェル・スネアです。特殊加工にて施された、タトゥーデザインがヘヴィデューティ仕様。かなりパワフルなブラスサウンドを生み出します。材質的には柔らかいブラスの音響特性を生かして、ローピッチでのチューニングも可能。ドラゴンの目には埋め込みのビーズが印象的。
■14"×61/2"
■ブラスシェル 1mm
■24K GOLD ダイキャストフープ
■10テンション
Photos courtesy of the very lucky owners: Alex Wicheard and Bojan Ružman. Thanks a million guys!
