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Overview
This is a Japan only model that was Zack Cruz's first love in the Black Panther pantheon.
First, but by no means only!
Zack shared this on the Facebook page in late 2022, and I'd never seen one like it before. I'd seen polished brass shells obviously, but not a 14"x6.5" one. And that's before we get to the all gold hardware.
He said, when questioned about the hardware by another FB member, that it was original and was how he'd received it from Japan. This was later confirmed by Shimano San himself, who said it was a standard item back in the day. It might have been in Japan, but it certainly wasn't in The West - we never got a polished brass badged Black Panther deeper than 5.5"!
Anyway, one more Japanese unicorn...captured!
Oh and I have dubbed it the "Golden Rod" because
- That's an actual HTML colour (#DAA520) and I'm a web geek. Duh!
- Tom Doogan from the FB Page suggested that it looked like C-3PO...and it 100% does!
- It's as arousing as the "Golden Rod Card" Look it up. Just maybe not at work....
I've added this to the "Japan Only" category as I've never seen anything to suggest this all-gold model was made available outside Japan. If more information comes to light about a wider availability, I'll amend the listing.
Update April 2023
Details of this one eventually came to light in April 2023 when Julio from NekoMusic in Japan managed to get his hands on the 1999 Japan catalogue that featured the whole family.
It turns out that the range is actually called "Standard Brass", and (roughly) translating the text from the catalogue...
The Standard Brass is a different concept to the Black Panther. 2.3mm Powerhoops and 24K Gold hardware are fitted as standard. Brightness and tightness that are a bit different from the (normal) Black Panther are the major features of this snare.
So basically the same as the Black Brass model but with Powerhoops instead of Die-Cast hoops and a different shell finish, all of which gives a slightly different tone.
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Original Text (原文)
スタンダードブラススネアドラムはあえてブラックパンサーとは異なるコンセプト製作。24金メッキをほどこした2.3ミリ厚のパワーフープを標準装備しました。ブラックパンサーとは一味異なる明るさとタイトさはこのスネアの大きな特徴です。
Photo courtesy of Zack Cruz who owns/has owned more Black Panthers that anyone has a right to! Cheers Zack.
