Overview
This is a proper rarity if ever there was one! Built specifically for Billy Cobham in the early 1990s, it was used by the master himself on tour with Peter Gabriel in 1994, and on the "Spaces Revisited" album with Larry Coryell (all confirmed by Billy himself).
Doug Fuller, the current owner, got it from a friend who went to New York City in 2006 and bought two of Billy's old Mapex kits. He swapped him a Pearl snare drum that had belonged to Chad Smith for this snare, a bass drum from one of Billy's green Mapex kits and a Zildjian Earth Ride Prototype. Doug says he regrets trading the snare - I think he got the best part of the deal!!
14"x10" - how do you even use that as a main snare?!?! Then again, it's Billy Cobham. The man can walk on water, so getting the best out of such a deep snare would be child's play. (Later update: Doug sent me more info: "Billy used 3 snares back then. One between his legs in the normal position, one just to the left of his left leg, and one just to the right of his right leg. If you notice on my snare (there's a) “Tom” mount, because even after he left Tama, Mapex made him a triple snare carriage system.")
I know technically this is pre-Black Panther, but come on - it IS one, in every way that counts.
Photos courtesy of Doug Fuller - thanks a million Doug.
Doug also sent me the link to this video of Billy. The main solo starts at 8:28, and you can see the snare being played at around 10:20.
