What is the difference in Yamaha rock tour custom drums made in England and made in japan?

Answer 1

The made in Japan ones are made in Japan, and the made in England ones were made in the factory Yamaha took over when they bought Premier drums in the late 1980's.

There are many stories about why Yamaha bought Premier, the most likely being that if it produced drums in the European community it could avoid import duty on it's Japanese drums making them more competitive in price. The Japanese car industry does this now. I have only ever seen made in England RTC's for sale in the UK, so I don't know if they were ever exported to the rest of Europe/ world.

I have both English and Japanese Rock Tour Customs and in terms of woods used, drum sizes, and ply thickness's and finishes available they are the same.

The construction methods were the same using the "air seal" system from equipment imported from Japan. Yamaha also imported their own craftsmen to train the British workforce and the same lugs and hardware were used. They even sound the same, and I often use Japanese and English drums in the same kit with no problems.

There is an argument that the Japanese drums are better built, but I think they are identical, and I've looked very very closely. You usually hear this when people on eBay are trying to talk up their price. In fact my English RTC's have neater seams in the ply's than my Japanese ones.

You can also buy Made in England Recording Customs from the same era.

Yamaha re-introduced a cheaper range called "Rock Tour" in 2010. These are made from inferior woods, with inferior hardware and they are made in Taiwan, not Japan or England. They should not be confused with the "Rock Tour Custom" range from the 1990's