In the 90s and early 00s TAMA had two series which sat side-by-side: the 'Artwood' series – dealing with midrange wooden snares, maple, birch, and otherwise – and the 'Powermetal' series – similar deal, but with bronze, steel, and bell bronze. We believe this model to be a PS255 which is a 14" x 5.5" beaded stainless steel shell with a MCS50A/MCS50B throw/butt combo, and TAMA triple flange mighty hoops. We believe this particular snare has had the bottom hoop replaced with another triple flange hoop with heavy guards over the snare beds. We assume this was an intentional upgrade rather than a repair. The MSL35 lugs also remind us of Ludwig Supraphonic lugs, which is not a bad thing. You could remove the lug gaskets if you wanted to pursue that vibe even further.

We won't lie, we had no idea what this was when we ordered it in, but it was inexpensive and TAMA Japan is always killer so we rolled the dice.

What landed is superb. We generally don't lean towards steel shells but this one is very cool. It has a real weightiness to it, in both sound and, well... actual weight. Heaps of projection can be expected and if you add a 2 ply coated top head to the mix, this would do pretty much whatever you wanted it to. The top head could definitely do with replacing, partially just because it's a bin-stripe. Heck, this snare is fun though. It's loud, proud and mum said, "allowed to go home with you."

Type: Snare Drum
Made: Japan, 90s/early 00s
Serial: 051248
Manufacturer: TAMA Drums
Model: PS-255
Size: 14" Diameter / 5.5" Depth
Weight: 4320g
Shell: Beaded stainless steel shell
Strainer/butt: MCS50A/MCS50B
Lugs: 10 x MSL35
Current Setup:
Remo Clear Pinstripe with Black Dot (6/10) (Top)
Evans Resonant Snare 300 (9/10) (Bottom)
TAMA 20 strand wires with black cross-stitched fabric straps (9/10)
Condition Notes: Used but in good order; the shell is in excellent condition with no obvious rust; hoops are in good order; the batter head could be replaced but otherwise in excellent condition: 9/10