On Tuesday, July 6th, DCP hosted its second high profile visitor in as many months. This time, Mr. Shinichi Usuda, owner of the Canopus Drum company in Japan stopped by to say hello. The purpose of Mr. Usuda’s visit was to announce that Shane and the Drum Center of Portsmouth are Canopus’ #1 dealer in the United States!

Shinichi Usuda Visits the Drum Center of Portsmouth

When we started carrying Canopus drums, we knew they would be popular, but the excitement that has been generated in recent months is well beyond our expectations. Shane’s conversation with Mr. Usuda covered a variety of topics from the manufacturing process of Canopus drums, how Mr. Usuda designed and built proprietary machinery to craft his magnificent solid-ply shells, the introduction of the new Canopus Sword series drums, as well as future products coming down the pipeline.

Anybody who talks with Shane about snare drums for more than five minutes is sure to hear the word “Zelkova” mentioned more than once. The Zelkova snare drum is Canopus’ flagship snare drum model. You can read more about Canopus Zelkova snare drums and the manufacturing process here. If you’re not interested in reading, just watch Shane demonstrate a 14×6.5 Zelkova snare drum in the video below.

If you would like to buy one of these amazing Canopus Zelkova snare drums, give Shane a call at 603.319.8109 or pick one up from our eBay store.

Lucky for drummers, Canopus is far from a one-trick pony. In the photo above, Mr. Usuda is holding one of the VERY limited Block Rosewood snare drums. In addition to Block Rosewood, Canopus offers solid-ply models in Walnut, Bubinga and Soft Maple. Canopus also offers a wide variety of ply and metal snares in maple, birch, mahogany, brass, bronze, steel, and carbon fiber.

If you are not content with owning only a Canopus snare drum, rest assured a number of drum kits are offered with different shell types and configurations. The newest and most exciting is the Japanese Sword Model which features North American maple shells, a new lug design, classic finishes and a very modest price point. We currently have a Japanese Sword Model bop kit in stock, the very setup that was recently the subject of rave reviews in the August 2010 issue of Modern Drummer magazine.

To learn more about Canopus Drums, visit their website or read this recent interview with Mr. Usuda in DRUM! magazine.

Stop by today and check out these incredible drums!