As mentioned above, here is the info I've gathered so far about these drums, collected here for future... yeah.
Collected from a variety of online sources, including some not great scans of factory literature. If anyone has additions or corrections, please contribute. Thanks!
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If your kit was made in Japan, it consists of 9 ply basswood with a Philippine mahogany outer layer for the BD and 18"FT and 8 ply for the TT's and 16"FT.
Kits made in England (in the early 90's Yamaha owned the Premier drum factory, they installed their machines and instructed the Premier production workers how to manufacture the Yamaha's) have 9 ply poplar and Philippine mahogany for the BD and 6 ply for the TT's and FT's.
The usual kit consists of a 22X16" Bass drum, but the specifications says there was a 20X16" available as well.
Most sizes are the same, although the toms vary, and the Japanese made kit has an extra option for a 8x8" tom.
So:
Specifications and components for
Japanese Power V Specials:
9 ply Basswood / Mahogany for BD/ 18"FT
8 ply Basswood / Mahogany TT/ 16"FT
BD 22/20x16" (Mahogany/Basswood hoops)
FT 18/16x16"
TT 8x8"/10x9"/12x10"/13x11"/14x12"/15x13"
Steel SD 14x6.5"
High tension lugs
Round ball clamps
Jet Black/ Red Granite/ White Granite
English Power V Specials:
9 ply Poplar / Mahogany for BD
6 ply Poplar / Mahogany TT/FT
BD 22/(20)X16" (Birch/Mahogany hoops)
FT 18/16x16"
TT 10x10"/12x10"/13x11"/14x12"/15x13"
Steel SD 14x6.5"
High tension lugs
Edged ball clamps
Jet Black/ Marble Red/ Marble White
Both kits are produced with "Air seal system" shells.
Yamaha Power V Special (made in England)
Model No. and Sizes
VTT-610 10"x10" mount tom
VTT-612 12"x10" mount tom
VTT-613 13"x11" mount tom
VTT-614 14"x12" mount tom
VTT-615 15"x13" mount tom
VFT-616 16"x16" floor tom
VFT-618 18"x16" floor tom
VBD-620 20"x16" bass drum
VBD-622 22"x16" bass drum
VSD-246 14"x6.5" snare drum
Color Finishes:
Jet Black
Marble White
Marble Red
Wood Types:
Poplar + Mahogany (9-ply BD & 6-ply TT/FT)
Yamaha Power V Special (made in Japan)
Model No. and Sizes
TT-608 8"x8" mount tom
TT-610 10"x9" mount tom
TT-612 12"x10" mount tom
TT-613 13"x11" mount tom
TT-614 14"x12" mount tom
TT-615 15"x13" mount tom
FT-616 16"x16" floor tom
FT-618 18"x16" floor tom
BD-620 20"x16" bass drum
BD-622 22"x16" bass drum
SD-246 14"x6.5" snare drum
Color Finishes:
Jet Black
White Granite
Red Granite
Wood Types:
Basswood + Mahogany (9-ply BD/FT18" & 8-ply TT/FT16")
The Yamaha Power V Special has got the hi-tension (continuous) lugs and the clear inner ply.
The Yamaha Power V has got the single (separate) lugs and the painted black inner ply.
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For a period of time Premier was owned by Yamaha, and the Premier factory was upgraded with new technology ( air seal system for shells).
The hardware produced by Premier of the time had a very distinct Yamaha look to it.
Yamaha 9000 ( Recording Custom) kits were made in the Premier factory, probably as a way to avoid or limit import duties and taxes . The drums made in England were near identical to the sets made at Yamaha Japan. One thing the English drums had in their favour was their superior chrome plating. England uses a higher voltage in the chrome plating process , which gives their plating a better finish with much more gleam than Asian or North American sources.
The Power V was designed to complete with the Pearl Export and Tama Rockstar of the time. But the Yamaha version was slightly more expensive, while not offering anything different.
Premier, however, introduced their APK and XPK, which was competitive and took off for brief period of time. So Yamaha started selling their version of the APK under the Power V name, but it was too little, too late
It wasn't until Yamaha introduced the Stage Custom a few years later that Yamaha had success at that price point, but the Stage Custom really killed off any resale value of the Power Vs and Power V Specials.
Don't get the Yamaha Power V and the Power V Special mixed up. The first one was a budget kit with of course Yamaha quality but has no high tension lugs and the inner shells are painted in black. The Power V Special has bare inner shells.
Reportedly, Yamaha said the Power V Specials were essentially the same as the Stage Custom Advantage. They also said the Power V and the Power V Special had different build quality and that the Specials were better. Either way they are a solid entry/mid kit.
According to catalogs, Power V was made with black interiors like Premier APK for example, short lugs, and the wood is birch with some luan.
Power V Special have long lugs from hoop too hoop, clear interior and mahogany and poplar or mahogany and basswood shells.
There is a third variation and this is the Yamaha Stage Custom in fact, called Power V Special, with different tom mounts and shell component (basswood). At some point Yamaha cut production in England and started in Indonesia.
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more as I find it.
also-
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Japan brochure
View attachment 93524View attachment 93525
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England brochure
View attachment 93526View attachment 93527