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I realize this is a LATE reply to one of your questions...but hey, it's a reply, right? The gentleman who could have answered the mystery of the replica kit for you has taken himself entirely out of the game of Rush, Tama, and trivia. He is known within these tight-knit communities to spread disinformation anyway, and that is all that will be said about him (by me). The replica kit was acquired by a private collector in Japan after the shows. To this day, it is still in Japan. There is a guy in Alberta...Al Slark, who claims to have a replica kit given to him by Neil. This kit is stock Superstars with Candy Apple Red lacquer, and chrome hardware. It fits the description of the replica kit. I have not corresponded with Al, so I do not know the validity of his claim(s).

Speaking as a drummer here (and not just as a fan), I can add a few things to this thread based on my own personal experiences. Again, as stated, these are MY personal experiences. Concerning DW's... This whole "shell-tuned-to-a-specific note" stuff is, IMHO, pure conjecture, and subject to the listener's ears, and, honestly, some gullability in a multi-million dollar marketing program with name endorsers, etc. DW's hardware (shell and stand-alone) is beautiful, functional and virtually indestructible, as are the 9000 series pedals, but it kinda stops there for me. I love the fact that DW is an American drum company, employing Americans, and providing excellence in manufacturing...but it stops there for me. I never jumped on the DW bandwagon. I believe one can tap a drumshell (as Mr. Good does) and the shell will be "close" to a certain pitch, just as a coffee table or night stand could be tapped, but the shell itself simply cannot be tuned to a specific pitch, as these drums are touted to do/be. My Starclassic Performers (all birch) do the same thing with a digital tuner. I believe...just as "power toms" of the '80's...12x12, 13x13, then adding 2 inches to a 16x22 kick drum sometime during the late 80's/early 90's became all the rage - and everyone HAD to have an 18x22 kick, it's all hype, and kinda "faddy." On with the drumtalk... When Neil switched to Tama in 1979, he received the "first generation" of Tama Superstar birch drums. The bearing edges and shell ply configurations are distinctive to the sound of these early (late '70's) Superstar drums. So...most folks describe the Tama years as "warm," eh? Good call. There's a reason for it! Neil used Evans "Rock" batter heads almost exclusively until sometime during the Power Windows tour of '85-'86 (of which he began bouncing between Remo Pinstripes, Remo Ambassador Clears, and Remo Emporer Clears). Evans have a tendency to promote warmth and roundness, and curtail attack. His selection of resonant heads (again, almost exclusively Evans) also factors in. From 1979 until 1982, he used Evans Hydraulic Resonant heads, then switching to Tom Tom Red Resonants from 1982 until the Power Windows tour, switching to Remo Diplomats and Amabassadors. Diplomats are thinner, Ambassadors slightly thicker, mil-ply wise. Evans heads have a distinctive "over the collar" design, which is different than Remo's head manufacturing process. This process is also a small factor with the aural "organics" of the bearing edges/shells/heads. The mil and ply count (single ply, dual ply, 7mil, 9 mil, etc.) of the drumheads also factor in somewhat, as does the player's touch, tuning, and the fact that "this particular player" was a hard hitter, using the butt-ends of Pro Mark 747 Japanese Oak drumsticks (a somewhat lightweight stick, but packing a wallop when used backward). Also in 1979, the recording industry was still elbows-deep in "analog" gear...2 inch tape (warm), ribbon microphones (warm), and solid state outboard effects used during the recording process. Digital technology had not taken off full speed (yet). Also at this time, Le Studio had an SSL 4000 series console, lending MAJOR warmth to the overall sound of both Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures. The SSL console is considered to be one of the best in the world. Folks still search for SSL's to record and mix with. P. Diddy, 2Pac, Nirvana, Dave Matthews, The Police...all SSL. Le Studio's SSL from Studio "A" is at Tree Sound Studios outside Atlanta, Georgia. It's a survivor. When the Candy Apple Red Tamas appeared, they did not actually end up as "off the shelf" Superstars. Tama lathed 2 plies from the center of a 6 ply Superstar shell, leaving 2 outside plies as reinforcement reings (re-rings). These were dubbed the "Artstar I's," or "Artstar Prototypes." Neil conceived using thinner shells (4 plies vs. 6 plies) after restoring a small set of Hayman drums during the mixdown of Exit...Stage Left, in 1982, along with his belief that the sound characteristics of a concert viola (very thin) could also apply to drumshells. Keep in mind that none of Neil's early Tama drums were "factory-spec." Neil had a "go-to" team of guys at The Percussion Centre in Ft. Wayne, Indiana who, along with Ken Hoshino of Tama, and Larry Allen (original drum tech from 1977 until 1998) concocted a series of mods and doo-dads to achieve the final result: a set of custom, one-of-a-kind hot rod drums. In fact, the Candy Apple Red finish of Neil's Tamas WERE actually a "hot rod" finish: DuPont Imron 6000 Candy Red (with other stuff blended to achieve a custom "Rush Red" finish). That DuPont was $500 a *gallon,* btw. From the Blackrome Slingerland days until the 1st set of Keller-shelled, Red Sparkle DW's, there was a manufacturing process used on the interior of Neil's shells called "VibraFibing," whereby a raw shell was spun on a potter's wheel, and several coats of thin fiberglass resin was applied to the interiors, sonically "leveling out" the inconsistent tones given from drumshell to drumshell (i.e. a 12" closed tom and a 15" closed tom would theoretically be sonically "matched" if the process were applied to both shells). This is also a factor in the warmth. During the tours from 1980 - 1986, Rush's concert sound engineer(s) also used top of the line/state of the art "warm" microphones (Sennheiser, Countryman, Shure, AKG, etc), sweetening this warmth pot even more. These are only a few of the many factors in the "warmth" of the early Tamas.

I'd also consider "c/o Donovan Lundstrom"...as he will be the last set of hands to handle the mail-outs.

Grand Designs was the 1st encore tune on the Power Windows tour.

farcryoverspilledmilk - thank you for the update. I am grateful my favourite band is still on top of the world...and touring. I'll be enjoying the Atlanta show.

I haven't read thru every string-related thread...but Nobody's Hero had a string score by Michael Kaman. This one would appear to be a prime candidate for strings. Just puttin' it out there.

BTW, Thunder Bay... Back in 1990, I was in a *BAND* called Thunder Bay. 2 Seabees (Naval Construction Batallion)...and moi (then, a civvy). Small World.

Actually, LOL, I am a drummer too....though I am an unabashed gear-geek gangsta. Wakeman's rig (during the "Cape" heydays) had TONS of goodness...Mellotron, B3, 3 Mini Moogs...quite a bit of good stuff. He is a helluva nice guy. While they were rehearsing the Union tour in Pensacola...I met him, Steve Howe and Bill Bruford as they walked across the Hilton's parking lot to the arena. He stopped and talked to us for about 15 minutes about keyboards, beer ...and the humidity in the area.

Thunder Bay...Rush has had a long love affair with Oberheim products. Ged picked up an Oberheim "Eight Voice" polyphonic synth mid '78, as the guys were about to begin work on Hemispheres, after the U.K. Kings tour. Ged (along with Tony G.) hired a private company in the U.S. to configure and customize the Eight Voice to also "house" a Mini-Moog in the top right corner of the unit's cabinet. The Eight Voice showed up at Rockfield "DOA," and had to be disassembled and repaired. Tony G. integrated a set of Moog Taurus pedals to communicate with the Eight Voice synth...allowing some of the Oberheim string pads to be played as presets through the Taurus pedals (as heard in La Villa Strangiato and Prelude). May I add...Tony G. did this *PRIOR* to MIDI being professionaly implemented for all musical instruments. Ya. Pretty amazing ingenuity. Tony's brother also did incredible synth work for Blue Oyster Cult. An Oberheim OB-1 came next for Permanent Waves (as heard in the synth arpeggiation during the choruses of The Spirit of Radio - Neil doubles this arpeggiation on Glockenspiel). The OBX came next for Moving Pictures (Opening growl of Tom Sawyer). The OBX-A came for the tail end of Moving Pictures/Tour of the Nadars, all of Signals and Grace Under Pressure. Arturia has released Eight Voice OEM software...and Oberheim has brought back the OEM unit....allowing anyone to daisy-chain them into an Eight Voice once again. Old is "new" again.

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By now, even the most casual fan knows not to bug the guy. If you cannot meet Neil as an "equal," (such as another professional musician, writer, artist, crew member, etc.) it will be perceived as forced and contrived...and THAT is where I believe he loathes meeting fans. He has met some fans before (pre-show), including a nice young lady who had a terminal illness. But generally, he does not mingle. He has stated numerous times over the years (in print, and through interviews) that "meet and greets," crowds of gushing fans...and general pandemonium (pre and post show insanity) drive him up the wall. I kinda sympathize with him...as everytime I am faced with going into a Wal Mart anywhere on this planet...I think of his description of being forced into uncomfortable situations. My skin crawls. After seeing Rush multiple shows since Signals (as most here have done, I'm sure) I had a chance (through a crew member) years ago in Dallas to *possibly* say hello to Neil (face-to-face) just before he started changing his bike oil. It was mid-afternoon, and there were maybe 30 or 40 people chillin' in the parking lot of Smirnoff. This was *before* I had any copies of his 3 books...so I wasn't completely up to speed on how he has had to deal with the "Circus"or "Vortex" for so many years. Totally innocent, just a hello. No psychotic, stammering fan boi craziness...just a hello. After 30 minutes of waiting on the side of a crew bus (not Neil's bus), I was told by my friend that it would have to be "cleared" through Michael M. (who is a nice guy, also) and/or Liam or C.B. (this was to take place before crew meal and soundcheck, when there was dead time pre-show). Thinking this was going to be an issue for my friend, I just politely said, "forget it, bro." I knew it was going to be a hassle for Neil (and the few people who ran interference that afternoon trying to help me). I lived through it, lol. No big deal, really. I wasn't "crushed." It didn't make the show that evening terrible, either...Though we aggravated Howard a bit that night, anyway. LOL.

I had this poster also...until I bequeathed it to my best friend, also a huge Rush collector. Actually...the background image is from the Kings tour (performing Xanadu). Alex (foreground circle pic) is from the Spheres tour. Ged (foreground circle pic) is from the Spheres tour. Neil (foreground circle pic) is also from the Kings tour. Not splitting hairs here...just stating where the images originated for the poster.

"Blind Man in the market, buying what we're sold." Hmmmm. BU2B has a passing allusion to something "for sale." Guess I'll hafta wait til' Red Rocks to find out!

In Howard U's defense...I've seen The Guys 2 or 3x each tour since Signals, and Howard IS a connsumate artist. Watch him on this tour, if you can...it's almost as if he is playing keys, lol. He is also one hell of a nice guy, and if he is not too busy, he will take the time to say hello and gab, especially if he remembers your face...albeit a now bespectacled, slightly older face. "YOU AGAIN!?! Do you have a job or life?!?!" HAHAHAHA. Rock On, Howard. Rock On.

Anyone heard from deadwing2112?