Mapex Black Panther Premium Series snare drum made of maple wood. Colour: satin black and gold-coloured tuning screws. Height: 14 cm; diameter: 35.6 cm. Used very little, excellent condition.
- NOTE - Gibson USA goes to a 9 digit serial number in early July 2005. The sixth number is now a batch number- batch 0 starts at the beginning of the day, and once we stamp 699, the batch number will change to 1. The first 5 numbers remain the same, the last 3 numbers will remain the same. The only difference is the addition of this batch.
- I lost my Mapex drum key that came with my Black Panther snare. I tried looking for one on the internet I couldn't find anything. I called a couple of music stores and they said they don't carry it.
Jupiter Band Instruments, Inc. is a manufacturer and distributor of woodwind, brass and percussioninstruments. Jupiter was established by its Taiwanese parent company KHS in 1980.
History[edit]
KHS was first founded with the Wan Wu name in Taiwan in 1930 by Tsu-Cheng Hsieh as an educational products company and was renamed to KHS in 1945. KHS stands for Kung Hsue She which means a company helping schools and culture. KHS started harmonica production in 1956 and started band instrument production a year later in 1957. By 1980 KHS was a full-scale musical instrument manufacturer and the Jupiter brand was started to market a complete line of wind instruments and percussion. In 1985 KHS established the Musix company and KHS acquired Altus flutes in 1990, Ross Mallet Instruments in 1994 and Hohner/Sonor percussion in 1997. Altus flute employees and specialists from Japan worked as KHS technical advisors.[citation needed]
In 1986 KHS transferred most of its production from its small factory in greater Taipei to a major complex in nearby Zhongli. In 1993 KHS started building a factory near Tianjin China for the main purpose of entering the Chinese market. In 1996 the KHS Chinese factory began producing instruments and instrument parts and since 1996 some lower priced Jupiter instruments have been totally made in China and some mid priced Jupiter instruments have been assembled in Taiwan from parts made at the Tianjin China factory and some higher priced Jupiter instruments have been totally made at the Gouling factory in Taiwan. The entire Jupiter 500 series are made in China and the Jupiter 700 series are assembled in Taiwan.
The main KHS manufacturing facility at Zhongli, Taiwan, is spread over a 55-acre (220,000 m2) industrial complex, featuring a 300,000-square-foot (28,000 m2) band instrument and drum factory and the KHS manufacturing facility at Tianjin China, is spread over a 30-acre (120,000 m2) site. Imported European components are often used and most raw materials are imported from Japan. Clarinet and saxophone mouthpieces are imported from ESM in Germany and the pearl shell used for keys is imported from Germany. Pads, springs, felt and natural cork are imported from Italy and synthetic cork is imported from France. The brass and silver plates used for the instruments bodies are imported from Japan as are the knock pins and natural cork.
The hand tools used to fashion the musical instrument parts are from Switzerland and the USA and the CNC machines are from Japan. The lacquer used is imported from Britain and the USA and the soldering powder is imported from Canada. All of the KHS manufacturing facilities in Taiwan and China are ISO 9001 certified. KHS has made musical instruments for other companies such as Buffet Crampon (Evette), Vito and Keilwerth ST-90 series IV saxophones, B&S trumpets and Courtois cornets. KHS has made Olds, Blessing, Riley and Arbiter Jazz saxophones.[citation needed]
Brands[edit]
Altus (professional flute)
Azumi (intermediate flute)
Jupiter (wind instruments)
Mapex (percussion)
Ross (mallets)
XO (professional brass)
Serial Numbers[edit]
From 1985 to 1998 the year of manufacture is the first digit of the serial number + 1.For instance a serial number that is 7XXXXX = (7+1) = 8 = 1988 or 1998 and other indicators have to be used to decide whether it was made in 1988 or 1998 because there is no decade information in this serial numbering system and the serial numbers repeat for every decade.
To help decide which decade the instrument is from, the Jupiter logo designs can be used. The earlier Jupiter saxophones have a 'Jupiter and KHS Musical Instrument Co Ltd' logo on the bell and have Taiwan near the model and serial numbers under the thumbrest.This was changed in the early 1990s to a 'Jupiter and KHS Musical Instrument Taiwan' logo on the bell with no Taiwan near the model and serial numbers under the thumbrest.The newer Jupiter saxophones just have a Jupiter logo on the bell and have Taiwan near the model and serial numbers under the thumbrest.Earlier Jupiter instrument cases have a 'Jupiter Wind Instruments' logo and newer Jupiter instrument cases just have a Jupiter logo.
Unfortunately the serial numbering system that was used had no decade information so in 1999 the serial number format was changed from a digit format to a letter format.For instance AXXXXX=1999, BXXXXX=2000 etc.
Common Jupiter Saxophone Model Codes
Higher model numbers (700 series JAS-767GL) are more advanced than the lower model numbers (500 series JAS-565GL)
- JAS = Jupiter Alto Saxophone
- JTS = Jupiter Tenor Saxophone
- JPS = Jupiter Soprano Saxophone
- JBS = Jupiter Baritone Saxophone
Finish Types
- GL = Gold Lacquer
- GN = Nickel-plated keys
- BL = Black
General Finish Types
- L = Lacquer
- S = Silver plate
- N = Nickel plate
'Jupiter' name was licensed by KHS to Roland corporation (unclear when) who produced very successful line of analog synthesizers (Jupiter-4, -6 and -8) in late 70s - early 80s, and the modern digital Jupiter-80 and -50. in 2011. At Roland's Jupiter-80 product page there's a line that says 'JUPITER' is a registered trademark of and is licensed by K.H.S. MUSICAL INSTRUMENT CO. LTD. in the United States and other countries.'
References[edit]
Mapex Serial Numbers Drums
External links[edit]
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jupiter_Band_Instruments&oldid=986212294'
I get emails all of the time with a basic drum description and a serial number from visitors in hopes I can unlock the history of their drum. I think in general serial numbers do play an important role in the commercial market especially electronics and other high end items. In the 60's Insurance companies made it mandatory that serial numbers be put on items so they can be documented. Unfortunately drum companies never really prescribed to any code of documenting a drum based on that serial number. In fact I once heard that they started using serial numbers not for their own use per say but so schools and institutions could keep track of instruments in inventory. I also get people asking what factory a drum might have shipped from or the exact month a drum was made or even the production numbers etc. The ever important serial number which some companies keep detailed records of unfortunately does not exist in the history of drums. We also have to state that much of the record keeping was archaic at best and in some cases history was destroyed in plant fires or just tossed in the garbage!. With that said many drum companies never even used serial numbers early on. In most cases the best way to estimate the date of a drum is its physical characteristics. Fortunately drum companies since the 40's were good at printing catalogs. Earlier catalog examples do exist, but are rare and expensive to acquire. In most cases they also included a host of other band instruments and items related to the music business. These catalogs although re-printed in some cases from year to year with limited changes do provide a timeline of when finishes were added and when hardware was used and or changed on drums. Unfortunately still there is no exact science or way to pinpoint an exact date of a drums manufacture. As collectors and historians we have to settle for a date range or a specific year at best. That being said some drums did get date stamped on the inside shell and that is the most accurate indication when a drum was made. The problem was that the stamp was created with an ink that easily wiped off during routine cleanings! Even if a serial number badge does exist on a drum anomalies do occur and that is because the badges did not have an inventory control system. A more historical perspective and history of this practice was documented by Vintage Drum Center and can be read here. It is also common knowledge that finishes that were discontinued were kept in inventory and people would order them, so production would use the finish. That throws the date of the drum off! This happened with hardware and badges and these companies were competing in an ever aggressive market and had to do what needed to be done to remain profitable. This is especially the case when import drums started flooding the market with a lower priced alternative set of drums. Quick Company Guide:
Ludwig Drum Company - Information Below
Slingerland Drums - Click Here
Rogers Drums - A few people are trying to create a guide, but the best way is the physical characteristics
Leedy - Physical characteristics
Gretsch - Physical characteristics
Anyone left out - Physical characterisitics So if you finally made it to this point then you are almost there! Below you will find information for dating the serial numbers on Ludwig Drums. Here are some references you can use to date by serial number. The web site link is available so feel free to visit their web sites and learn more. I only put them in one location to make it easier for people to get the information. Vintage Drum Center 60's Ludwig dating guide: Also if you wish to purchase vintage drums or new drum gear this is the place to go! If you have this badge you can't use the serial number guides below. Click Here DATE | 1960 to late 1963 | February 24, 1964 | April, 1964 | April, 1965 | July 6, 1965 | October, 1965 | March 19, 1966 | August 30, 1966 | November, 1966 | March, 1967 | June, 1967 | November 15, 1967 | February 6, 1968 | June 21, 1968 | November, 1968 | January, 1969 | February 26, 1969 | September 4, 1969 |
| Ludwig 1960’s Serial Number Time Chart #2 | SERIAL NUMBER | no serial numbers used | 0 – 133,000 | 133,000 – 266,000 | 266,000 – 399,000 | 399,000 – 532,000 | 532,000 – 665,000 | 665,000 – 798,000* | | * Note: At approximately the 750,000 mark in the serial number sequence, Ludwig discontinued the brass Keystone badge and replaced it with the blue and olive parallelogram-shaped badge. |
The Ludwig Drummer.com dating guide from their web site. Only presented because the web site has been going down so I wanted it documented here Rebeats.com historian Rob Cook also a personal friend has an excellent book about ludwig drums you can find by visiting his web site. Here is the dating guide for 60's and 70's Ludwig Drums. The Ludwig Book is invaluable to me as a collector and I strongly suggest you consider buying all of Rob's Books! His books are a complete guide and offers more insight then these tables.
| Keystone Badges | | 1961-1962: | No Numbers | | 1963 | No Numbers - 7900 | | 1964 | 9xxx - 33449 | | 1965 | 108532 - 259xxx | | 1966 | 260xxx - 449xxx | | 1967 | 450xxx - 548xxx | | 1968 | 549xxx - 665372 | | 1969 | 670xxx - 741215 | | Blue & Olive Badges | | 1969 | 765xxx - 834xxx | | 1970 | out of sequence,unnunmered | | 1971 | 835xxx - 895xxx | | 1972 | 896xxx - 916xxx | | 1976 | 917xxx - 1290xxx | | 1978 | xxxxxxx | | 1979 | xxxxxxx - 2013537 |
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Mapex Serial Number Lookup
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