TAMA Imperialstar King Beat 5" x 14" Snare

The TAMA Imperialstar King Beat 5" x 14" Snare was one of the snares owned by Stewart Copeland. He had at least three of these in his collection, according to the Ghost In The Machine tour program.

The King Beat snare was used by Stewart quite heavily during The Police's early years, as part of the TAMA Imperialstar Metallic Blue kit. He recorded with it on both Outlandos D'Amour and Reggatta De Blanc, and had also "carried them around in and out of clubs all over England, Europe and America".

Eventually Stewart stuck with the Pearl hybrid snare, which became his preferred snare for the rest of his career from 1979 onwards.

One of the TAMA King Beat snares that was used to record the first two Police albums was auctioned off individually in 2016, incorrectly named as a "Remo Weather King Piccolo Snare" (which actually refers to the Remo Weather King drum head on the snare).

Another King Beat snare had been sold off along with the blue kit.