Toll Yagami
Much of the information here came from books (Hyper, Love Me, Hyp #3) and magazine articles. Naturally data from 20 years ago will not be up to date, such as their eyesight or favorite things.
Skip ahead to favorite/influential albums or equipment overview.
Profile
real name: first name unknown, last name Higuchi; Toll (Tooru) was his older brother's name (the original drummer in the family) and he thought Yagami was cool (though the name is written in all katakana, the kanji typically used for Yagami would mean "eight gods"); first name rumored among some fans to be Takashi but with different kanji than the "tooru" kanji that Toll uses, which coincidentally can also be read as Takashi (Toll said that he would not reveal his real name because he is selling music, not himself); in 2018, he released his autobiography and officially revealed that his name is Takashi but that fans already know that
nickname: Anii (it means older brother in Japanese; the other members call him this as do some fans and even other musicians)
instrument: drums; percussion (rarely)
first band: Shout (1977-1980)
other bands: Rocking Dynamites, Spots (later known as S.P) (1983-1985)
date of birth: August 19, 1962 (Showa era, year 37)
hometown: Takasaki, Gunma prefecture
siblings: deceased older half-brother; older half-sister who is married with children; younger brother (bassist Yutaka Higuchi); and an older half-brother he doesn't know from his father's first marriage (this extra sibling was not revealed publicly until Toll's autobiography in 2018)
marital status: divorced (detailed in his autobiography however Toll once said that if he ever got married, he would shout out the news to the world but there were no official announcements like there were for the other members to my knowledge)
education: attended Maebashi Ikuei High School (though in another city, roughly 7km from his house) but quit high school after three months, probably in July 1978 as it was just before summer break, and never graduated (high school is not required in Japan; Toll completed the required basic education) [for reference, this is equivalent to quitting during 10th grade in the USA and fifth form/year 11 in the UK]
first record bought: "Let It Be" by The Beatles
favorite...
artist: The Beatles, Kiss, Led Zeppelin (other major influences include the Sex Pistols, Carole King, The Clash, Deep Purple, Boz Scaggs, Leon Russell, Mari Kaneko, Creedance Clearwater Revival, Carol, Boøwy, GFR, Anarchy, Cools, The Cherryboys, etc.)
cigarette: Lark One Pacific Green 100's (previously it has been Salem Pianissimo, Frontier Lights Long, and Mild Seven Light)
color: green, red, white, black
drink: Japanese sake, red wine, sports drinks, lemon tea, water (when performing live)
drummer: Don Brewer (Grand Funk Railroad), Keith Moon (The Who), etc.
food: crab, raw oysters (previously pudding)
movie: Back to the Future, The Final Countdown
season: fall
sport: to watch, boxing; he also likes ping-pong / table tennis (in 9th grade he played baseball and as for baseball, his favorite team is the Yomiuri Giants from Tokyo, the rival team of his brother U-ta's favorite team)
time of day: early evening
favorite / influential albums:
(this information was compiled from various books and interviews)
Led Zeppelin by Led Zeppelin
of all their albums, this one impacted Toll the most. When asked who is the one artist that changed your life, Toll declared it was John Bonham.
Who's Next by the Who
Toll jokes that he's a twin bass drummer who doesn't use two basses so he likes Keith Moon because they are alike; he likes the cover art of this album as well
Let It Be by The Beatles
Toll's older brother owned this album and he recalls that they would study in the same room so he The Beatles has been in his heart since he was just a kid. Let it Be was the first single Toll bought when he was in elementary school; he likes the later period of The Beatles.
Funky Monkey Baby by Carol
Carol was the first rock music that Toll thought was good. Toll's first band was in 9th grade and they copied Carol songs. When asked what was the one album that changed your life, Toll declared it was this one.
1984 by Van Halen
this is the first Van Halen album Toll bought and he likes the drums on it
No Secrets by Carly Simon
this is one Toll's older brother owned; Toll likes the melodies and arrangments
Live in Japan by Deep Purple
Toll thinks that the quality of the sound on this album is so good that it's hard to believe it's live. He also prefers the sound of the drummer live than in the studio.
Big Deal by Cools Rockabilly Club
Cactus by Cactus
Toll has liked Cactus for a long time, if he had to chose this would be his favorite album
Urban Renewal by Tower of Power
Rich versus Roach--A Battle of Bands and Drums by Buddy Rich and
Max Roach
Toll listened to this a lot in 1991
Abraxas by Carlos Santana
Toll listened to this in elementary school, 2nd or 3rd grade, as his older brother drove the car, at first he didn't like it; this is probably Toll's first taste of foreign music
Middle Man by Boz Scaggs
Iijanaika by The Mops
at the time The Mops made an impact on Toll and he likes the cover art too
Cosmo's Factory by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Toll likes anything by CCR; one of the songs he especially likes is "Who'll Stop the Rain"
Misslim by Yumi Arai
Toll likes Yuming's beginning, when she was 19 or 20; he also likes the cover image
The Edgar Winter Collection by Edgar Winter
Toll owns another album on vinyl, but since it's not available on CD, he bought this one on CD but he thinks the songs are really good
Live Album by Grand Funk Railroad
Toll has been watching bands play live on tv since he was in elementary school and that is when he became a fan of Grand Funk Railroad.
Who the Rockers by the Rockers
Toll studied the fast drums on this album when he was 19 and he thought it was very cool
Flapper by Minako Yoshida
Toll used to listen to a lot of female vocalists such as this singer. Minako was the guest vocalist on Buck-Tick's song "Nocturne -Rain Song-" (2003).
Boston by Boston
Toll likes to listen to mellow songs so that aspect of this album is good;he also likes the choruses
Pinups by Pinups
Toll has been listening to this since around 1981, when it was released, after Carol
Never Mind the Bollocks--Here's the Sex Pistols by the Sex
Pistols
Toll listened to this one when it first came out and really enjoyed the riffs; he was in 9th grade. This is the punk band for him, there is no other greater punk band.
Here We Are by Princess Princess
Alive From Planet Earth by Lenny Kravitz (video)
Equipment Overview
Skip ahead to drums used in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s.
Toll used to play Pearl drums with Sabian cymbals, but since Darker Than Darkness he prefers Ludwig drums with Paiste cymbols. He based this new setup on Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple by using 2 bass drums, 2 tom-toms, 2 floors, etc. (As you can tell, his musical influences are quite different from the rest of the band. He prefers classic rock. His idol John Bonham was famous for his Ludwig/Paiste kit.) Around the Six/Nine period, Toll reduced his kit to only 1 bass drum for a couple years. Since around the mid-late 1990s, Toll often has the album or tour logo on his bass drum heads. As Buck-Tick incorporates more electronics into their sound, Toll has to wear a click track for certain songs. He's used drum pads as part of his setup since at least the recording of Aku No Hana. For many years, Toll's drum setup has included an electric fan to help keep him cool while drumming live.
At various times, Toll signature model drumsticks have been available for purchase but I am not sure when was the first year they were available. Rarely they are for sale at Buck-Tick concerts so one would need to purchase these at a musical instrument shop.
Toll owns many many many drum kits. He has so many sets in assorted colors that they are stored in a warehouse the size of an airplane hanger. I saw a photo of him in that warehouse in a magazine once and most of the drums visible were ones I've never seen him use in Buck-Tick up until that point. He may have used them later, I just don't know as I regretablly didn't buy the magazine.
Equipment: 1980s
I do not know much about Toll's drum set in the 1980s. Compared to later years, it seems to be a fairly standard setup, with the exception of Toll's quirk of having two bass drums but not really utilizing both. He appears to have a floor tom on each side of him but then he doubled it as time went on. In some concert photos, a setlist was taped to an unused drum head to his left. There's also a Buck-Tick sticker visible on one of the toms. Artwork on the bass drum heads would come in the next decade. Pearl is visible on the drums and I think he used a mix of Zildjian and Sabian cymbals. I'm not sure what brand of drum heads he was using in the Indies scene but after their major debut, in late 1987 it's clear that he's using Remo Controlled Sound black dot drum heads. For perhaps the first half of 1988, he also incorporated Remo rototoms in his live kit.
The drum set pictured to the right is from 1986 and it is presumed that this is what was used for the recording of the Indies single in 1986 and album in 1987. Kit consisted of:
Pearl drums with Zildjian cymbals
12" x 3 1/2" & 13" x 3 1/2" toms
16" x 16" & 18" x 16" floor toms
two 22" x 16" bass drums
14" x 6 1/2" snare
14" new beat hi hats
16" thin crash
18" medium crash
20" medium ride
18" swish
Pearl 106A 106H drumsticks
Back view of the drum kit.
Below are images from Toll's drums in music videos from 1987 and 1988.
Equipment: 1990s
The drum set pictured to the right was the one used during the recording of Aku No Hana. At this point he had recently changed his bass drum pedals to a dual chain drive as he had issues with controlling the beaters with his previous pedals. Toll drew a diagram to illustrate the specifics (see below). When the band was touring for the album, logos had been added to the bass drums.
1 = 10" x 4" tom
2 = 12" x 4" tom
3 = 18" x 16" floor tom
4 = 22" x 16" bass drums (2)
5 = 14" x 3 1/2" picolo snare
6 = 16" medium crash
7 = 18" medium crash
8 = 18" chinese regular
9 = 21" heavy ride
10 = 22" china cymbal
11 = 14" flat hats
12 = 16 x 16 floor tom
13 = Boss synth pad
14 = Pearl synth pad
15 = Pearl synth pad
16 = Akai S1000
isu = chair (written in Japanese)
Back view of the drum kit. Also, here's another, larger, easier to understand drawing.
The synth pads are connected to the Akai S1000. Toll's sticks are made from hickory by Pearl, they are the Toll Yagami model, 14.5 x 415 mm, and were not available for purchase. He also used a Yamama DX100 sampler, pictured with the sample discs below.
Toll's setup for the recording of Koroshi No Shirabe (1992) was a Pearl FX series with Sabian symbols. For the first time, his setup also included a snare made by Sota (handmade in America), he changed his drum heads from Remo to Evans. (Although for live performances, I believe he was still using Remo heads as the black dot is evident through the 2000s, or perhaps he switched to Ludwig silver dot, which is actually made by Remo.) The full kit consisted of 2 bass drums but for recording he used only one.
full kit details unknown
Toll's first Ludwig setup (pictured to the right) was used during the tour for Darker Than Darkness (1993). He also changed to Paiste cymbals. Kit consisted of:
Ludwig speed king pedal
Ludwig stainless steel shell set
24" x 14" & 26" x 14" bass drums
16" x 16" & 18" x 18" floor toms
13" x 12" & 10" x 7" double head toms
14" x 14" & 15" x 14" single head toms
15" paiste giant beat hi hats
12" the paiste cymbal
18" paiste 2002 crash
20" paiste 2002 crash
24" ride
20" istanbul
Back view of the drum kit. (2 synth pads visible)
Toll's Six/Nine (1995) setup continued to use Ludwig and all Paiste cymbols. Specifically the model is Ludwig '70 stainless steel. This is the first time Toll's only used 1 bass drum in Buck-Tick. The specifics are (see drums diagram and rack diagram):
24" x 14" bass drum
10" x 5" & 12" x 8" toms
16" x 16" & 18" x 18" double head floor toms
14" x 5" single head floor tom
14" x 6 1/2" snare
8" splash cymbal
15" the paiste hi hats
18" crash
20" crash
24" ride 2002
20" china
Back view of the drum kit. (2 synth pads visible)
In a couple of the music videos filmed for Six/Nine, Toll can be seen playing a very simple kit, possibly mimicking Ringo Starr as his bass drum head also has "The Buck-Tick" in a font just like The Beatles.
In some television performances from around this time, Toll's bass drum heads are clear but at least in one performance, he was using 2 bass drums and they had the Six/Nine logo on them. I am not sure which kit he used for the tour. So many of the tour photos I have found in magazines are close-ups and the bass drums aren't visible. This is one area I need to return to do research on.
Toll's Cosmos (1996) setup used the Ludwig 1970s Vistalite (after his drum hero John Bonham) and long Regal sticks. The specifics are:
24" bass drum
12" & 13" toms
16" & 18" floor toms
14" x 6 1/2" snare
15" hi hats
16" crash
18" crash
24" ride
22" china
Toll's Sexy Stream Liner (1997) seems to be quite similar to the previous setup, only the bass drum is smaller. This setup comprised of Ludwig drums and Paiste cymbols. Drumsticks used at the time were Regal Toll Yagami original model. The specifics are (diagram included):
1 = 22" x 14" bass drum
2 = 14" x 6 1/2" snare
3 = 12" x 8" tom
4 = 13" x 9" tom
5 = 16" x 16" floor tom
6 = 18" x 16" floor tom
A = 15" hi hats
B = 16" crash
C = 18" crash
D = 24" ride
E = 20" china
F = Roland synth pad
G = Simmons synth pad
Back view of the drum kit. (2 synth pads visible)
Toll's drum rack included a Akai ME35T (audio midi trigger) and Akai S1000 (midi audio digital sampler).
During a television performance in 1998 (pictured below), it can be seen that Toll added another bass drum to the above kit to return to his double bass drum setup and has the Sexy Stream Liner logo on the bass drum heads.
For a television performance in 1999, Toll's kit got really funky. It appeared that he had floor toms placed in a position that would be difficult to reach along with suspended cymbals. Additionally, one of the floor toms appears to have a couple of snare wires attached to it and is upside down. (Possibly orchestral drums?) I think all of this was done for the television performance. The guitarists have a couple of times made it obvious that they're not playing live so perhaps Toll did the same.
Equipment: 2000s
Close-up of bass drum used during One Life, One Death (2000) supporting tours.
Pictures only for Toll's setup mid/late 2002-2003. (The custom bass drum heads are reminiscent of an earlier Pearl kit (see above for picture of Aku No Hana recording setup.)
Toll's kit to record Mona Lisa Overdrive (2003) included:
Ludwig stainless steel, wood, and Vistalite
two 22 bass drums
12" toms
10" toms
16" floor toms
1920s Ludwig black beauty snare
Paiste 2002 series cymbals:
15" hi hats
16" crash
18" crash
24" ride
20" china
synth pad (probably the Simmons)
The black beauty as photographed in 2022:
Pictures only for Toll's setup in 2004. Ludwig Vistalite.
Pictures only for Toll's setup in 2007. Simmons synth pad still in use.
Equipment: 2010s
Toll's setup as visible during Razzle Dazzle tour: Gretsch drums, Paiste cymbals, Pearl hardware, Simmons synth pad still in use. I think his Gretsch drums tend to use Gretsch drum heads.
Close-up of bass drum used during Razzle Dazzle (2010) supporting tours.
Setup for At the Night Side 2012
Close-up of bass drum used during Yume Miru Uchuu (2012) supporting tours.
Gretsch Toll Yagami Signature Snare
For Buck-Tick's 25th major debut anniversary in 2012, Toll finally had a signature drum for sale to the public. 2 different snares were made available at the same size but with different metal shells. Each snare included signature drumsticks and a signed certificate of authenticity. It appears that only 25 of each were made in the Gretsch USA custom shop.
S-4514B-TY (chrome over brass) or S-4514S-TY (steel shell)
size: 4.5" x 14"
shell: brass shell
finish: chrome
strainer throw off: GS-DLSTO
strainer butt plate: GS-DBDS
lugs: NC-5472 (8 lugs)
hoop: chrome 1.6mm steel hoop 8H (top), chrome 1.6mm steel hoop 8H (bottom)
tension rod with washers: G-5450
snare wires: G5418 20 snare wires
drum head: G5602P
permatone: coated 14" (top), G5568P snare side 14" (bottom)
badge: octagon badge with artist name
serial number: BTY-B01 through BTY-B025
In 2012, Toll turned 50 years old and a special concert was held were his Blue Sky project performed. Since then, he sometimes holds shows on/around his birthday. This is one of the drumheads used for the birthday shows called It's A Now! Toll has remarked that his drums are arranged slightly differently for these shows than for Buck-Tick. Since it's showcasing him, the cymbals are lowered and more horizontal so that he is easier to see for the audience.
Toll returned to a single bass drum and an overall very basic looking kit for the "Keijijou Ryuusei" music video.
Arui Wa Anarchy Tour 2014
Close-up of bass drum used during the Metaform Nights -Arui Wa Anarchy- Tour 2014.
Setup for The Parade (2017)
Setup for the Day In Question 2017
In the Day In Question 2017 live concert video, a Big Fat Snare Drum donut snare topper can be seen hanging below a crash cymbal. Gretsch drums with Paiste cymbals.
Close-up of bass drum used during the supporting tours for No.0 (2018).
Overhead view of the drum set used in the music video for "Kemonotachi No Yoru" (2019).
Close-up of bass drum used in 2019.
The video for "Moonlight Escape" (2020) had a huge bass drum.
Setup for the Day In Question 2020
Close-up of bass drum used for Toll's side project birthday gig It's A Now! (2021).
Close-up of bass drum used for Toll's side project appearance at a gig celebrating his friend Kenta Harada's 50th birthday. Modified existing drum head with handwritten text for the occasion. Please note the extra drumsticks on top of the bass drum, which is different than how Toll stores extra drumsticks for Buck-Tick live shows.
album: East West '85 (lp)
album: Super Rock Summit ~Tengoku He No Kaidan~
