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Drum maker Ryan Baker, started building drums and percussion instruments in high school in 1990. He received his undergraduate degree in music composition in 1998 from California Institute of the Arts, where he also studied percussion, instrument making and the principles of acoustics. In 1997 he began experimenting with Taiko making for a thesis project utilizing hand made and unique musical instruments. Taiko making progressed into a tiny business in 1999. In 2004 the name Akamatsu Taiko Workshops was adopted.
Committed to working in an environmentally moral manner we only use wood harvested from local “urban hardwood” trees that have been felled in storms or landslides, or cut to make way for roads or construction. Typically, these trees are cut up and placed in dumps despite the fact that they can yield premium quality lumber. By salvaging and utilizing these trees and other urban hardwoods, we reduce stress on our nation's forests while giving new life to trees that otherwise would be sent to landfills.