Tama Drums

For the traditional Senegalese drum, see Talking drum.
Tama Drums
Private
Industry Musical instruments
Founded 1974 (1974)
Headquarters Seto, Aichi, Japan
Products Drum kits
Hardware
Tenor drums
Snare drums
Parent Hoshino Gakki
Website tama.com

Tama Drums is a brand of drum kits and hardware manufactured and marketed by the Japanese musical instrument company, Hoshino Gakki. Tama's research and development of products, along with production of its professional drums, is done in Seto, Japan,[1] while its hardware and more affordable drums are manufactured in Guangzhou, China.[2] Hoshino has several offices around the world for marketing and wholesale distribution. Drums destined for the U.S. market are assembled and stocked at Hoshino (U.S.A.) in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. The U.S. subsidiary also contributes to Tama's market research and development.

History

Hoshino Gakki began manufacturing drums in 1965 under the name "Star Drums". Hoshino, the family name of the founder, translates to "star field," thus the selection of the "Star Drums" brand name. The drums were manufactured at Hoshino's subsidiary, Tama Seisakusho, which had opened in 1962 to manufacture Ibanez guitars and amplifiers. While the production of guitars and amps was moved out of the factory by 1966, the production of drums there continued to grow. The two higher lines of drum models, Imperial Star and Royal Star, were introduced to the American market and were successful lower-cost drums competing against more expensive American-made drums offered by Rogers, Ludwig, and Slingerland at the time.

By 1979, Hoshino decided to make a concerted effort to make high-quality drums and hardware and start marketing its drums under the Tama brand. Tama was the name of the owner's wife, and means "jewel" in Japanese. "Star" continues to be used in the names of Tama's drum models to this day.

Tama and Drum Workshop (DW) jointly bought the bankrupt Camco Drum Company. As part of the deal, DW received the Camco tooling and manufacturing equipment while Tama received the Camco name, designs, engineering and patent rights.

At the time, Camco was producing what was thought to be the best drum pedal on the market. DW continued production of the pedal using the original tooling, rebadging it as the DW5000. Tama began production of the same pedal under the Camco name. The Tama version of the Camco pedal is commonly referred to as the Tamco pedal to distinguish it from an original Camco pedal. Tama integrated all the engineering from Camco into their production process and the overall level of quality of their drums increased virtually overnight. The original plan was to market the low-end Tama drums to beginners and use the Camco brand to sell high-end drums to professional musicians. However, even the professionals were starting to use the Tama drums because of the low cost of the Asian-made drums with the (now) high quality of hardware.[3]

Tama was one of the first companies to offer super heavy-duty hardware, and drum mounting systems that did not intrude into the shell like most brands in the 1970s. They also invented unique tubular drums called Octobans. Octobans are 6" in diameter and are manufactured in eight different lengths (hence the prefix "octo-") up to 600mm (23.5"). They vary in pitch by using different shell lengths, rather than widths.

Products

Drums

Artstar Custom.
12x8" tom-tom.
Lars Ulrich signature.
Starclassic Bubinga logo.
Starclassic Performer B/B badge, lacquered white oyster finish.
Side View of a Speed Cobra single pedal.

Beginner and professional kits

Starclassic series

The Starclassic series is one of Tama's high-end line of drums. Originally hand-crafted in Japan until late 2009, most of the Starclassic lines are now made in TAMA's Chinese factory. A notable difference is that post 2009 Japanese production Starclassics have their badges painted on the drum's shell, while Chinese-made Starclassics feature badges fitted onto the shell with screws. Pre 2010 Japanese production Starclassics have a mix of paint-on and screw-on badges depending on the model. All Starclassic series drums come with a more streamlined version of Tama's Star-Cast mounting system made from aluminum, air-cushioned floor tom legs, "Hold Tight" washers which keeps the tension rods in place (Starclassic Maple to Starclassic Bubinga Elite), die-cast hoops, and Evans drumheads as standard equipment. The drums are also available in a Hyper-Drive configuration, with individual snare drums also available.

STAR series

For 2013, it is Tama's new flagship line. STAR drums are available with either bubinga or maple shells. New features for the STAR line include "Super Resonant Mounting System", unique shell construction, and the Quick-Lock Tom Bracket. Bubinga shell drums are made with 5 plies of bubinga plus one inner ply of Cordia and have 9mm Sound Control Rings. Maple shell drums are made with 5 plies of maple and have 5mm Sound Control Rings. Currently, Tama offers the STAR series in Bubinga, Walnut, and Maple.[4]

Discontinued

Snare drums

Hardware

In addition to manufacturing drums, Tama also offers a variety of stands, pedals, thrones and multi-clamps as well as a rack system.

RoadPro
Tama's top-of-the-line series of stands aimed at traveling musicians, as RoadPro stands for "Road-Proven". It features double-braced legs, die-cast joints, a reversible cymbal sleeve, and Tama's patented Cymbal Mate. RoadPro cymbal stands also feature TAMA's Quick-Set Tilter for adjusting the cymbal to any angle.
Stage Master
Tama's bottom-line series of hardware with single and double-braced versions available.
PowerTower Rack
Tama's rack system featuring a variety of pipes, clamps, and accessories for a custom drum rack.
1st Chair Throne systems
Tama's top-of-the-line thrones with possible options of a hydraulic lift and back rest.

Pedals

Speed Cobra
Introduced in 2010, the Speed Cobra line features double and single pedal versions that are designed to be lighter, more responsive and have more power than the Iron Cobra series. The Speed Cobra pedals include new features as well as many similar features to the Iron Cobra series.
Iron Cobra
Introduced in 1992 the Iron Cobra line features a selection of Tama's top-of-the-line pedals double pedals and hi-hat stands.

Other

Notable Artists

Past endorsers

References

  1. Hoshino Gakki Mfg. Co., Ltd. profile
  2. Guangzhou Hoshino Gakki Mfg. Co., Ltd. profile
  3. http://www.tamadrum.co.jp/anniversary/expansion.php?cat_id=33&now=2
  4. http://www.tamadrum.co.jp/product/drum_data.php?year=2013&id=10&area=2
  5. http://www.tamadrum.co.jp/anniversary/expansion.php?cat_id=33&now=3
  6. http://www.tamadrum.co.jp/STARPHONIC/index_u.html
  7. http://www.tamadrum.co.jp/product/snare_series.php?sig_flg=1&year=2013&area=2
  8. http://tama.com/slp/index.html

External links

See also

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