Tama Drums

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Tama Drums

Type	Private
Founded	1974
Headquarters	Japan
Industry	musical instruments
Products	drums, drum hardware
Parent	Hoshino Gakki
Website	tama.com

Tama Drums is a brand of drums and hardware manufactured and marketed by the Japanese musical instrument company, Hoshino Gakki. Tama is one of the largest and best-known drum brands on the market today (ref). The brand became known primarily for its hardware innovations and sturdiness, but its drums are also highly regarded (ref). 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.

Contents 1 History 2 Drums 2.1 Limited Edition (Made in Japan) 2.2 Limited Production (Made in Japan) 2.3 Mass Production (Made in Japan) 2.4 Mass Production (Made in China) 3 Hardware 3.1 Iron Cobra 3.2 Roadpro 3.3 StageMaster 3.4 PowerTower Rack 3.5 Multi-Clamps and Accessories 4 External links 5 References

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 1974, 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. In keeping with its heritage, "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 the low cost of the Asian made drums with the (now) high quality of hardware was a great combination.

The Iron Cobra has the same configuration options as the original Camco pedal and the current DW5000 pedal. These are Power Glide, Rolling Glide and Flexi Glide. Power Glide pedals have an offset cam chain drive. This causes the beater to accelerate faster towards the end of the pedal stroke. This drive system is identical to the DW Accelerator pedals (DW5000AD or DW5000AX models) or the Camco Deluxe model bass drum pedals. The Rolling Glide pedals maintain a fixed ratio of footboard speed to beater speed and the drive system is identical to the DW Turbo pedals (DW5000TD3 or DW5000CX). Finally, the Flexi Glide pedals are a Kevlar strap driven pedal that has the exact same drive system that was found on the Camco pedals in the 1950s. Again, DW makes a pedal with this same drive system under the DW5000ND3 and DW5000NX model names.

Tama was one of the first companies to offer super heavy duty hardware, and drum mounting systems that didn't 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 600 mm (23.5"). They vary in pitch by using different shell lengths, rather than widths. Notable users include Stewart Copeland of The Police, Jukka Nevalainen of Nightwish, Dave Mackintosh of Dragonforce, Paul Mazurkiewicz of Cannibal Corpse, Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater, Simon Phillips of Toto, Gustav Schafer of Tokio Hotel, David Silveria was in Korn, Lars Ulrich of Metallica, and since (1993-2009) Christoph Schneider of Rammstein. Tama snares were unique in that they offered a cast bell brass shell at a time that they were very rare on the market. Tama developed the Techstar line of electronic drums. These were one of the few that used a real drumhead instead of a solid rubber surface.

Drums

Tama produces a full line of drums from hand-made limited edition models to mass-produced models for beginners or budget-minded drummers, in a wide range of sizes, materials, and finishes. Tama brands its professional drums as Starclassic. Regular production models are available in 100% bubinga shells, 100% maple shells, and birch/bubinga hybrid shells, as well as metal-shelled snare drum models made from brass. Limited edition models may feature special woods and/or finishes. All Starclassic drums feature die-cast hoops, as opposed to the more common cold-rolled triple-flanged hoops. All Starclassic drums are currently manufactured in Japan, but Tama plans to move some of its mass production of Starclassic drums to its Chinese factory to enable its Japanese factory to focus more on hand-made limited edition models.

Presently the Superstar and Imperialstar lines are cheaper, featuring birch/basswood hybrid shells and 100% poplar shells, respectively. These models are all manufactured in China. In the 1970s and 80s, Tama's "Superstar" and "Imperialstar" lines were the sole premier products of the company.

The interiors of 1970s-80s Imperialstars, and most Swingstars and Royalstars, shared Zola-Coated inner shells. Nothing more than trunk paint, Rogers Drums and other U.S. companies had used a similar process to seal off uneven grain in the lower cost woods that comprised the lauan shells of the sub-lines. The Superstar of the 1970s and 80s had thick birch shells. The Artstar I had thinner cordia outer and inner ply/birch shells with long lugs whereas the late 80s-early 90s Artstar IIs had thinner maple shells. In the 90s, Artstar Customs (now with die-cast hoops) replaced the Artstar II. The Granstar was a covered birch kit, Granstar Custom/Crestar were lacquered birch kit, like the Superstars.

Tama has a summer and winter release of new types of drums every year. These releases coincide with the National Association of Music Manufacturers (NAMM) Biannual convention. Twice a year, at these times Tama restocks the shelves of the specialty drum shops with new limited edition and limited production drums. Specialty drum shops and chain music stores get supplied with mass production drums as needed. Add-on toms are special order drums made to expand an existing drumset, and are available through specialty drum shops.

Tama Drums are hand made. On most Limited edition and limited production drums, the inside of each shell is signed by the person who crafted the drum. Most Limited Edition sets have matching snare drums, while most other sets are sold as "shell packs" without a matching snare, or with a metal snare from the same line. Tama was one of the first companies to offer super heavy duty hardware, and a free floating drum mounting system (StarCast) at the time of its appearance the mounting system was unique as unlike standard tom mounting systems where the mount is attached to the shell, the StarCast system suspends the tom from its upper rim, allowing the shell to resonate freely for a much improved sound.

Tama's cordia wood Artstar line (again introduced by Neil Peart's iconic red prototype) ushered in an era of thinner drum shells. The artstar was Tama's turning point away from heavy and thick shelled drums. Tama's cordia/birch wood artstar II were aimed at the competitions higher priced drums with an exotic finish. The lower price made them a bargain compared to European brands. The modern equivalent of the Artstar II, are the Starclassic Maple however the shells are now presently thinner than their older counterparts.

With new high end Birch wood designs, Tama was looking at the American drummer to pay for the higher quality shell & the very best hardware. Their revolutionary “Omin-sphere“ tom L-Rod stands were the excellent ability to adjust the tom tom drum’s position to be vastly more “omni-directional though not entirely.

Limited Edition (Made in Japan)

• Starclassic Maple EFX (Maple shells; Silk wrap)
• Starclassic Maple Reserve (Curly Maple/Maple Shell, Abalone Inlays, Brushed Nickel Hardware)
• Starclassic Mirage (Acrylic black and trasparent shells)
• Starclassic EXOTIX 2007: Warlord (Quilted African Bubinga/African Bubinga Shell, Swarovski Crystals inlayed on lug casings and badges, Warlord styled Brushed Nickel Hardware)
• Starclassic Performer Limited Edition (Birch shells in "New Fusion" sizes, Metallic lacquer finish with a glitter accent stripe, Black Nickel Hardware)

Limited Production (Made in Japan)

• Starclassic Bubinga Omni-Tune (African Bubinga shells; lacquer finish with abalone inlays and special Omni-Tune lugs)
• Starclassic Bubinga Elite (African Bubinga shells; outer ply of Exotic wood; Lacquer exotic finish)
• Starclassic Bubinga Elite EFX (African Bubinga shells; Multi-sparkle covered finishes)
• Starclassic Bubinga (African Bubinga shells with outer ply of Maple; Starclassic-type lugs; lacquer finish)
• Starclassic Bubinga EFX (African Bubinga shells; Glitter Wrap)
• Starclassic Performer B/B EFX (Birch/African Bubinga shells; Glitter Wrap)
• Starclassic Performer B/B (Birch/African Bubinga shells; lacquer finish)

Mass Production (Made in Japan)

• Starclassic Maple (Maple shells; lacquer finish)
• Starclassic Performer (Birch shells; lacquer finish)

Mass Production (Made in China)

• Superstar Hyperdrive Custom (Birch/Basswood shells; lacquer finish)
• Superstar Hyperdrive EFX (Birch/Basswood shells; Satin wrap)
• Superstar Hyperdrive (Birch/Basswood shells; solid color wrap)
• Superstar (Birch/Basswood shells; solid color wrap)
• Imperialstar (Poplar shells; solid color wrap)

Hardware

TAMA, in addition to manufacturing drums, also offers a variety of stands, pedals, multi-clamps, and a rack system.

Iron Cobra

The IronCobra line features a selection of TAMA's top of the line pedals and hi-hat stands.

• Bass drum pedals:
  • Power Glide single and double pedal - Features an offset cam for increased power and speed
  • Rolling Glide single and double pedal - Features a rounded cam for uniform response
  • Flexi Glide single and double pedal - Features a traditional strap drive cam
• Hi-hat stands:
  • Lever-Glide Hi-hat stand - Features a lever pull system
  • Velo-Glide Hi-hat stand - Features a traditional pull-action chain
• Other:
  • CobraClutch - Attaches to the side of a hi-hat stand to allow the cymbals to be closed or open; a foot-controlled version of the drop-clutch

Roadpro

Roadpro, or "Road Proven", is TAMA's top of the line series of stands aimed at traveling musicians. It offers double braced legs, Die-cast joints, and features a reversible cymbal sleeve and TAMA's patented Cymbal Mate. Roadpro stands also feature TAMA's Quick-Set Tilter for adjusting the cymbal to any angle.

• Cymbal Stands:
  • HC74BWN Boom Cymbal Stand w/Counterweight - Features an extended boom length with a counterweight, and Quick-Set Tilter
  • HC73BWN Boom Cymbal Stand - Features Quick-Set Tilter
  • HC72WN Straight Cymbal Stand - Features Quick-Set Tilter
  • HTC77WN Boom Cymbal Stand w/Single Tom Mount
• Tom Stands:
  • HTW739W Double Tom Stand - Features TAMA's Stilt system to allow angling of the stand
  • HTW749W Double Tom Stand - Four leg design and shorter height for larger toms
• Snare Stands:
  • HS700WN Snare Stand - Features an Omni-Ball tilter similar to the system used for TAMA's tom arms
  • HS70WN Snare Stand - Features TAMA's Quick-Set Tilter
  • HS70PWN Snare Stand - Smaller basket for 12" snare drums
• Hi-Hat Stands:
  • HH75W Hi-Hat stand

StageMaster

TAMA's bottom line hardware series including both single and double-braced versions of each type of stand.

• Cymbal Stands:
  • HC33BW/HC33BS Boom Cymbal Stand
  • HC32W/HC32S Straight Cymbal Stand
• Tom Stands:
  • Double Tom Stand
• Snare Stands:
  • HS30W/HS30S Snare Stand
• Hi-Hat Stands:
  • HH35W/HH35S Hi-Hat Stand

PowerTower Rack

TAMA's rack system featuring a variety of pipes, clamps, and accessories for a custom drum rack.

Multi-Clamps and Accessories

A variety of clamps and parts for mounting.

External links

• http://www.tama.com/ Official Company Homepage
• http://www.tama.com/history/ Official Company History
• http://www.hoshinogakki.co.jp/ Hoshino Gakki Homepage
• http://tamarchive.tripod.com The Tama Drums Reference Page

References

1. ^ http://www.hoshinogakki.co.jp/hoshino_e/profiles/profiles03.html Hoshino Gakki Mfg. Co., Ltd. profile
2. ^ http://www.hoshinogakki.co.jp/hoshino_e/profiles/profiles07.html Guangzhou Hoshino Gakki Mfg. Co., Ltd. profile

"Tama's commitment to brand integrity" Music Trades magazine, Nov. 2007 [1]