Tama has rolled out its latest Simon Phillips signature snare, the SP1465, and it’s every bit as refined and personal as the drummer it was made for. This new model, the fifth in a line that already includes “The Pageant,” “The Gladiator,” “The Monarch,” and a 40th anniversary edition, isn’t just another high-end drum. It’s a clear extension of Phillips’ own sonic fingerprint.
This time around, they’ve gone with African mahogany, an 8-ply, 14×6.5 shell with a 6mm thickness that gives the drum a rounded, full-bodied tone. There’s weight to it. Not just physically, but tonally: dark, warm, controlled, but still open enough to sing when pushed. Tama’s added 6mm Sound Focus Rings, which help shape the response, especially when things get busy on the snare. It’s meant to be articulate, not muddy. And it is.
The snare wires, 20-strand carbon steel, model MS20S-S, are what Tama calls “Steel Sensitive.” They sit well under the head and feel tight without choking the drum. There’s a snap there, but also room to breathe when playing ghost notes or softer accents. This snare wants you to play dynamically. It rewards it.
Hardware-wise, the SP1465 leans premium without being flashy. You get brass Mighty Hoops with eight lugs and Tama’s MSL90S lugs. The heads are classic: Remo Coated Ambassador on top, Remo Snare Ambassador on the bottom: no surprises, just trusted components. The strainer setup uses Tama’s MLS50A Linear-Drive with the matching MLS50B butt plate in chrome. Functional, reliable, smooth. Exactly what you’d expect at this level.
Now the finish, that’s where it gets a bit more personal. British Racing Green. The same rich green Phillips used on his Starclassic kits during their second-gen run. There’s a quiet class to it, not showy but far from plain. It’s one of those choices that feels intentional. According to Phillips, it’s among his favorite colors, which makes sense when you see it in person.
He mentioned that the inspiration came during a visit to the HQ of Tama in Nagoya, where he happened to try out a mahogany snare that caught his ear immediately. He couldn’t recall if it was Peter Erskine who brought it up, but the tone stuck with him. That one drum: its warmth, its character, ended up guiding the entire direction of this model.
Simon Phillips has always straddled worlds: prog, jazz, rock, fusion. He’s a technician, sure, but also someone who plays with tone as much as time. His signature snares reflect that. They’ve never been about flash; they’ve always been about clarity, presence, and control. This one? It might be the warmest yet.
African mahogany isn’t the most common choice these days: it sits in the shadow of maple, birch, even hybrid shells. But here, it feels like the right call. It’s got that vintage color to the tone, but it behaves like something far more modern. There’s a subtlety to the way it reacts, almost like it holds back until you really lean in.
Tama didn’t just slap a name on a drum and call it a day. The SP1465 feels like the result of someone chasing a very specific sound and landing it. Every piece of the build, from wood to hardware to head choice, works together without anything feeling out of place.
For drummers looking for something that blends richness and responsiveness, studio clarity with live bite, this drum earns a serious look. It’s not trying to be everything. It just knows exactly what it is, and does it really, really well.