Are Tama Drums relativity good?

Tonman20

Member
I'm a drummer and been playing drums since the day I first started, the first kit I brought was a toy mini drum kit one sliver crash cymbal three drums that's it, but that wasn't enough.

I needed a real drum kit for my musical taste, and a drum teacher who would teach me these lessons that I learn later on, but when I saw a Tama red Artstar kit, I found out that this drum kit was an 80s kit which was created by a guy named Hoshino Gakki the man who began manufacturing drums in 1961 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 Drum Company 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 is also a homophone with the Japanese word meaning "jewel". "Star" continues to be used in the names of Tama's drum models to this day. Seeing Tama Artstar Red kit was the seeds planted for my first Tama Drum Kit, The Silverstar Red Sparkle Kit, I later brought a Tama catalogues from between 2012 and 2015 probably, all of these guys who were drummers in the period of decades playing Tama so I thought "I think Tama was a Japanese drum brand" so in February 2016 I went to SkyCity when Music Center at the time has hidden somewhere, I brought the Tama Sliverstar Red Sparkle Kit and I brought it at living hall, which is a space for privacy of drummers only.

Most of my favorite drummers playing Tama drums is a perfect timing for the drum brand itself, I imagine how much practicing I literally get for this kit, in space of 10 years later I still have this drum kit, it sounded perfectly and musically, I can be happy to say but the legacy of Tama's Legacy continues.

What do you guys think? Are Tama Drums relativity good for in my opinion?

Hopefully it will be things to come, and one day I will have an Endorsement Deal with Tama, so I reflect on the journey to find a drum kit is remarkable for the Bulgarian drummers, The kits the hardware sticks hi hat pedals double bass pedals single pedals you name it, it's became a world of drum collection for me having a dream like this, it's surreal and I couldn't done it without my first drum teacher that's well that ends well.

You people can understand my Tama story and sure as good, make impossible for me not having a Tama kit, but now I got one, the kits I will look into were gonna included in my Tama Drum Kit collection also I will have my snare drum collection after I half finish my drum stick collection and memorabilia, enjoy the day everyone, it's incredible to have the Tama Sliverstar Red Sparkle Kit in the living hall and improvising it, Good Times of playing and practicing.
 
Tama Fan here! I own 3 Kits and two Tama Snares. They make high quality drums for a competitive price. Their Hardware is the best in the industry as well. The best Snare ever made is a Tama Bell Brass that retails for $3000 if you can find one.
 
Tama Fan here! I own 3 Kits and two Tama Snares. They make high quality drums for a competitive price. Their Hardware is the best in the industry as well. The best Snare ever made is a Tama Bell Brass that retails for $3000 if you can find one.
@classikdrummr good you're in the right spot, Tama is the best drum brand of music history, as for Tama Bell Brass Snare you mentioned it, I figure it out myself, thanks for the info. 🙏👍
 
Tama fanboy here!

My first kit was a Tama Swingstar. A great beginner kit with terrible beginner cymbals... The hardware was/is bulletproof, even at that price point.

I eventually upgraded to a Ludwig Classic Maple but I added a Tama Starclassic Walnut/Birch kit to the arsenal a few years ago. A significant upgrade from the Swingstar. You really can't go wrong with a Tama. They make great snare drums too!
 
Tama fanboy here!

My first kit was a Tama Swingstar. A great beginner kit with terrible beginner cymbals... The hardware was/is bulletproof, even at that price point.

I eventually upgraded to a Ludwig Classic Maple but I added a Tama Starclassic Walnut/Birch kit to the arsenal a few years ago. A significant upgrade from the Swingstar. You really can't go wrong with a Tama. They make great snare drums too!
@brady I love Tama Starclassic Walnut/Birch kit, maybe I can either buy one or we trade it, I see few kits before, I can have one of these, Drummers play that Starclassic Walnut/Birch kits on Tama's YouTube Channel in 2019.
 
Short answer is yes, they are very good. Ask Kenny Aronoff, Peter Erskine, Billy Cobham. I don’t own any Tama kits but have always had the idea of a Starclassic maple one day. Sort of feel that the Starclassics are likely on par with any of the other great brands.

I’ve always wondered how popular they are amongst recording studios. But that’s another topic in itself.

Some of the snares are great. Set the standard for the bell brass. The track master line was very high quality as well.
 
Short answer is yes, they are very good. Ask Kenny Aronoff, Peter Erskine, Billy Cobham. I don’t own any Tama kits but have always had the idea of a Starclassic maple one day. Sort of feel that the Starclassics are likely on par with any of the other great brands.

I’ve always wondered how popular they are amongst recording studios. But that’s another topic in itself.

Some of the snares are great. Set the standard for the bell brass. The track master line was very high quality as well.
@atlantadrumguy if you need one go buy a Tama Starclassic Maple Purple Kit, these drummers who were recording drums in the Studios, The Bell Brass Snare Drum is the standard tuning, you can tune in the right direction seem to be D tuning.
 
Portnoy, Lars, Stewart, Cobham, Simon Phillips, Matt Garska, Dave Lombardo, and on and on... If anybody is looking for a good deal on a Star Walnut kit check out drummingdeals!!

 
Limited Tama fan here. Their SS Classic Maple is the best bang-for-buck kit out there. And I have one of their new 50th Anniversary Mastercraft Artwood snare drums. Fine workmanship and inlays are superb. It is a good snare drum - a good value at the current $599 sale price. But upper tier Tama Star snares I don't find anything special with them and I do not think they are worth the price.
 
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Every major brand that’s surviving is great, they’re all really as good as each other, you just get a few goobers standing on soapboxes wanting to declare one as supreme.

I have owned a birch bubinga starclassic which I ended up selling because I liked my mapex Saturn more, but it was beautiful looking and part of me regrets it.

I sold a starphonic steel which was a mistake but the other tama snares I’ve owned I wouldn’t write home about. I might have just been unlucky but I found their metals a bit more prone to rust than other brands I owned but I might have just bought gear that was mostly neglected by previous owners, except for the snare that I bought brand new, that was weird.

Right now I have an arsenal of their little add on accessories, cymbal toppers, clamps, rim clamped accessories etc and when I look at what products are out there in that space right now they are possibly one of the more innovative brands.

As far as finishes go, the stuff they’re advertising now is gorgeous, the purple to green fades etc, just beautiful.

My tip is to buy used kits, own everything, be open minded and you’ll probably arrive at a similar conclusion to me.
 
I've never owned Tama but listened to and tried their Star series at DrumcenterNH that were in store. Simply wonderful sounding drums.
They were just out of my $$ range.
 
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I have owned a lot of kits , majors and boutique makers and if I was in the market for a kit , Tama would probably be my first choice. Tama had never really been on my radar through the 70’s to 2010s to be honest . The YouTube video of Peter Erskine endorsing Tama made me curious . I started looking more in-depth at Tama and I came away very impressed . I think the Tama Walnut/Birch kits are a fantastic value . Superb sounding drums with all the same fittings as Starclassic Maple. The Star line may be IMHO the best made drums available today. I would love to own a Star Maple in Ocean Blue Curly Maple finish .
 
When I started looking at getting back into drumming, Tama wasn't really on my radar. I wasn't opposed to a Tama kit, but for some reason they didn't really jump out at me....until I played one. It just had the sound I was looking for. It was a Starclassic. But, then again another kit might have the sound that someone else is looking for. I guess it's all personal.
 
I used to chalk up Tama drums as being just another basic drum company. As I’ve delved into the nuances of drums, and played around on more of their kits of every budget level from every era, it seems they really have had a good thing going the whole time. I have an 80s Superstar that I play, which is a phenomenal kit from the time, and still holds up against other drums made today. If I were offered to be given any new drum kit manufactured today, from any drum company, I would probably choose a Star kit.

Just about every big drum company around today has good-sounding drums. From an audience perspective, it doesn’t matter. To the drummer who has their ear on the sounds they are producing from the drummer’s seat, it matters. Tama makes great drums. So does Gretsch. So does Ludwig. So does DW. It’s all a matter of personal opinion.
 
I have owned a lot of kits , majors and boutique makers and if I was in the market for a kit , Tama would probably be my first choice. Tama had never really been on my radar through the 70’s to 2010s to be honest . The YouTube video of Peter Erskine endorsing Tama made me curious . I started looking more in-depth at Tama and I came away very impressed . I think the Tama Walnut/Birch kits are a fantastic value . Superb sounding drums with all the same fittings as Starclassic Maple. The Star line may be IMHO the best made drums available today. I would love to own a Star Maple in Ocean Blue Curly Maple finish .
@RickP Glad to respond to you, when Peter started endorsing Tama, it make me realize how good he is, as a Jazz drummer, it's value to Tama Star Maple kits, you can get Starclassic Maple kits Starclassic Walnut/Birch kit Star Bubinga kits, Star Walnut any Tama kits you wanted, I certainly advise you to check these set of drums, see if you find it on Ebay or other music stores.

Finding drum kits on websites and stores could affordable.
 
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