Tama Drums


Tama Drums, タマ 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 and most expensive drums, is done in Seto, Japan, while its hardware and less expensive drums are manufactured in Guangzhou, China. 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 in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. The U.S. subsidiary also contributes to Tama's market research and development.

History

Hoshino Gakki 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 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.
Tama and Drum Workshop 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 high quality of hardware.
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-inches in diameter and are manufactured in eight different lengths up to 600mm. They vary in pitch by using different shell lengths, rather than widths.

Products

Drums

Beginner and professional kits

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 pre 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. Performer Birch have metal badges while Starclassic Maple and Bubinga lines have decal badges. 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 that keep the tension rods in place, 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.
Since 2013, it is Tama's flagship line, and are available in bubinga, walnut, and 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 Focus Rings. Maple shell drums are made with 5 plies of maple and have 5mm Sound Focus Rings. Walnut shell drums are made with 6 plies of walnut on the rack toms, floor toms, and snare drum, and 7 plies on the bass drum.

Discontinued

Camco by Tama: Camco sets were re-introduced in the late 1970s. They were made of Asian Mahogany with 9 ply shells. These were released in a very limited supply for a 2 year run.
In addition to manufacturing drums, Tama also offers a variety of stands, pedals, thrones and multi-clamps as well as a rack system.
Musicians that use or have used Tama drums include: