New Tama STAR Line?

i have always liked TAMA, and have had various models they've made (not anymore, but in the past). that being said they look alright.
if anything i would be more interested to see what that new hardware is like, the tom locking and mounting system look pretty dope.
the only reason i bought a TAMA starphonic snare was because of the hardware. sound wise i'm sure you could get something similar for less money but the hardware is what sold it to me.
 
thanks a lot, there are many videos of the hardware on there!
 
I think they should do a White Star line with super heavy metal and utterly sinkable Titanic hardware and broken ice finishes, but somehow I think it wouldn't last long.
 
I think they should do a White Star line with super heavy metal and utterly sinkable Titanic hardware and broken ice finishes, but somehow I think it wouldn't last long.

I'm sure icebergs would be utterly dominated by Japanese manufacturing!
 
Now this is really interesting! A big player like Tama taking on board some of the features pioneered by smaller solid shell drum makers :) The bearing edge principals, introduction of a solid ply internal layer to the shell, & also some aspects of suspension mount theory. I take these moves as being complete validation of the work being done by small time "real world" industry innovators.

Using a solid ply layer will help get these shells part way towards the performance of a steam bent shell, but obviously not right up there. The full tonal advantages will still be somewhat hampered by the remaining ply construction. Nevertheless, I'm delighted Tama have effectively "endorsed" the benefits of solid shells.

Reading through the list of features, this is a major manufacturer's ply kit I could actually get excited about. Well thought through, & well executed. Well done Tama!
 
Only the maple has some sold shell construction it seems. The bubinga is a thin shell ply with re-reings.

I have to say that Tama is probably my favorite big manufacturer. The owner of the 5 star drum shop here in Long Island swears that Tama and Yamaha have the highest overall quality and consistency of any major manufacturers. Being that he has seen, sets up and tuned these things every day for the past 15 years, I tend to believe him.

I'm working on a home/studio kit but this is a new contender for the 2nd studio/live kit.
 
The most interesting thing about it in my opinion is the new tom mount. If it is as well engineered as they state, this will be probably the best mounting system for resonance and positioning, and will probably be bullet proof; simply because it is Tama hardware
 
They look amazing.

The folks at TAMA have a knack for looking at the industry and compiling the best of the i ovations out there into one kit.

Look at the original Superstars, the lugs and ball type tom mount were Rogers,


i'm not complaining, the end result is an amazing product
 
I agree that this new line seems to have a great deal more sense in its features however they seem to be trying to increase resonance so why do they still have die-cast hoops isn't that counter productive?

If your shell weighs less it vibrates more at higher frequencies however with both die-cast hoops and the RIMS system on there that much mass has to dampen most of the benefits. Wouldn't it make more sense to at least offer triple flanged?
 
I agree that this new line seems to have a great deal more sense in its features however they seem to be trying to increase resonance so why do they still have die-cast hoops isn't that counter productive?

If your shell weighs less it vibrates more at higher frequencies however with both die-cast hoops and the RIMS system on there that much mass has to dampen most of the benefits. Wouldn't it make more sense to at least offer triple flanged?
Erm, yes - & no. Grouping shell resonance & head sustain as one & the same thing is a widely held misconception. It's perfectly possible to partner a highly resonant shell with high head mass afforded by the hoops, yet still get some of the benefit from a resonant shell. A resonant shell does not equal head sustain. When most players refer to resonance, they're in fact referring to head sustain. Although the sustain of a head & the resonance of a shell are linked in multiple ways, they are also very separate things.

We pay attention to correct drum suspension, not as a means of getting the heads to decay slower, but to increase the dominance of the fundamental, & allow the main note to last for longer. A longer note means more body, more punch. With most ply shells, the main note is less than 1 second duration. Increasing that to near 2 seconds provides a massive increase in presence. These Tama shells won't get there, but they will get a bit closer.

You're completely correct with your observation about total mass though. Even with the best isolation, every part of a drum, & everything connected to it, has to resonate as a whole. If those materials are of a more similar mass, & overall lower mass, they will do so more effectively, because they are easier to excite.

You can spot a very resonant drum by how easily it opens up to a full tone with light input, not by how long it takes for the heads to decay.
 
Tama finally ran out of prefixes / suffixes?

They've gone full circle I guess, before being called "Tama", they were called "Star".

I like this new line, it looks good, sounds interesting with some hot finishes too.

On paper the technology sounds promising.

How long until Simon gets his new "USS Phillips" from Tama (if he hasn't got it already).
 
Yet, another good looking line of drums that I won't purchase. I've had 3 Tama kits (still have 2 of them). Favorite hardware. Just wish these drums weren't so expensive.
 
Well I have a Starclassic Maple kit, and after taking a look at the new features of this STAR line, I must say it certainly looks impressive. Perhaps not enough of a difference to warrant me purchasing one, but still, it certainly looks attractive.
When I get home I'll definitely give the videos a look over to get some sort of idea of how they sound.
It'll also be interesting to see how fast and how many Tama artists switch to this kit, if at all.
 
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