Tama snare decision.

Over50drumguy

Silver Member
So two months ago I picked up a near new condition Tama starclassic bb 6 piece in molten brown burst. I wanted to pick up a matching snare and I will keep it a matching finish and was going to grab one in bb. But now as happens with some of us , I’m complicating my decision and started thinking maybe I’ll get the new WB in the matching finish ?
I’ve not played either snare and only heard them on YouTube ( DCP and such ). They both sound good , to my ear anyway . I can pick up either for $349 USC. So for the people that have played both or people with knowledge of both and you tama fanatics, would you .....,

Get the bb and keep the whole kit bb ?
Get the WB ?

Reasons ( sound or other) to get or not to get one over the other ?

Your take on the sound of each ?

Or any other things I’m not thinking of in regards to the decision ?

Ii am leaning towards the bb. ’m probably keeping this kit forever but if I sold ..... someone may want or it’s a better selling point that it’s the bb like the rest of the kit ?

I know it’s a personal choice and preference and will ultimately come down to me deciding but I tend to overthink gear purchases , and like to bounce things off others. It was a two year searching around process before I decided and found the kit while playing my old one. So I’m interested in your thoughts and opinions on this , so fire away . Thanks for the input ??
 
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I'd get the Birch/Bubinga while you still can. Now that those drums are discontinued (and bubinga is so restricted) what is available is all there's ever going to be. You may not be able to get a matching B/B down the road but if you change your mind you'll still be able to get the walnut.
 
Firstly, that molten brown finish is a wet dream, great choice.

Secondly, I would personally go with the matching snare. Only reason being that Tama have only switched to the bw combo is that bubinga is now an endangered species. This gives two reasons to get the bb....
1) bubinga won't be around forever
2) it will probably be worth more in the long run

Niether of these are sound related reasons but I would assume the sound isn't all that different between the two.

Tbh I would actually go with a non matching all birch option, but after having looked for such a snare for some time they are hard to find. You can ignore this point as it all comes down to personal preference.
 
Firstly, that molten brown finish is a wet dream, great choice.

Secondly, I would personally go with the matching snare. Only reason being that Tama have only switched to the bw combo is that bubinga is now an endangered species. This gives two reasons to get the bb....
1) bubinga won't be around forever
2) it will probably be worth more in the long run

Niether of these are sound related reasons but I would assume the sound isn't all that different between the two.

Tbh I would actually go with a non matching all birch option, but after having looked for such a snare for some time they are hard to find. You can ignore this point as it all comes down to personal preference.

Yup, I hear ya . I have a 68 LM400 and a friend is gifting me a tama star classic birch in natural so I’ll have those . I have also looked used but nothing in my finish . That’s the reason I’m leaning bb , as the new bb’s that are left won’t be around long and when they’re gone , they’re gone and I’d have to wait for used to pop up. The sound is good on both and not all that different to my ear on the video reviews and sound files. Just seeing if there is an opposing view for the WB that I’m not seeing . Thanks for your response ??
 
My take: A BB snare will give the kit an overall higher value, but that’s relevant only if you sell it. A BW snare in the same finish will look cool (if you like a matching snare), but won’t add value to the kit like a BB snare will.

Sonically, the BW will give you lower overtones, more “fatness”. If you like your snare sharp and cutting, BB is the way to go.

Rabbit hole: Contact Tama through your dealer and see if they’ll make you a BB snare in that finish. If so, it’ll come from Japan in about 8 months and prolly cost $900, but if Tama has the wood and the lacquer, they’ll make it for you.
 
Let’s not forget that one of the B’s stands for “birch.” We’re talking about a hybrid drum here so I’m not sold on any higher resale value because of a couple plies of bubinga. Blindfolded you’d be hard-pressed to tell a difference. Get the walnut/birch for uniformity. I have a walnut/birch kit now and once owned a birch/bubinga. Both sound great, but identical.
 
Let’s not forget that one of the B’s stands for “birch.” We’re talking about a hybrid drum here so I’m not sold on any higher resale value because of a couple plies of bubinga. Blindfolded you’d be hard-pressed to tell a difference. Get the walnut/birch for uniformity. I have a walnut/birch kit now and once owned a birch/bubinga. Both sound great, but identical.
Identical? This implies the walnut is as hard as the bubinga or it means the glue used by Tama negates the effect of the wood species. So, which walnut is used? North American? Caribbean? Patagonian?

When Tama began blending wood types with the birch-bubinga Performer series, I was suspicious because the cost of bubinga was increasing rapidly due to market demand by furniture companies (i.e., China).

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Let’s not forget that one of the B’s stands for “birch.” We’re talking about a hybrid drum here so I’m not sold on any higher resale value because of a couple plies of bubinga. Blindfolded you’d be hard-pressed to tell a difference. Get the walnut/birch for uniformity. I have a walnut/birch kit now and once owned a birch/bubinga. Both sound great, but identical.

I couldn’t tell much difference In sound between the two on video demos either ( I’ve not heard them in person ) so I was leaning toward the bb because the kit is bb . You say get the walnut/birch for uniformity ? You mean the bubinga/birch, yes ? As that’s the kit I have .
I think Cb means higher value when sold not so much that it has bubinga but that it is matching to the kit . It may not be much more on re sale but I can see it if someone wants the kit matching Not just in finish but wood species .

You’ve owned both , so assuming they sound identical or similar how would you describe their sound ? Tuning range ? and overall value for a snare that’s just about 4 bills USC all said and done . Any and all info or opinion you have in the bb snare would be appreciated . Oh and I’m talking about a 6.5x14 snare . Thanks steady.
 
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My take: A BB snare will give the kit an overall higher value, but that’s relevant only if you sell it. A BW snare in the same finish will look cool (if you like a matching snare), but won’t add value to the kit like a BB snare will.

Sonically, the BW will give you lower overtones, more “fatness”. If you like your snare sharp and cutting, BB is the way to go.

Rabbit hole: Contact Tama through your dealer and see if they’ll make you a BB snare in that finish. If so, it’ll come from Japan in about 8 months and prolly cost $900, but if Tama has the wood and the lacquer, they’ll make it for you.

Lol! No rabbit holes for me , or $900 snares at this point . Yes I do like a little more fatness in snare tone and although I couldn’t tell much difference from the recorded demos I thought the bb sounded slightly fatter and lower. But like I said I have not heard both in person . Have you owned or played/heard both ? I saw in another snare type thread two members said they had the bubinga / birch snares and did not like the sound and to get it even close to sounding decent they had to crank the batter and reso way up . But I believe both of those were 5x14 snares , not the 6.5 snare I’d be getting and demos I’ve heard .
 
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If you want a matching snare it should be matching, no? Go for the B/B.

Correct . I thought originally I’d pick one up the first two weeks I got the kit 2 months ago when I had seen a few on line , but 4 weeks later I couldn’t find ONE on the net. I gave some thought to the matching finish WB then as I thought they’d sound similar but I only heard them online and not in person. Then all the virus stuff got going and got put on hold and I had my LM400 to use , but now some new old stock ( if you can call them old as they were only recently discontinued in bb) ones are popping up again on the net . I WAS only interested in the bb but started thinking
( not good for some of us lol ) am I missing out on something with the WB ? Started to think to myself.... self the WB is available in my finish at roughly the same price point , Is it better ? Sound better
( subjective I know) , what are the pros and cons of each ? So figured..... who better to ask than guys with experience with both ....either actually owning/playing them or hearing them both in person . So picking the brains of those people here with intimate knowledge of one or both . Their likes and dislikes of each . Or those with even a general opinion on the subject . You see as I stated in my OP, I tend to overthink and analyze gear purchases and things in general . Sometimes it helps me and sometimes it hurts me ?

Judging by my own thinking and the responses . I THINK I’ll be picking up a BB in molten brown burst this week ?
 
Identical? This implies the walnut is as hard as the bubinga or it means the glue used by Tama negates the effect of the wood species.

Not at all. It implies that wood species type has very little influence in determining a drum’s tone in ply construction. Head type, hoops, other hardware, shell thickness and bearing edge influence the tone way more. Don’t buy into manufacturers’ claims about wood types, or drummers who have drunk the Kool Aid. The W/B’s and B/B’s are basically identical except for a few plies of wood. You won’t be able to tell the difference.
 
Not at all. It implies that wood species type has very little influence in determining a drum’s tone in ply construction. Head type, hoops, other hardware, shell thickness and bearing edge influence the tone way more. Don’t buy into manufacturers’ claims about wood types, or drummers who have drunk the Kool Aid. The W/B’s and B/B’s are basically identical except for a few plies of wood. You won’t be able to tell the difference.
It’d be a nice experiment to line up snares of different woods, but with identical ply construction, hardware & heads and have a listen. I know my Tama Starphonic Spotted Gum snare sounded identical to a Tama Starphonic Bubinga. I had them both for a short while and tried low, medium & high tunings and was surprised by what I heard.
 
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