At Tama headquarters nobody ever seems to be satisfied with current standards. With the launch of the new Star drums, the company from Nagoya, Japan has once again set themselves on a higher plane in the drum market. Star is the new flagship line that culminates Tama's years of experience in two new shell type drums, with almost futuristic, yet very sophisticated design and technology. New York based drummer Fuyu Murata takes you through all the specs of the drums in twelve videos, starting off with two drum solos he played at a special press conference at NAMM 2013. Next, in ten Tama videos, he talks about all the specialties we have summarized below. Have fun exploring the new Tama Star Drums...
The main Tama Star features are...
Bubinga Shells Tama introduced Bubinga to the market and has become a popular drum shell material. All the Star Bubinga shells are 4.5mm thick, including the bass drums and snare drums. All shells feature 9mm thick Sound Focus Rings (SFR), which provide clear projection and sustain for a distinct sound, as well as reinforcement.
Specs: 4.5mm, 5ply Bubinga + 1 inner ply Cordia (1 outer ply Cordia for CDKG/CDKR/CSTN, or Indian Laurel for LNTI) w/ 9mm Sound Focus Ring
Maple Shells The Star Maple shells have a very warm, yet open and bright sound that you can expect from Maple wood. But Tama has made a unique Star sound by using a new technique: the ultra-thin 5 ply, 5mm shells are comprised of a 2mm thick solid wood core ply, sandwiched between 1.5mm thick cross-laminated plies on both sides.
Specs: 5mm, 5ply Maple w/ 5mm Sound Focus Ring
Bearing Edges Also, Tama have improved the bearing edges with the Star series. With a rounder peak of the bearing edge, the drums have more direct contact between de shell and the drumhead. To improve this contact level, the peak position of the edge is 3.5mm from the shell's outer surface, which gives the drums a clear and new feel of attack. Just like the new, patent pending Super Resonant Mounting System.
Super Resonant Mounting System This is one of the most important, and a unique result in design, creativity and technical improvement. The mounting system has three contact points with the drum. In the image gallery you find the design for this feature, but it comes down to this: two contact points are located on the batter (top) hoop, and one is located on the bottom hoop. These three points create the largest possible theoretical triangle on the drum. The two contact points on the batter hoop support the weight of the drum vertically, and the contact point on the bottom hoop supports the horizontal weight.
With that, Tama reduces the stress and strain on the shell and hoop and increases the natural resonance of the drums.
Quick-Lock Tom Brackets The 'Quick-Lock' tom brackets allow for quick and easy setup and breakdown. By simply sliding the switch on the tom bracket, the bracket separates into two parts.
Floor Tom Legs The tips of the Star floor tom legs feature a special, hollow, soft rubber construction which help absorb this impact in a way that emphasizes the drum's natural resonance and sustain.
Bass Drum Spurs The bass drum spurs adopt the same concept as the floor tom legs. To achieve the same impact absorption principle while using metal spikes, Star bass drum spurs feature a unique 2-piece construction. The spike is separated from the rest of the spur by rubber, which absorbs the impact without transferring it to the spike itself.
Minimum Shell Contact The newly designed lugs have a luxurious, sophisticated look, as well as an extremely low mass bridge construction for minimum shell contact. In the videos and the image gallery you can see how 'floating' the lugs are. Star drums also feature an imprinted badge and small wooden air hole grommet which further reduce the weight of materials on the shell and improve resonance and sound.
Snare Drum Features The snare drum has improved big time. The videos show you all the features, from the Snappy Bed, the One piece-lug, the Linear-Drive Strainer, the 'clicking' Ratchet System Tension Adjuster, Super Sensitive Hi-Carbon Snappy Snare and the three air holes to get a brighter sound.
Drum Heads The Star drums come with Remo drum heads:
Tom Toms & Floor Toms: Remo Coated Ambassador for Batter Side / Remo Clear Ambassador for Bottom Side
Bass Drums: Remo Coated Powerstroke 3 for Batter Side / Remo Fiberskyn Powerstroke 3 Diplomat for Front Side
Snare Drums: Remo Coated Ambassador for Batter Side / Remo Snare Ambassador for Snare Side
