Tama is one of the most popular drum brands on the market. They're known for their well-made hardware and sturdiness. They began their humble beginnings in 1965 under the name "Star Drums" in Japan. The drum business began to grow, and were introduced into the American market, competing with Rogers, Slingerland and Ludwig.
In 1974, Hoshino Gakki, Tama's founder, began to focus on making high-quality drum kits and hardware. Gakki named the company after his wife, Tama, which means "jewel" in Japanese.
Tama was the first company to offer super heavy duty hardware. They invented unique tubular drums, Octobans. Octobans are 6" in diameter, and are made in 8 different lengths. The different shell lengths make the drums vary in pitch. The snare drums are especially unique. They began to offer a cast bell brass shell first. In fact, it was very rare to find that in a snare at that time.
In the 1980s, Tama developed the first set of electronic drums called Techstar. Instead of a real drumhead, they used a solid rubber surface to make sound. Tama is famous for the starclassic series of snare drums which offer extremely fine craftsmanship and are still created using a classic vintage feel. In more recent years tama has introduced the artwood snare and the metalworks snare series. both showcasing some very high quality wood and metal snare drums that are very reasonably priced.
![]() TAMA Kenny Arnoff Snare Drum US $409.00 |
![]() Tama Stewart Copeland Signature Snare Drum US $230.00 |
![]() Tama Starclassic Exotic Limited Edition Snare US $699.00 |
![]() Tama Silverstar Snare Drum US $109.95 |
![]() TAMA Starclassic Performer BB Limited Edition Snare Drum ZILDJIAN Practice Pad US $344.99 |
![]() Tama Metalworks snare drum 10 lug 14x 65 US $100.00 |
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