History of TAMA Drums Throughout the Years

In the era of technology where electrical instruments are ruling the music industry, brands like TAMA and Mapex have somehow managed to remain relevant because of the unique sounds they create. Their vintage products are still being sold at high price and drummers still, have their faith in the unique sound quality these brands can create.

If you are a drum enthusiast and a fan of TAMA, like me, you might want to take a look at the journey of this ancient drum brand throughout the year!

1962— Hoshino Gakki MFG.CO.LTD the manufacturer and distributor of TAMA Drums was 1st established in Japan.

1965— Hoshino Gakki started manufacturing drums under the name of ‘Star Drums’, the family name Hoshino is translated to ‘Star Field’ in English.

1972— Hoshino introduced another new drum brand ‘Swingstar Drums’

1974— This was the year when the production of drums under the TAMA brand name began as an effort to make high-quality drums and hardware.

1976— TAMA brought ‘Superstar’ drums, 1st with 5 ply and later with 6 ply birch in standard size with power toms. The original Superstar line is now considered a “vintage/classic” Tama product

1977— The now forgotten ‘Fibrestar’ series was introduced to the drummers all around the globe. The shells of these drums have been made from fibreglass and were covered with one ply plastic-foil.

1977to 1982 — In this period of time TAMA produced an array of good quality drums hardware and accessories, form clamps to tom holder with various price tags.

1983— Another discontinued series ‘Artstar’ was manufactured in this year. The drums were made from birch wood and were sandwiched between two plys of Cordia wood.

1984— Techstar Electronic Drums were TAMA’s one of the very 1st attempt in the world of electronic drums.

1986— This year TAMA introduced 3 new drum sets, Artstar II, Crestar and Granstar drums. Artstar was made with 100% Canadian maple and the other two were made with 100% Japanese birch.

1989— This year TAMA came up with ‘Rockstar’ drums made with Philippine mahogany shells.

1994— One of TAMA’s high-end line of drum series ‘Starclassic’ was introduced in this year. This series was originally handcrafted in Japan until 2009. After that most of the Starclassic lines are now made in TAMA’s Chinese factory.

1999— The year of Snare drums. TAMA brought up Signature Palette Series Snare Drums consisted with Kenny Aronoff, Bill Bruford & Simon Phillips. Later in 2001, they added Stewart Copeland, Mike Portnoy & Lars Ulrich in the mix.

2001to 2006 — During this time frame TAMA added one after another drum kits, such as Starclassic Exotix, Starclassic Bubinga, Starclassic Performer in their customer favourite Starclassic series.

2007— TAMA introduced their top-of-the-line series of snares. ‘Warlord’ snares feature gothic-styled lugs with Swarovski crystals embedded into them. All drums come with a hardshell carrying case and a certificate of authenticity from TAMA’s Japan factory. As of 2017 this brand is still ruling the drumming world with it’s authentic acoustic TAMA drums earning love from the drummers all over the world.

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