Tama Star Series Drums Demo and Interview with John Palmer

[@carlupthegrove262]

Tama makes some of the most beautiful drums of any major manufacturer.... they are really really georgeous....

[@andyham6094]

Wish he played each kit by itself for a good amount of time so we can really hear the differences

[@FanaticDrummer]

Tama makes art. Not pretentious instruments *cough* DW You can get Starclassics OR Star series kits and even with the same wood composite, you get an entirely different experience. Tama just understands what pro’s need, and what intermediate players need with the lower end kits which still sound amazing recorded. Hardware is second to none. Pure class. All the others just follow their lead.

[@scottlowell493]

Even in "Addictive drums" samples, the starclassic maple sings better than DW collectors. Tama knows that giant, heavy turret lugs overdamp a shell. They have made great shells since they become known around 1978.

[@FanaticDrummer]

Scott Lowell They do. People dont realize how bad DW garbage hardware design is for drum shells. The cost of sound for looks. Honestly, I would never play DW because of how the hardware looks. Go figure a company from California is overrated lol

[@jaydensalgado]

@@FanaticDrummer I don't think there is anything wrong with DW drums. I think they sound amazing. I also really love the design of the DW hardware. There is nothing wrong with them. I get if you say they are overpriced because trust me I know, but like I said there is nothing wrong with them. 😊

[@FanaticDrummer]

Rajiv Rath The brand is completely pretentious, its a California company what do you expect. Also who cares about the shell, they destroy the drum with those stupid hideous lugs anyways. No resonance at all because of the surface weight. All their drums sound the same, from the $500 kits to the $7000 kits. So who cares how fancy they make them, they sound dead. Its the price tag and marketing campaigns that make people go to them, its the boomer drummer brand. They try to justify the over inflated value based on roster and branding just like Gibson does.

[@FanaticDrummer]

Matthew Robertson I play a starclassic bubinga elite lol And would never spend $2500 on a DW. Let alone $5k lol Once again proving DW is overrated and over priced by your comment since thats all they have going for them is hype. Has nothing to do with quality.

[@snareaddict]

I have one thing to say. Walnut! Whoooooohooooo! Perfect drum sound to these ears.

[@Sundaydrumday]

Agreed

[@MrSiah007]

Totally agreed. I unfortunately waited until three days ago to order my walnut kit so it’s gonna take 6 months to get here, but it’s worth the wait in my opinion

[@andyham6094]

Best drums on the planet. Loving the bubinga and walnut. But that Japanese sen walnut finish is absolutely gorgeous. Kaz Rodriguez just got a new massive Tama star walnut kit in the hyperdrive sizes in this Japanese sen finish and it sounds incredibleeeeeeeeee.

[@berthiemstra1]

Recently i got the STAR Bubinga set. Love these drums. Australian Blackwood finish !!. Very nice !!!

[@rexross5189]

Will you post some videos? I would love to hear that kit. Congrats brother!

[@user-wh6sp6st8s]

Tama has got to be the best drum company on earth. I've had a SS Custom kit since 2005 and it's still holding up to the highest end kits available today

[@Jetty-xd9yc]

WALNUT!! Superior in every way possible. I know we're on sweet waters channel but if you'd like to hear all three on there own, drums of Portsmouth has an amazing comparison video out now. Still dig the vibe your throwing down Nick, no disrespect in anyway. 🥁🤘

[@markaldridge3321]

Great demo from Nick as always, great drums, really like the Walnut.

[@steevidrums]

Love Nick's playing, very groovy and fluid player. Dude's got a great voice too, remember his work with Spock's beard very well.

[@MrBostonrobb]

I've been playing Tama drums since 1982. Love them!

[@alexleedrums311]

Absolutely gorgeous drums. I’m always partial to maple shells though! So versatile. I absolutely love Tama Drums. I’ve had my Starclassic Maple kit for almost 20 years, and they get better with age.

[@iloveNgany]

Agreed. My starclassic maple set is my baby. I bought it in fairly poor condition, it's a 7 pc kit and EVERY DRUM sounds amazing. I've toyed with the idea of upgrading, but what on earth is better? They just kick ass!

[@richboshart1201]

Best production drums going. I owned a Star bubinga kit for years before transitioning to a Star walnut recently. They’re extraordinary in every respect.

[@rexross5189]

How does the tone and projection compare to the starclassic bubinga?

[@richboshart1201]

@@rexross5189 I found the Star bubinga I once owned to be very similar to my Starclassic bubinga. The latter may be a bit louder, just a bit. My walnut sounds very similar to the bubingas. They're ply drums with the same hardware, so they should. I don't buy into manufacturer hype on how woods are so different. Very little difference in ply construction, all things being equal.

[@PowerTom_kyle]

I emailed Tama three times last fall about building my dream kit. They never got back to me. I went with another brand. But things turn out as they should, I'm really happy with my purchase.

[@rexross5189]

What’d you get?

[@PowerTom_kyle]

A 12-piece Pearl Reference and 1 Masrerworks rack tom.

[@rexross5189]

@@PowerTom_kyle dude nice

[@jcdrums2798]

very interesting video...i am very proud to be in the TAMA family

[@RoeShamBoe]

v cool format on this video and adding live guitar and bass = 11/10

[@mattryan2399]

That Bubinga kit looks and sounds amazing. I love those Tom mounting systems. These could make my Gretsch Brooklyn kit jealous. Such a warm, round, full body sound. The floor Toms sound like they going to jump up and off the drum riser.

[@bcali7343]

They talk about the bubinga star drums as being less throaty and the tama rep says you still get the punch as if it had punch but not like the maple kit and I also can hear the same difference. Well I will tell you from experience playing both tama starclassic maple and starclassic bubinga that the tama starclassic bubinga has so much punch and throaty yet crystal clear resonance that when I first got my bubinga kit I would stop playing mid groove lean back and say “oh my god that is insane how incredible these sound.” The bubinga drums raw no mics had more attack and punch then maple could achieve when micd then the resonant low end did not ring as long or have as many bad overtones as the starclassic maple. I was sad to see and hear the difference between the star bubinga and the starclassic and the difference is the shell construction. I can’t remember but I believe the starclassic bubinga was 7 plys I do know it was 6 mm thick no reinforcement rings, the thin shell and reinforcement rings they added to the star drums is what has changed the sound causing a loss in attack punch and throatiness which with a wood that has so much low end you cannot afford to lose attack, I also bought the warlord bubinga which had a very thick shell so it had less attack and guess what HATED IT, one of the worse sounding snares I have ever played I was so disappointed. So my advice too you is of course check both star and starclassic out for yourself but keep what I said in mind if attack and punch is important too you which almost every genera of music besides jazz is going to require more attack and punch then less. It will be much harder to find starclassic bubinga kits especially new because they were discontinued due to new more strict laws on harvesting bubinga wood but there are a couple new kits still out there and a larger but still small number of used kits out there AND another huge pro on starclassic bubinga is the finishes are drop dead sexy and there are a lot of good ones, oh I’ll mention there is 3 different series of starclassic Bubinga, starclassic exotics bubinga which were the first I believe, this was a special very limited series that boasted some of the most beautiful lacquer finishes that have ever been produced by any company (if you like lacquer finishes where you can see a faint wood grain pattern) there are only a couple companies that make equally beautiful woodgrain lacquer finishes DW is one example. The next series was the BUBINGA ELITE which had some equally beautiful finishes but there were more options for color including sparkles and solid paints plus racing stripes etc the elite was a limited series but not as limited as the exotics series, you will pay a pretty penny for either of these 2 series especially an exotics series kit. The kit I had was part of a regular production line Starclassic Bubinga, these were not limited however the new laws on how much bubinga wood could be harvested were being drawn up then the laws were passed maybe 2-3 years after the starclassic bubinga series came out so those too did not get a long run and there are not as many kits out there. I have played almost every type of wood there is besides pure walnut and bubinga when constructed with medium to medium thin shells no reinforcement rings and not very thin or very thick shells are some of the best sounding drums I have ever played, man I sure do miss that drum kit 😢

[@johnmclaughlin9674]

Best drums in the world

[@Juanescalonaarocha]

Exquisite drums no doubt!!!

[@MyTony40]

Starclassic still sound awesome

[@lastcall9998]

I wish the Walnut kit had the ornamental line dividing the drum just like the Bubinga and Maple ones have.

[@IAmInfinitus208]

Same. I wonder why they don't include the inlay option for some reason, maybe the walnut material is tricky to carve in a groove?

[@overindulgence6168]

​@Reinhard Luntungan the walnut is the "budget" line no inlay or re rings make them more "affordable"

[@11172820]

I love TAMA DRUMS I BEEN PLAYING THAT TAMA I GOT FRIST DRUM KIT IN 2016 IT AN TAMA ROCKSTAR

[@Fred_P]

Why does the maple kit have a starphonic aluminium snare drum unlike the other two kits which have snare drums from their respective lines?

[@machete660]

3:30 maple 5:40 bubinga 8:55 walnut

[@TheHairmagic]

Dear Nick, please make a video about the new limited Tama Starclassic B/B Exotic Tigerwood kit. Thanks and cheers from Hungary!

[@Arbigale]

Pearl, Gretsch, Tama are the only drums I look at in spite of all brands.

[@DieselTrucker2018]

LOVE the look of the walnut kit... though I'm still a fan of the maple sound!~

[@gt3065]

All the kits sound exactly the same. except for the snare drums. what matters is that it is solid and round. the tone really comes from the edge, heads, and hoops. The wood when mic up in a musical context makes only the smallest of differences.

[@roybeckerman9253]

Wasn’t John Palmer with Gretsch , on other videos.

[@drummerpopa8]

Hey Nick! do you know if Tama does custom colors on the star drums? I don't want to spend all the money on a set of star drums and not have them be the exact color I want.

[@sweetwater]

Thanks for the interest, Moises! The Star drums are fantastic, and come in a BUNCH of colors. They don't do custom colors on those, but do offer 17 different colors! If I can help you find the perfect one, just call me. Derek Senestraro, Senior Sweetwater Sales Engineer, [phone] ext. 1243

[@rexross5189]

Honestly bro, they say they don’t but money can buy you anything. I’m sure if you got ahold of someone that does the finishes for the star drums you could definitely talk them into a custom finish if you offered some crazy amount of money lol

[@PowerTom_kyle]

Just once, Please make a drum video with POWER TOMS. Every single video you make is 8x7, 10x7/8, 12x8/9. Lets get some variety going on. Thank you.

[@temskee]

you have to redo the video.. bubinga and walnut were in the corner making it sound more huge and resonant, while maple sounds thin and dry.. also please remove the talking in between and the guitars.. its hard to tell the difference on the sound..

[@Underdog_Drums]

Yip, too much time in between hearing the kits. Dude talks too much. He'll be doing infomercials as soon as he annoys enough drummers. Since the Bubinga inventory has all but gone, I've picked up several Bubinga kits. Not all Tama, and come on. They gotta make most in China? Seriously?

[@drew_on_drums]

Do you carry dual kick tama stars Because i need one in my life

[@Assimilator702]

Jack Jekyl Yeah it’s called buy the 4 or 5 piece shell pack.......and add on the extra kick drum. You might want to stick with Starclassic if you want a double bass drum kit. A double bass Star kit will cost you the price of a good used car.

[@rexross5189]

@@Assimilator702 any star kit will lol. They’re like $8000 fucking dollars

[@Grit489]

Too bad they didn't play the drums without music.

[@roybeckerman9253]

John Palmer was on a lot of the Gretsch videos. !!

[@HadEnough745]

He's a salesman..It's a little strange to hear him rave about Gretsch drums then hear him rave about Tama..lol

[@davidsuprenant893]

I guess they go where the money is.Thats to bad. There's no brand loyalty. Kinda like car salesman.what evere there selling today is the best thing out there.At this price point,you can get a solid shell kit or an exotic Dw,Sonor SQ2,pearl masterworks. Lot of great drums being built in this price range.

[@yanosiussabtiadi3473]

I would like take walnut and bubinga

[@GIGMUSIC-o6z]

Nick D'VIRGILIO is a bad ass Drummer.

[@user-tz6jl7qt8k]

4:06 I heard Indian yanny

[@Alpengrower]

what is the main differences between Star lines and Starclassic??

[@sweetwater]

Hello, Federikush1! There's a handful of differences between the two lines, but Star is Tama's flagship line of made-in-Japan drums, whereas most of the Starclassic drums are made in Tama's Chinese factory. Lots of finish and shell construction differences between the two lines, but one consistent difference is that the Star line has reinforcement rings and the Starclassic does not. Should you wish to discuss further specifics, feel free to contact us! Thanks for the interest! Cody Kraus, Sweetwater Sales Engineer, [phone] ext. 1766, [e-mail]

[@Alpengrower]

@@sweetwater thanks for your answer! have a good weekend

[@waltgdrums1]

@@sweetwater Starclassic drums also have reinforcement rings

[@terrydonegan1622]

I'd love to hear bigger Tom's 12,13 on top or 12, 14 even.

[@jayvalle50]

With a pair of 24" or 26" kicks💀🤘

[@rachelcox4010]

That walnut!! 🤤🤤🤤

[@davidsuprenant893]

I don't understand why Tama didn't put the inlay on the walnut shell.No inlay,No sound reinforcement rings I don't get it.oh and limited finishes.Big price tag though.!!!

[@MyDyerMaker]

The inlay kinda looks weird. A low-key badge would be better, along with some consistency in lug design. I still like the old T badges and Imperialstar lugs- they look Tama-ish.

[@Assimilator702]

The Star lugs are the best lug design from Tama and any manufacturer from an aesthetic standpoint. Starclassic lugs were always my favorites but the Star lug is a bit nicer. It’s all preference at the end of the day.

[@rexross5189]

It’s an option, you don’t have to get the inlays

[@roybeckerman9253]

John Palmer was with Gretsch for a long time. Why the change ?

[@Thorum13]

Don't forget, you're watching an advertisement here...keep it real.

[@meepmeep3874]

Nick is so goddamned lovable.

[@darcydeschambault4336]

Walnut please!!

[@davidsuprenant893]

Didn't John Palmer work for gretsch drums.

[@johnpalmer9179]

David Suprenant yes, I did work for Gretsch and am pleased to be working for Tama now.

[@rexross5189]

@@johnpalmer9179 poop

[@daveylong3089]

Great video.

[@bhargavjsarmah3913]

Best vdo

[@davshaw5]

Price is way out in the stratosphere, therefore, unless I win the lottery, I’ll never own these……

[@sylvester3068]

Even if I sell myself I can't afford one of those masterpiece....🙂

[@gaboogablah]

Got my new star from Japan, but I wish it had metal hoops for the bass because the stain job has two unstained places that look like where fingers held it, the dealer agreed its a problem, but tama stuck on their high horse says its normal. The drums are beautiful, the one bass hoop finish sucks. So much money for the set and got stuck with an ugly bass hoop.

[@drummaman1]

Metal bass drum hoops? You must get the time machine to take you back to 70's-80's Sonor drums...

[@gaboogablah]

Drums still come with metal bass hoops, and acrylic hoops too.

[@drummaman1]

can you name a brand? Outside of Sonor and Gretsch in the late 70's - early 80's (my Pearl starter kit also had metal hoops). I'm curious who still uses metal bass drum hoops in 2019.

[@gaboogablah]

Pearl still uses acrylic hoops, and roadshow probably is metal. It doesn't say what the roadshow hoops are on the pearl site. Sonor as recently as 2014 used metal hoops on a couple lines. And I've still seen replacement metal hoops (generic) being sold. I don't keep up with them as its irrelevant to worry about other brands since i have my star walnut set. I think pearl roadshow has metal, so probably Ludwig evolution or below do. And generally anything junior or entry level to below mid level can still have metal. If you're only looking at star, Starclassic, masters, reference, Brooklyn, etc all the time you won't notice the cheaper drums. My old tama set from 1987 had metal hoops too,and that was an 1,100+ dollar set in 1987.

[@davshaw5]

Made on a Friday afternoon……

[@laiftaim]

No stripes... so I like walnut.

[@gregpeller1499]

I'm still not accustomed to John Palmer being with Tama and not Gretsch anymore

[@gconyers]

That John Palmer guy looks like the rep for Gretsch. I wonder if he switched sides? Hmmmmm kzbin.info/www/bejne/pamnk2NmhK2ApNU After watching the video, I've confirmed that it is him. Both Tama and Gretsch make amazing drums, but it's funny how Tama makes the "best" now that Palmer is on their payroll.

[@tommo3378]

gconyers Yeah I think you’re right. Sure I’ve seen him extolling the virtues of Gretsch Brooklyn!

[@tommo3378]

gconyers It’s the same with endorsees. Every kit they play is more open toned, has more resonance and is the most articulate kit they ever played.

[@aristotle5698]

Bubinga for me

[@gaboogablah]

Too bad tama Japan doesn't stand behind their products. When you get a new star set, and you find out there's a problem, you're screwed. You're lucky you get from tama USA, because tama Japan is useless for resolving defects.

[@hansoloist9756]

All these woods from all these companies...meh. I get it...but sooooo unnecessary. Maple is all I ever want or need. Maple. And done. Any style, any music, any time. Maple. Period.

[@FanaticDrummer]

If you’re going to buy Bubinga, this is the time to do it lol. International export of Bubinga is now restricted. So unless you buy locally, or within your country, ALL drum companies cant ship out Bubinga based drumsets. Real shame honestly. Largely, thanks to China and their cultural obsession with it. Because its a close enough visual substitute for rosewood, Cites has restricted it to prevent a larger surge of import than normal that could lead to endangerment. So grab Bubinga drums while you can. This wood in particular will retain a much higher value than its counter part options. Got my elites and will never look back! I feel privileged playing drums made from African wood, doesn’t get more authentic to the instrument than that.

[@drummaman1]

Star Bubinga is still in production in Japan.

[@FanaticDrummer]

drummaman1 They can sell domestically. As all countries can. But because of Chinas massive market, countries cant sell across boarders. You can however, buy in Japan, and have it shipped if you are “touring”. It wasnt sold outside of a country. Sold being the key word. They cant prevent musicians from traveling with their instruments. Also why they have a EU and NA branch. Just makes the kits 3x more valuable, which im all about owning a elite exotic no longer in production.

[@rexross5189]

There will always be used bubinga and rosewood kits floating around.

[@normanwilmoth7404]

If I'm going too spend big money for a star its gonna have too be a maple because your range of tuning is so wide compared to bubinga and walnut which will ckoke out once its tuned high unlike maple which can be tuned to any range you want. Give me a few minutes with that maple star and I guarantee you I can make that maple kit sound identical to the bubinga and walnut but not the other way around with bubinga and walnut. Basically there tuning range is inferior to maple your always going to be locked into a low range! I play all styles so maple baby!

[@ohrid59mk76]

listen to Peter Erskine with Tama Star bubinga on You Tube , tuned high , they sound great !

[@rexross5189]

Can’t beat the tone of bubinga or rosewood drums though

[@normanwilmoth7404]

@@rexross5189 that's just preference but bubinga is limited to low end frequencies and if thats what you prefer that's cool. I even like bubinga. Problem is with that wood is it's very focused on the low frequency spectrum. I simply prefer maple kits because it's frequency curve from high to low is broader than any wood on the market. Meaning I can make maple sound like 5 to 6 different kit's unlike other woods which are limited. I need versatility since I play many genre's of music and bubinga will only go with heavier styles of music so all I'm saying is its range is to focused for one or two genre's rock or metal and that just doesn't cut it for me even though I like a fat low tone. I can get that same sound out of maple with the right heads tuning it low and proper dampening. Bottom line if you want the most versatile wood on the market maple is king for the best of high medium and low tones in one kit. I can't afford 6 different kits so I prefer my Tama star maple, top quality but is able to fit in any genre unlike other woods on the market which are to focused.

[@Sundaydrumday]

Walnut made those both sound like garbage sorry....maple and bubinga are beautiful tones dont grt me wrong but when I heard the walnut I couldnt believe the difference

[@EvilSewnit]

I really don’t understand all the overwhelming love these drums get. Sure, they sound good. But they just dont sound THAT good to me.

[@zenoncastro1809]

Pikachu to each their own. What are your favorite sounding drums?

[@EvilSewnit]

Zenon Castro Yeah, I really like the sound of the Pearl Reference Pure drums, as well as the Mapex Saturn V drums.

[@EvilSewnit]

Zenon Castro I also think that the Starclassic B/B shells sound better than the Star shells but again personal opinion.

[@FanaticDrummer]

These were mic’d with room mics only and overheads lol. You need to hear how these sound in a full live or recording environment. Tama are one of the few where their kits sound great in person, which is a example of how great they record. Ive heard Pearls in person and they dont have the sound Tama’s do. Mapex is hardly a sustainable company for most players which is why they lose the most after they go “pro”. Sonor is currently making more leaps than Pearl, Yamaha always follows Tama’s footstep for quality.

[@drummaman1]

Part of the experience of a drumset of this caliber is the feel of the stick when you play them. It's hard to translate that feel aurally.

[@jedbone1451]

Cut all the chit chat and compare all three kits back to back. You cant reallly hear what the drums properly sound like with a stupid band playing. Drum review should be a drum review, not a band review ffs