TAMA Drums was founded in 1962 by Hoshino Gakki, a Japanese musical instrument company that also owns the famous guitar brand Ibanz. TAMA currently has several factories and distributors around the world, with Japan producing its high-end drum kits and lower-priced series in Chinese mainland. Similar to Gretsch, TAMA's strength lies in its mid-range products, affordable prices, and guaranteed workmanship.
The Rhythm Mate, Imperialstar and Silverstar are three of TAMA's most popular entry-level drum kits, with increasing prices. If you're only on a budget of $4,000, Rhythm Mate is one of the few reliable options you can have. As a hardware manufacturer, TAMA's excellent quality in accessories is also reflected in the entry-level series of Rhythm Mate. Compared to the PDP MainStage and New Yorker in the same price range, the Rhythm Mate has a thicker drum cavity for a more rounded sound. However, the standard snare drum has a poor timbre, so it is recommended to replace it if possible.
The Imperialstar, priced at less than 6,000 yuan, is TAMA's flagship product in the mid-to-low-end drum kit, which is much better than the Rhythm Mate in terms of drum wood and accessories. For drummers with a budget of about 8,000 yuan, Silverstar will be an ideal choice. The drum kit uses TAMA's traditional straight-edged birch drum cavity, with easy-to-use lugs and effective isolation, to present a fresh and clean sound with a high degree of compatibility with different styles of music. Adjustable tom drum racks and kick drum double ball mounts enhance the ease of use of the Silverstar.
In the professional drum kit, the Starclassic and Sound Lab Project (SLP) series are not as innovative as DW, Yamaha and other manufacturers in terms of innovative design, but TAMA has lowered the price in the case of the general increase in the production cost of high-end drum kits, and improved the cost performance of these two series. Starclassic's snare drum features a double-layered drum skin and die-cast rims, plus TAMA's superior birch drum cavity for a crisp and dry sound, while the tombo has a wide depth. If you prefer the sound of maple, SLP's sweet maple drum cavity and wooden rim should suit your taste. Overall, the excellent price/performance ratio is still present in TAMA's premium drum kits. They are ideal when you have a beginner recording and performance needs and are shy.
