Half a century - that's just a word, but in that short and long period of time, there have been many stories of drums and people.
Here we trace the turbulent history of TAMA, along with the various famous instruments that have colored the company's history.
1984-1993 Era of Exploration and Experimentation
With the advent of MTV, music too began to demand visual appeal. Drums were no exception to this trend, with more flamboyantly colored shells and huge, powerful sets becoming popular. TAMA's catalog frequently featured huge sets incorporating two or even three bass drums and numerous toms.
At the same time, TAMA's foundation as a drum manufacturer had been laid, and the company began to develop its own unique products, such as the Techstar, TAMA's first electronic drum, the 11 Lug Snare Drum, a snare drum with 11 tensions, and other ambitious attempts. While not all of these were hits, they spawned ideas that were indicative of TAMA's innovative spirit, such as the lever glide system, saddle-type drum throne and Pro-Beat Twin Pedal, a twin pedal with two beaters in one frame. In particular, the Iron Cobra, released in 1993, once again made the world aware of TAMA hardware and became a representative TAMA product that still attracts drummers - from all over the world today.
PRODUCTS
As the need for a unique aesthetic grew, this era saw drummers using massive setups with several bass drums, extra deep rack toms, multiple floor toms, and even gong bass drums. In order to achieve these monstrous setups, TAMA introduced products like the Power Tower System, defining the look of the era.
This decade also gave birth to TAMA's most innovative products, such as the Lever Glide Hi-Hat Stand and the Iron Cobra Bass Drum Pedal.
Before TAMA launched the electronic drum, TAMA was a popular acoustic drum brand. The design of this electronic drum, which enables the tone to be adjusted to each drum using the module knob, was well received and intuitively easy to understand.
The head of the drum was the same as that of an acoustic drum on the hitting surface of the tom and snare; so, the feel of the drum could be adjusted to tune it. The snare drum is also equipped with a trigger bar for rim shots, which was also a feature that the rim shot sound could be obtained by tapping the bar.
The lineup included a bundle kit with a bass drum as well as variations such as a tom pad and a module, but these were aimed at combining the lineup with an acoustic drum. This reflected that electronic drums at that time were positioned as new instruments expanding the possibilities of drums used for techno music that had been popular since around the 1980s, rather than the need for home practice as is common now.
TAMA's first twin pedal. At that time, the form of the twin pedal itself was not fixed even within the drum industry; different manufacturers had a lineup of models in varying forms. The breakthrough point of this Pro-Beat Twin Pedal was that the horizontal axis for attaching the beater holder was divided into two and placed coaxially so that the two beaters could move independently. This mechanism enabled the beaters, which were operated with the left and right feet, to be placed in the correct position. This mechanism has been adopted by many manufacturers, creating the design that is the basis of the twin pedals today.
A hi-hat stand with an innovative function of tilting the stand from the middle pipe to the player. This enabled setting the hi-hat away from the player, addressing the growing trend of setups at the time. This model also hinted at the stilting mechanism that tilted the stand itself, which would later be created.
Techstar were evolutionary electronic drums. The hexagonal drum shape was changed to a square shape, and the size of the hitting head was also changed from the previous model's 12”to 10.” Each drum can now be set closer together.
In addition, the company developed an aluminum alloy drum rack specifically for the Techstar II, utilizing the just-launched Power Tower System. The setting of the entire drum has been improved to fit compactly.
The sound source module was also greatly simplified, making it easier to handle, even for players not skilled at digital instruments.
In response to heavier music, large drum kits incorporating tom toms of various sizes were becoming mainstream. In response to this trend, TAMA's rack system, the Power Tower System (PTS), was released.
Originally, it was a keyboard stand made in the heyday of techno music, arranged for drums, but the stand was strengthened by combining stainless steel pipes and die-cast joints to withstand the weight of the drums and the impact of play. At that time, the magnificent setup surrounding the entire drum set, nicknamed the Cage, was received with great sensation around the world, partly due to the trend that visual appeal was required.
The hi-hat stand had a very limited position to set in the drum set due to the structure of controlling the foot pedal with the left foot. This cable hat was developed to eliminate this and enable a more flexible setup. At the time, drum setups were becoming increasingly larger and more complex; so the product, which removed the physical restrictions on hi-hat stands, was highly praised by many drummers. Later, in 1989, a lever glide was adopted for the pedal drive, giving it a light footing and quick response, making it close to a hi-hat stand.
The Cable Hat was discontinued in 2006, but was revived in 2017 with Iron Cobra specifications.
TAMA's first drum using a maple shell. As with the original Artstar, it follows the thin shell configuration of 6 mm thick (9 mm for bass drums), but adopts a design that makes heavy use of straight lines, which were advanced at the time, for hardware parts such as lugs and tom brackets. The series used TAMA's innovation to visually appeal to drummers and audiences. This concept was also common to Crestar and Granstar, which were released at the same time.
One feature of the tom bracket was that it used a one-touch locking system developed for cymbals at the time. Instead of tightening and fixing the T-nut, the tom could be attached and detached with one touch by operating the lever.
The lineup of the world's first special size 11-inch tom and 15-inch floor tom became one of the most talked about lineups.
The series of all birch shells that will be the successor to the Superstar. The hardware parts are almost the same as the Artstar II, but the lugs were two-piece. The finish was only a lacquer finish. The shell size variation is the same as the Artstar II; so, it can be seen as a high-end model on par with the Artstar II.
All birch shell was used for this series. The basic specs were almost the same as Crestar, but the only color variation was a covered finish. The inner surface of the shell was not painted, which was done on Crestar.
This series was sold to young people and was characterized by its easy-to-sound and powerful sound. Around this time, the image of TAMA was highly compatible with hard rock and heavy metal (HR & HM), which was beginning to gain popularity at that time. For this reason, promotions were also developed with a strong awareness of HR & HM, such as featuring Dave Lombardo (Slayer) and Charlie Benante (Anthrax) in a dedicated catalog. Such drums for a specific genre were very rare for TAMA.
Snare drums with the PAT. 30 lug, commonly known as a one-way lug. The drums were well received for their innovative mechanism, which enabled users to tune the head of both the batter and snare side with tension bolts from the batter side by using a special tuning key. Due to the complex structure, this innovative mechanism was unable to withstand the high pitch tension of snare drums, and TAMA was forced to discontinue the drum. The drum was later revived with the Omni-Tune Lug, which overcame the problems of the innovative mechanism. At that time, it was released as the Starclassic Bubinga Omni-Tune, equipped with this one-way lug for snare drums and all toms and bass drums.
The snare drum adopted an unusual mechanism of 11 tensions on both the batter and snare sides. Characterized by its ease of tuning and spacious sweet spot, the drum became a hot topic along with its wacky idea of 11 tensions.
This is the first saddle-shaped drum throne developed by TAMA in a time when only the so-called round seat shape existed. The rear portion was shaped specifically to enhance the player's stability when seated, while the front portion, where the thighs come into contact, was cut at an angle to facilitate the movement of both legs. The success of this throne led TAMA to develop a variety of drum throne models, leading to the birth of the 1st Chair.
STILT was TAMA's unique mechanism that allowed only one of the tripods to independently adjust its stance and adjust the angle of the stand freely. At that time, music genres such as rock and HR & HM diversified, and drummers tried to enhance their expressiveness using various cymbals and many drums. Since STILT was able to be set from a position further away than a regular stand, it was very useful in the trend of the time and made a name for itself with its aggressive visuals.
TAMA's original mechanism applies the principle of leverage, enabling the pedal to be depressed with about half the force of the previous model, and the response of the footboard is also faster. At the time, no manufacturer had established a way to balance light stepping and quick response, and the announcement of the Lever Glide shocked the drum industry.
In addition, the longer stroke of the foot plate due to the action of the lever enabled more subtle high-hat operation and tight cymbals. In this respect, it was a revolutionary mechanism that played an important role in enhancing the musical expressiveness of Hi-Hat cymbals.
This model is a change from the Granstar, which used a separate lug, to a high tension lug to further emphasize the hard sound with a core unique to birch shells. The lug design, like the high-end Artstar II, also had a linear look, and it received high praise from the HR & HM drummers, who were at their peak then in terms of both looks and sound.
The drum pedal is an essential part of telling the history of TAMA, and has quickly gained support from drummers around the world for its versatile adjustment functions and operability, as well as its overwhelming stability. The Iron Cobra began with adjustment functions that have become commonplace in pedals from all manufacturers, such as a mechanism that enables the footboard and beater angle to be adjusted independently and a mechanism that enables the beater head to be replaced.
This first-generation Iron Cobra emphasized customizability tailored to each drummer. A lineup of professional models with full adjustment functions and standard models with only basic functions have been added, enabling the drummer to customize the sounds by adding optional parts.
In addition, giving the name Iron Cobra triggered the spread of the name worldwide; so many models with such names would appear in subsequent TAMA products. This was a monumental model that determined the direction of TAMA in all aspects.
This innovative product tackles a universal challenge for drummers: tuning. Unlike stringed instruments with fixed scales, drums produce complex sounds that extend beyond the initial strike, making precise pitch measurement difficult. The Tension Watch broke new ground by converting sound into a visual representation, quantifying drumhead tension instead of relying solely on pitch.
This innovation transformed the subjective nature of sound quality into measurable data, allowing drummers to gain valuable insights and share them with others. For example, it allows a player to replicate the exact tension used by their favorite artist or find the perfect tuning for their particular playing style.
The TW200, released in 2015, further enhanced overall tuning convenience. Its redesigned display, viewable from above, facilitates taking tension measurements while seated. This simple yet impactful change made tuning easier than ever.
