Club-JAM – Tama's line of compact drum kits made from poplar shells.They vary in pitch by using different shell lengths, rather than widths. Octobans are 6-inches in diameter and are manufactured in eight different lengths (hence the prefix "octo-") up to 600mm (23.5 in). They also invented unique tubular drums called Octobans. Tama was one of the first companies to offer super heavy-duty hardware, and drum mounting systems that did not intrude into the shell like most brands in the 1970s. However, even the professionals were starting to use the Tama drums because of the low cost of the Asian-made drums with the (now) high quality of hardware.
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The original plan was to market the low-end Tama drums to beginners and use the Camco brand to sell high-end drums to professional musicians. Tama integrated all the engineering from Camco into their production process and the overall level of quality of their drums increased virtually overnight. The Tama version of the Camco pedal is commonly referred to as the Tamco pedal to distinguish it from an original Camco pedal. Tama began production of the same pedal under the Camco name. DW continued production of the pedal using the original tooling, rebadging it as the DW5000. As part of the deal, DW received the Camco tooling and manufacturing equipment while Tama received the Camco name, designs, engineering and patent rights.Īt the time, Camco was producing what was thought to be the best drum pedal on the market. Tama and Drum Workshop (DW) jointly bought the bankrupt Camco Drum Company. "Star" continues to be used in the names of Tama's drum models to this day. Tama was the name of the owner's wife, and is also a homophone with the Japanese word meaning "jewel". The two higher lines of drum models, Imperial Star and Royal Star, were introduced to the American market and were successful lower-cost drums competing against more expensive American-made drums offered by Rogers, Ludwig, and Slingerland at the time.īy 1974, Hoshino decided to make a concerted effort to make high-quality drums and hardware and start marketing its drums under the Tama brand. While the production of guitars and amps was moved out of the factory by 1966, the production of drums there continued to grow. The drums were manufactured at Hoshino's subsidiary, Tama Seisakusho, which had opened in 1962 to manufacture Ibanez guitars and amplifiers. Hoshino, the family name of the founder, translates to "star field," thus the selection of the "Star Drums" brand name. So far I'm £50 into it which I am happy with but I would appreciate it if you could help me identify it.Hoshino Gakki began manufacturing drums in 1961 under the name "Star Drums".
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Sorry about the lack of photo but my camera has developed a sense of humor and I haven't yet figured out how to post photographs. It doesn't appear in any current catalogue I can find but I don't think its particularly old - it seems in good condition with very faint pitting to the chromed hardware which has cleaned up easily. The strainer is better than basic and works smoothly but doesn't seem top quality.
![tama starclassic serial number search tama starclassic serial number search](https://media.musiciansfriend.com/is/image/MMGS7/Starclassic-Star-Cast-Mounting-System-16-in./443134000000083-00-500x500.jpg)
The badge is a kind of very patina'd bronze colour (almost brown) and American Football/Rugby Ball shape. Don't think its a Starclassic though as the strainer mechanism doesn't appear 'high end' and there is no Starclassic badge on the drum - just a Tama badge with vent hole in centre. There is a serial number on the Tama badge - 151646 and has 10 tuning lugs per side with plain chromed hardware, plain varnished wood finish and Starclassic 20 strand snare. It sounds great to me - much better than the one with my Pearl Forum starter kit. I fitted an Evans G1 batter I already had and a Meazzi Reso (shop old stock for £5 - very thin), possibly not the best heads but I'll think of them when my tuning ability improves. The heads were shot but everything else is good. I bought a Tama Snare on impulse on Friday for £45 but have no idea what model it is.