Tama HP200 Standard Single Bass Drum Pedal Absolutely affordable, Tama's new HP200 is also completely professional. Developed with the same design concept as the Iron Cobra, the HP200 features an offset Power Glide cam shape, beater angle adjustment and movable hoop clamp of the Iron Cobra line. A new design dual-sided beater provides full volume and clear attack.
The story of The Strongest Name in Drums begins in 1908 with the founding of the Hoshino company in Nagoya, Japan. The company, which first handled books and sheet music soon began importing musical instruments including drums by Slingerland and Ludwig for the Japanese market. By 1955 Hoshino began exporting its own brand of Star Drums (the name star in Star Drums, Artstar and Starclassic, etc. is derived from the Hoshino name which translates as Starfield).
A New Drum Identity
The Star Drum line continued until 1974 (the Star Drums that were made of clear acrylic are still sought after by Tama drum collectors). Up to this time, much of Hoshino business was also in making drums for other brands. But in 1974, Hoshino decided that they would make a better grade of drums and would no longer manufacture for other companies. To forge a new identity for these drums, the brand name was changed from Star to Tama (named after Tama Hoshino, a revered Hoshino matriarch). But the name change was the smallest part of that effort.
The real difference, the difference that bought Tama to the attention of serious drummers and changed the drum set as we know it, was Tama’s hardware.
Today memory locks, boomstands, cymbal mates, offset tilters and multi-clamps are all standard items we now take for granted. But when Tama offered these innovations and the first double-braced heavy duty hardware in the mid-70's, it was nothing less than revolutionary. Up to that point, drum stands were usually thin, often unstable, and definitely not designed to hold up under the new heavier drumming styles. Specialized attachments were mostly jury-rigged contraptions improvised by inventive drummers. By seeing what drummers really needed on the job-durable, well balanced hardware that could be easily adapted to every style and stage-Tama engineers redefined drum hardware and the drum set. Hardware innovation at Tama continues to this day with recent offerings including the Star-Cast Mounting System, Iron Cobra pedals, and the Air-Ride Snare System.
But while the hardware first got drummers’ attention, it was the drums that kept that attention and created the loyal legion of Tama players.
The Strongest Name in Drums
TAMA’S Imperialstar drums weren’t the first Tama offering (they were preceded by Royalstars and Swingstars), but they were the first drums that were totally and definably Tama. But it was the 1977 introduction of the birch Superstar drums, Tama’s first lacquered kit, that established Tama as one of the top drum companies. While other companies had lacquered shells at the time, their lacquered drums were highly expensive. But over the years Tama had invested heavily in improving their own manufacturing process. This made it possible to put a high quality pro kit into the hands of a greater number of drummers.
Other well-received additions to the Tama line in both the pro and inexpensive lines continued to add to the Tama reputation. In 1983 the prestige Artstar Series was introduced as the new flagship of the line, a line that continues to this day. Not long after, in response to trends towards larger sets with deeper drums, Tama's inexpensive, but high quality 5 pc. Swingstar sets evolved into the Rockstar line with its larger drum depths and larger drum selection.
Tama didn’t leave its innovations exclusively to hardware design. Tama has also added the Gong bass drum and the melodic Octoban drums to the percussion palette. And in recent years, the Starclassic drum line with its thin shells combined with the Star-Cast Mounting System brought Tama the Most Innovative Drum of the Year Award at the music industry’s 1995 NAMM trade show.
The Strongest NAMES in Drums
Finally, there is much more to the history of Tama than just a few words can cover. But any discussion of the history of Tama has to include the artists that have been associated with the company. The artistic and technical input of legendary artists such as Simon Phillips, Kenny Aronoff, Lenny White, Bill Bruford, Stewart Copeland and other legendary players has simply been invaluable in the creation of Tama drums and hardware.
And the history of Tama continues to be written as new artists such as Tim Alexander, Rayford Griffin, Rodney Holmes, and Mike Portnoy are helping them design the instruments that will be offered now and in the future.