They might have been inspired by a Pollock or perhaps just a 3-year-old’s art project, but whatever the case, Tama’s new limited-edition Iron Cobras will get your feet feeling super psychedelic. Street price is $350 for the single pedal and $750 for the double.
Have you gotten your yearly fix of marching-band and percussion-ensemble bad asses? Check out some performance vids below. Gear courtesy of Tama.
I haven’t spent much time frequenting orchestra pits, but if this new snare from Tama is typical of the gear classical percussionists get to play, I shall have to dust off the tux, dress shoes, and fancy stick bag. Here we have a brass-shelled beaut that belongs to Bill Platt, who was the principal percussionist (aka “chief buzz-roller”) at the Cincinnati Symphony and Cincinnati Pops.
The drum has a couple of interesting features that I haven’t seen on a drum-set snare. First up are its “freedom lugs” and claw hooks, which when loosened can be tilted back to release the drumhead. This allows for quick head changes without completely removing the tension rods. Very cool.
The drum also has three different sets of snare wires that can be individually adjusted for different sounds. Also very cool.
Not sure how those two features would actually translate to louder kit playing, but I’m definitely intrigued, especially about the freedom lugs. I would imagine that rock drummers for example have more of a need to change heads than classical percussionists do. Perhaps though the lugs aren’t as sturdy or hold tuning as well for heavy-sticked playing.
Not sure, but gimme gimme.
Hmm, the “new” part on Portnoy’s 12-inch snare appears to be a badge that you can read if the drum is upside down. There is also a legit new 14-inch model with the same funky badge. No word yet on pricing, but hopefully it’s exactly the same as the old model. Paying more money for a new badge totally blows.
Good news for your butt: Tama has unveiled the company’s first foray into hydraulic thrones.
Though gas-powered stools are nothing new in the drummingverse, the thrones in Tama’s new series, dubbed the 1st Chair Hydraulix line, feature seats that come off easily from the base for a fast pack-up. There are two flavors available: the HT750C Ergo-Rider comes with Tama’s ergonomically shaped bicycle seat. The HT650C Round-Rider (pictured below) boasts an all-new rounder-shaped seat with lower profile seams for completely unimpeded leg motion and a special air pocket in the bottom that helps reduce playing fatigue.
The HT750C Ergo-Rider Hydraulix lists for $265.99, and the HT650C Round-Rider Hydraulix lists for $249.99.
A small price to pay for a smooth ass ride, no?
Tama’s Warlord collection is known for three things—big sounds, big looks, and freakin’ bloody-big price tags. The new Titan model is no exception. The bad news first: one of these bad bastards will cost you $2,849.99 (MSRP). The good news is that the drum weighs much less than its Warlord brethren, even though it produces a louder sound, one that we’re told borders on painful (RAWK!!!!!). It features a 14″ x 6″, 1.0mm titanium shell with Tama’s Resonant Sound Edge bearing edge, die-cast hoops, and a hard-shell case.
We’ve already posted several pics of Lars Ulrich’s signature kit, and now we got the goods on how its color came about.
[Press Release]
Metallic drummer Lars Ulrich wanted a new color in his life. More specifically he wanted a new orange finish for his set for the Death Magnetic tour.” And not just any orange,”said Terry Bissette of Tama.” Lars Ulrich was very specific that he wasn’t looking for something we already had, such as our Marigold Sparkle or anything like that. Our people in LA and Japan worked with Lars for a while before we came up with just the right shade to match what he was looking for.” That finish went on to grace Lars’s kit for the tour. Fortunately, for Tama and Metallica drumming fans, Lars Ulrich was willing to share.
For 2009, that special orange finish, now named “LU Magnetic Orange” for both the tour and drummer, is now an available finish for Tama’s Starclassic maple series. Drummer’s can re-create Lars’s tour kit, or choose from any of the staggering number of diameters and depths available in the Starclassic maple series.
Along with an oompa-loompa-orange Lars Ulrich kit, Tama showed off a Simon Phillips 30th-anniversary drum set at NAMM 2009. Made of Monarch shells (a maple/bubinga/maple hybrid), the drums looked positively exquisite, and we got good Google AdSense money they sound damn fine too. Unfortunately, like all of the kits at Tama’s booth, the Simon Phillips set was off-limits to even the most well-connected thumpers. Next year, we’re bringing this along to distract the booth cops.
Check out more pics of the kit and other Tama drums from NAMM right here.
It always happens this way. Before every NAMM show, I plan and plot and map out my strategy for hitting every drum booth in a methodical and efficient manner. But as soon as the doors are thrown open and I get that smell of new gear in both nostrils, I immediately run to whatever big and shiny drum kit I see first. This time, it was Tama that grabbed me by the balls with a Lars Ulrich signature set. Here are some teaser pics before we get the full gallery on Flickr up.
[Update: Our complete Tama gallery is now available here. It includes thirteen photos of the Lars Ulrich signature set.]
Desperately need to own an Iron Cobra double pedal, but don’t have the cash? Just fill out the form here on Tama’s site, and you’re in the running for one of five pedal packs worth $579.
And if you do manage to win one of them sumbitches, send us an unboxing photo or two.
If you’re anything like us provincial, ignorant bastards, you didn’t know what a soul toul was either. Turns out it was neither a “tool” for extracting soul nor a “toll” for purchasing it. Nope, Toul Soul is a dude, a shredding drummer dude from Japan, and he just got a signature snare from Tama. His 14″ x 5.5″ drum features a 1.0mm steel shell that has a custom bearing edge “lined with a special compound that facilitates the drum’s warm yet extraordinarily precise and articulate response.” What the hell that special compound is we have no idea…but the shell itself, dressed in a black nickel plate, looks very fine. You can snag Toul’s drum for an MSRP of $399.99.
Happy 4th from all of us here at BDT. We couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate independence and freedom than providing you with lots of extremely hot drum porn. Forget the family for a few minutes, lock the door, close the curtains, turn out the lights, and enjoy a little you-time courtesy of Tama.
First up are new bubinga/birch shell packs. They are part of Tama’s venerable Starclassic Performer series and will come in four possible configurations. The 7-piece version lists for $5,649.99.
Next comes more news from the bubinga front: a limited-edition Starclassic Reserve kit. The high-end drums feature Tama’s bubinga shells with an outer-ply of North American walnut. Sets will be available in two configurations: a 5-piece kit with a 20″ x 18″ bass drum, and a 6-piece kit with a thumpin’ 22″ x 20″ kick. A total of only 50 kits will be available worldwide. If you got a spare $7,689.99, better get in line now.
Can’t part with that kind of cash but still want some new gear? Tama has also unveiled a few limited-edition snares that are more wallet friendly. The one we really want is the Artwood Custom (pic below), which features a 14″ x 8″ maple shell that screams ’80s arena rock. Only 100 of the drums will be available, and they’ll all be sold only in the good old U.S. of A. The list price is $549.99.
Oh sweet bloody Thor, has Tama ever given us gear junkies something to drool over now: a whole bunch of the company’s catalogs—from the 1960s to the 2000s—have been posted online. Love seeing all those monster concert-tom kits!
Small is the new black at Tama. First Hyper-Drive toms, and now the Metro-Jam kit. It’s anchored by a diminutive 12″ x 14″ bass drum with a specially designed lifter, but the birch/bubinga shell (along with four magical ½” holes drilled into the drum) apparently give it some serious punch and volume. A 6.5″ x 10″ tom and a 10″ x 13″ tom complete the kit; a snare must be purchased separately. No word yet on the Metro-Jam’s price, but we’re guessing…um…not so small.
For, oh, $15,500. Stewart’s Tama signature set is a 14-piece Starclassic maple kit in a “Police Blue Sparkle” finish. Only 50 kits will be made available worldwide…and Stewart’s grandmother is buying 49 of them, so get in line.
