Tama has started 2021 with a bang by re-introducing its Starclassic Performer, but this time there's a twist in the form of maple/birch shells setups for this year.
Since its introduction in 1994, we’ve seen pure birch, bubinga and maple-shelled Starclassics, as well as more recent hybrid lay-ups such as birch/bubinga and walnut/birch in the Starclassic line-up, and now Tama has combined two of the most common woods used in drum shell construction with maple and birch.
Both are known for their respective warm punch and clear, biting sound, so the combination of the two could well make this entry-point into the Starclassic family one of its most popular to-date.
Each snare, tom and floor tom features 6mm shells, constructed from 4 plies of birch and two inner plies of maple, while Starclassic Performer bass drums are 7mm with 5 plies of birch and two maple inner plies.
Tama has gone to town with its Starclassic finishes over the past couple of years, but while the Starclassic Performer maple/birch is available in exotic-looking Molten Steel Blue Burst and Caramel Aurora, there’s also the more traditional Piano Black and Dark Cherry Fade for those wanting to keep things simpler.
Elsewhere, the Starclassic Performer includes a number of familiar Starclassic features: Evans heads (G1) straight out of the box, Star-Cast mounting system and die-cast hoops.
The Tama Starclassic Performer is available in two pre-configured setups. First is the four-piece shell pack with a drilled 22”x16” bass drum, 10”x8” and 12”x9” rack toms and 16”x14” floor tom.
Next is a five-shell setup with an un-drilled 22”x16” bass drum, shallower 10”x7” and 12”x8” rack toms, 14”x12” and 16”x14” floor toms.
The shell packs start at £1399/$1399. Matching 14”x5.5 and 14”x6.5” snares and additional toms/bass drums are also available to order.
