hey Glenn, WTF?!?!? i just watched your video on how to make bass traps... i was highly disappointed that it had nothing to do with trapping the bass player at all
That's easy to do. Tell them to go into a closet where the door knob is on the left side, and that the door knob on the right side is the one that lets them out. Make sure to write L and R on their hands to make sure they don't get it wrong. Same with their shoes.
You can still hear shitty tone no matter how well you play. Even if the shitty tones "fits" or sounds "right". It also helps when you have high end mics and amps amd computer programs. Not saying the tama was a shitty tone. But it was clearly inferior to the DW
Absolutely. But as always, to a point. The drumming in the video was top notch, as was the way the kit was tuned, miked and recorded. All that makes a difference.
@@BluesManSteele dw makes the best overall drums in the industry. Worked my ass off when I was younger at a second job to pay for them. Worth it. He’s right on the pricing. Shells, plus the matching edge series snare drum (extra grand at the time) were in the neighborhood of ouch and holy crap. But wow. Just wow.
thats my only thought listening. the kick is so full and deep on the DW, and the lack of low low end on the tama is just not there. all else to me is just fine.
@@TotalDESSSS after the follow up vid, ill acknowledge the tama has a more fuller sound, but I feel it still falls short, however id say the tama would be totaly fine in a practice jam setting, never gona be able to tell, but when it comes to studio, just use the kit already there.
@@TotalDESSSS whoa whoa whoa. This is the internet. You cant just rationally agree about with other people. Wheres the "you dont know anything", and the "do your research" comments? your doing the comment section wrong! Cool video though, cheers :D
@HRRoach You're right. As long as you have drums of reasonable quality to begin with, good heads and tuning will take you the rest of the way. Anyone who says $10,000 drums made of african bubinga with gold plated hardware "just sound better, man" can go and F themselves.
Yep. I like the "Whoosh" on the DW Kick but I thing with a little fiddling you can get the Rockstar Kick close to it. On one session the Kick of the Drummer also was lacking the "whoosh" and it was more "wobble". So we stole a Concrete Stone on a Construction Site nearby and put it in there. "Big Bertha" is about 25kg heavy and mentioned in the Credits of that Record :D
Yes. I liked the DW bass much more and the Tama snare a little more. But as we all know. None of us likely would be able to tell which was which in a blind test. It is just preference of sound not quality of sound.
with a drummer who knows how to play and an engineer who knows what he's doing, even a cheap drum set can end up sounding great and bring some character to a song. I'd rather hear the Tama kick over slate kick 5 anyday. Great vid Glenn!
For sure, one band I was in I wanted to record the drums for a demo. I offered to buy all new heads, but the drummer insisted on midi programming his tracks with ezdrummer. Kinda blew my mind.
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I recently built my own studio in São Paulo, and found a used Japanese tama rockstar, killer sound, killer looks and dirty cheap... I couldn't be happier
@@ryanwilson5936 Ironically, he went out and found a full Rockstar kit and uses his Ludwig snare with the Rockstar kit LOL!!! He did cut down to one bass drum and a double-pedal, though.
Drums can be expensive but if you shop smart, you can get a legitimate awesome quality drum set relatively affordable. Buy the cymbals used for more savings. It’s not cheap but at the same time, it doesn’t have to be too expensive.
I was kinda anti-Tama for years until I worked in a music store. The Tama kits sounded amazing out of the box and their hardware was rock solid. The StarClassics walnut/birch shells projected clear across the store and sounded better than the DW maple kit that was more than twice the price.
I always liked Tama. My favorite back in the day was the superstars from the early 80's. But modern drums just blow away the old stuff. Even the dirt cheap sets. I have Yamaha stage customs.
@@galgogergo As a young lad in the mid 80’s, every time I went into a music store the Tama kits sounded like ass compared to the Pearls and Yamaha’s due to poor setups and skins. I didn’t know enough back then and I played mostly Jazz throughout high school. So I didn’t need a Metal kit.
Haha I just scrolled for damn near five minutes just to give you props myself, Duck Tape Melodies! I learned something! (in a "sense" sense rather than a "rote" sense; hope that makes sense lol) Coincidental part is that just a few hours ago I was looking up how to use speakers as microphones for low frequency sources and phase shift, I found, is the reason "they say" to wire it in reverse polarity. Excellent catch though, and Fuck Glenn! 🤘😅✌
True the BD on DW is thousands times better. the toms basically almost sound the same. I mean in metal mix at the end you'll get dead sounding tom. So kick, snare, cymbals are the most matter.
Ahh yes, a very... Corporeal, inspiration? One might say? I get how the fine land of Copyright Strikes informs decisions. And completely approve of your solution. Album is Necroticism, for those of you interested.
It's not better, just boomier. The Tama would fit really well on a not-so-metal track. Sounds almost exactly like the kick from Weezer's Blue Album actually, a friendly but present "pok" sound.
@@matturner6890 id have said the tama sounds more one-dimensional, if that makes sense. really flat and a tad too ... well how to put it.. papery? for my taste. then again, i always gravitate toward the sound of dw drums in superior drummer, so maybe im biased.
@@DzoniMakaroni No prob man, I am a fuckin nerd about drums and love sharing info. I will also mention that the DW kick is also awesome, and on a slower heavy song would be absolutely monstrous. The big, long BOOM is great for slower stuff.
Have to say the playing and mixing are sublime! That Tama sounds unreal, they really are an amazing series of drums! The DW is fantastic too but just have a soft spot for cheap old Tama kits!
When I was a kid I played with a drummer who’s kit was built around lumber . Actual 2 by 4s and plywood. We even played a couple of Gigs with it . It’s the only time I got chased by dogs at a lumber yard stealing wood for a crash stand .
I have my brothers 1995 Japanese Rockstar, I also had a 90's swingstar and then I have an 80's Swingstar 12x8 rack tom in cream with that speckled interior.. If you are good at tuning these are all winner's. I've always had different snare's but I remember when ky brother got the kit brand new that Tama snare sounded pretty good.
One has to keep in mind the context of the type of music. When you're constantly hitting hard, using 2-ply batter heads, tuning lower, and scooping the crap out of the midrange EQ, yes, both kits can be in the same ballpark. If you're talking a quieter type of music, though, and you have single ply heads, tuned higher, and played with some subtlety, the differences become more pronounced, and you'll get more tone/fullness/musicality out of the more expensive set. (Tom suspension mounts alone will make a difference.) I understand that this isn't the point of the video; this is geared toward project studio applications and getting the best bang for the buck (also, it's the fool, not the tool). It would just be a mistake to think that the results here translate for every style of music. Thank you for this video - it's very cool and a great lesson to be learned.
Just a week ago I bought the exact same TAMA ROCKSTAR model for less than $300. It took me about 4-5 hours to clean it, I put new heads and, damn, it sounds so full! I am absolutely amazed!
FULL DISCLOSURE: I flogged a Tama Rockstar kit for most of a twenty-year career in cover bands in cabarets and bars in the Pacific Northwest and Northern Nevada, though not identical to the kit Glenn used, mine came with StarCast mounts, so mine (purchased in 1999) might be a bit newer, and the kit didn't come with a snare. I purchased a wood Tama Rockstar snare about five or six years ago after using a vintage Ludwig Pioneer and an generic steel piccolo snare. That said, after listening to the tracks in the video I can say that the Tamas sounded just fine in comparison to the DWs, to the point where it's just a matter of personal taste and budget. Did the more expensive drums sound better? Yeah, sure. Enough to justify the expense? That depends on how much money you make/have made as a working drummer. The difference between the snares was a bit more pronounced to me, but again, whether or not the better quality justifies the expense is up to you. I'd have loved to see him use snares from boutique brands like Brady, or makers like Gregg Keplinger or Jeff Ocheltree.
Honestly only sound difference I can hear on several different listening methods is a different kick drum impact. Other than that, both are a righteously good sound.
Shows that you dont need a 6000 dollar kit to sound great in the studio or live onstage as long as the drums are in good condition, well tuned and played good
I've owned & played several DW collectors sets, convincing myself that I was "going pro" by playing DW. I have also owned / played most styles of Tama sets. Tama has more character, the bass drums are better, and the hardware is as good as it gets. I currently play Tama Starclassic and I am done with DW. Keep up the great work and thanks for throwing us Drummers the love 💘
I played with a drummer who'd purchased a $7000 Sonor set sometime in the 80s. They sounded perfect. No overtones. So simple to mic either live or studio. I can attest they made some amazing kit back in the day.
First. Even through my iPhone speakers I hear that DW, kick sounds like kick, and Tama sounds like a cardboard. Toms are surprisingly similar, so you’ve managed to tune both drumsets to sound like a cardboard, good job! Second. play some jazz-rock with properly placed room, snare bottom, front kick and overhead mikes and difference will be there. Metal groove with its short, compressed, isolated clicky sounds anyway averages any drums. Third. Why on earth would we buy a 6K worth drumset to substitute it by samples or even mix it with samples? You guys play too much metal. The result of search for ideal streamlined metal production ended up with identical sound of hundreds of bands with no dynamics, no much difference in mood, no even much difference in keys and tempo. So I can’t see any reason in comparing instruments for the style that unifies everything into industry standard, Big Mac shaped uniform stream of riffs, blasts and screaming. Great, you’ve found a way of mixing killing individual properties of instruments. Thank you for happy childhood of my children easily dividing music into categories.
Assuming the tracks were processed identically, the DW set may sound a bit better, but I'd be hilariously happy to have the level of quality you got with the Rockstar kit. Maybe not too thrilled about the kick drum sound (compared to the DW), but still perfectly usable.
At the last second, I decided to listen to the full mix shootout with my eyes closed just to see if I could hear a difference and not be influenced by the brand or price. I was blown away when I opened my eyes to see the kit I thought sounded better was the Tama. The Tama was just sort of clear and snappy with this great attack while the DW was a bit too soft in the highs which didn't cut through the mix as well. That DW is a bit sweeter or richer, for lack of a better word, but that Tama just so clear and cuts through the mix so well.
I watched this with my eyes closed. I couldn't tell the difference between the two. I was playing it on a high end 5.1 stereo with an expensive sound card. They both sounded great to my ears.
I've been playing TAMA since the 80's. They call them Rockstars for a reason. I have a white marine Japan version of that rockstar with the suspension mounts. Fresh well tuned Aquarian heads on those kits sound amazing, (Especially mic'd up). That was my good luck gigging kit for 5 years.
hey glenn, could you try "good heads on cheap drums vs bad heads on expensive" . what i'm trying to get at is: how much of the sound is in the head and how much is in the drum itself. thanks!
The notable difference in price is also to do with the manufacturing. Tama is Taiwanese and DW is manufactured in the USA, needless to say, much more expensive labor and certain people will be partial to the American option if they have the coin for it.
I still use my Tama Rockstar DX set, an 1980's kit made in Japan of Mahogany and Maple hybrid shells. I am probably biased but that (Birch?!) Rockstar Kick drum kicks your DW's ass, Glenn. Loads of you guys are listening with your eyes and wallets, Go defend an Axe 3 or a line 6 spider, Glenn has gotten his $6k out of his drums.
GLENN AND SAMPLES??! IS HELL FREEZING OVER? HAHAHAHA. I would love to hear more information on mixing with samples (and if possible only samples, since the pandemic got me stuck at home, it's been a year long quarantine here in the Philippines). Been following since the try not to suck series and would hopefully see something on this topic. PS. tangina mo Glenn
I played 2200€ Pearl Masters for years, but when I moved to another country I couldn't bring them along so I decided to get a cheaper set. So, I got a new 600€ Tama Silverstar 6 piece kit and was just blown away by how well built it is and how good it sounds. Nowadays I prefer the tama kit over the masters kits...
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Tama Rockstar 4 me! It held well and provided a good sound! I'm a guitarist and it just floated my boat! $$$$ on the Tama!
Both sound very good. Feel like the DW sounds more “alive”, more punch and presence so def can tell a difference. But the Tamas for sure hold their own and work for those on more of a budget. That said, feel like the biggest barrier for recording drums are modest quality mics, pres, and a treated room to record. Video idea: Tamas on studio quality mics vs 7 mic starter pack? They hold up with other budget gear?
I would seriously question anyone’s judgement who says it is worth 25x as much. No... maybe 1.5x as much MAX. You’re not setting back my studio over a set of slightly better toms and a thinner sounding snare.
Just buy the TAMA's snare and toms, then a DW kick and you have a live and studio drum kit that sounds killer. :D EDIT: Just buy the TAMA kit instead, both kicks were out of phase in this video.
@@jeffkerr807 It means the microphones are negatively interfering on each other's sound when mixed in a song. If both were in phase, they would positively interfere on the drum sound, yielding the desired result.
saw the drummer playing with a mask on.... stopped the video, moved on. Stop with the California, liberal, virtue signaling, "dO aS yOuR ToLd" bullshit. You're in closed room, by yourself, WTF is your problem? Sneaking in the proverbial "Everyone's doing it., see? So wear your mask" crap. ....Im out.
99% of the listeners can’t tell a difference , if it were never pointed out. That same 99% pay the bills for musicians. So.... one should primarily focus on theatrics , stick flips and stuff. 😬
Hell yea, I bought two identical used Pearl Export kits from guitar center, cuz they cheap and I wanted double bass drums. The cymbals hardware and new skins for all those drums was expensive as fuck tho. I also have a Roland electric kit for triggering superior drummer.
I'm more keen to know which AKG headphones the dude was using. I'm not impressed by the build quality of my recently purchased Extreme Isolation EX29 headphones.
You have several times cited Judas Priest "Painkiller" as one of the favorite productions of yours: there's a quite brutal snare sample going on that record :)
Great video! Ive been a Tama player for 30 years. I recently restored a 1989 Japanese made Rockstar, not Taiwanese made, like many in that era. As you so wisely stated in your video, as long as you have good heads and proper tuning, the differences are small for sure.
Hi Glen! I have a set of birch Tama Silverstars I got for around $500. They sound well and full outside their price range for certain! Ive never lugged the full kit into a studio but I have taken the 14x5 snare it comes with, and everyone is blown away by it. We even did a side by side with a pearl masters maple 14x6 and pearl free floating brass 14x6.5 and most felt the little birch silverstar snare was better. The hardware isn't as robust anymore but there's something about Tama shell construction.
I think the Tama was better, I hate DW drums, I think they sound like thin shit, oddly enough, the opposite of what most of these Yes-men are telling Glenn. I Own a Superstar Birch and a Vintage Rockstar DX Maple and Mahogany, they in my opinion, blow DW drums out of a studio, but then, I got my drums for Live Performances, not Studio only as Glenn has with his $6,000.00 DW Maple shits er shells.
@@myopicautisticmetal9035 I once stumbled into a guitar center while the drum guy was tuning the display kits. He was so blown away by a Tama Starclassic b/b's ability to hold a lower and richer fundamental than every display kit they had out that I joined him in trying to get a DW collectors maple, an all maple ludwig kit whos name I cant recall (pro price tag tho), and a pearl masters maple to hold as rich and low a sound. The DW and Ludwig even had noticeably bigger shell sizes too. The tama starclassic stomped all.
The drummer I'm working with (and have for most of my music projects over the last 25 years) has had a Tama Rockstar set since '92. And like Glen said, it's a beast of a set. I'm sure he'll be excited to watch this episode when I send him a link. ⚡🤘⚡
Tell you the truth I like the Tama better. It has less midrange and more lowend. That is why I don't like maple shells for recording. After reading some of the comments, I see everybody saying the DW has more lowend. Strange.
I've had a tama rockstar DX for the last several years, and I just got back into playing recently. I had NO idea that my kit would be considered "cheap!" I've played really cheap kits, and mine blows them out of the water! I'm a proud owner :)
Yeah, that DW with that awesome snare are just wonderful, but that Tama's not horrible at all. Drums can be worked to yield good results, cymbals on the other hand... Thank you, Glenn. I had to go and get popcorn to watch this properly.
The Snares of both Drum Sets sound great! The only really „better“ gear in my opinion is the kick drum of DW. The Toms are a choice of taste. Crazy how much better the Rockstar sounded than i first immagined.
I just saw this post . Very ironic . I used a 6 Piece set of Tama Rockstar drums ( extra 10” Tom added to the standard 5 Piece) on the road with The New Creatures for 10 years. Many times on live shows we used our own Front of House Engineer that we hired in NYC and myself also being an audio engineer we would easily make the Tama’s sound spectacular. We also used the Rockstar on one our studio albums in ‘97 a and, of course, using API EQ’s and Neve 1073s pre amps and Pultec’s along with great mic’s and good head tuning the drums in that album sound phenomenal. I have a Canopus 8 piece all maple and a Pearl Reference series Mahogany/Maple Bubbinga shell mix -all custom kit as well and both those kits combined cost over 18K . I get a good laugh when I think back on how the Tama’s held up for 10 years of solid tours and gigging . I paid $500 for my Rockstars from Sam Ash on 48th St in the 90’s . Road worthy and they held their own most definitely . Nevertheless, my Canopus all Maple can’t be beat. Better even than my Pearl’s
That's just it - the Rockstar sounded pretty good. The only thing that I'd change is the snare as it sounded a little too dull to my ears, but thats just nitpicking
Aha! The elephant in the room. The cymbal set-up is excellent and pro level stuff. People cheap out on the cymbals because they are expensive. But good cymbals and a decent snare are more important than the rest of the kit overall. I use a supraphonic with paiste sigs and 2002, my kit is a midlevel Sonor 3007 I bought for $500. The only comment i ever got was from an artist manager once. "can you put a pillow in that bass drum?"
@@stephenanthonythomas3533 100% Agree. MOST of my kits are midrange. Sonor Mapex Premeir Taye, pdp.But do own a bunch of Tama Starclassics and Yamaha custom absolute.yet the Snares are matching for each kit or Sweet Pork Pie, Pearl Free Floater and a Carl Palmer venus. ALL my cymbals pAisTe. Full sets of 2oo2, Signature, Masters, SouNd ForMuLa and getting a couple Dark Energy next week as well. Great Cymbals & Snare SAVE an Average kit. But I'm PUZZLED by so many "Drum Demo" vids show a guy Bashing out beats on cymbals instead of showcasing? The drums in which they talk about. Sorry to be long winded, we drummers LOVE talking about Gear🤘
Nothing wrong with the Tama! I recently bought a $2k guitar (LTD Arrow 1000 Violet Andromeda) and then bought a $215 (Harley Benton Victory Flames), changed the bridge humbucker and I honestly can't say that the LTD sounds or feels better at all. I was shocked.
The interiors of cheap drums are always unfinished (no finish or sealer on the wood... just bare wood), including those Rockstars. No one ever talks about this, but it is a BIG factor in the sound (and cost) of drums. Would love to see the same comparison after sealing the interiors of the Rockstars with polyurethane, tung oil blend, whatever. Should give it a noticeable improvement in the midrange and upper mid that is missing from them currently (which is NOT missing from the sealed wood interiors of the DWs). Thanks for the comparison... great video!
hey Glenn, WTF?!?!? i just watched your video on how to make bass traps... i was highly disappointed that it had nothing to do with trapping the bass player at all
That's easy to do. Tell them to go into a closet where the door knob is on the left side, and that the door knob on the right side is the one that lets them out. Make sure to write L and R on their hands to make sure they don't get it wrong. Same with their shoes.
If you want trap a bass player bait it with beer and weed .
Getting trapped in stupid situations is one of the few things your bass player doesn't need help with.
Did you use a laser pointer?
😂
Spit out my drink at..."Playing for the other Bands and thier Girlfriends".... Holy Shit the truth stiiiiiiiiiiiings, lol.
Life of an original metal band... splitting 30 bucks between 5 people at the end of the night
That is who I mainly played for, As well as the other bands mom's and dad's!
The reality of a rock band nowadays :D
@@RudalPL you’ve been there too, eh? 😜
I hope this helps people realize that skills and technique are more important than top of the line gear. Great vid Glenn 😃.
Absolutely! You're very welcome!
No it doesn't 😅
You can still hear shitty tone no matter how well you play. Even if the shitty tones "fits" or sounds "right".
It also helps when you have high end mics and amps amd computer programs.
Not saying the tama was a shitty tone. But it was clearly inferior to the DW
Absolutely. But as always, to a point. The drumming in the video was top notch, as was the way the kit was tuned, miked and recorded. All that makes a difference.
@@BluesManSteele dw makes the best overall drums in the industry. Worked my ass off when I was younger at a second job to pay for them. Worth it. He’s right on the pricing. Shells, plus the matching edge series snare drum (extra grand at the time) were in the neighborhood of ouch and holy crap. But wow. Just wow.
The DW kick drum sounds killer
thats my only thought listening. the kick is so full and deep on the DW, and the lack of low low end on the tama is just not there. all else to me is just fine.
The absolute biggest difference between the kits, and an important one at that
@@TotalDESSSS after the follow up vid, ill acknowledge the tama has a more fuller sound, but I feel it still falls short, however id say the tama would be totaly fine in a practice jam setting, never gona be able to tell, but when it comes to studio, just use the kit already there.
@@tyleraho2485 agreed
@@TotalDESSSS whoa whoa whoa. This is the internet. You cant just rationally agree about with other people. Wheres the "you dont know anything", and the "do your research" comments? your doing the comment section wrong! Cool video though, cheers :D
That punchy TAMA Rockstar bass drum...I grew up on that sound. Makes me smile
POK POK POK *snare* POK POK POK *snare*
Or Grandstar
True, but those toms... man, those sound bad.
Me too 😁 the Tama rockstar is an awesome kit !!!
What I'm getting from this is good heads and taking the time to tune the damn things is really what you need.
then you got the wrong impression NO amount of tuning or quality of heads, can fix a rockstar or bring it close to competing with a dw.
@@s4lroachclip DW sucks Tama is where to go
@HRRoach You're right. As long as you have drums of reasonable quality to begin with, good heads and tuning will take you the rest of the way. Anyone who says $10,000 drums made of african bubinga with gold plated hardware "just sound better, man" can go and F themselves.
@@Eccentricjuices Nice try troll
@@s4lroachclip DW
The DW kick had more body to it. Both snares and toms sounded great, though.
Yep. I like the "Whoosh" on the DW Kick but I thing with a little fiddling you can get the Rockstar Kick close to it.
On one session the Kick of the Drummer also was lacking the "whoosh" and it was more "wobble". So we stole a Concrete Stone on a Construction Site nearby and put it in there.
"Big Bertha" is about 25kg heavy and mentioned in the Credits of that Record :D
Totally agree. If I had an aging rockstar kit I'd probably spring for a dw kick drum and call it a day. Everything else sounded great though.
Yes. I liked the DW bass much more and the Tama snare a little more. But as we all know. None of us likely would be able to tell which was which in a blind test. It is just preference of sound not quality of sound.
@@SophiaAphrodite Oh my God April 1st is coming... Glenn is fucking with us!
So this discussion is for the bricks. Look for the follow up Video.... And with the right Phase the Tama rocks like Hell
with a drummer who knows how to play and an engineer who knows what he's doing, even a cheap drum set can end up sounding great and bring some character to a song. I'd rather hear the Tama kick over slate kick 5 anyday. Great vid Glenn!
For sure, one band I was in I wanted to record the drums for a demo. I offered to buy all new heads, but the drummer insisted on midi programming his tracks with ezdrummer. Kinda blew my mind.
I recently built my own studio in São Paulo, and found a used Japanese tama rockstar, killer sound, killer looks and dirty cheap... I couldn't be happier
These Rockstars sounds unreal if we think about the price, awesome
I thought my drummer’s $700 snare was expensive... 🤣🤣🤣
Don’t worry, it is lol.
@@ryanwilson5936
Ironically, he went out and found a full Rockstar kit and uses his Ludwig snare with the Rockstar kit LOL!!! He did cut down to one bass drum and a double-pedal, though.
The stock snare for Pearl Reference kits cost 1100€ on its own..
Drums can be expensive but if you shop smart, you can get a legitimate awesome quality drum set relatively affordable. Buy the cymbals used for more savings. It’s not cheap but at the same time, it doesn’t have to be too expensive.
The best snare AKA Ludwig Supraphonic costs about 700$ so yes that's the limit anything above that is just extra money.
I was kinda anti-Tama for years until I worked in a music store. The Tama kits sounded amazing out of the box and their hardware was rock solid. The StarClassics walnut/birch shells projected clear across the store and sounded better than the DW maple kit that was more than twice the price.
I always liked Tama. My favorite back in the day was the superstars from the early 80's. But modern drums just blow away the old stuff. Even the dirt cheap sets. I have Yamaha stage customs.
As a matter of fact! Finally someone with experience and not $'s in their eyes.
Why didn't you like Tama back then? What was the thinking behind that?
@@galgogergo As a young lad in the mid 80’s, every time I went into a music store the Tama kits sounded like ass compared to the Pearls and Yamaha’s due to poor setups and skins. I didn’t know enough back then and I played mostly Jazz throughout high school. So I didn’t need a Metal kit.
If you never happened to, listen to Simon Philip's kit. His Starclassics just sing.
They both sound great to my ears. The snares on both sound killer
The Ludwig snare was the biggest difference in favor of the DW kit
@@paulhopkins1905 Kick drum was night and day between the two kits. DW kick smoked the Tama set.
@@jasonbone5121 My TV speakers aren't good enough to tell a big difference there, but I'm sure you're right
There’s for sure a difference. But I think if you used the exact same sized drums this would be even closer
Love Supraphonics. Had my 5" since '88. It was great to hear a 6.5" here. Deeeeeep!
Is the kick on the Tama out of phase?
Dude, PM me via Spectremedia.ca
Haha I just scrolled for damn near five minutes just to give you props myself, Duck Tape Melodies! I learned something! (in a "sense" sense rather than a "rote" sense; hope that makes sense lol)
Coincidental part is that just a few hours ago I was looking up how to use speakers as microphones for low frequency sources and phase shift, I found, is the reason "they say" to wire it in reverse polarity.
Excellent catch though, and Fuck Glenn! 🤘😅✌
@@SpectreSoundStudios he deserves something awesome Glenn. Thanks for your honesty
As a non-expert, the kick of the Tama sounded much smaller to me and I didn't love it. The snares of both sounded amazing to me! Holy crap!
True the BD on DW is thousands times better. the toms basically almost sound the same. I mean in metal mix at the end you'll get dead sounding tom.
So kick, snare, cymbals are the most matter.
Good bearing edges, good heads and proper tuning go a really long way!
That Carcass-like mix was really good to be honest
Ty!
HAHAH My first reaction was - Is that Carcass cover? :D
Ahh yes, a very... Corporeal, inspiration? One might say?
I get how the fine land of Copyright Strikes informs decisions. And completely approve of your solution. Album is Necroticism, for those of you interested.
My favorite Corcoss song!
Great video Glenn! Thanks for having me 🤘
You rock, Cam!
For real! Beast!
@@Bobby_Uterus 🤘
You make it look effortless
Nice!
The bass drum on the more expensive one sounded much better to me.
yeah the tama kick sounded like ass. the snare sounds just as good though!
It's not better, just boomier. The Tama would fit really well on a not-so-metal track. Sounds almost exactly like the kick from Weezer's Blue Album actually, a friendly but present "pok" sound.
@@matturner6890 That's interesting, didn't know that. Thanks!
@@matturner6890 id have said the tama sounds more one-dimensional, if that makes sense. really flat and a tad too ... well how to put it.. papery? for my taste.
then again, i always gravitate toward the sound of dw drums in superior drummer, so maybe im biased.
@@DzoniMakaroni No prob man, I am a fuckin nerd about drums and love sharing info.
I will also mention that the DW kick is also awesome, and on a slower heavy song would be absolutely monstrous. The big, long BOOM is great for slower stuff.
Have to say the playing and mixing are sublime! That Tama sounds unreal, they really are an amazing series of drums! The DW is fantastic too but just have a soft spot for cheap old Tama kits!
When I was a kid I played with a drummer who’s kit was built around lumber . Actual 2 by 4s and plywood. We even played a couple of Gigs with it . It’s the only time I got chased by dogs at a lumber yard stealing wood for a crash stand .
cool story
In the 90s those Tama Kits was sold like a begginer instrument ! I love them ! The swingstar series too they have their own character
Yep. I've got 3 MIJ rockstar kits, and all are great.
I had an art star double bass set up , it was immense , still one of my favourites , for me you can't beat the sound of a good power tom .
I have my brothers 1995 Japanese Rockstar, I also had a 90's swingstar and then I have an 80's Swingstar 12x8 rack tom in cream with that speckled interior.. If you are good at tuning these are all winner's. I've always had different snare's but I remember when ky brother got the kit brand new that Tama snare sounded pretty good.
"Playing for the other bands and their girlfriends." Oof, I felt that one.
One has to keep in mind the context of the type of music. When you're constantly hitting hard, using 2-ply batter heads, tuning lower, and scooping the crap out of the midrange EQ, yes, both kits can be in the same ballpark. If you're talking a quieter type of music, though, and you have single ply heads, tuned higher, and played with some subtlety, the differences become more pronounced, and you'll get more tone/fullness/musicality out of the more expensive set. (Tom suspension mounts alone will make a difference.) I understand that this isn't the point of the video; this is geared toward project studio applications and getting the best bang for the buck (also, it's the fool, not the tool). It would just be a mistake to think that the results here translate for every style of music. Thank you for this video - it's very cool and a great lesson to be learned.
That Supraphonic snare! Holy hell, it sounds like a cannon. Perfection.
Just a week ago I bought the exact same TAMA ROCKSTAR model for less than $300. It took me about 4-5 hours to clean it, I put new heads and, damn, it sounds so full! I am absolutely amazed!
I really liked the kick on the DW kit.
Rockstar Kick blows away the DW.
FULL DISCLOSURE: I flogged a Tama Rockstar kit for most of a twenty-year career in cover bands in cabarets and bars in the Pacific Northwest and Northern Nevada, though not identical to the kit Glenn used, mine came with StarCast mounts, so mine (purchased in 1999) might be a bit newer, and the kit didn't come with a snare. I purchased a wood Tama Rockstar snare about five or six years ago after using a vintage Ludwig Pioneer and an generic steel piccolo snare.
That said, after listening to the tracks in the video I can say that the Tamas sounded just fine in comparison to the DWs, to the point where it's just a matter of personal taste and budget. Did the more expensive drums sound better? Yeah, sure. Enough to justify the expense? That depends on how much money you make/have made as a working drummer. The difference between the snares was a bit more pronounced to me, but again, whether or not the better quality justifies the expense is up to you. I'd have loved to see him use snares from boutique brands like Brady, or makers like Gregg Keplinger or Jeff Ocheltree.
I had a Rockstar Fusion kit. Decent drums. Rewrapped them from black, to Red Marble.
The one major plus I really liked about the DWs is the much beefier kick sound, but other than that, the Tama really does the job well. Rock on.
Honestly only sound difference I can hear on several different listening methods is a different kick drum impact. Other than that, both are a righteously good sound.
Thanks very much! Glad you liked!
Shows that you dont need a 6000 dollar kit to sound great in the studio or live onstage as long as the drums are in good condition, well tuned and played good
I've owned & played several DW collectors sets, convincing myself that I was "going pro" by playing DW. I have also owned / played most styles of Tama sets. Tama has more character, the bass drums are better, and the hardware is as good as it gets. I currently play Tama Starclassic and I am done with DW. Keep up the great work and thanks for throwing us Drummers the love 💘
I don't know about the reselling value of a DW, but I am sure you can find a 2nd hand Sonor for under 2k that has no fear of comparisons.
I picked up a nice set of older Sonor's for $400, installed new heads and good to go.
@@whiskeymike7364 I feel like Sonors are so underappreciated nowadays. Ludwigs too.
Been on my Sonors since '07 and no plans of letting them go, ever!
I played with a drummer who'd purchased a $7000 Sonor set sometime in the 80s. They sounded perfect. No overtones. So simple to mic either live or studio. I can attest they made some amazing kit back in the day.
Force 3007 series!
9 ply Canadian maple!
Can still find them for 1000 Canadian used.
Killer drums that definitely fear no comparison!!!
First. Even through my iPhone speakers I hear that DW, kick sounds like kick, and Tama sounds like a cardboard. Toms are surprisingly similar, so you’ve managed to tune both drumsets to sound like a cardboard, good job!
Second. play some jazz-rock with properly placed room, snare bottom, front kick and overhead mikes and difference will be there. Metal groove with its short, compressed, isolated clicky sounds anyway averages any drums.
Third. Why on earth would we buy a 6K worth drumset to substitute it by samples or even mix it with samples?
You guys play too much metal. The result of search for ideal streamlined metal production ended up with identical sound of hundreds of bands with no dynamics, no much difference in mood, no even much difference in keys and tempo. So I can’t see any reason in comparing instruments for the style that unifies everything into industry standard, Big Mac shaped uniform stream of riffs, blasts and screaming. Great, you’ve found a way of mixing killing individual properties of instruments. Thank you for happy childhood of my children easily dividing music into categories.
Assuming the tracks were processed identically, the DW set may sound a bit better, but I'd be hilariously happy to have the level of quality you got with the Rockstar kit. Maybe not too thrilled about the kick drum sound (compared to the DW), but still perfectly usable.
At the last second, I decided to listen to the full mix shootout with my eyes closed just to see if I could hear a difference and not be influenced by the brand or price. I was blown away when I opened my eyes to see the kit I thought sounded better was the Tama. The Tama was just sort of clear and snappy with this great attack while the DW was a bit too soft in the highs which didn't cut through the mix as well. That DW is a bit sweeter or richer, for lack of a better word, but that Tama just so clear and cuts through the mix so well.
Minor tonal variances in the kick and snare but WOW. . .the Tama is very useable.
Both kits sound phenomenal. A/B’ing them in this manner tells a lot but an album done with one or the other would be just fine in my book.
I watched this with my eyes closed. I couldn't tell the difference between the two. I was playing it on a high end 5.1 stereo with an expensive sound card. They both sounded great to my ears.
I've been playing TAMA since the 80's. They call them Rockstars for a reason. I have a white marine Japan version of that rockstar with the suspension mounts. Fresh well tuned Aquarian heads on those kits sound amazing, (Especially mic'd up). That was my good luck gigging kit for 5 years.
The DW kick sounds much better than the Tama kick!
It might be boomier, but I guarantee the Tama fits into way more mixes.
hey glenn, could you try "good heads on cheap drums vs bad heads on expensive" . what i'm trying to get at is: how much of the sound is in the head and how much is in the drum itself. thanks!
Bad heads (old and worn out, or new but so cheap they're practially made out of paper) will sound bad no matter what you put them on.
The Rockstar set sounded really impressive but having highend mic's surely helps a lot too! Great video...
The notable difference in price is also to do with the manufacturing. Tama is Taiwanese and DW is manufactured in the USA, needless to say, much more expensive labor and certain people will be partial to the American option if they have the coin for it.
All I’m gonna say is... should’ve bought Sonor
I still use my Tama Rockstar DX set, an 1980's kit made in Japan of Mahogany and Maple hybrid shells. I am probably biased but that (Birch?!) Rockstar Kick drum kicks your DW's ass, Glenn. Loads of you guys are listening with your eyes and wallets, Go defend an Axe 3 or a line 6 spider, Glenn has gotten his $6k out of his drums.
30 years from now gear nerds are gonna be like,“bro what if the tone was better in 2020 because they had to wear mask.”
GLENN AND SAMPLES??! IS HELL FREEZING OVER? HAHAHAHA. I would love to hear more information on mixing with samples (and if possible only samples, since the pandemic got me stuck at home, it's been a year long quarantine here in the Philippines). Been following since the try not to suck series and would hopefully see something on this topic.
PS. tangina mo Glenn
Love that BoltThrower/Caracas style riffing magnificent 🤘🤘
Thank you!!
I am glad someone else noticed that signature tone. A bit of a Pepper Keenan tone in that as well.
I played 2200€ Pearl Masters for years, but when I moved to another country I couldn't bring them along so I decided to get a cheaper set. So, I got a new 600€ Tama Silverstar 6 piece kit and was just blown away by how well built it is and how good it sounds. Nowadays I prefer the tama kit over the masters kits...
Tama Rockstar 4 me! It held well and provided a good sound! I'm a guitarist and it just floated my boat! $$$$ on the Tama!
Tama Rockstarare "cheap" ? I had a Rockstar set and it sounded so fat and was built like a TANK.
I liked the DW drums & really liked the Ludwig snare. I think the Tama snare would sound much better tuned up a bit.
I had an original set of pearl exports that I actually liked the sound of better than aspects of my pearl masters birch kit.
Both sound very good. Feel like the DW sounds more “alive”, more punch and presence so def can tell a difference. But the Tamas for sure hold their own and work for those on more of a budget.
That said, feel like the biggest barrier for recording drums are modest quality mics, pres, and a treated room to record.
Video idea: Tamas on studio quality mics vs 7 mic starter pack? They hold up with other budget gear?
My Rockstar DX kit is 30 years old and still sounds great. HW has taking a packing and replaced some but all in all nothing bad to say about them.
Next time you're doing a kit comparison, get the guy to hit the drums rather than the cymbals
The DW kit was definitely more resonant, but not 25x more resonant. Wow.
That 50% blend made me love that tama snare way more than the ludwig
I have a tama rockstar from the 90’s don’t think I’ll ever get rid of it, for its price it sounds like a fairly high end kit with the tuning
Next episodes: Glenn editing and quantizing drums, Glenn programming drums.
Maybe even Glenn tuning vocals, who knows? 🤣
Nah, let’s not go crazy!
Fuck that never sell out Glenn lol
I would seriously question anyone’s judgement who says it is worth 25x as much. No... maybe 1.5x as much MAX. You’re not setting back my studio over a set of slightly better toms and a thinner sounding snare.
Just buy the TAMA's snare and toms, then a DW kick and you have a live and studio drum kit that sounds killer. :D
EDIT: Just buy the TAMA kit instead, both kicks were out of phase in this video.
What does that mean, out of phase? Tks
@@jeffkerr807 It means the microphones are negatively interfering on each other's sound when mixed in a song. If both were in phase, they would positively interfere on the drum sound, yielding the desired result.
@@plumbummusic2051 tks
A mask while alone in the drum room...🤦🏻♂️
saw the drummer playing with a mask on.... stopped the video, moved on. Stop with the California, liberal, virtue signaling, "dO aS yOuR ToLd" bullshit. You're in closed room, by yourself, WTF is your problem? Sneaking in the proverbial "Everyone's doing it., see? So wear your mask" crap. ....Im out.
I think that's Rachel Levine.....and it didn't want us to know.
I'm certainly with you!
I love that this will make that kid with the cheaper kit feel better ☺️
99% of the listeners can’t tell a difference , if it were never pointed out. That same 99% pay the bills for musicians. So.... one should primarily focus on theatrics , stick flips and stuff. 😬
Hell yea, I bought two identical used Pearl Export kits from guitar center, cuz they cheap and I wanted double bass drums. The cymbals hardware and new skins for all those drums was expensive as fuck tho. I also have a Roland electric kit for triggering superior drummer.
I'd rather play your drums than that over priced heap of shit DW Glenn is always bandying on about.
Pearl Exports are roughly the same as the Rockstars.
Not a drummer so all I can say is It sounds better than st anger
Always have been a fan of Tama Rockstars so much so, i own 3!
The sample part was cool besides the snares. They sounded like they were coming from Alesis Strike.
I still use a Tama Rockstar kit. Haha
Insane !!!! I found a set for $300 just now, on FB marketplace I'm gonna go get it !!
\m/
The DW is the winner, but not by 25x. That's the rub.
I'm more keen to know which AKG headphones the dude was using. I'm not impressed by the build quality of my recently purchased Extreme Isolation EX29 headphones.
@Alex Juarez Which model? The key feature here is good isolation.
You have several times cited Judas Priest "Painkiller" as one of the favorite productions of yours:
there's a quite brutal snare sample going on that record :)
Great video! Ive been a Tama player for 30 years. I recently restored a 1989 Japanese made Rockstar, not Taiwanese made, like many in that era. As you so wisely stated in your video, as long as you have good heads and proper tuning, the differences are small for sure.
I think the DW's sound better but the kick drum on the Tama I feel sounds meaner, maybe its just me.
it's not just you.
On this test it's DW hands down. Overall best tone, fuller sound, attack, etc.
Hi Glen! I have a set of birch Tama Silverstars I got for around $500. They sound well and full outside their price range for certain! Ive never lugged the full kit into a studio but I have taken the 14x5 snare it comes with, and everyone is blown away by it. We even did a side by side with a pearl masters maple 14x6 and pearl free floating brass 14x6.5 and most felt the little birch silverstar snare was better. The hardware isn't as robust anymore but there's something about Tama shell construction.
I think the Tama was better, I hate DW drums, I think they sound like thin shit, oddly enough, the opposite of what most of these Yes-men are telling Glenn. I Own a Superstar Birch and a Vintage Rockstar DX Maple and Mahogany, they in my opinion, blow DW drums out of a studio, but then, I got my drums for Live Performances, not Studio only as Glenn has with his $6,000.00 DW Maple shits er shells.
@@myopicautisticmetal9035
I once stumbled into a guitar center while the drum guy was tuning the display kits. He was so blown away by a Tama Starclassic b/b's ability to hold a lower and richer fundamental than every display kit they had out that I joined him in trying to get a DW collectors maple, an all maple ludwig kit whos name I cant recall (pro price tag tho), and a pearl masters maple to hold as rich and low a sound. The DW and Ludwig even had noticeably bigger shell sizes too. The tama starclassic stomped all.
The drummer I'm working with (and have for most of my music projects over the last 25 years) has had a Tama Rockstar set since '92. And like Glen said, it's a beast of a set. I'm sure he'll be excited to watch this episode when I send him a link.
⚡🤘⚡
Tell you the truth I like the Tama better. It has less midrange and more lowend. That is why I don't like maple shells for recording.
After reading some of the comments, I see everybody saying the DW has more lowend. Strange.
100% Agree, at the least, better sounding kit for METAL! Go play with Dave Matthews if you wanna use DW.
@@myopicautisticmetal9035 yes!
I had a Tama rockstar loved it!
The Tama Rockstar has that clicky top end that you hear on Metallica records in the context of the mix. In solo, not so much.
I Love that song!!!Sounds great, dudes a beast on the drums
Sponsored by Lewitt?! YOU GO GLENN! 🤘🏻🤘🏻
I actually prefer the snare sound on the Tama, but I wonder if it's just the slightly lower tuning
nope, Glenn tunes with the drum dial. so all of his drums are tuned the same, the Tama's just sound better!
@@myopicautisticmetal9035 that snare is definitely lower in pitch. Even if the tension is the same, doesn't mean it's tuned to the same note
Damn both the kits sounded top notch! I was honestly surprised how high quality that tama sounded!
the Supraphonic rules!
I love sjc for drums
I've had a tama rockstar DX for the last several years, and I just got back into playing recently. I had NO idea that my kit would be considered "cheap!" I've played really cheap kits, and mine blows them out of the water! I'm a proud owner :)
Yeah, that DW with that awesome snare are just wonderful, but that Tama's not horrible at all.
Drums can be worked to yield good results, cymbals on the other hand... Thank you, Glenn. I had to go and get popcorn to watch this properly.
The Snares of both Drum Sets sound great! The only really „better“ gear in my opinion is the kick drum of DW. The Toms are a choice of taste. Crazy how much better the Rockstar sounded than i first immagined.
Kick issue solved: th-cam.com/video/r9KmP1bcMi4/w-d-xo.html
I just saw this post . Very ironic . I used a 6 Piece set of Tama Rockstar drums ( extra 10” Tom added to the standard 5 Piece) on the road with The New Creatures for 10 years. Many times on live shows we used our own Front of House Engineer that we hired in NYC and myself also being an audio engineer we would easily make the Tama’s sound spectacular. We also used the Rockstar on one our studio albums in ‘97 a
and, of course, using API EQ’s and Neve 1073s pre amps and Pultec’s along with great mic’s and good head tuning the drums in that album sound phenomenal. I have a Canopus 8 piece all maple and a Pearl Reference series Mahogany/Maple Bubbinga shell mix -all custom kit as well and both those kits combined cost over 18K . I get a good laugh when I think back on how the Tama’s held up for 10 years of solid tours and gigging . I paid $500 for my Rockstars from Sam Ash on 48th St in the 90’s . Road worthy and they held their own most definitely . Nevertheless, my Canopus all Maple can’t be beat. Better even than my Pearl’s
Who would honestly say that those Tama sounded "bad"? Perfection being the enemy of good and all that. . .
That's just it - the Rockstar sounded pretty good. The only thing that I'd change is the snare as it sounded a little too dull to my ears, but thats just nitpicking
Why is there more playing of Cymbals than Drums??
I'm puzzled.
Aha! The elephant in the room. The cymbal set-up is excellent and pro level stuff. People cheap out on the cymbals because they are expensive. But good cymbals and a decent snare are more important than the rest of the kit overall. I use a supraphonic with paiste sigs and 2002, my kit is a midlevel Sonor 3007 I bought for $500. The only comment i ever got was from an artist manager once. "can you put a pillow in that bass drum?"
@@stephenanthonythomas3533
100% Agree. MOST of my kits are midrange. Sonor Mapex Premeir Taye, pdp.But do own a bunch of Tama Starclassics and Yamaha custom absolute.yet the Snares are matching for each kit or Sweet Pork Pie, Pearl Free Floater and a Carl Palmer venus. ALL my cymbals pAisTe. Full sets of 2oo2, Signature, Masters, SouNd ForMuLa and getting a couple Dark Energy next week as well.
Great Cymbals & Snare SAVE an Average kit.
But I'm PUZZLED by so many "Drum Demo" vids show a guy Bashing out beats on cymbals instead of showcasing? The drums in which they talk about.
Sorry to be long winded, we drummers LOVE talking about Gear🤘
Nothing wrong with the Tama! I recently bought a $2k guitar (LTD Arrow 1000 Violet Andromeda) and then bought a $215 (Harley Benton Victory Flames), changed the bridge humbucker and I honestly can't say that the LTD sounds or feels better at all. I was shocked.
The interiors of cheap drums are always unfinished (no finish or sealer on the wood... just bare wood), including those Rockstars. No one ever talks about this, but it is a BIG factor in the sound (and cost) of drums. Would love to see the same comparison after sealing the interiors of the Rockstars with polyurethane, tung oil blend, whatever. Should give it a noticeable improvement in the midrange and upper mid that is missing from them currently (which is NOT missing from the sealed wood interiors of the DWs). Thanks for the comparison... great video!