Tama Star Walnut Review

The Tama Star is the flagship line of drums from Tama. There are 3 main kits that are offered in the line. These are the Star Walnut, Star Maple, and Star Bubinga. The Star Walnut is the most affordable out of the 3 as the kit doesn’t have any reinforcement hoops, significantly lowering the cost.

The Star Walnut comes packed with heavy-duty design features that make it stand out as one of the top drum kits on the market. Even though it’s more affordable than the other Star kits, it’s still an expensive pro-quality drum set.

In this Tama Star review, we’re going to see if the Tama Star Walnut competes comfortably with the other Tama Star drums. We’ll also see if it’s worth paying extra money to get it instead of the more affordable Tama Starclassic drum kits.

Tama Star Walnut Drum Set Gallery

Contents

Tama Star Walnut Drum Set Ratings

Sounds

4

4/5

Build Quality

5

5/5

Finishes

5

5/5

Playability

4.5

4.5/5

Value

4.5

4.5/5

Tama Star Walnut Sound Quality

The walnut shells are the biggest contributor to the sound that this set produces. Walnut wood is known to make drum sets produce very low and booming tones, and that’s exactly what you get with this kit.

You get a strong low-pitched tone from each drum. As you play down the toms, the tones get deeper and deeper. Although the drums are fairly boomy, they’re still sharp enough to punch through a mix easily.

However, the walnut drums don’t have as much projection as the maple or bubinga drums in the Tama Star lineup. If you don’t need massive projection from the drums, the Star Walnut is a fantastic kit in terms of its sound.

Each Tama Star drum comes equipped with Remo Ambassador drumheads. These are some of the most loved drumheads around, so they’re a great choice to have on the kit. The best thing about them is that you don’t need to replace the drumheads as soon as you buy the kit as you typically need to do with cheaper drum sets.

The bass drum is equipped with a Remo Coated Powerstroke 3 on the batter side. This head brings a very punchy, yet warm tone out of the drum. Combine that with the low tones of the walnut shell and you have an amazing sound.

The kit is equipped with zinc die-cast hoops. These heavier types of drum hoops do a fantastic job of adding a bit more bite to the drums, fantastically countering the low tones.

Tama Star Walnut Build Quality

The build quality is where this kit really shines amongst all the other Tama kits. Although the kit doesn’t have any reinforcement hoops on any of the drums, it shares all the other build qualities of the more expensive Tama Star kits.

While I’ve already mentioned the die-cast hoops and how they affect the sound, it’s important to mention how they add a sense of stability to the kit. They’re a bit heavier than standard triple-flanged hoops, making the kit feel sturdier and higher-quality.

The Tama Star drums have specially made bearing edges that are a bit rounder than standard bearing edges, allowing a smoother vibration from the drumhead to the shell.

The bass drum spurs and floor tom legs have notable features. They have a rubber design that stops the legs of the drums from touching the floor. This ensures that the drums resonate as much as possible. The floor tom legs also have built-in memory locks. This is a feature that you will only find on high-end kits like the Tama Star.

The rack toms are mounted with Tama’s Super Resonant Mounting System. While the main feature of this build design is to maximize resonance from the toms, I think the most impressive thing is that the toms have almost no wobble when you play them. This is typically a bit of an issue with rack toms that are mounted to cymbal stands.

Tama Star Walnut Finishes

There are 20 finishes to choose from with the Tama Star Walnut. The Bubinga and Maple Tama Star kits have fewer finishes to choose from, making the Star Walnut a bit more attractive if you want more options.

The Star drums have a fairly popular reputation for looking amazing, no matter which finish the kit has. However, some of the best-looking finishes for the Tama Star Walnut are the Roasted Chestnut, Satin Charcoal Japanese Zen, and the Light Indigo Japanese Chestnut.

Other than those finishes, you get a few options of single colors or finishes with a mixed burst pattern.

Unfortunately, you don’t get to choose a bass drum hoop color with the Star Walnut like you can with the other Star kits. You also don’t get an option to have a wood inlay.

Tama Star Walnut Playability

There’s something very special about playing a kit of this quality. If you’ve never played on a high-end drum set, it’s quite difficult to conceptualize. It’s amazing how much of a difference pristine hardware and luxury design can make a difference to how a drum kit feels when you play it.

It almost feels like the drums produce beautiful tones before you even play them. The toms are incredibly responsive and dynamic, making them feel and sound quite musical.

As I said earlier, the rack toms don’t move much, so it feels like you’re playing on a heavy and sturdy drum set. It’s also an amazing experience to play on a kit that looks so good.

In terms of versatility, this set would work fairly well for all styles of music. However, the low-pitched tones would work exceptionally well in rock and metal settings. The drums may not project as much as you need them to, but some clever tuning and drumhead choice will make up for that.

This is a dream set of many drummers. You may find that once you get one, you won’t want to play on lower-quality sets again. It just feels so much better to play on thanks to the pristine construction.

Tama Star Walnut Value

Although this kit is the most affordable Tama Star set, I wouldn’t say it’s competitively priced. Depending on when or where you buy it, you’re going to be paying around $4000 to get your hands on a Tama Star Walnut set. That is by no means an affordable kit.

However, it holds incredibly high-value thanks to its sound and design. If you want a top-end drum set, this kit is worth saving up for. You won’t need another drum set after buying this one as it’s not a kit that will leave you feeling like you need an upgrade.

Tama Star kits also have great resale value. Since they’re the flagship drums from Tama, they’re very easy to sell if you need to.

When weighing up all the features, it’s clear to see why this kit costs so much. The price is well worth everything you get, though. If you want something a bit more affordable, the Tama Starclassic Maple kits are the step-down choice. They cost around $1000 less, yet they’re still professional high-end drum sets.

Compared to the other flagship kits from drum companies like Pearl, Yamaha, Sonor, and DW, the Tama Star competes very comfortably in terms of pricing and design.

Verdict

This is the type of kit to get if you’re looking for one of the most pristine sets on the market. It’s an incredibly well-designed drum set that boasts luxury hardware quality with beautiful low-end sounds from all the drums. It also looks amazing.

All of this comes with a hefty price tag, though. I wouldn’t suggest getting this kit if you can’t comfortably afford it. It’s always a better option to invest your money in high-quality cymbals and buy a lower-priced pro kit.

If you’re able to get a Tama Star Walnut set, you’re going to love it. It’s the perfect kit to display in a drum room. It’s one of those kits that you can just sit and stare at for a while, especially if you get it in a finish that you love. It sounds just as good as it looks, making it one of the best pro kits on the market.