TAMA launches cocktail kit

[digitaldrummer]

Tama Silverstar Cocktail-Jam Kit
Unlike conventional cocktail sets, Tama's new four-piece Silverstar Cocktail-Jam kit gives drummers an actual 16" bass drum rather than simply using the bottom of a floor tom. What's more, the kit's shallow shells and unique positioning hardware offer the option of seated or standing play. Featuring the same all-Birch shells and low-mass lugs that have helped make the Silverstar line one of the most popular drum series in the world, the Cocktail-Jam kit is a gig-ready package that stores neatly in two included padded bags. Each package includes 5.5x14" and 5x10" toms, a 6x16" bass drum, and a 5x12" snare drum. "With small stages becoming more and more common, we wanted to create a kit that was easy to transport and had a small footprint, but didn't sacrifice sound or feel," said Tama Product Manager, Charlie Hayashi. "Gigging drummers are very excited about this kit." The Silverstar Cocktail-Jam kit shell pack comes with two bags, a bass drum pedal, and a bracket hardware pack. Optional 200, 600, and 900 series cymbal mounting hardware packages are available as upgrades or à la carte.

[MusicMan]

Hi,

I experimented with that design at one time, but the 6" single-headed kick drum isn't going to sound good. With that said, it's a cool way to make a cocktail kit that can be converted for sitting or standing (at the expense of sacrificing better sound quality).

MM

[digitaldrummer]

Good point. I don't see why they couldn't have gone with a deeper bass. That said, I haven't heard the kit yet, and maybe the layout and position of the snare reso head might enhance the bass response. I'll update this after NAMM if they have one on show there.

[MusicMan]

Digital Drummer,

I think Tama was going for the idea that the kit could be played while standing or sitting. They probably got the idea from Gretch's recent bebop kit model where the depth of the 16" bass drum can be adjusted between 13-16" using the same type of hardware. Unfortuantely, the quality of the kick drum sound on most cocktail kits is already a "problem" so I'm not sure that simply using a standard bass drum head with a 6" shell is going to work. But, let's wait and see how it sounds at NAMM.

What I do like with the Tama design is the way that they used the standard 7/8" tubes to make mounting the drums and cymbals more flexible with minimal hardware. My cocktail kit build is similar but it has a full 16x16 kick drum (with standard kick drum heads on both sides) and also uses the 7/8" tubes on each side of the main drum to mount the cymbals and other accessories.

MM

[digitaldrummer]

I tried the Tama kit and was pleasantly surprised by the bass It had lots of grunt.
In short, this is a good looking kit and sounds excellent.