bubinga - "Brothers" Music Shop

ubinga omni-tune
drums
“It's time for something new in drums—and I believe that’s what this is.”
– John Blackwell

starclassic
bubinga
omni-tune
drums
It is time for something new in drums, because for
the professional drummer, nearly everything is about
time. Of course, drumming is about keeping time. But
for the drummer at the highest levels in studio and stage
performance, it's also about making time—being on
at the right time, every time. Every minute, in some
cases every second, is critical.
Getting the right tuning for the gig is a must. And
getting the right tuning can use up those critical minutes
and seconds. However, for those who demand and can
afford the very best, achieving precisely tuned drums
is about to take less time. A lot less.
Presenting Starclassic Bubinga Omni-Tune Drums.
These superb Japanese-crafted drums feature the
Tama Omni-Tune system which allows all tuning
from the batter side of the drum. No more lifting
and turning over toms. No more getting off the drum
stool and walking around the set to tune the front
bass drum head. You play one side of the drums.
And now that's where you tune them. Finally, you
can spend less time tuning, and more time playing.
You'll also spend more time playing because these
new drums will make you want to play more. Bubinga's
rich, warm, punchy, and powerful tones will satisfy
and keep satisfying you—just as they satisfy your
most demanding engineers and producers. If you've fully
explored maple and birch, and have been searching
for something with the best qualities of both and unique
colors of its own, this is it.
Bubinga Omni-Tune drums are for the player who is
serious about tone and tuning. These are drums for
the drummer who has decided it's time to have it all.
High Resonance Two-Point Lugs
Tama's Omni-Tune lug has only two contact points
with the drum shell which allows the 100% Bubinga
shells to resonate much more fully.

Omni-Tune Three-Way Lug
The Omni-Tune Lug and Omni-Tune Drum Key allow
you to tune both the top head and bottom head from
the batter side. The Omni-Tune system expands and
improves on the lug system invented in 1930 by drum
designer William David Gladstone, which he created for
snare drums. Starclassic Bubinga Omni-Tune features
the Omni-Tune lug on every drum so the entire set
benefits from faster, easier and more precise tuning.
Hex Head Key
(For B & A’)
Square Head Key
(For A)
Bubinga Wood
Drummers tend to bring out their best adjectives
when describing the experience of playing on a
Bubinga drum set. Bubinga has been described
as a wood that provides tones that are both
"dark and mysterious, but with incredibly high
overtones." Others aver that Bubinga
offers the powerful projection of
birch with the warmth of maple.
"Bubinga has so much punch,"
says drummer John Tempesta,
a long time Bubinga aficionado.
"When you lay into it, it has so
much bottom—really warm, but
punchy, with a great response.
Bubinga rules!" While other companies
have flirted with the idea of drums
using Bubinga merely as an outer-ply,
Tama is the first major company to
craft 100% Bubinga shells.
Tuning Both Heads
From The Batter Side
Tension Bolt A (for bottom head)
Tension Bolt B (for Batter head)
To tighten the bottom head from
the batter side, you simply turn
Tension Bolt A counterclockwise
using the square head key.
To tighten the batter head from the
batter side, you turn Tension Bolt B
clockwise using the hex head key.
Tuning The Bottom Head
From The Bottom Side
The bottom head can also be
tuned from the bottom side in the
traditional fashion, by turning
Tension Bolt A' counterclockwise
using the hex head key.
Tension Bolt A’ (for bottom head)

kenny
aronoff
Bubinga is a very aggressive, yet still very warm
tone wood. The kick drum on this set is extremely
powerful and punchy, with a lot of body and a lower
frequency than Starclassic Maple or Performer Birch.
I really like the new tuning system. Once you
get familiar with it, it's very easy to use. The cool
thing is you don't have to turn the drums over to
tune them—you can tune both heads from the top
of the drum. In the studio, I'm always tweaking
my drum heads, top and bottom. This system
makes the process faster so you won't slow down
the recording session. I can tune all the heads,
including the front bass drum head, without
getting off the drum stool.
On top of all that, I think the drums look gorgeous,
the wood, and how the hardware goes across the
shell. They're really vintage looking, classy drums.
Brushed Nickel Hardware and Abalone Inlay
Tama's brushed nickel shell hardware augments the dark beauty of the Bubinga wood shells.
The rich visual textures of the wood are enhanced by a hand-laid inlay of genuine abalone.
Traditional Front Bass Drum Head
For a vintage appearance, Omni-Tune bass
drums are equipped standard with a traditional,
"aged-white," coated front head, which features
a smaller, classic-sized Tama logo.

Star-Cast Mounting System
When you pick up a tom by the rim and hit it, it resonates much more fully and freely than a tom mounted
on a tom holder. Tama's Star-Cast mounting system uses an ingenious combination of features to provide
the same kind of unrestrained resonance.
Omni-Tune Two-Way Drum Key
The Omni-Tune drum key features a square head
for standard tension rods and a hex head for the
Omni-Tune hex tension rods.
john
blackwell
I love the look of these drums. The look alone is
beautiful, but you can't stop at the look. It's the
sound that counts, and if Bubinga sounded like
maple or birch, there really wouldn't be anything
to talk about. But Bubinga is different. It's kind of
a combination of maple and birch—it's all of those
kits—yet there's something special about it. You
get the complete sound palette. It's punchy, yet
it still sings out.
And the Bubinga toms just sang to me. That's
what I love, drums that sing. Very warm. They
didn't need any muffling. I could play them wide
open. The bass drum was solid, a nice punch.
A very big sound, with a very big bite.
The Omni-Tune system is a great system. It's
another thing that seriously puts this kit into a
class by itself. The system saves you time from
having to switch the drums over to the bottom and
back after you've tuned the top. In a concert situation,
this could really benefit me. If I'm doing a
cross-tuning and I'm looking under the bottom of
the tom and Prince makes a signal, I'm going to
miss the cue. But with this system, I can just tune
from the top real quick and I'm ready to go. I wish
all my kits had this system. Besides, it's time for
something new in drums, something new to burst
out on the scene and surprise everyone—
and I believe that's what this is.
Omni-Tune Key Holder
All Starclassic Bubinga Omni-Tune individual
bass drums and individual snare drums include
the Omni-Tune key holder. This holder can be
attached on tom or snare drum batter hoops.

john
tempesta
Bubinga is the best sounding wood I've ever played.
It's so amazing to record with. The drums are just
so meaty. When I was tuning the 18" floor down,
it sounded like a gong drum—just massive. There's
something about Bubinga that just gives this certain
tone. Bubinga has a rich sound, with a lot of bottom
ends—but without ringing. With maple you have a
lot of volume, and a birch you have a more mellow
sound. But Bubinga, I'm not quite sure how to describe
it, but it just holds its note really true. With the thicker
shell, I can really lay into the drums because I play
pretty hard. They just don’t go "boing." The kit just
has a solid punch to it. Pretty heavy, baby.
It's kind of cool tuning the bottom heads from the
top, especially with big drums. Not having to lift
them off the mounts makes life a bit easier. There's
no having to hit the drum, flip it over and flip it back
over to play the top head again. I kind of wish I had
this system on my own Bubinga set. Damn, every time I
get something, you guys come up with something
new! Always ahead of the game.
I really like the look and design of the long lugs.
The tubular lugs just add so much more depth to
the drum. And the finish is beautiful as well. The
brushed nickel lugs really complement the wood.
It's just a real classy look.
Air Pocket Floor Tom Rubber Feet
A special chamber eliminates the escape of vibrations to the floor
(which chokes sustain and sound) and absorbs shock for a better playing feel.

Bass Drum Claw Hook
Starclassic claw hooks feature rubber spacers that
help protect wood hoops from damage. The hooks
and rods work as one unit and won't separate or
rattle, even on loose tunings.

starclassic
bubinga
omni-tune
drums
Shell model number and dimension chart:
bass drums
16" x 18" SOB1816
18" x 20" SOB2018
18" x 22" SOB2218
18" x 24" SOB2418
floor toms
14" x 14" SOF1414
16" x 16" SOF1616
16" x 18" SOF1816
tom toms
7" x 8" SOT0807
8" x 10" SOT1008
9" x 12" SOT1209
10" x 13" SOT1310
11" x 14" SOT1411
12" x 15" SOT1512
13" x 16" SOT1613
snare drums
5 1/2" x 14" SOS1455T
6 1/2" x 14" SOS1465T
Drum Specifications
- 9-ply 100% Bubinga shell 7mm
(TT & FT), / 8mm (BD & SD)
- Genuine hand-laid abalone center inlay
- Natural Bubinga (NBG) finish
- Brushed Nickel Hardware
- Star-Cast mounting system on each tom tom
- Omni-Tune system lugs
- Die-cast Hoops on toms,
floor toms and snare drums.
Heads
- TT/FT: Evans G2 batter / G1 bottom
- BD: Evans EQ4 batter / coated front head
- SD: Evans G1 coated batter /
Resonant 300 Snare Side
Drum Keys
- Each drum includes one Omni-Tune
two-way drum key
- BD & SD include Omni-Tune key holder
tama.com