Tama Duo Birch and Dynamic Kapur Snare Drums

89
WWW.MUSICRADAR.COM/RHYTHM JUNE 2018 |
PRICE
Dynamic Kapur, £249;
Duo Birch, £255
SHELL MATERIAL
Dynamic Kapur: Kapur;
Duo Birch: Birch
CONSTRUCTION
METHOD
Ply
NUMBER OF
PLIES
Dynamic Kapur: 6-ply
(5mm);
Duo Birch: 7-ply (7mm)
BEARING EDGES
45°
FINISHES
AVAILABLE
Dynamic Kapur: Black
Kapur Burst;
Duo Birch: Transparent
Mocha
HOOPS
Chrome Sound Arc
hoops
SHELL
AVAILABILITY
Dynamic Kapur:
14"x6½";
Duo Birch: 14"x10"
SUPPLIED HEADS
Tama/Evans coated G1
batter and Snare Side
300 heads
LUGS PER DRUM
Dynamic Kapur: 8 brass
tube lugs;
Duo Birch: 16 Starclassic
lugs
THROW-OFF
Dynamic Kapur: Tama
Linear-Drive throw-off
and butt-plate with
additional strainer;
Duo Birch: Tama Quick
Touch strainer
CONTACT
Headstock Distribution
0121 508 6666
www.tama.com
Essential spec
VERDICT: Once again Tama has
produced quality, musical drums at a
surprisingly affordable price-point. In
terms of sound alone, the S.L.P. range
is hard to fault and comes highly
recommended.
BUILD QUALITY
PLAYABILITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
RATING
STARCLASSIC
The Duo Birch shares its
16 lugs with the high-end
Starclassic range
2-IN-1
The 14"x10" Duo Birch
can be used as a floor tom
or a side snare
THROW-OFF
The Dynamic Kapur uses
Tama’s Linear-Drive throw-off
with an additional strainer
snare drum and, with the batter head still low,
creates a seriously wide and fat tone. The
wires are astonishingly sensitive given the
depth of the drum. As I take the drum up
through the registers it becomes quicker and
snappier until I’ve completely forgotten that I
was using it as a fl oor tom less than fi ve
minutes ago.
Turn after turn, the pitch goes up-and-up
with little sign of choking. Moving the drum
over to the left of my hi-hats, it continues to
function as a funky side-snare that’s tuned
considerably higher than my main snare. I
even manage to get it up into borderline
drum’n’bass territory, before the head
reaches the point where it doesn’t want to
go any tighter.
Determined to fi nd a middle ground where
the drum will function as intended, I try
several tension combinations between the
two heads. Eventually I fi nd a sweet spot that
gives me a super-punchy fl oor tom tone and a
killer fat-back style backbeat; think Larnell
Lewis on Snarky Puppy’s ‘What About Me?’. In
short, this drum is way more versatile than
you might initially give it credit for.
Despite the almost identical price-points of
the two drums, the Dynamic Kapur creates
the illusion of a higher-end snare. Not only is
the rich Black Kapur Burst fi nish absolutely
gorgeous, but the multi-setting throw-off and
butt-plate strainer look and feel more
luxurious. Looks aside, the drum also plays
wonderfully at a mid-to-high tuning. The wires
are sensitive, making ghost notes cut through
effortlessly. Tuned low, however, it has quite a
papery attack – the shell tone doesn’t truly
start to emerge until it’s tuned fairly tight. At
this point the drum offers a beautifully fat and
warm tone which works great for rock and
even funk. Rim-shots draw even more musical
tone from the shell and with them, a
respectable volume.
With a slightly limited tuning range the
Dynamic Kapur essentially has one setting,
but that setting sounds absolutely incredible.
For £249 this drum is well worth considering
for your collection.
RHY281.gear_tama.indd 89 11/04/2018 13:23