About Signature Snares

Changing your kit like a guitarist changes guitars isn't a realistic option. But you can change your snare drum relatively easily. That's why Tama constantly expands its snare drum line to give drummers a wider range of sounds and textures. Our Signature Palette Series are snare drums co-designed by artists specifically chosen for their skills and knowledge of the snare drum arts.

Kenny Aronoff

Three beautifully engraved drums, all with brass shells and Brass Mighty Hoops, but each with a different mission in sound. The latest addition to the KA signatures, the deep-shelled 14"x6.5", lets you fully enjoy the trademark bright and somewhat round tone sound of brass. The 14"x05" is a great all-around snare with a lot of crack and impressive attack (as befits the man who inspired it), warmth and wide tuning range. The 15"x04" Trackmaster Super Piccolo's 15" diameter has a really unique sound that you just can't get with the standard 14" size.

John Blackwell

John Blackwell is one of the most respected artists in the world, renowned for his incredible technique, powerful sound and exciting performances. His extremely versatile 13"x6.5" exhibits a punchy resonance with a strong volume capability not usually associated with a 13" diameter drum. Three air vent holes with removable caps allow John to change the sound of his drum from song to song by opening or closing off any combination of the vents.

Bill Bruford

Bill Bruford's models are identical in specs with the exception of size. Both models feature hybrid maple/birch shells with a warm, woody tone that's also quite lively, thanks to Bill's preference for flanged hoops. His main snare, the 14"x06", is based on Bill's main snare with his band Earthworks as well as later King Crimson incarnations. The smaller 10"x5.5" represents Bill's latest concepts for expanding the scope of snare drum colours.

Stewart Copeland

Stewart Copeland's signature model is a faithful reproduction of the snare drum of "mysterious provenance" that he originally used with the Police and everything else from that time period. A brass shell that's 0.5mm thicker than the standard 1mm shell and the combination of a die-cast batter hoop with a triple flanged bottom hoop provides sounds that easily penetrate what Copeland describes as the "dirge from the bass and the ear-piecing sounds of a guitar."

Simon Phillips

Simon's new main snare, which he appropriately christened the "Monarch", produces regal, never-heard-before tones thanks to its unique construction and equally unique rims. The Monarch features an 8ply 14"x6.5" Maple/Bubinga/Maple composite shell fitted with special "Customized Triple Flanged" hoops that offer slightly sharper attack than regular flanged Brass Mighty Hoops. The inspired combination of these original design ideas provides a remarkable combination of rich, warm controlled sound with a sharp and bright cut. His second main snare, the Gladiator, combines a 14"x5.5" size with a black nickel-plated Bronze shell. His Pageant model with its die-cast hoops and a 12"x05" Maple shell perfectly complements the Gladiator and Simon often uses it as the main snare on some tracks.

Mike Portnoy

The story of Mike Portnoy's signature snare began in 1997 when Mike came up with the idea of a tension strainer controlled by a foot pedal—very cool, but very complicated and too expensive for all but maybe five people in the world. So Mike and Tama came up with an equally cool (but less complicated and expensive) three-way snare strainer which makes switching tension as easy as switching between two snare drums. Named after his daughter, Melody, Mike Portnoy's Melody Master drums come in two versions: his main snare, the 14"x5.5" maple, and the 12"x05" steel.

David Silveria

A 13mm/10ply thick Maple shell is what gives David's Signature Palette snare drum the solid and aggressive tones that you must have to cut through Korn's otherwise impenetrable wall of low-tuned guitars and aggressive bass. Abalone inlays give the drum a distinctive look that enhances the beauty of this truly inspired drum.

John Tempesta

The pairing of a 42-strand snappy snare with a deep 7" Brass shell gives John's model an intense and powerful sound that has an unmatched depth of tone. With black nickel shell hardware complementing the hairline black finish, this 14"x07" snare looks as menacing and dangerous as it sounds.

Lars Ulrich

It takes an extremely powerful snare drum to stand up to Metallica's incredible sound pressure levels. Actually, Lars Ulrich has two that can handle the job. The legendary 14"x6.5" Bell Brass model (which, amazingly, is also capable of incredible sensitivity). Hoops of die-cast zinc provide even more attack and low-end. The 14"x6.5" diamond plated monster made of a 3mm slab of steel has got a power and attack as impressive as its more expensive Bell Brass counterpart.