The company has always offered great value kits for the entry and semi pro markets too such as the Rockstar and Superstar. Tama has produced some incredible professional line drum kits over the years such as the Granstar, Crestar & Artstar. In the 1970's Tama had acquired the other half of the Camco purchase (DW bought the tools) which gave them rights to the Camco name and designs, Tama integrated Camco engineering into their production process and the overall level of quality of their drums increased rapidly. Hoshino, the family name of the founder, translates to 'star field,' thus the selection of the 'Star Drums' brand name and the model ranges 'Star' which feature in many Tama model range titles. I lived in Japan in the 80s and have some direct experience with Tama (as well as Yamaha and Pearl) during that time that may be helpful.Tama Started in 1974 though Hoshino Gakki began manufacturing drums in 1965 under the name 'Star Drums'. If you get stuck or need any other info, just let me know.

VDF, DFO, etc.) and Facebook may also be helpful. As far as current value, reviewing recent sales on eBay (Sold Items) and Reverb (Sold Listings) are probably your best reference like with other vintage gear. Tama seems to have taken down those web pages from 2014 so images of both are attached below. NOTE: For anyone else trying to determine if they have a Cherry Wine or Super Mahogany finish, photos of the 40th anniversary reissue snare drums are probably a better reference than the 80s catalogs. Given this, focus on those years of the catalogs and try to match characteristics of your snare/drum. However, like with many things, there are few absolutes here and plenty of room for exceptions. In general, the Cherry Wine finish was initially offered in 1981 with the Superstar X-tras series (power tom depths) and ran until the Superstar was discontinued after 1984 or so.

Vintage tama snare throws