There are a few pretty good reasons why maple wood is a standard when it comes to building high-end drum kits. Tonally, maple is an extremely versatile wood that can be taken in any direction, back up any genre, and always delivers consistent and reliable drum sound. This edition of the Tama Star Maple snare drum is no exception, especially since it features some smart Tama tweaks and additions. The shell has been formed by five plies of maple, completing a wall that's just 5 millimetres thick while a 2 millimetre thick core has been sandwiched in the middle. While the inner and outer layers give this snare the open response of maple, that extra core layer injects even more warmth and definition. The Tama TMS1455S Star Maple Snare Drum The Tama TMS1455S Star Maple snare has a classic 14 inch diameter and 5.5 inch depth, comes dipped in a shimmering Satin Antique Brown finish accented by a single outer binding strip. To ensure minimal shell contact and maximum resonance, Pearl introduce their in-house developed One-Piece Lugs, which they haven't just shaved down and streamlined as much as humanly possible, but have mounted in a set of eight instead of a set of ten, reducing the load on the shell and allowing the walls to resonate more freely, opening up the sound even further. The Tama Air Hole This professional snare also features three exclusive and strategically placed Air Holes, which ensures that sound is projected out from every side of the shell, resulting in a dryer and more focussed response. Even the bearing edges reach new heights when it comes to quality - crafted in such a way that the vibrational transfer from drumhead to shell is as clean as it gets. The pre-fitted Linear Drive snare strainer retains consistent snare wire tension across the resonant head, without any of that 'clap' that you get with most off-the-shelf snare drums, efficiently reducing drumhead wear and even supporting quick and silent snare-switching mid-set.