Drums & Percussion: Drumsets, Hardware, Drum Accessories

Tamburo, over 35 years of drums, dreams and intuition (Handmade In Italy 🇮🇹)

The year is 1982. Sport lovers all over Italy are celebrating winning the football World Cup, while music lovers are just discovering the Compact Disc. And in a small workshop in Novara, a lucky idea is about to become a reality.

The idea belongs to Tullio Granatello, one of the most talented drummers on the Italian music scene. Thanks to his expert knowledge of the instrument and his exceptional ability as a craftsman, Granatello makes his first acoustic drumkit with a system that has never been used before. He creates an innovative new set-up, using top-quality wooden staves to construct his drums. A decision that results in incredible personality and generates a unique, wide and clear timbre.

But it doesn’t stop there. Granatello’s vision pushes him to explore a range of new materials. He soon discovers that high-level sound conduction is increased by a thicknes and weight of the shell vertical cut that follows the veins of the wood. No manufacturer has insisted on such a specific design before.

His small workshop starts to produce acoustic drumkits that are truly appreciated by musicians. It grows quickly and soon becomes influential. Granatello mainly focuses on customising his products, rather than using parts from other brands: a wise decision that is much appreciated by musicians. This inspiration, together with careful research into acoustic drumkit design, takes us to 1984. The year the TAMBURO brand was born.

TAMBURO immediately obtains the approval of a number of musicians. First in Italy, and then Europe, and then around the globe, with the name circulating among people in the music business at international trade fairs, spaces that are are soon devoted to TAMBURO and the fame of its sturdy, versatile products. The brand starts to grow and its acoustic drumkits continue to be appreciated. The kits are appreciated by high-calibre artists such as Peter Erskine, Dave Weckl, Tommy Campbell and many more.

In 1997, the end of the millennium is drawing near and TAMBURO makes a decisive move: to become a part of Proel. From this point onwards, instrument-making is combined with the thrust of a large company and the strategic support of its research and development department. It’s a successful partnership, and one that sees Tullio Granatello – who has always been a sound craftsman and an innovator at heart – now working alongside Proel to transform intuition into revolutionary products. Such as his “ST-Tension” -tie rods, a new concept that is invented and soon “copied” by the company’s main competitors.

John O'Reilly Jr. Demonstrates the Tamburo OPERA Stave-Wood Drum Set

Thanks to this healthy partnership, the TAMBURO acoustic drum range expands its horizons over the years. The now legendary OPERA – with its slatted shell – is combined with the powerful, versatile sound of UNIKA, FORMULA – a must-have for sophisticated musicians – and T5, the perfect starter kit for anyone entering the drumming world. TAMBURO soon adds the VOLUME line to its catalogue, a true hallmark of technological innovation that uses wood alternatives, such as methacrylate.

Eric Kalver Demonstrates the Tamburo UNIKA Wood Drum Set.