Dig My Rig #5: Vintage Tama Superstar Kit
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- Опубликовано: 6 янв 2021
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They sound superb. Never should have sold my Superstars. Awesome playing too.
excellent tuning , sound and recording
love you vids Dennis esp about drum gear always informative
sounds incredible! great playing and feel!
Lovely kit, man! Sounds amazing!!!
Beautiful kit and sounds great, thanks for sharing.
Wow! Sounds awesome!
Excellent tuning - they sound phenomenal!
Fantastic sizes. Sounding good!
Sounds wonderful. Nice kit
What a sweet kit. I have a standard sized kit from 83 with a maple Starphonic. These drums are really well made, powerful sounding drums!
Love this kit!!!
Good job with tuning it.Sounds killer.Excellent drum set.
I have an 83 Artstar and these vintage Tama kits are just a different animal!!!!
I have a cherry wine birch superstar from the 80s and I love that kit. Emperor coated on top with clear Ambassadors on bottom tuned up mrmedium high and they do sing.
great recording!! nice tuning of kick and snare especially.
awesome sound!!! lovit!!
Sounds great!
I got the same kit in 22, 12, 13, 16 and they kick ass. I got the whole shell pack for 300 bucks 3 years ago and in pretty nice shape too.
The kick drums are the best I’ve ever in my life. I have a 24” in the super maple finish. It’s just nuts.
Sounds great Dennis!
That sounds so nice. The tone is great, but those are also perfect tom intervals. Beautiful kit.
except for the 13 tom. hahaha just kidding but not really. Pardon my autism. I prefer even circumference toms. Damn you Gene Krupa!
this is awesome, I just bought an 84' superstar kit in super maple. you've got a beautiful kit
Beautiful kit Dennis ... I subbed! I love the name of you show too! :)
Had the exact same kit with a 24. Bought a kit after they first came out after i saw Billy Cobham play them unmiked. Had that for about 25 yrs. Now i play funky old ludwigs!
The kit is absolutely gorgeous. But it's also the drummer's touch. And you've got it!
🙏🏻🙏🏻
Sounds Killer!
very good sound man!
My dream drum kit!
Awesome hi hats!
love the kit :P I am running 1977 Tama imperialstar :P Tama was killing it :P still is, VIVA LA TAMA !
Sounds great, I've Got 2 superstar drumsets... one of my favourite drums
They sound good
That 18” is gutsy. Fantastic soundting kit
They really sound great man
Sounds dope
Gosh they should amazing
I had a Superstar kit that was manufactured in 1984 that I purchased brand new in 1985. The 16×16 FT over time had ply-separation after several years.
That's a bummer. From what I've gathered, ply separation only occurred on drums built after 1983, and is somewhat rare. Should be a pretty easy repair, though.
I like The sound of them👊🥴👊
Drums sound great. Nice job engineering
I just started learning how to play. I'm so excited to get somewhat good at playing but the struggle is real!
I have I believe 1980, mahogany, looks brand new. 13,14,18,24. Wish I had a 22, and 16 and maybe 12.
Did you have trouble attaching the rims mounts? I find they make metal to metal contact and fit pretty snug. They sound pretty good without them anyway.
Pdp tom brackets fit perfectly as replacements by the way. My floor tom brackets were all smashed and the originals are ridiculously expensive to get replacements.
Sounds great
Sounds great! Just picked up a mahogany 14x22 and looking to complete it if anyone knows of anyone selling.
Dennis how do you like the 10x14 rack vs the 12 or 13 if you were to do a 1 up 1 down setup? I’ve seen a few for sale on the cheaper side and never really considered it but perhaps I should. Thanks!
Thanks! Totally personal preference. I prefer a 12”, sometimes a 13”. 14” May occasionally be the right size for a particular session but it wouldn’t be my go-to.
Love these old Tama kits. I am always thinking about how many are just sitting in an attic/garage somewhere hoping for new life
I had a 1981 Superstar in that colour. It sat in its cases in a garage for maybe 13 years until I gifted it to a young drummer. The cases were so corroded we couldn’t open the clasps. We managed to open one and the drum came out absolutely pristine in quality after all those years. I use a small Gretsch progressive jazz kit these days. It warmed my heart to see someone carry on with my old Tama’s.
You can see Larry Blackmon of Cameo playing his double bass Tama Superstar on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert.
Neils kit on Moving pictures amongst others
Wow man ! Toms sound only with overhead mics ??
Wich drum heads you used on the Toms(top and bottom)? Thanks, sounds amazing
Thanks! Coated G2’s/Clear G1’s.
Sounds so good. Would you ever consider getting the bearing edges redone? Or are the original edge too precious?
If it ain’t broke… The edges are in perfect shape and a big part of the sound.
Hi Dennis, i like your playing, taste of sound and generaly your channel. I have question about sound of the toms.
Do you have more sustain on the toms with the rims on them, originaly they don' t have. Thank you :)
Hi Nikola,
Thanks for the kind words! Yes, the suspension mounts make a big difference. Without the suspension mounts, some of the drums sustain fine and others don’t. With the suspension mounts, they all have the same sustain.
. I don't recall Simon Phillips playing Supertar drums ever, he started on FibreStar, then moved onto Cordia, if I remember correctly. Nor Stewart Copeland, he was the biggest Imperial Strar endorsee for Tama, and they were mahogany drums. He may have had other Tama Series for home use, but onstage he tended to always use Imperial Star with his band The Police. Much Later , after the demise of his band, he moved to StarClassic
There are definitely some videos and photos of Simon playing Superstars. Might have been rental drums. Who knows. I actually inserted a picture in the video of Copeland with the exact same kit as mine. He used that kit on the Zenyatta Mondatta album and tour.
Great sounding kit man! What heads are you using? Sounds like single ply? I have a 14 x 10 that I'm going to turn into a side snare/snom. I kind of feel bad modding it but at the same time there are a lot of these old kits still around and not many people play a mounted 14 x 10. I have two superstar hyperdrive kits, one all birch and one of the birch basswood with a 20" bass that I'm turning into a jazz kit.
Thanks Jeff! Coated G2's over Clear G1's. I've since switched over to clear EC2S's on top, which really bring out the best of these drums. There's a video I did a few months later, testing out the then newly acquired 10" tom. The kit has the EC2S's on it in that video. Make the toms really sing! I have actually turned a few 14" Superstar toms into snare drums. I did a video last year about one of them. If you do it right, it can be a killer snare drum!
@@DennisLeeflang Nice, I'll look up that video on the tom/snare conversion. The old 14's are perfect being 8-lug.
4:41 huh????? Stew always cranked those boys up.
Not in the early days. Listen to the isolated drum tracks for Roxanne, for instance. Toms and even snare are tuned pretty low! The snare pops because he’s hitting rim shots. He started tuning his drums way up later on.
What Paiste hi hats are those? Sound rly good. Thanks
14” Dimensions Power Hi-Hat. One of my all-time favorite pair of hats. Heavy but super crisp and musical and certainly not just suitable for heavy music.
Klinkt geweldig Dennis, ik heb er een gezien bij jouw drumstel in Nijverdal, maar die is (volgens de site) in mahonie kan dit kloppen.
Grtz Richard ( de drummer nextdoor bij oefenruimte WERKLUST Z-Woude.
Richard! Thanks! Wow man. Alles goed? De kleur van mijn kit heet “Super Mahogany” maar de ketels zijn berken. Daar is de winkel waarschijnlijk in de war.
Ja Dennis alles o.k hier, ik drum nog steeds (ik kwam je toevallig weer tegen door mijn search naar Tama superstar) ben nu ook abonnee van je channel dus i keep in touch.
wow, sounds amazing, what atone, really beautifull, tons of body..., the only thing i dont like are the bass drum claws...., rest is amazing man...., best set of cymbals someone can get, they sound as the kit, incredible.
When you added the new mounting system did you just leave the holes from the original mount system on the drums or did you refill them with wood filler?
I left the holes and saved the original brackets so I can put the drums back in their original state any time. But they do sound quite a bit better with the suspension mounts!
@@DennisLeeflang I assume taking off the old system and using the suspension mounts probably make these drums sustain a little longer for sure. Mine right now sound great but really thuddy when out in front of the kit
@@thezogs95 The Superstar toms don’t really sustain very long, even with the suspension mounts, as you can tell in this video. That makes them ideal for recording. The suspension mounts really just ensure that all the toms have the same timbre and resonance and there’s not one that sounds weak or even dead because of the direct mount. The suspension mounts make them sound more consistent together. If yours sound thuddy in front of the kit, you may want to try tuning them higher and/or try different heads. They can definitely sing, even with the original mounts.
@@DennisLeeflang yeah I've noticed that too that the original mounts creates a dead spot on the twelve inch when a twelve and thirteen are hung together. I got just clear G2s on and I mean the drums still sound almost pre eqd. Which isn't a bad thing.
Which kit you like most of your kits: Tama Superstar, DW, or Gretsch?
My Gretsch USA Custom is my workhorse kit and I use it for 90% of my recording work. I have 4 other kits that all have a specific sound and I’ll use those, or parts of those, when needed. The DW Design kit doesn’t ever see my studio. It’s a dedicated kit for local shows and lives in a storage unit.
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️👍
I have a vintage superstar but the toms are missing bottom heads and sound terrible. Yours sound good. Do they have bottom heads? Thanks
Do you have concert toms or do you just miss the hoops and heads? If they are not concert toms you can always buy hoops and lugs online, I think that even original hoops are relatively easy to find.
@@markomarkovic5729 they aren't concert toms just regular toms. They are missing the hoops and bottom heads. I'll have to buy them to see if the sound improves. Hopefully it does. I changed the top heads to high quality ones and they still don't sound good. Thanks!
Mine have bottom heads. See picture of the front of the kit in the video. If your drums have lived without bottom heads for a long time, you maybe need to have the bottom bearing edges professionally recut before adding heads and hoops.
@@DennisLeeflang mine have never had bottom heads. I have had this kit for 36 years and never had them. Thanks for info!!!
Evan's G1s? What are all the heads?
Coated G2’s on toms, clear G1’s on the bottoms. Power Center on snare. EQ4 Frosted on kick.
Dennis - couple questions...have you ever a/b these with the older Yamaha 9000's? Also, what are fair prices to be looking at for a 12/13/16 super mahogany toms in these? I'm seeing 12's on Reverb listed at $340+shipping. Is that for real or way up there? Thank you!
Never A/B’d with 9000’s. The edges are slightly different and the edges on the 9000’s also changed over the years. But the shell construction is virtually identical between 9000’s and Superstars. The cat is out of the bag about Superstars so prices have tripled in the past 2 years. I couldn’t tell you what’s reasonable anymore. I’m just glad I got mine when they were still dirt cheap 😎
Dennis just picked up a 24/13/16. what head combo are you preferring with these now? Can’t decide between ec2, g2 coated or clear. Thank you
I go with EC2S’s for a fat 80’s sound, especially if tuned low. Coated G2’s when tuned up higher, Bonham style. Coated G2’s don’t seem to work as well for low tunings. You do get a nice bark but not so much tone. EC2S’s sing, even at lower tunings.
How do you damp your drums? I have a similar red kit, but they have another tom mounting system, where they are mounted directly on to the drums... It's the same mounting as Stewart Copeland had:-)
Mine all had the brackets mounted directly onto the drums as well, which is how all the Superstars were made. I took off the brackets and added the suspension mounts. Definitely a big improvement in the sound of each drum but also more consistency in how they sound together. I saved the original brackets and can always put them back on. No dampening at all. All toms and snare are wide open. Small moving blanket in the bass drum.
@@DennisLeeflang No dampening at all? Great tuned, then!
@@DennisLeeflang Did the attachment for the mount fit in the same holes as the original bracket? Are you using the Star cast mount?
I took off the original brackets and got Worldmax DSS mounts with a generic bracket from them as well. If you don’t have a Worldmax account, DrumFactoryDirect sells the exact same parts. They call the mounts “TIMS”. The bracket is called FL-37B.
@@DennisLeeflang Great! Thank you for that information. So, no drilling and you were able to use the same holes of what you removed?
In my opinion, vintage Superstar sound just as good as Recording Custom. Pearl BLX were also great sounding birch kits, they're even cheaper than Superstars.
Agreed! The BLX’s were not made in standard sizes, though (I believe only special order). And because of the lugs, you can’t cut the shells shorter. Unless maybe you move the lugs of each tom on to the next size up after shortening the shells and find shorter lugs for the smallest tom. But great sounding drums even in deep sizes. Pretty much mandatory to add suspension mounts but then they kill. A friend of mine just scored an old BLX kit and he loves it.
@@DennisLeeflang I'm not sure what you mean when you say that BLX weren't made in standard sizes? I have a catalog from 1991, the standard 5-piece configuration was 22x16, 12x10, 13x11, 16x16 and S-814D 14x6.5 free floating steel snare. It was the industry standard of the time. The 6-piece included 10x10, and they also offered rack toms in 14x12 and 15x14 sizes and 18x16 floor tom. I think that only BLX and SLX (Prestige Session Elite) series didn't offer jazz kits (at least in 1991) with 18x14 and 20x14 bass drums, 10x8 tom and 14x14 ft, unlike MLX/MX (maple) and WLX/WX, (World series that was renamed Prestige Session and Performance Session that year).
Standard would be 8x12, 9x13 and 14” deep bass drums. Floor toms would still be “square”, (except an 18” would be 16” deep”.
@@DennisLeeflang Yeah, in that period it was considered jazz sizes and it's strange that only BLX didn't have 12x8 and 13x9 as an option. I think 22x14 was the standard size until the early-mid 80s. It's interesting how today shallower hyperdrive toms and thin shells are popular - less wood, but the prices have remained the same. Same as with O-Zone crashes. I’m not sure if companies are saving on materials and imposing that as a trend or are these really the demands of today’s drummers. Btw, I forgot to mention 90's Premier Genista, another fantastic birch drums that can be bought at a reasonable price.
8x12 and 9x13 etc are actually called “Standard” sizes. 9x12 and 10x13 are “FAST” sizes. Genistas are killer drums!
When you said this was going to be your "beater set" I almost cried! Superstars are maple, Artstars are birch. Both were top-o-the-line! I would rank the Imperialstars and Granstars one step down. The Swingstars and Royalstars were a rung beneath those. All were very high quality & sounded great if tuned/headed correctly. The Titan hardware is still the very best ever made IMO. Countless great drummers played Tamas...Neil Peart comes to mind. You can't go wrong with vintage Tama drums, although parts are drying up.
Actually, Superstars are birch. Artstars were maple. Granstars were not really a step down. They essentially replaced the Superstars. Same birch shells. Different edges, though. All great drums.
@@DennisLeeflang Sorry, not trying to argue here. Let's talk about plywood tubes. Artstars are Cordia over Birch, and IMO are the best drums ever sold by any company. (I own 2 big sets, and they are the best drums I've ever hit.) Swingstars & Imperialstars are Mahogany. Honestly, I always thought Superstars were maple, but I just read they moved to birch in the 80's too, weird! Granstars are different animals with more plys I think, Birch - but not as expressive, again only IMO. I've owned, played, and restored those as well. Woo hoo, just bought my very 1st set of Superstars last week, and am going through it now. (Finally, I caught the darn unicorn!) It's like your experience: Bought a well-used old set and it's turning into a real gem! It's a perfect testament to Tama's amazing quality! I'm looking forward to keeping this set "open," and only using Pinstripes/Ambassadors to control the resonance.
Original Superstars were birch,they didn't use maple for drums until Artstar, which were maple, Imperial were luan or mahogany as they called it and Granstar were Birch Swingstar and Royal Stars I would presume also Luan
Omg, beater kit! 😟
What are you using for heads?
Coated G2’s on tom tops, clear G1’s on the bottoms. Frosted EQ4 on the kick. Small packing blanket inside, Tama logo head on the front with 7” center hole.
I’ve been using clear EC2’s since this video and I like those even better. Really makes the toms sing. I did a video demoing the 10” tom I found not long after this video. Those are EC2’s on the toms.
@@DennisLeeflang Thanks Dennis! I have an early 80s Superstar kit in the Super Maple finish, 13x9, 16x16 and 22x16, various snares -no Tama though I'd like to get the matching 8" deep one someday and an 18" FT. I have tried a few different tom heads and just haven't hit the sound and feel I'm looking for just yet. Remo clear CS black dots, Aquarian Super2, and Remo coated Ambassador. All with either Remo clear Ambassador or Evans EQ reso heads. I'm leaning towards Evans G12 coated for the 13" batter, G14 coated for t he 16", and G1 coated for the resos. I have definitely decided to go all Evans after experimenting with their heads on other drums. I think their 360 collar design provides superior contact and tone.
@@itsjjp6070 I definitely found that double ply heads are the way to go on the Superstars. I tried G1’s and G12’s and they just didn’t have the punch and lows.
@@DennisLeeflang I'm shooting to get a sound similar to Billy Cobham in this video ruclips.net/video/rorTZyGlLFA/видео.html
I realize the drums have a lot to do with the sounds we hear in that video, but the heads certainly play an important part. He is using G12s on the smaller toms and G14s on the larger ones.
Those Yamaha shells are much thinner with relatively sharp edges, though. Superstars are the complete opposite. I’ve found that double ply heads sound more like single ply heads on the Superstars and single ply heads just don’t really work well unless you go for a jazz tuning. But definitely try things. Maybe single ply heads do work for you.
Stewart Copeland turn his drums Up high not down low as you say in this video just saw a demo video with Stewart talking about that very point
Stewart used a Superstar kit on the Zenyatta Mondatta album and the toms are tuned pretty low on that. Even lower on other albums. That’s what I was referring to. Nowadays he tunes his drums very high. He also uses smaller toms now than he did in the 80’s.
Welllll... they are known for ply separation. It gets worse after 1982 or so... but it’s usually easy to repair.
Never heard of or seen any ply separation on vintage Superstars. They are known for being some of the most solid and durable shells ever produced.
Sorry, Tell that to the kit I just finished restoring last week. 1981 Superstar bop kit, separations along the bearing edged on both the 12" and the 14".... plus I have a 1984 8x10" in nearly perfect shape but it had the much worse separations. Granted they were only around 1" at the widest, but they all needed to have glue injected and be clamped. Also, if you visit the Vintage Tama groups on facebook you will see much discussion and pictures of the dreaded Tama ply Separation. Like I said, it seems to be mostly an issue on post 1980 kits and gets worse toward the mid 80s. Not saying it's every kit... but it's thought that maybe since Tama had a hard time keeping up with production they were possibly not using enough glue, or possibly not keeping them in the forms long enough... Anyway It's a thing, and us Tama collectors know it well. But like I said it's easily repaired and most kits that don't exhibit the issue never will.
@@TheMilford Definitely the very first time I’ve heard this in 30 years of playing and collecting Tama drums and many friends who own 80’s Superstars..!
I've had mine nearly 40 years and the only issue I've had, which is known, are the lugs breaking where the threaded screws go (same thing with Imperialstars). I bought my 22" just for the lugs.
@Bass Drum Creep Tama updated the lugs, probably for that reason, I think around 1983/84. My main setup (12-13-16-22) is from 1979/80 and I’ve had no issues with the lugs myself.
Tama was first.
Stewart Copeland tuned is drums waaaayyy up, not down.
Not in the early days. Listen to the isolated drum tracks for Roxanne, for instance. Toms and even snare are tuned pretty low! The snare pops because he’s hitting rim shots. He started tuning his drums way up later on.
Yamaha was first.
Don't make em' like that anymore.
Tama!!!!!!