My Tama Swingstar

[Big_Philly]

Hey everyone,
I'm new here. But not new at drumming, I've been playing for ten years. I started playing in a classical style, in an orchestra, but after a few years when I moved to belgium and got a new teacher, I started getting into rock. At the moment I'm totally blown away by bands like Planet X, Dream Theater, Lacuna Coil... mostly hardrock and progressive styles. I also like other music though.
Anyway, back on-topic about my kit. It's a pretty good kit if you ask me, not very large but it sounds good and I'm very happy with it. I'm working on building my own twin-pedal since it's too friggin' expensive for someone who lives on scholarship money...
The cymbals are a Pearl Wild 500 series hi-hat (14"), a Stagg BH series 16" crash, an 18" thin crash by sterling, a Paiste 20" ride, and Sabian B8 10" splash and 18" china. I use an iron cobra power glide single pedal, pinstripe skins on my bass and toms. The rest is "default" Tama Swingstar.
What do you think? I'd like to know people's general opinion on the kit, and if anyone has an idea for a better positioning of the different parts, just let me know... pics are attached.

[Drummerboy3940]

Looks good. Do you have any driver seat pics?

[Big_Philly]

I will take them next time I visit my parents, it's in their basement since I could only fit a Roland TD6 in my current room. Plus I live in an apartment building, the people beneath me arent very tolerant. They've been complayning about the noise I make with a TD6, so imagine... they'd stab me if I took my acoustic set here.

[Drummer Karl]

yeah, looks pretty sweet! Is that an old line of the Swingstar line??
set up is so sweet, looks so confortable!

Karl

[Big_Philly]

Yeah it's pretty old. I got it 5 or 6 years ago and it was already a second-hand kit back then. It's still in good state, though I might have to re-tune the toms.

[Drummerboy3940]

My school has an older swingstar. Yours looks alot better though

[Class A Drummer]

Awsome set. Im not the most knowledgable when it comes to tamas, how do they compare to some of the better models (Star classic ect.)

[Big_Philly]

Thanks to all for the compliments by the way :)

I'm not sure how it compares to Tama Starclassic, but the quality is comparable to Pearl Export series. I think the swingstar is very good in value-for-money as it's not expensive, not even as a brand new set.

[Class A Drummer]

Thanks to all for the compliments by the way :)

I'm not sure how it compares to Tama Starclassic, but the quality is comparable to Pearl Export series. I think the swingstar is very good in value-for-money as it's not expensive, not even as a brand new set.
So its like a superstar or something probably. I think starclassic is the best tama.

[Cephalic]

Awsome set. Im not the most knowledgable when it comes to tamas, how do they compare to some of the better models (Star classic ect.)

Well, today, their kits are (in order from lowest to highest quality):
Stagestar, Swingstar, Superstar, Starclassic

Of course, that's not saying they're bad. Todays Swingstars are great drums, especially for the price. His kit's an older model, so I'm not completely sure though.


Nice kit though, the set up looks comfy. Interesting throne though... ;)

[mind_drummer]

Nice kit dude ! TAMA make good sounding and well built kit.

Your Swingstar is about 11 years old. Here a link to Tama catalog http://tama.com/history/history_detail.asp?i=135

[Colin]

Hey I use the same hi-hats as you and I love 'em! How do you like them?

[Big_Philly]

Hey I use the same hi-hats as you and I love 'em! How do you like them?

I LOVE 'em!!
About the throne: my real throne is in my room in Enschede, and as I said earlier my acoustic set is at my parents place. I use my "real" throne here.

[Big_Philly]

First of all: sorry for double-posting...
But i was wondering: If I were to get another expansion for this kit, what should I have to buy?

[BIG_c]

HEY WE HAVE THE SAME KIT, except...you kinda have better cymbals...and stuff. I also wanna expand my kit like getting another floor tom.

[Big_Philly]

Better cymbals? I'm not sure. a drum kit is a personal thing, andshould be adjusted to the way you like it. I like my kit this way, and I'm happy with the sound if it. It is very versatile, i can use it for subtle patterns as well as thunderous grooves and solo's. But back to the cymbal thing: cymbals should be bought looking at how they sound, not from what brand or series they are. When I buy cymbals, I usually just bring a stick (or ask one at the counter), and smash a few of them. When I like the sound of one, i check the price to see if it's within the reach of my budget. That's the reason why I have cymbals from 5 different brands, all with other colours...
an additional floor tom sounds pretty good. I'll think about that... (maybe I'll ask my parents one for christmas :D)

Edit: I was just practising on my TD6, and the neighbours complained again, even though we agreed that I could play drums at this hour. That just PISSES ME OFF!! That's it, I'm moving!

[adamjames]

It's a nice setup. As long as you are happy wit it, that's all that really matters. i had 2 swingstar sets at 1 time. I had power toms on both of my sets. ! was jet black and the other was smokey chrome.

[zildjian_dude101]

Nice set. Looks kind of uncomfortable though.

[Class A Drummer]

Well, today, their kits are (in order from lowest to highest quality):
Stagestar, Swingstar, Superstar, Starclassic

Of course, that's not saying they're bad. Todays Swingstars are great drums, especially for the price. His kit's an older model, so I'm not completely sure though.


Nice kit though, the set up looks comfy. Interesting throne though... ;)
What about rockstar? i know its worse than super star in quality but not sure bout the rest.

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

Rockstars were replaced with the Superstar line Class_A and the Superstars are much better drums in comparison.

[Class A Drummer]

Rockstars were replaced with the Superstar line Class_A and the Superstars are much better drums in comparison.
IC. btw mfb gj on 2100 posts. My friend just bought a superstar, he said they offered new rockstars also, he mustve been exagerating or somthing.

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

IC. btw mfb gj on 2100 posts. My friend just bought a superstar, he said they offered new rockstars also, he mustve been exagerating or somthing.

Off you ignore list now eh? I'll be good.

Anyway, I think he was wrong. There are plenty of old Rockstar kits floating around for sale but as far as I'm aware that line is since discontinued. The Superstars are just superior drums in every respect, perhaps maybe the lugs aren't but that's purely a matter of personal taste. I actually really fancy a set of them but it's money I don't have.

[~tamadrummer~]

IC. btw mfb gj on 2100 posts. My friend just bought a superstar, he said they offered new rockstars also, he mustve been exagerating or somthing.
woah, i didnt know 4 internet abbreveations in a row was humanly possible.

[wondering]

before buying my superstar I tried some rockstar too, and I can tell you the difference is enormous between those two.

due to die cast hoops ( same as for starclassics), better wood, star cast mounting system ( same as for starclassics ), and more over..

[Class A Drummer]

woah, i didnt know 4 internet abbreveations in a row was humanly possible.
Oh man i could have probably done better than that. i think ive done 6 b4 but probably no more than that.

[Big_Philly]

I think Swingstar kits and rockstar kits are comparable in quality. Rockstars probably have a more powerful sound.

[Big_Philly]

I am thinking about a second floor tom, maybe place it on the left rather than on the right. That would look sweet, and the set-up would still be extremely comfortable that way. What do you guys (and gals) think? If you think a second floor tom would be lame: do you have any better ideas of things to do with this kit?

[Big_Philly]

As I mentioned above I also have a Roland TD6... my neighbour, who lives below me, is complaining about hearing me playing on it. I think he's mainly hearing the bassdrum... Does anyone have an idea on how to dampen that noise? would a carpet or a slab of rubber help?

[wnnabdrummer]

woah, i didnt know 4 internet abbreveations in a row was humanly possible.

lmao. i noticed that too.

[Darmikalus]

As I mentioned above I also have a Roland TD6... my neighbour, who lives below me, is complaining about hearing me playing on it. I think he's mainly hearing the bassdrum... Does anyone have an idea on how to dampen that noise? would a carpet or a slab of rubber help?
it may help to raise it higher off the floor, so yeah with a slab of carpet or padding mabye....

[Big_Philly]

Well it's been a while since I've been here... I have expanded my swingstar with a 12" splash/crash from Wuhan and a Pearl P122TW twin bass drum pedal. It kinda makes me feel like a whore to use pearl gear on a tama drumset but I'm not rich so I just went with a bargain on this twin pedal. I will buy a second floor tom (16"x18") in a few months and I'll post a picture when I have this baby all set up again. (It's lying around in the attic, havent got enough room to set it up :( )

[kung_f00]

. It kinda makes me feel like a whore to use pearl gear on a tama drumset but I'm not rich so I just went with a bargain on this twin pedal.

Psht, don't sweat it. I can't afford Roadpro stands for my Tama, so I bought a bunch of cheap PDP stands. Think of it this way: You're not sponsored, so you don't have to stick to just one brand of ANYTHING. Minor suggestion though, just something you could try out.. instead of attaching the clamp for the splash to a cymbal stand, you should attach the clamp to the tom mount and position the splash between the two toms.

And if your neighbors keep complaining, buy them a case of beer or something to shut them up.

[Big_Philly]

And if your neighbors keep complaining, buy them a case of beer or something to shut them up.

Thanks, kung_f00. I indeed already tried to mount my splash between the toms, it works pretty well. I think I will mount the 12" between the toms and the 10" under the china (I've tried that out at a gig once and it worked pretty well).

[Big_Philly]

I replaced the low-end Stagg 16" crash and the B8 china by Paiste Sound Formula reflectors, the old series with a round stamp. The Stagg is replaced by a 16" power crash, the sabian by a 16" thin china. That sounds so much better! I got them for 155 euros (should be somewhere around $180), wich is a pretty good deal I guess. They have only been used once or twice for recording, barely any signs of mileage (the china has a few traces of getting hit.

The old two cymbals make a pretty neat Max-stax-imitating combination, though it might be a little too thrashy. I'm thinking about selling them, or using them as decorations in our living room.

[Big_Philly]

I built up my kit in our living room today. It's a small house as you will probably be able to tell from the photo's attached, but there is just enough room for my kit in the attic. I can finally play acoustic again without being bothered by the meighbours so I'm pretty happy. Anyway, here's a few recent pics of my swingstar with all the latest additions (which I already mentioned in earlier posts). I apologize for the abominable photo quality but I dont have a good digital camera, only a cell phone camera.

[Big_Philly]

Well I am selling my swingstar... I just ordered a Tama Superstar custom in the ocean fade finish:
toms:
10x8, 12x9, 14x11, 16x16
snare:
14x5.5
bass
22x18
Heads:
Remo Emperors on the toms,
coated ambassador on the snare,
and remo powersonic on the bass.
I'll keep the stock reso's for now.
I will start a new thread (with pics) as soon as it gets in, which will be in about 4 weeks I hope.

[groove meister]

hey, good luck with the new kit :D its great getting an upgrade, youll love it for sure. the new finish sounds nice. I like your swingstar kit, it was actually the first kit i owned, ive since had 4 hehe... my only advice would be to heighten your snare, for me, i find it much more comfortable to play, just looks a little low! but its personal! take care

[Big_Philly]

Yeah I did heighten my snare last time I had it set up, gives more control over rimshots etc.
Thanks for the advice :)

[bighaibigdrums]

Nice kit dude ! TAMA make good sounding and well built kit.

Your Swingstar is about 11 years old. Here a link to Tama catalog http://tama.com/history/history_detail.asp?i=135

That kit is waaaay older than 11yrs. I'd say its an early 80's from the logos, and lugs.

[Big_Philly]

for real? Cool! how much do you reckon it's worth, being more than 20 years old and in mint condition...

Edit: Just checked out hte tama history, and the 80's swingstars had the same lugs but different logo's. And the "swingstar by tama" print on the bass reso. head didn't appear until like '95 or so.

[tamadrummer132]

looks good.
my only advice is to bring your ride,china, and crash closer in. they look they they would be hard to reach.

[Big_Philly]

yeah, they are a little hard to each at the moment but fortunately the superstar comes with a boom stand so that will fix it. The china is just a matter of repositioning I think.

[Big_Philly]

I just foud out that my Superstars will be here in 3 weeks except for the 16x16 floor tom, that will take 3 months... awfully long if you ask me.

[Mr. Pasquini]

Well, I hope you enjoy the Superstar. Tama's are great, my school has a Swingstar as it's kit and I really like playing on it. My little Stagestar suites me just fine though.