Tama Imperialstars

[T.Underhill]

Here's one of my babies. Pardon me for the bad pictures, the room is very small and can only fit drums and computers.

11 pc. Tama Midnight Blue Imperialstars, Octobans, Sabian and Wuhans. More specs to come...

Cymbals:

22" Sabian Paragon ride
20" Wuhan china
19" Sabian AA Rock crash
19" Sabian AA Medium crash
18" Sabian AA Medium crash
18" Sabian Pro china
17" Sabian AA Medium Thin crash
16" Sabian AA Medium Thin crash
15" Sabian HH Thin crash
15" Sabian AA Rock hi-hats
12" Wuhan china
10" Sabian AAX splash
10" Wuhan china splash
8" Sabian B8Pro splash
8" Wuhan china splash

[NUTHA JASON]

that things enormous! you got to film yourself playing here. i can just imagine the fills with toms set up like that. audience can't see you though.

j

ps: but then who can see nico mcbrain either.

[BrokenGlass]

Wowza! Reminds me of something that one dude in your icon might play!

[< Taylor Made >]

wow that really is an impressive kit. Its huuuge, i counted about 9 toms alone, and that was not even including floor tom/s (assuming u have one, but i couldnt see any in the picture).

[mediocrefunkybeat]

What a kit, what a beast... you implied you had more kits and I remember you mentioning a StarClassic earlier?

Wow. Killer. Utterly killer.

[tymile]

yeah, thats a sick kit.

im gunna check out some of your stuff and see how it is.

[T.Underhill]

that things enormous! you got to film yourself playing here. i can just imagine the fills with toms set up like that. audience can't see you though.

If you think I'd even play that for an audience you're nuts! Last weekend is the 1st time I set it up, and it's gonna stay there for a looong time.

Wowza! Reminds me of something that one dude in your icon might play!
Yep, I'm a huge Eric Carr fan...as a person and a musician. His were some of the best "big kits" of all time.

[Fur drummer]

Are they Imperialstar X-Tras? Your durms look just like mine. I don't have Octobans and you have more cymbals. I have the same kind of hardware as well. Nice taste in drums.

[T.Underhill]

Are they Imperialstar X-Tras? Your durms look just like mine. I don't have Octobans and you have more cymbals. I have the same kind of hardware as well. Nice taste in drums.

I've never heard of the "X-Tras" but after reading about them I know they were deeper sized toms. I might assume my kit was packaged that way since they are oversized. Ya see? You learn something new everyday. I'm always looking on Ebay to get a catalog for more information on them but I can never find the correct year. If yours looks similar to mine then put up some pics!!

[Stevesmithfan]

Very nice kit!
I had the opportunity to meet Eric Carr on several occasions. What a cool guy he was. He loved to talk about drums. Specifically Ludwig.
He is missed by many in the music world.

[Fur drummer]

Tama had an X-Tras series back in the 80's. Try Tama's '82,'83 catalog. I play an 11 piece Imperialstar X-Tras kit that has a jet black finish. I would love to post pics of my kit to show you but beleive it or not I don't have a digital camera. I will try and post pics of it some how but for now here are my specs.

Two Base Drums 16(Depth) X 24(width)
Concert Tom 5.5 X 6
Concert Tom 5.5 X 8
Tom 11 X 12
Tom 12 X 13
Tom 13 X 14
Tom 14 X 15
Floor Tom 16 X 16
Floor Tom 16 X 18
Shell Material - 9plys Mahogany

Steel Ludwig snare 14.5 X 12

Darn I wish I could post pics to show you.

[Stu_Strib]

Oh man that was my kit back in highschool! Same color, less drums!

1984-1988...what year is your kit?


HAha, I used to LOVE that kit and thought it was the best thing going! I have NO idea where it fell in their product line. I think it is an intermediate kit? My highschool owned it, so it couldn't be too much money!

[zildjian_dude101]

Amazing kit dude. i'd like to have a few hours behind it.

[T.Underhill]

1984-1988...what year is your kit?

I have NO idea where it fell in their product line. I think it is an intermediate kit? My highschool owned it, so it couldn't be too much money!

'85, all original. I believe it was one line down from the best(Artstar). Who knows how much it cost way back then but I know I got a good deal on it! Now if I could just get a Power Tower for it, heheh.

[jpekarek]

Hey have you seen this site? There are lots of links to TAMA's old catalogs.

http://www.tama.com/history/

Great drums BTW. I' a huge imperialstar fan. I had a 1974 Imperialstar Saturn 9 with an extra bass. Platina color.

[Stu_Strib]

I had a brochure of the Artstars. I was ready to rob a bank just to own one! hah, love the old catalogues!

[DruManiac19]

Beautiful Cymbals. WOW.
nice octobans too.

[davodi74]

That is freakin' sweet. Can I come over?

[T.Underhill]

That is freakin' sweet. Can I come over?

Sure. Snacks and beer will accompany you as well.

Great drums BTW. I' a huge imperialstar fan. I had a 1974 Imperialstar Saturn 9 with an extra bass. Platina color.

Thanks a lot man. My instructor had an older Imperialstar Platina, concert toms. Sparked an interest to get my kit later on.

[Class A Drummer]

looks more like a 16 peice to me :D. Nice set up though. lotsa toms.
http://drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7204 i only have 4.

[Drummer Karl]

Rocky V. !!! Man this set looks like Mr.rock...but I don`t know this Tama line...You have got GREAT cymbals but all in all not MY dreamkit...

[Anchein Vouivra]

Wow what a giant. I always loved these hard rocking sets even if they don't correspond me. I guess if you play gigs it muss be a hell of a problem if you don't own a bus.
Is that a Hand Hammered Dark Crash on the left side ?

[T.Underhill]

Wow what a giant. I always loved these hard rocking sets even if they don't correspond me. I guess if you play gigs it muss be a hell of a problem if you don't own a bus.
Is that a Hand Hammered Dark Crash on the left side ?

Take this to a gig!? No way Jose. I have another kit that's my "giggin" kit, can make it anywhere from a 5-7 piece. This beast stays put as long as I don't need the space. The cymbal is a 15" HH Thin.

Cymbals:

22" Sabian Paragon ride
20" Wuhan china
19" Sabian AA Rock crash
19" Sabian AA Medium crash
18" Sabian AA Medium crash
18" Sabian Pro china
17" Sabian AA Medium Thin crash
16" Sabian AA Medium Thin crash
15" Sabian HH Thin crash
15" Sabian AA Rock hi-hats
12" Wuhan china
10" Sabian AAX splash
10" Wuhan china splash
8" Sabian B8Pro splash
8" Wuhan china splash

[jpekarek]

[QUOTE=T.Underhill]Take this to a gig!? No way Jose. I have another kit that's my "giggin" kit, can make it anywhere from a 5-7 piece. This beast stays put as long as I don't need the space. The cymbal is a 15" HH Thin.

Same here, my kit never gets moved. I have a 5 piece TAMA that goes with me.

[~tamadrummer~]

i have a new favorite kit

[AvengedDrummer]

Ok theres an unmarked truck backing up to your house...............................now. I want you to put the drums in the back and dont ask any questions. J/J excellent kit, One of the coolest on here.

[hoginthesky]

YOWSA. Thats big a big one!

Al

[T.Underhill]

Ok theres an unmarked truck backing up to your house...............................now. I want you to put the drums in the back and dont ask any questions. J/J excellent kit, One of the coolest on here.

Sure thing, you need gas money too? Sandwiches? Heheh, thanks man!

[deadbirdsoup]

decided to post a comment after staring at it for a past hour...lol. nuff said

[T.Underhill]

decided to post a comment after staring at it for a past hour...lol. nuff said

Thanks, I think? If you looked that hard maybe you could tell me what kind of snare head that is...

[rendezvous_drummer]

Really nice kit man! What it is the shell made of. It looks kinda......not wood like.

[T.Underhill]

Really nice kit man! What it is the shell made of. It looks kinda......not wood like.

Thanks!

Tama Imperialstars have 9 ply mahogany shells with moisture resisting "Zola-Coat" finish on the inside.

[sirdrumalot]

NICE! do you like dream theatre? i had a red artstar2 lars ulrich set i sold last year

[T.Underhill]

NICE! do you like dream theatre? i had a red artstar2 lars ulrich set i sold last year

Thank you. I do like their music, mostly the drumming (of course). I can't say that Portnoy's kit has inspired mine in any way though. I've always wanted an Artstar II or Granstar Custom. When you say "Lars set" do you mean the same drum sizes?

[Melvin]

What the Hell is that thing?? How did you get it??? It's beautiful, I love it. Two sets of octobans and nice tom configuration it must be an expirience to play it. I don't know why but it reminded me of oldschool Metallica when I saw the bass drum hoops the are a very nice touch. Long Live Heavy Metal!!

[T.Underhill]

Thanks Melvin, Metal all the way!! Heheh. Lars played an Imperialstar back in the day I believe. I saw an old cached internet ad for this set and decided to call on it. The guy still had it so I drove to Detroit and picked it up while on vacation (not to Detroit!). It was well worth it. Came with all the cases too. Here's a pic that shows the color a little better.

[Drumitup]

Sweet kit man great cymbals too Im not really a fan of huge kits though

[tambian89]

Nice! I wish I had a set with so much stuff.

- Marc

P.S. Now I wanna go watch the Goonies.........

[lilblakdak]

Thanks, I think? If you looked that hard maybe you could tell me what kind of snare head that is...

Remo Fyberskin
20 charactures

[bivr]

wow...nice set.I love huge sets...

[T.Underhill]

Thanks guys. I shot a short clip with my podunk camera to give you an idea...

[TopCat]

Nice video, that kit sounds grrreat..to quote tony the tiger.

[T.Underhill]

Thanks. It doesn't sound like my other gear due to the power toms. The pinstripes enable some pretty deep tuning without getting distorted. Normally I don't prefer pinstripes but they came with the kit and they sound decent so they stay. The black resos on the bottom are a model of Evans that aren't even made anymore so they're probably over a decade old.

[~tamadrummer~]

wow those sound really sweet

[tambian89]

Reminds me a lot of Dave Lombaro's set.....simply great drumming too dude.

- Marc

[RudimentalDrummer]

Nice colour that is..unique too.

[Disco Stu]

Hey, I used to have a set of Tama Imperialstars...although it was quite a bit smaller than yours. I was (still am) a big Stewart Copeland fan, and he used Imperialstars with The Police for a while.

[deadbirdsoup]

Thanks, I think? If you looked that hard maybe you could tell me what kind of snare head that is...

lol sorry i gave a wrong impression there! yes it was possitive i love the set up, would love to have a blast down the toms with that beast! the type? cant see clearly only thing i can tell you is evans and remo lol. so..?

[T.Underhill]

Hey, I used to have a set of Tama Imperialstars...although it was quite a bit smaller than yours. I was (still am) a big Stewart Copeland fan, and he used Imperialstars with The Police for a while.

Mine are the same color as his were. There's a Police DVD out, you have to check it out. Great live stuff. What color were yours? The silver I'm betting?

Even have the octobans!

[Disco Stu]

Mine are the same color as his were. There's a Police DVD out, you have to check it out. Great live stuff. What color were yours? The silver I'm betting?

Even have the octobans!
Actually, mine were dark red. I wanted those octobans too, but I couldn't afford them at the time.

[osamasgoat5467]

Whoa, thats insane. When did Tama stop selling imperial stars?

[Pedey]

christ any room would be small if you tried to fit that beast in it!

I love your kit, very nice!


cheers

[T.Underhill]

Whoa, thats insane. When did Tama stop selling imperial stars?

I wanna say '86 but I could be off.

[mind_drummer]

Awesome vintage big TAMA kit dude and amazing collections of cymbals.

Sweet loving kit. :-)

[tentpole]

You just made my little 4 piece look like a...uh...a littlestick next to a baseball bat! (bad comparasion,sorry).

[Disco Stu]

Cool video! The kit sounds great.

[jollymosher]

Wow. JEEZ! I wanna hear and or hear you play that thing. i love the setup. alittle big. it would be a pain in the foot to set up all the time tho.

[MetalThrasher442]

That looks awesome. I like the color too. I have an imperialstar. It's black and a 6 piece. Anyway it's pretty old and I'm selling it in a week. We had a good run and now it's time for my 9 piece custom superstar to move in. Anyway a great sounded drumkit and I loved it, but unfortunetly it's a little too old.

[chops4kicks]

that things enormous! you got to film yourself playing here. i can just imagine the fills with toms set up like that. audience can't see you though.

j

ps: but then who can see nico mcbrain either.


that thing is a dream! i was thinking the same thing about nicko mcbrain when i first saw it too

[d.c.drummer]

That kit looks serious. Don't poke an eye out.

[T.Underhill]

i love the setup. alittle big. it would be a pain in the foot to set up all the time tho.

You have no idea!

Anyway a great sounded drumkit and I loved it, but unfortunetly it's a little too old.

Never too old!!

That kit looks serious. Don't poke an eye out.

Thanks dude...but in my attempt to mimick Keith Moon my flailing arms might end up hitting me in the face.

[RudimentalDrummer]

Bro T.Underhill

How old is this Kit?...manufactured 1970s or 1980s??? .... Seems to very well maintain...just look at those rims....and how much did you got it for?

[T.Underhill]

How old is this Kit?...manufactured 1970s or 1980s??? .... Seems to very well maintain...just look at those rims....and how much did you got it for?

It's a little over 20 years old and it came in excellent condition. I paid 1300 USD and it came w/ a hard case for every single drum. A good deal to me!

[drummerboy2]

That kit is deadly! That must cost like as much as a roland td-20.

[tamadrummer132]

i keep finding myself coming back to this thread.. BECAUSE YOUR SET IS SO AWESOME.

[zappafan]

Dude , I wouldn't know where to start with that thing. I have enough problems with 2 rack toms , not 17. ;)
Love the tom placement ( 8 & 10 ) above the others. Nice choice in cymbals. AA's are awesome. You don't have to move too far to hit something , any way ;). That kit is a veritable force! Amazing bro!

So when is your next jazz gig? :-)

Peace.

[Marshmallow Jones]

holy smackers. now that looks fun. do you put the other octobans to the left of the existing set up in the top picture? they have to be hard to get to if you do. I would love me some Tama Octobans, I have the Peace 12 and 14 inch but the stand limits their placement for me. nice nice kit. congrats.

[Deathmetalconga]

Outrageous set!

What are the two cymbals at your 11:30 position, one of them inverted? Is that a kang? Did you put that together yourself or is it off-the-shelf? Great sound from that - from the whole set.

www.terrasonus.com
Ironwood drum set: http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18719

[Synthetik]

I added that big kit to my "monster kit" gallery.

I just have to get around to fixing the thumbs....schtoopid frontpage....

[fusssion]

Couple Tama related things here.........

First and foremost ......DROOOOOOL!!! Great kit!

Other.......

Back in the day of that kit, I believe Artstar was out,...then Superstar (birch) then Imperialstar, then Swingstars (which were Imperials with different lugs and hardware) pretty sure.

I had a mid-80's Swingstar (Japan) in black .....Xtra sizes..8-10-12-14-16-18 2 16x22's and a custom black lacquer 8x14 snare! I also ordered piano black birch bass drum rims too so it looks better :) Anyhow.....

80's Tama's ..........So NICE!!

Mahogany + Zola-coat ...gotta love that sound!!!!!!!!

[T.Underhill]

do you put the other octobans to the left of the existing set up in the top picture? they have to be hard to get to if you do.

If I get rid of the two smaller toms I can fit the octobans on the left side, but they're still harder to reach.


What are the two cymbals at your 11:30 position, one of them inverted?
8 and 10" Wuhan splashes. Suprisingly the 2 inch difference makes enough space to hit them individually instead of both at the same time.

I added that big kit to my "monster kit" gallery.

Thanks man, that's a nice page you have. I feel honored!

[Exportdrummer]

That is awesome man, do you like all the toms or is it not worth it

[Synthetik]

Thanks man, that's a nice page you have. I feel honored!

Ticks me off that some of the thumbnails decided to clone each other...it's a bug in frontpage. I will have to fix that.

[T.Underhill]

That is awesome man, do you like all the toms or is it not worth it

The extra toms are a lot of fun and the range of sounds is huge. When I have the time to set all of them up it's a fun time and I can experiment a little more. I never gig out with this kit and rarely set it up so that's why I don't care about the size of everything. In short, it's worth it!

[doublebass]

----------->"pisses pants"

[Synthetik]

Ok, I figured out the conditions that cause frontpage to screw up the thumbs. I have fixed that, and now the thumbs/pics of your imperialstar are working.

http://www.synthetictubs.com/monster_kits.htm

[Tama Player]

Thanks!

Tama Imperialstars have 9 ply mahogany shells with moisture resisting "Zola-Coat" finish on the inside.

Hopefully the next Imperialstar to be added to the collection...only the wrap will be black.

Thats my kit right there!!!

Imperial Stars are my favs. You have one AWESOME kit my man!!

Peace
AGR

[tooldrums1000]

I would die for that kit. How much was all of that? And how much are those octobans? Thats a sweet kit!

[Sojo]

My first thought when I saw the pics was 'Dave Lombardo Fan'


sweet kitness mang

[Deathmetalconga]

You could either play that in a rock stadium, or use it to drive out Iraqi insurgents ... insane kit ...

[jollymosher]

yeah i totaly agree with death metal, those things are crazy loud.

[latzanimal]

Tama's Midnight Blue has ALWAYS been one of my favorite finishes. I had my electronic pads finished to match with intentions of getting my Ludwigs refinished in MB. I have an Imperialstar in Midnight Blue, it is the same as an octa-plus only Tama style, concertoms all around. Belonged to my drum teacher, so when he decided to get rid of it, I couldn't pass....

Awesome....

[Joe P]

Mike Portnoy fan?
Tama-Sabian-Remo!
Lotsa toms and timbalitos :O

[dry_water]

wow.. thats an interesting setup for a kit like that... well, thats an interesting kit to start with... really llooking amazing.. we need videos..

[razorx]

i have a set of rockstars in that same wrap

[Pavlos]

Thanks Melvin, Metal all the way!! Heheh. Lars played an Imperialstar back in the day I believe. I saw an old cached internet ad for this set and decided to call on it. The guy still had it so I drove to Detroit and picked it up while on vacation (not to Detroit!)....

OK, I gotta bump this thread. Wow that is an awesome beast. But why not vacation in Detroit? It's lovely here.

Everyone is writing about us

"Detroit has earned a dubious distinction from Forbes Magazine: the Most Dangerous City in America. "

http://www.detnews.com/article/20090424/METRO/904240418/1361/Forbes+ranks+Detroit+tops+--+in+danger

[metal overlord]

I was just a mere lurker when I first saw this kit.
I thought I lost but, but damn! That's still one fine kit.

[mapexzil]

aaagghhh my face is melting