My '74 Tama Royalstar - A Rescue Mission

MartyOwens

Junior Member
Here are some before and after shots of my old Tama Royalstar, which I believe is around 1974 in vintage. It had been left to rot in a shed, and I bought the lot for $30. Stripped it all down, sanded and stained and lacquered it, and got these results. Sadly, a few of the shells had been munted by a previous owner, who had ripped the factory wrap off, tearing strips out of the shell, and proceeded to re-wrap them in some kind of kitchen benchtop laminate.

Anyway, not bad for a first attempt, and a decent kit for a $30 spend !!
 

Attachments

  • Before 01.jpg
    Before 01.jpg
    18.4 KB · Views: 2,231
  • Before 02.jpg
    Before 02.jpg
    18 KB · Views: 2,324
  • Before 03.jpg
    Before 03.jpg
    16.7 KB · Views: 2,168
  • Before 04.jpg
    Before 04.jpg
    16.2 KB · Views: 2,189
  • Finished 01.jpg
    Finished 01.jpg
    56.3 KB · Views: 2,998
  • Finished 02.jpg
    Finished 02.jpg
    53.9 KB · Views: 2,145
  • Finished 03.jpg
    Finished 03.jpg
    54.6 KB · Views: 2,472
  • 100_3826.jpg
    100_3826.jpg
    144.2 KB · Views: 2,428
Looks great. Shame some people have no idea of how to take care of anything really.

- I'm glad you like them..... thanks :)

Yeah, I'm not sure of the backstory on them, just that they had been sitting in a shed for about ten years. I'm about to do another two kits. One is getting stained in an amber with a polyurethane varnish. The second one I want to figure out how to wrap using newspaper as a wrap design, and again use polyurethane as a varnish / sealant. Any ideas?
 
Nice work! How do royalstars compare to modern tama's? Are they similar in quality to starclassics? Or superstars? Or were they an entry level kit?
 
Nice work! How do royalstars compare to modern tama's? Are they similar in quality to starclassics? Or superstars? Or were they an entry level kit?

- I'm pretty sure they were the entry level kit (or pretty close to it). If they ARE 1974's, then from what I can gather, that is also the first year that Tama started trading as Tama, switching from their earlier name of "Star Drums" (hence the word "Star" in most of their products).

Entry level or not, they look alright, and sound pretty decent too. It's like so many drums.... stick some decent heads on 'em and tune 'em up nicely, and they'll sound quite alright. You can fuss around looking for that million dollar sound, but unless you got a million dollars, you'll search forever and never get around to playing !!
 
great work on those old wrecks, the kit looks great!

amazing what a little elbow grease will get ya ;-)
 
Very nice work!!!

Is the Joey snare aluminium or steel??

Bram

Thanks for the comment !! The Joey snare is, according to the specs, a 1mm steel shell. It's marketed as a "power piccolo", but I have mine tuned about as low as I can get it, and it has a nice rounded tone. It also cuts through pretty good and has decent projection. I'm pleased with it. I'd love a Brady Jarrah snare, but they're just too expensive, so the Joey snare will do me just fine for now :)
 
It's pretty easy, i managed to do it.

Yeah, dead easy. Just get yourself a basic heat gun from your local hardware store. They're not that expensive for a basic model, and have many uses, so it's a good investment anyway.

Just GENTLY lift a corner of the wrap whilst heating gently. This is to semi-melt the bonding glue between the wrap and the shell. Some wraps are just glued along the edges, some all over the shell (a nuisance), and some are just glued or taped at the seam / join. You never know what you're gonna get until you start !!

Slowly but steadily peel the wrap away from the shell whilst sweeping the heat gun back and forth over the wrap, heating it just enough for easy removal but not enough to scorch anything (or set fire to anything). Bear in mind that some wraps, especially some vintage varieties, are prone to igniting and trying to take your house or garage with them, so be prepared for an emergency (rare, but it does happen apparently).

Enjoy !! It's a good fun project, and the sense of pride and achievement at the end of the project is great :)
 
Back
Top