Tama Silverstar Maple Limited Edition

TheHeelDrummer

Senior Member
So I was at Dale's Drum shop in PA and ran across some Tama Silver Star Maple Limited Edition drums.

Beautiful, and sounded really great.

And they are limited to 30 in ithe entire world. 30 kits period. Thats pretty limited I would say.

Now Tama does not make a cheap maple line, meaning no intermediate kits. So would they go through the effort of procuring new maple shells just for a 30 kit run off? One guy I spoke with (Not affiliated with Dales) told me he believes they just used the maple starclassic shells on them and outfitted them with the silverstar hardware (Which is still pretty bad ass hardware).

I know I'll never be able to add to the kit... but if they were Starclassic shells it would be more than worth the price. They really sound great and I'm really impressed and not generally a Tama guy.

Any opinions?
 
That sounds like a good deal. I like the Silverstar birch drums and personally think they should have Silverstar maples.
 
That sounds like a good deal. I like the Silverstar birch drums and personally think they should have Silverstar maples.

Tama's always been shy about doing a mid-level maple kit, but perhaps this limited edition is to test the waters for a production kit down the road.

As for the original post, I think if the price, finish, and configuration all work for you then go for it.

But there are other mid-level maple kits from other manufacturers that have a lot more configuration and finish options than the Silverstar maple. I wouldn't get too caught up in the notion of (maybe) getting Starclassic shells under Silverstar badges. Most of what sets the Silverstar and Starclassic lines apart isn't the wood, but the level of care and attention to detail, and there's just no guarantee or even reason to expect you'd actually get that in this Silverstar maple kit.
 
I would cast some healthy doubt on the notion that Silverstar maple shells are the same as Starclassic shells. SC Maple shells used to be North American (Canadian) maple and perhaps still are; the Silverstar shells are probably Chinese maple--usually not as dense or high grade as Canadian maple.

Lower-priced mid-level kits--Mapex Mydentity, Mapex Meridian, for example--tend to use cheaper-priced Chinese-sourced wood.
 
The ones at Dales sound real good. Don't know about the maple source.

If you guys go and actually examine a Silverstar Birch shell up close.. you will quickly see that these are higher quality shells than something like those new Stage Customs.

There is a guy on Pearl forum who did a detailed review.
 
$900 is ok for a set that you plan on keeping for a long time. But just know that they will not have that kind of resale if you sell in a couple years. People buying used will judge pricing based on being silverstar, not on being a low production maple kit. For that kind of money, you could find a used starclassic or possibly a clearence/close out new starclassic that will retain its resale. IMHO.
 
$900 is ok for a set that you plan on keeping for a long time. But just know that they will not have that kind of resale if you sell in a couple years. People buying used will judge pricing based on being silverstar, not on being a low production maple kit. For that kind of money, you could find a used starclassic or possibly a clearence/close out new starclassic that will retain its resale. IMHO.

I dont usually sell drums. Its like giving away my children. But you think the resale value would decrease even considering the fact this was a limited edition of only 30 kits world wide? Unless they were to expand upon the line there would be 30 of these period, ever.

I understand these arent baseball cards but scarcity does usually equal collectability right? Of course it would probably have to be to a knowledgable Tama guy because everything on Ebay is "SUPERDUPER RARE!!!!". But this is really super duper rare.
 
I would cast some healthy doubt on the notion that Silverstar maple shells are the same as Starclassic shells. SC Maple shells used to be North American (Canadian) maple and perhaps still are; the Silverstar shells are probably Chinese maple--usually not as dense or high grade as Canadian maple.

Lower-priced mid-level kits--Mapex Mydentity, Mapex Meridian, for example--tend to use cheaper-priced Chinese-sourced wood.

If Tama don't make any mid range maple kits already then they probably won't have stock of asian maple to make this run of 30 drums. It would be vastly more cost effective for them to use NA maple that already exists within their stocks.
 
If Tama don't make any mid range maple kits already then they probably won't have stock of asian maple to make this run of 30 drums. It would be vastly more cost effective for them to use NA maple that already exists within their stocks.

Thats exactly what I was talking about.
 
I actually wrote to Dale's Drum Shop about the kit trying to find out where the maple is sourced. I haven't gotten an answer. I would think the drum shop would know since they claim that they worked 'very closely' with Tama in making this kit.

The kit does sound very good.
 
Just got a response from Dale's Drum Shop...

'As far as we know, it is high quality maple and does remind us of the starclassic maple'

So there you have it...make your own judgement.
 
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