How to find a 1997-1999 Starclassic 16" tom?

er-minio

Member
Hi, I'm the really happy owner of a Tama Starclassic Performer that I bought new back in 1998 (I was 18 at the time...).

I'm still using it and just recently I was considering adding a 16" suspended floor tom. I didn't buy it extra at the time because it was pretty expensive for my finances back then... especially after buying the entire kit :)

Now, after some research on the awesome post here, I confirmed that my Starclassic is the one with the Birch/Basswood/Birch shells (you tend to forget after a few years... it's just birch/whatever :-D ).

Is eBay the only way to go (chances one in a million)?
Or is there any specialized shop with used drum parts/kits?
I'm in the UK, but I won't mind shops overseas as well.

cheers
 
eBay and patience can do wonders. If you've waited 14 years, will you be happy to wait a few more? Biggest issue might be coming across a full set, rather than just one drum. Are you willing to buy the whole thing for one drum?
 
eBay and patience can do wonders. If you've waited 14 years, will you be happy to wait a few more?

Actually... you stand correct, Sir. :)

Well, I started saving a few searches with email alerts on eBay. Let's see if I hit the jackpot with an indigo blue one (same colour as mine).
 
You'll just have to wait. Last year, I passed on a 13" tom, that matches my kit, which went up on eBay. Still waiting for the re-listing ...
 
Nice! I am waiting for the matching 8" tom for my kit to show up somewhere. Should have bought one when you could get them a few years ago...
 
I'm just checking the badges.
There is a small difference, even though the drums should not be too much apart in age.

My kit has the badge that says "SERIAL No" and then the serial starts with 01 (so if we do the -10 rule on the serial number... it doesn't work as there were no starclassic performer in 1991).

The Tom has the same badge but with "MADE IN JAPAN" and the serial starts with 07.

(similar to this: http://forum.tama.com/yaf_postst13110_Starclassic-Badges-don-t-match---AMG-Performer-Birch.aspx)

I bought my performer back in 98/99. It is the birch/basswood/birch shells, wooden hoops on the kick drum, 97 to 99 series.
The tom should still be the same combination, just more recent construction, there weren't major changes till 2000 according to the identification thread.
 
Wow 6 months it took. I am on the prowl for a 13" Ludwig WMP from the early 70's. I hope to get one this year sometime.
 
Btw, this is the badge difference.

The tom:
badge_tom.JPG


Snare (and rest of the kit):
badge_rullante.jpg


Funnily. the other snare at the back is an old Club Custom I managed to identify via this forum and a Yahama service that tells you what it is according to the serial # .
 
Got it yesterday in the mail.
Just come back from the shop today to get the extra clamp/stand, heads, etc.

Regarding the badge difference, there are some minor differences, and I suspect this might be a 2000/2001 all birch tom instead of being an hybrid shell, like the rest of the kit.

Sounds about the same, but I'll know better tomorrow as I'll be bringing the kit to the studio to tune it properly and do some test recording for other reasons.

As the Starclassic performer identification thread says:
There is unfortunately no way to definitively visually differentiate a 1997 to 1999 hybrid shell Performer from a 2000-2001 Version 1 100% Birch Performer for all kits!!
http://forum.tama.com/yaf_postst124...former-Do-I-Have---Identification-Thread.aspx

for the records: the bolts inside the shell are black instead of chrome, and the shell itself is a little deeper blue than my kit (might be different discoloration over the years).
The major difference is the texture of the wood. More horizontal striping on the tom than on the rest of the kit. The inside bit of the shell looks pretty similar. Maybe it's a tiny bit "blonder" but I'm going a bit OCD here.


Thanks Tama for changing the shells every three months :-D

01.jpg


02.jpg


03.jpg


04.jpg


05.jpg
 
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