Hey there - your response was extremely helpful and educational for me. I'm definitely not complaining about my Silverstar kit. In fact, it's a gorgeous kit aesthetically. And given that I don't play in a band and won't be moving the drums around much at all, maybe the super fancy hardware upgrades wouldn't benefit me all that much. Once I position my kit the way I like it, it'll pretty much remain that way.
You've given me a lot to think about. I'm embarrassed to say I'm clueless as to how to properly tune a drum kit. I've watched Youtube videos on how to put the heads on and I feel like I've done it correctly but I can just tell that my drums aren't in tune. I just downloaded an app called DrumTunePro but haven't tried it yet. Any recommendations on mastering the art of tuning would be super appreciated. There is also quite a bit of buzzing from the snares but I suppose that's just normal? I put on some of those moon gels but I'm not thrilled about how they look on the heads. The heads that I have are about 4 years old (Evans G2's on the tops & G1's on the bottoms).
I'm still very intrigued by the Starclassic Walnut/Birch kit and may pull the trigger at some point (maybe it's just out of boredom and wanting something new like you mentioned LOL). Sweetwater quoted me $2100 (total) for a 5-piece (2 rack toms, 2 floor toms & a bass drum). My Ludwig suphraphonic is a nice snare, although I may want to go back to a wood snare at some point).
Otherwise, if it were you, what immediate upgrades would you make to the Silverstar to noticeably improve the sound (other than tuning)? You mentioned switching to diecast hoops? I have $2K right now that I've saved up. I guess I just need to decide whether or not to just bite the bullet on the Starclassic Walnut or spend money on upgrades to the Silverstar.
I'm going to post some pics of the drum room I built, along with some pics of my set up. Would love any critique on the kit arrangement.
Thanks again.