Which ‘80’s kit to let go?

Standalone

New Member
Bass player here with a home recording and rehearsal studio.
I’d had a Japanese kit, 20/13/16/14s with a fantastic sounding bass drum, but for a lot of reasons I decided to upgrade. 507C4D4C-C5B2-4C66-B1DD-CCFE3BF496BD.jpeg
It looks like the power tom eighties sets are the bargains and, wanting to upgrade my cymbals, bought a Pearl World Series kit that came with some Zildjian hi hats and a “Stadium” ride.
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The kids like it and I hear them on it instead of the PlayStation out in the studio a lot more so this was a win.
But then I saw a listing marked “Music” with no description that looked worth a drive. It turned out to be a beater Swingstar with a full set of hardware, Paragon Hi Hats, DW 3000 two leg stand, Paragon crash, a KRUT 14” with rivets and a 20” Meinl MCS. Roto Tom, wood block and homemade agogos. It was a good snag.

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As a bass player who is not that experienced with drums, I thought I’d ask for advice on choosing which kit to keep. I think I like the sound of the beater Tama, especially the toms, but it’s hard for me to know whether I could achieve the same sound with similar heads and tuning of the Pearl which is in much nicer shape.

My instinct is to trust my ears and set aside or sell the Pearl set.
 
keep whatever keeps the kids OFF of the Playstation!!! ;)

...but also what MrIsanePolack said
 
Another vote for "keep the Pearls". Looks like the Tama shells have the grey "Zola coat" interior. Shells are Philippine mahogany. I believe the Pearl shells are 5 ply maple.

And yes, changing the heads on the Pearls will bring them closer to the Tama sound.

That chrome on chrome Roto Tom is preferred. If you sell it, don't let it go cheap.
 
Thank you all. The Tama toms have a really superb "dooommmmmm" to them. Maybe switching out the heads to the Pearl will achieve what I want; they're the same sizes. Geez, though, you drummers have your work cut out for you. I'm used to just changing four or five strings....

The Paragon Hi-Hats are worth more used than I paid for the whole Tama kit. There are deals out there; I can understand how drummers wind up with garages full of gear.
 
I have a set of Tama Rockstars which are supposed to be a step above the Swingstars. My Rockstars sound horrid. By that alone, I'd get rid of the Tamas.
 
This kind of knowledge is why I came to y’all. Thanks.
With shipping .... I paid $90 for my 10" chrome/chrome roto, and $140 for my 12". The ones with the black or grey rims are cheaper on the used market.
 
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