Vinatge TAMA Superstar Restoration

I thought I would address something I remember from history. (I was around then too...)

After recording some landmark albums with his Tama superstar, Peart moved to artstar (briefly), and then to Ludwig and then DW*.

Since you are restoring the superstars: What are your thoughts on the sound vs today's drums (like starclassic?)

I have always disliked industry "trends" and I think that the differences/advantages have been overstated, especially when microphones and recordings are thrown into the equation. Note that many drum companies (especially sonor) are once again offering heavy or "stadium" shells.

Superstar comments?

Thanks...!

*These seem like "money" moves to me. I remember a LOT of faithful Peart followers boiling mad when he switched.
 
I played the 5 piece you see in the picture for a few months before I took it apart.

To be honest I really did not think about how it compared but just how it sounded on it's own. They are great sounding drums.

The quality of these drums is undeniable. I will have more to say when I get them done when it come to sound.

I think when we were young we were influenced by who played what. I know as I grew older and wiser I learned to let my ears be the judge.

For me this is simply a project i got excited about and decided to do. In the end I will play various combinations of drum in smaller kits.

I am sure I will use the standard depth toms with the deeper kick sizes the most.

Occasionally I do a classic rock gigs, I will use the power toms for these gigs, they will sound cool for that.
 
I played the 5 piece you see in the picture for a few months before I took it apart.

To be honest I really did not think about how it compared but just how it sounded on it's own. They are great sounding drums.

The quality of these drums is undeniable. I will have more to say when I get them done when it come to sound.

I will be interested to find out. I remember the hype when the industry changed the drum shell formats. And recently, the trend has been to offer "stadium" shells just as if it was a superstar kit to begin with. People have lauded the GMS stadium shells for a few years now.

I would like to think that what something like DW collectors drums added in midrange presence, they lost in projection and volume. If anything, I believe the Tama superstars will project better than DW collectors or SC.
 
WOW I wish I had the time, money and luck you had. That's awesome. I would love to see alot of picture's when it's done!
 
Were I doing such a project I would have to get an 18" and 20" BD even if they didn't match woods exactly. Then when you do the finishes they'd all match perfectly.

Can you go a little deeper into the stripping process? I'm thinking of stripping and refinishing a few drums myself. One is luckily naked, but I have other potentials that would need me to strip the clear.
 
I have not done anything to the shells yet. today I mixed a bunch of different color samples and painted them on birch to see what matches. I will most likely not paint until for another 2 or 3 weeks,
 
Re: Vintage TAMA Superstar Restoration

As for the bass drums, I hear you. I was thinking about transforming one of the 16" to a kick since I have 3.

To address the stripping question. I used chemical stripper first then sanded. I would never do it that way again

I picked up the 10" standard tom after all of the rest were stripped. I decided to just try the sander and no stripper first. Trust me, this is the only way to go.

Use an orbital sander and 220 paper. Just keep the sander moving to you do not get any flat spots. The 10" was aqua marine so I had to sand in inside as well. The entire thing took about 20-30 min. It even came out cleaner then the rest. Just realize you can not get 100% of the stain out most of the time. You do not want to sand through the first ply.
 
In my case, the ones I'm sanding down are all natural stain, most with clear. So I would guess once the sanded stuff starts looking maple instead of clear, I'm past the clear right? :)

But thanks for the tips. I know there are a few sites dedicated to drum builders and I think I'll head over to one of those after X-Mas when I have some dough for an orbital sander.
 
I can't wait to see the finished project. I still have my 5-piece Superstar kit in the Super Mahogany finish...just retired them about a year ago......
 
Here is a picture of the snare and the color swatches I made to pic my color from. I don't think I will get much more done until January.

snare_swatches.jpg
 
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oow that is soo nice lots of cash going out there. nice 'little' project uve got going there you will definatly have great fun on that when its finished.
 
Another forum said it appeared that Tama stained the wood black then sanded off the surface to make the black only in the grain.

Are you going to do the same with your refinish?
 
got any further? looks a great project
 
The weather has not been cooperating, I need a string of warmth

I also just got laid off after 10 years at IBM. I am going to have to wait until I find another job. I don't know how long I am going to have to make what I have last at this point.

Anybody need a Pre-Sales engineer out there?
 
What a giant project you got there. I see lots of time and bucks have already been spent. I put in $300 bucks in the Ludwig restoration and there still remain several small imperfections. Too bad about the job climate, we'll all hope employment waits just around the corner for you, not only for you but for us that're excited to see the finished project. BTW, thanks for the heads up about this thread.
 
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