My New Tama Superstar Classics - Review and Playthrough
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- Опубліковано 26 чер 2024
- I got new drums! In this video I walk you through how I got a great deal on a very lightly used set of Tama Superstar Classics, what I like and don't like about them, and give you a quick taste of what they sound like.
Drums: Tama Superstar Classic in Midnight Gold Sparkle - 14x6.5 snare, 8x7, 10x8, 12x9, 14x12, 16x14 toms, 22x18 bass drum
Cymbals (L-R): Sabian 17" AAX Concept Crash, Zildjian 18" A Custom crash, Zildjian 19" A medium-thin crash, Sabian 22" AAX Omni, Meinl 18" Classics Custom dark trash crash
Microphones: Snare - Shure SM57 (top), PG57 (bottom); Bass Drum - Sennheiser E602, Sennheiser E901; Rack Toms - Sennheiser E604; Floor Toms - Digital Reference DRST100, DRK100; Overheads - Rode M5
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:35 I didn't plan on this
3:27 Lo and Behold, A Great Deal
6:14 The Deal Gets Even Sweeter
7:27 First Impressions
9:40 Isolated Drums
10:48 Drums with Music
13:31 A Closer Look
17:19 The Bottom Line
Background Music: "Good Times" by Rivver (open.spotify.com/playlist/7HW...)
Backing Music courtesy of PierGonellaJam
Al's Drum Hang Merch store: als-drum-hang-merch-store.mys...
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Thanks for this video and for the gear rundown in the description. I was fairly sure i wanted a Superstar Classic kit to resurrect my drum playing hobby (after almost 30 years away). This video and hearing the play-along with music part helps to reassure me that I'm going in the right direction. They really sound amazing, especially at the $1249 retail price. You got such a good deal on yours!
Glad I could help! And yeah, it was a screaming deal. There are always a few SSC kits slightly used or on sale somewhere it seems. Hope you have equally good luck finding one, and glad to help you with your decision. Thanks for watching!
Excellent video bro, very informative and unbiased. I purchased the same kit in Dark Indigo Burst almost a year ago and couldn't be happier. I was starting from scratch after a very long stretch away from playing, and did the research and watched the videos like you. You hit all the highs and lows perfectly and watching this reinforced what a great decision I made in purchasing this kit. Enjoyed your thoroughness and look forward to seeing more of your content.
Aw, thanks! Glad you enjoyed the video and hope you continue to enjoy your Tamas.
Why are people always complaining about the snare ? I personally love the ring in it it cuts through the mix better
In my case it wasn't so much the ringiness (although it does have a lot). The snare doesn't have any snare beds cut at all, as I found out when I changed the snares and bottom head. I found the snare response to be a little flabby; it was hard to get it feeling crisp and not so "bonky" sounding. Changing over to a Puresound 24-strand helped a bit with that.
Once I got all-new heads (the stock heads are a disaster) and the Puresounds on it, it really shaped up nicely, and I've been playing it on the church kit the past couple of weeks. I'm going to take it on gigs tomorrow night and Saturday.
Compared to every other snare I own, it took a lot more fiddling with to get the sound I like, is all. I'm not getting rid of it; the hardware is pretty decent, and it's nice to see a packaged snare in this depth. The one other thing I might do to it is get a thicker set of hoops for it.
Every snare rings. Moon gel provides an easy fix!
Very nice drum set. I got a smoking deal myself as well, I just got a dark indigo burst 7 piece for $700 brand new!!!!
AMAZING deal! Enjoy!
hello TAMA bro, very beautiful kit!
Thanks, I really llike them. Thanks for watching!
Nice video. I picked up the same kit with upgraded batter heads, rock and sock throne, required hardware for all cymbals and drum rug for $250 yesterday.
Prior to all rhis, i had purchased a new 7 piece tama walnut birch kit for $3k. I want to tell you, as of now, i like the maple kit right off the bat more than the expensive kit.
I find the walnut birch kit harder to get the sound out of them to my liking. Ill keep working at it, but im not a happy camper
Consider yourself lucky doging a bullet bu getting that nice maple kit.
What a smoking deal! Enjoy!
Sounds great! I’ve been in the market for one of these, been looking for a used set but I’ll buy new if I don’t end up finding something soon.
I'll sing their praises all day long. A great mid-market kit.
Just got a great deal on one of these in Vintage White Sparkle. 😎
Hey how they sound phenomenal! I've been kind of looking at some Tama sets myself. As I mentioned before, I love the color. Root beer really is the best description lol. Very good drumming too by the way! You got yourself a great deal there.🎉
Thanks man. Yeah, I always get a little 'jaw drop' moment when I listen back to recordings when I realize just how good they sound. I brought the whole kit out this weekend for the video coming up in the next couple of days, and it's just *chef's kiss*. What an absolute bargain of a kit.
I got this kit in a different color and love it. Only other difference with mine is I also have the 13" rack tom.
On the snare I have the Evans RC reverse dot and it eliminated most of the ringing. You only hear it now if you're really laying a stick hard into it.
I did get my snare into a sweet spot. I ended up ordering an S-Hoop for the batter side (I love those things) and it also sounds killer with my BFSD on it. 13"s are a weird beast for me. I love my 13" on my 13/16/22 Ludwig I would never run a 13" next to a 12" or a 14". Enjoy!
Thanks al I’m thinking about getting a tama
Great investment and excellent value for the money. Highly recommended! Glad I helped with your decision, let me know how it goes.
I was like "ok. Individually they sound decent. Your mileage may vary depending on heads, mics, etc., but they sound good." Then you played the whole kit in the mix and wow. That sounds shockingly good. Very nice.
I have two kit matching Tama snares and they sound epic. Again, your mileage may vary.
As for the 8" tom lug count, does it sound good. Yes. Why would you want more mass on such a small drum? I've never had a problem tuning or had issues with them detuning on me. 4 lugs is plenty for that little drum, and it sings, it takes as much of a beating as every other drum on my kit, and again, always does what it's supposed to. Just my two cents.
Thanks for the comments! Yeah, I always say that a drum or a drum kit really shines in the mix. I was pleased from the get-go how well this midrange kit performs in a live setting. I had a similar experience watching the rdavidr video before getting these. Also, I did some very mild EQ on the kit when I played to the track; the individual drum hits weren't EQed, just volume adjusted. SO there's that too.
As far as the 8" tom lug count, I bring it up mostly because I know lug count matters to some folks. I don't think this tom suffers at all for it, and at least it's not a 5-lug drum (I won't touch those, honestly, who needs to do advanced trigonometry when tuning a tom?).
I've got the matching snare where I want it now, and a LOT of the issue was working with the original heads. With new heads top and bottom, it's quite fun to play! It also sounds great with a BFSD on the batter; my classic rock cover band loves that "thwack" with the low end.
Again, thanks for comments and thanks for watching!
Im glad your happy with them you look like your enjoying them.😊
I play these drums at our church and they sound awesome. This is a great kit for the price.
That's what I think, even if you pay full price! And what a great value for a church drumset. Thanks for watching!
I have the same kit in blue, and it is the best, I'll never sell it. I used to have a stage custom kit like yours and it takes second place, I loved playing on those power toms.
I used to be all about the power toms. I'm not sure what changed :D The 9x12 feels just about right. Thanks for watching!
Congratulations on the drums. I had a set of stage customs. I traded them in a my local shop and went with a 3 piece tama starclassic walnut birch in vintage marine pearl. Hindsight I feel like I should have gotten a larger superstar classic kit for less money. The add on starclassic drums are insanely priced and you have to wait 7 months for it. In the end after they are micd up I can tell what kit is being played. Anyway great video man!!!
Thanks! The Walnut-birches are amazing drums, no lie. I'm not sure in your position I would have picked the Superstar Classics over them.
@@alsdrumhang they are great drums and I like the configuration but would love a 14 inch floor tom. That's close to 1000 dollars. I play birch bubingas at church and they are phenomenal but are no longer made so I went with WB. Have a good day
I have the 4 piece version with the 22x14 bass drum. If it wasn’t for the Pearl Masters studio birch I owned this would be the best kit I’ve owned.
I like the UV2 heads with a little bit of Evans eq pads.
They are incredibly nice for the price. If i had bought new, I might have gone for the 22x14 with the 8" deep rack tom and added the second floor tom, but this was too good to pass up. Thanks for watching!
I’ve played guitar for 30 years. Thought I’d take up drums for a taste of something different. 😜🤘
It's different as night and day. i enjoy playing stringed instruments for the cerebral challenge, but the fun part of drums for me is getting to the "unconscious competence' stage, where the limbs are doing all the work themselves and I just sit back and enjoy. Thanks for watching!
Forgot to mention the very short floor tom legs which is a problem for the 14” FT. I over came it by swapping out the legs from a 16x16” FT that I had from an old Mapex Mars Series kit.
I've never had a problem so far - I have a bit of room left over at the height where I set my 14". Helps that I'm a shorter dude, but still. Thanks for watching!
Great video! I am currently looking at a new kit, and the market is abundant with the 6 & 7 piece "intermediate/pro value kits". As best I can figure, they are great quality & sound for the price without jumping into the Profe$$ional lines. How do like the Tama Superstar vs the PDP? In my research so far, I have been leaning towards the Superstars or the Yamaha Stage (would love the Tours), and I always keep PDP and Gretch in the mix at the right deal. Thoughts? I lean to Yamaha Stage because they come with hardware, and my thought is to spend heavy on hardware and cymbals, but I do want the 7 piece to develop my skills all around the kit to promote movement and quickness etc., and I like more toms musically. Let me know your thoughts.
I find the SSCs to be a little sweeter sounding and feeling than the PDPs - nothing scientific at all, it's just a fizz I get digging into them that I don't get from that PDP kit. The PDPs feel sterile and generic in comparison, not nearly as satisfying to play. And my friend Kevin who has played both those kits agrees with me; he'd much rather share my kit than bring that one when our bands are on a bill together.
As far as the Stage Custom vs. the SSC... you can always buy the add-on toms for the Stage Custom, but you'll probably be paying a similar price to a basic hardware kit if you do. So it really comes down to the sound you prefer. The latest Stage Customs are also very very good for the price; the birch shell is going to give it a different character to the maple shells of the SSC. It's going to come down to which sounds better to you. of course don't forget to look for used gear - that's how I landed this kit for an insane deal. Best of luck and thanks for watching!
Interesting you went from a Stage Custom to a Superstar Classic, which is more of a lateral move than an upgrade. Also interesting how the sound of the Stage customs wasn't doing it for you. I LOVE my Stage Customs and I've owned numerous flagship kits in the last 30 years. I've come to find over the years that heads and tuning (and room acoustics) make up most of the sound and not so much the wood. I mean my Vistalites had no wood and they sounded still sounded just like drums! Regardless, the Classics are a great set for the money. Congrats on the deal, enjoy!
We're not talking about the latest generation of the Stage Customs, we're talking about the original falkata/birch versions from the late 90s. Mine were in sizes that I no longer particularly cared for - power toms and a 20" bass drum. I get that it seems like a lateral move, but it's more like a step up considering the Stage Customs were over 20 years old and really showing their age. Thanks for watching!
@@alsdrumhang Going from Yamaha Stage Customs to Tama Superstar Maple is a nice upgrade.
On my kit I use a Evans hd dry it works well with the vented head and I tare a muting pad and put it on for muffling I love the sound I get
ua-cam.com/video/-JXtaxl573g/v-deo.html
Check out my sound see if you like it there's no microphones on it just straight phone recording I use the aquariun reflector heads but the 8 I had to use a Evans black chrome because they dont make the 8 for it and eq3 and emad 2 on kick
ua-cam.com/video/J_3psmN5O54/v-deo.html
Sorry that one has more Tom use
I've used the HD Dry - that head can stand some abuse!
First thing you do to these drums is remove all the cheap thin stock Tama 1-ply batter heads and put on some new quality heads on the toms(2-ply is best) and put something along the line of a muffled Evans G-Mad or Aquarian Superkick on the bass drum,and replace the snare batter head. These drums truly sound awesome!!
I am not a fan of stock heads at all, and I was really happy that the guy who sold these to me had already swapped out most of the heads. It made a good deal even better. Thanks for watching!
Before my last post i picked up the same exact kit as you but in a sparkle finish used but looking new almost the same way you bought yours. Removed all batter heads-Installed new or like new that i had laying around Evans Emad on bass and Pinstripes on all toms and Evans HD dry on snare. All stock resonant heads.These drums sound incredible and the best souhnding kit i have ever had and i have had tons of kits over the years from low to high end kits.
@@alsdrumhang
And you are a worship drummer 😀, nice! I'm a born again Christian but unfortunately my skills aren't up to playing in the worship band but my son is actually a worship guitarist and the guitarist for our little family punk band 👍
I've been playing on worship teams for almost 20 years now, and it's a little like showing up to a blues jam - all major chords, all "songs everybody knows", a wide range of playing/performing skill levels, and a sound engineer who might know a little bit about a little bit xD but seriously, it's been a huge blessing to have a steady musical situation to fall back on, and a fairly dependable rehearsal space, and a great bunch of friends and colleagues. In fact, the only reason the K Custom video was filmed in the garage was because the church had a leaky roof after a huge thunderstorm last week and there were active repairs going on on stage - so I couldn't have recorded there.
@@alsdrumhang that's is a blessing 👍. Well you got a new brother in Christ follower from Texas named Charles 👊.
Appreciate it!
Knocking Lars 😂 . You ever fill in for Metallica? I think Bernard Purdy hid under the stage for them haha . What's better for drumming your UA-cam video or the countless drummers he got behind a kit .
Thanks for watching and for your opinion.
i have the snare in 14x5, i don't understand, the number into the shell on the badge?
I haven't really looked at the badges on my kit that closely, but looking at photos of them, mine don't have serial numbers at all. I don't know that much about Tama badges or serial numbers. Seeing as these drums are very modern and new, I'm much more interested in their sound and playability :)
Tama, one and done. The rest comes from the drummer. Other drums, you may sound like crap. Easy, trust Tama.
They do make it easy to sound good. Thanks for watching.