JT's Vintage Tama Drum Blog

Random thoughts, pics, parts and purchases of vintage Tama drum gear for refurb and resale. Maybe one of these days I 'll actually get around to rebuilding my long lost, vintage Tama Superstar kit!

[jtzvintagetamadrums]

Tama Mastercraft Bell Brass Reissue and the answer to the question that is on all of our minds...

Hey -yo! I haven't posted here in about a hundred years so my apologies! Given the recent drop of the new Tama Mastercraft Bell Brass Terminator snare, I thought it best to rise to the occasion for a quick drive-by post.

Now this isn't necessarily a post about the BB snare and how ridiculously awesome it is that Tama reissued this drum to original spec...or how we are all rightfully foaming at the mouth to get our grubbby paws one whilst supplies last (I just ordered mine by the way). This is more of a post about the question that is or SHOULD BE ON ALL OF OUR MINDS.

That question is obviously...

Will the reissue parts be available so we can spend enormous amounts of money to replace all the roached parts on our vintage Mastercraft snares?

I am pleased to inform you that yes...and straight from the Tama horse's mouth...the following parts WILL IN FACT be available from the Tama parts catalog in the coming months.

6552N Big Knob One -Touch Tone Control (thank you Christmastime baby jesus!)

6035N Mastercraft Extended Snare wires (see above thank you)

6371N Shorty Coffin Lugs (although they are using a standard M4 screw which given the old mounting post issues, is a good thing!)

6302N / 6303N / 6338N Mastercraft Roller Action Strainer/butt assembly (yee-haw!)

MDH14S10L Die cast drop gate snare side hoop

I actually reached out to Tama support for confirmation, not expecting to hear back from them, but got a surprisingly rapid response and they attached the PDF files above. It turns out that the rep that responded to me is an old radio/drummer friend from days of yore...so that was a nice "small world" surprise! I'm only ten minutes from the Hoshino, USA headquarters in Bensalem, PA so maybe not that big a surprise.

Now this may or may not be news to some, but I thought it was good to investigate to confirm or deny. I personally think it is FANTASTIC news for vintage Tama drum enthusiasts. However it's not exactly great news for vintage Tama PARTS resellers like me! I guess it's not all that bad because I rarely come across any of these parts anyway and when i do, they're all pretty destroyed or mostly incomplete.

So a hearty and well deserved "GOOD ON YA" Tama for not only offering an original spec Bell Brass true beast of a snare for anyone that can afford a second mortgage, but also for making the parts available to us mere mortals in the coming months.

As always, feel free to hit me up with any questions at:

[email protected]

Cheers and thanks for taking a look!

-jt

[jtzvintagetamadrums]

Have you ever seen one of these? 12x11. The badge is royalstar butthe lugs swingstar? Is that right?

Hey Tom!

Yes sir, that is correct. The earlier Royalstars and Swingstars used the speedboat style lugs and then around 85 (slanted /italic "T" on the badge), both lines switched over to staircase style like you have in your picture.

[jtzvintagetamadrums]

I dusted off the 93 Rockstar RMs!

It was a Christmas miracle I tell ya! I actually played a set of drums I restored! 

The 1993 Rockstar RMs RULE!

I had the opportunity to play drums (after far too many years of not playing) for a “Christmas Holiday Sing” assembly at my kids elementary school. Evidently the fifth grade drummer sadly fell ill so they thought “...hmmm who do we know who plays like a fifth grader?” So they asked the next best thing to a fifth grade drummer to fill in....ME!

The band was pretty much an “old guy band” comprised of parents of some of the students...all mutual acquaintances which was cool and vibey. Oddly enough it turned out pretty well. After years of not playing and only a couple hours of quick rehearsal, we totally killed “North Pole Rock and Roll” as all the kids in school sang along,

Ready set...ROCK POSE!

For those of you playing the home version of the game, I busted out a 10″ up 14″ down 20″ kick setup along with my 1985 14″ x 6.5″ King Beat snare that looked MASSIVE with the small size kit. Needless to say, in that gymnasium...that snare sounded as much like a cannon as it did when I bought it back in 1985! 

Any old cat that ever played a high school battle of the bands has a special place in his or her heart for gym acoustics!

Of course, all of my fully restored, heavy duty 80′s vintage Titan hardware made the trip. Unfortunately, the torn ligaments in my forearm regretted that decision! I forgot that it’s a well known fact that one should NOT carry more than one, heavy ass Titan hardware piece per hand at a time lest you will regret it. I actually think it’s illegal in most states. Looked pretty sweet tho no?

Cymbal setup was a mix of vintage Paiste and Zildjian. 14″ New Beat hats, 14″ Paiste 2002 Power Splash, 18″ Paiste 2002 Crash and a 21″ Zildjian Rock Ride. Fortunately for the kids, I left my 20″ Paiste RUDE China cymbal at home as I didn’t want to trigger anyone or send a kid to the nurse’s office with a melted face!

When I added in the 80′s Camco/Tama kick pedal and a Titan throne complete with genuine vintage cigarette burns (I don’t smoke)...I had myself a small slice of rock and roll heaven!

All in all this little gig was a freaking blast! The students and teachers loved it,  and I even scored some “Cool Dad” points with my kids who were under the impression that I was just a miserable old hobo living in a van down by the river.

[jtzvintagetamadrums]

Thanks & highly recommended

Just wanted to say ‘thanks’ for being there & doing what you do, you helped keep my recently restored 1979 Tama Fibrestar alive with your parts & advice. Highly recommended if anyone out there is searching for that elusive Tama part/s. 

Many thanks

-------

Hey Dave!

Thanks for the kind words! Much appreciated. That was the Gary Numan / Cedric Sharpley Fibrestar concert tom kit from a while back wasn’t it?

Cheers!

 - jt

[jtzvintagetamadrums]

Hi. Do you have any idea when I could get a Bass Drum lug for a 1980's Rockstar kit. It's a individual one I need. Not the one where the front and rear are joined. Not having much luck. Cheers Claude

Hey Claude. Yes, I have a bunch of them. You can reach me directly at my email.

[email protected]

[jtzvintagetamadrums]

Hope this finds you! I bought a Tama AW106 shell to have some fun with, throw some non factory lugs on it, sand and stain… when I took the wrap off, the outer ply bottom quarter of the shell was a lighter color wood from the top, still looks like birch though. Except there is a seam that runs around the entire shell horizontally separating the two colors… any information on something like this? I happened to google the snare and came across your page! Hope you can help! Thanks, Dan

Yo Dan!

Bottom line on ANY wrapped drum of any make or variety...they’re wrapped for a reason...to hide ugly ass wood plies underneath! The wrap allows the manufacturer to use less than cosmetically perfect laminates in their shell construction. My golden rule is...if its wrapped...re-wrap it or leave it as is. A perfect example would be the vintage Imperialstars. They were mahogany, wrapped and Zolacoated on the interiors to hide the boring straight grain and nasty color variations in the mahogany luan plies (although Tama claimed the Zolacoat was for “moisture resistance”). I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen “custom refinished”, previously wrapped drums that look like absolute hell due to the varying colors, dark streaks and imperfections of the laminate plies lurking beneath the wrap. This is true across all the Tama lines, even the higher end wrapped, birch Granstars. These were essentially Superstar shells with outer plies that were cosmetically unappealing. As a matter of fact, I believe Tama began having trouble finding super clean birch (old growth Japanese birch) for their lacquered Superstar finishes and just threw in the towel. They ultimately killed the Superstar line and created the wrapped birch Granstars and opaque, painted and lacquered Granstar Customs.This would be a logical workaround to trying to source the gorgeous birch grain plies that made the stained and lacquered Superstar line so popular in the early days.

Hope this helps and good luck with your project snare!

Cheers.

- jt

[email protected]

[jtzvintagetamadrums]

Parting out a 1985 Vintage Tama Mastercraft snare drum.

I recently scored a gorgeous, one owner, 1985 Mastercraft snare locally for a very nice price. Check the video below for the part out mayhem!

I listed a bunch of these parts on eBay so go to the link below to check them out.

http://tinyurl.com/p8q7a79

Thanks for taking a look!

Cheers!

- jt

[email protected]

[jtzvintagetamadrums]

Revisiting last year’s Rockstar DX Kick Drum hardware swap.

I finally got around to finishing the follow up video of that seriously roached Rockstar DX parts kick drum hardware part out I did from about a year ago (...now that I have endless time on my hands). Here’s a quick link if you don’t recall that video...it was several posts down...

https://jtzvintagetamadrums.tumblr.com/post/185162916165/30-vintage-tama-rockstar-parts-haul-and-memorial

I was fortunate to score another Rockstar kick earlier this spring down in D.C. I figured I could salvage some more clean parts from it and to swap over some of the long lug hardware from that seriously jacked up black Rockstar DX kick from that earlier video. It turned out really well and I came a way with a nice Rockstar kick to flip and a boat load of excellent parts to sell.

Check out the video below!

[jtzvintagetamadrums]

Sanding the Cherry Wine Superstar shells...oh the agony.

I finally got back to working on the Cherry Wine Superstar shells this weekend. These will be the donor shells for my Piano White project kit. Sanding down the forty year old lacquer is excruciatingly time consuming to say the least. The 16″ floor tom alone took close to an hour and a half! So far I’ve managed to prep the 10″, 12″, 13″ and 16″ shells. The remaining 18″ floor tom and 22″ kick shells will easily take two hours or more a piece. Now I remember why I need to take several, extended, weeks at a time breaks from working on these! 

Make sure to check out the short video below!

And in case you are thinking about trying this yourself...plan on doing what I am doing in the video below...for many...many...many hours.

Whew...makes me sweat just thinking about it!

Thanks for taking a look!

- jt

[email protected]

[jtzvintagetamadrums]

Brazilian Grain Royalstars and friends...

I was extremely lucky to grab this set of Brazilian Grain Royalstars down in Maryland this past week. How sweet is that faux wood grain, printed, photo finish on the kick drum? They have the same finish on the interiors as well which makes these very unique. I always wanted a set of these!

I also grabbed a few 87 Swingstars and a bunch of hardware and cymbals for relatively little cash outlay. I’ve already refurbed the Swingy’s and am hoping for a quick flip on those with a refurbed Swingstar snare I just did.

The Royalstars weren’t exactly cheap, nor should they be given there scarcity. In the photo below, you can see that  the floor tom is the later, darker version with Swingstar leg mounts, so that was kind of a drag. I will be on the lookout for an orphan in the lighter finish to match the others. I might be waiting a long time on that one!

More on these at a later time. Most likely a winter project.

Thanks for taking a look!

- jt

[email protected]

[jtzvintagetamadrums]

Big Ol batch of Cherry Wine Tama Superstars!

Check these out. I scored them for a very nice price on Guitar Center’s Used site a couple weeks ago. 10″, 12″, 13″, 14″, 16, 18″, 22″ 1982 Tama Superstar Xtras!  Gonna flip the 13, 14, 16, 18, 22, snare and hardware ASAP and keep the sweet ass 10″ and 12″ for my Piano White lacquer refinish project. Behold!

There was even a sweet Royalstar snare, dual tom stand, and a  Stagemaster snare stand in the mix.

[jtzvintagetamadrums]

The long lost 93 Rockstar RM kit refurb!

Dayuum...I am getting old AF! I totally forgot to post pics of the completed Rockstar RM kit...from oh saaaaay...a year or so ago. 

This is a 10″, 12″, 14″, 20″ kit with the matching Amber Gravure / faux Birdseye maple wrapped snare. Looks pretty shnazzy no?

Always on the lookout for a 16″ floor tom to add on...just because. The 16″ floors were pretty common. I see them pop up occasionally in all the usual places. If anyone knows where one is hit me up at [email protected]

So um yeah...here it is.

[jtzvintagetamadrums]

So, remember that REALLY rough Rhythm Mate kit I bought? It’s ALIIIIIIIIIIVE!

Just a quick post with an update on that Rhythm Mate kit I bought for $40 a while back. I think she turned out nice! Hoping to get it out the door for a Christmas gift for a young aspiring drummer looking to step up to a decent starter set. I see these “projects” as a way of jettisoning some of the hardware and less than desirable cymbals that I accumulate when buying drum lots.

When I found this kit, she look like she been rid hard and put away rusted...

And now....BEHOLD!

Not too shabby right? She cleaned up nicely and is lookin shweet!

 I added the correct dual tom mount, an 80′s Maxwin by Pearl snare, some decent hardware and some cymbals I had in the pile. Decent little package to make a couple hundo on and make a young drummer’s Christmas a little more merry!

Thanks for taking a look!

[jtzvintagetamadrums]

$30 vintage Tama Rockstar parts haul and Memorial Day message!

Scored a bunch of somewhat messy/scary Rockstars for only $30...check the video. Parts bonanza!

[jtzvintagetamadrums]

When rhythm is NOT a dancer. ...a Rhythm Mate by Tama kit.

No not the NEW version silly...the OLD, ORIGINAL and practically internet invisible “Rhythm Mate by Tama” sub-entry level kit from the late 90′s- early 2000′s. I’m beginning to think Tama was so embarrassed by this line, they somehow attached an internet cloaking device to the keywords. So far, I have found ZERO information on these drums other than previously knowing they existed.

I picked up this poor guy this weekend from a pawn shop dude from an Offer Up listing for $40 (my magic number lately!). Sure it’s REALLY entry level with the six lug floor tom, but at least it is pretty intact and even sports the original kick reso head with that cringe worthy logo. 

It’s interesting to see just how low Tama stooped to use up what remained of the Rockstar and Swingstar hardware at the end of the 90′s and early 2000′s. Hell these drums don’t even have Rockstar lugs or floor tom leg mounts. I guess they were really running out of that decidedly awful hardware and had to bring in some snazzy new, generic looking lugs and mount hardware. Oddly enough the rack toms do have the Rockstar mounts and these did ship with the Rockstar dual tom mount. I guess after the end of the more visible entry level “Swingstar by Tama” line...this is what remained. The badges are pretty much identical.

Here’s what one of these kits is supposed to look like. Actually not a bad looking starter set. Good thing the owner of this kit below chose the classic black wrap instead of “1977 Ford pickup truck green” that I am now the proud owner of. 

I actually found a guy on Facebook Marketplace selling the matching, six lug snare that is supposed to go with this set...but I think I’ve spent WAY too much on this kit already. Seeing how he wants what I paid for the entire kit just for the snare, I think I’ll pass. I have equally crappy  EIGHT LUG snares on the shelf!

Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t see buying these down trodden, entry level kits as some major score. I see them as a cleanup project that I can add some hardware and cymbals to and flip as a starter kit for a few extra bucks. At least I can jettison some cheaper hardware and some of the five million kick pedals I have collected from previous drum lot buys. 

Remember guys, this drum resto stuff is a hobby. A hobby is something you do for enjoyment and the pure pleasure of seeing a hopefully better end result....even when you start with a steaming hot shit show like this one.

I guess I’ll get around to this one when I get around to it.

Thanks for taking a look!

- jt

[jtzvintagetamadrums]

Sayonara Sonor Force 2001′s?

So when the going gets tough, the tough go buy some seriously roached, late 90′s, first generation Sonor Force 2001′s for...wait for it... $40! 

I seriously don’t know what I was thinking when I signed up for this mission. To say these guys are “a little rough” would be an understatement. I figured, what the hell, maybe I could use a bit of a departure from the vintage Tama game and maybe expand my horizons. If anything this might turn out to be a decent part out. You gotta admit...those long tube lugs are pretty sexy! Granted...the remainder of this hot mess is...not so sexy.

Complete with tons of rusted hardware and green mold on the shell interiors, this kit literally looks as though is was left curbside, on a rainy day, and even the trash guys refused to pick them up because they were so nasty! Here’s some closeups of the 12″ and 13″ rack toms and the 16″ floor tom. Pretty gnarly no?

When I began tearing these down, I realized the fun had only just begun. About 98% of the lug screws were pretty much seized and rusted in place. They required a pair of channel lock pliers, a strong grip and a few vodka tonics to free them from their bondage.

The tension rods were pretty rusted, but manageable and with a lot of work, did clean up nicely from the state I found them in below.

The lug screws shown below after removal needed A TON of manual labor with a Dremel tool and Rustoleum Rust Remover, but believe or not, are salvageable.

Lug screws, below after several treatments of the rust remover and manual Dremel wire brush wheel action. Not exactly pretty, but at least the washers are no longer fused to the screws!

These will get a final Acetone bath then shot with a light mist of silver metallic Rustoleum to keep the rust at bay. Fortunately, there was about a dozen and a half really clean, almost factory fresh screws that can be reserved for a potential kick drum hardware part out.

Boosh. They’re not perfect, but after a little rattle can Rustoleum Bright Coat..they’re a bit more pleasing to the eye and infinitely more functional.

After many bloody, busted knuckles and many hours of hardware removal...the shell interiors cleaned up nicely. The interiors of the tom shells below will be sanded to get some of the staining out and likely shot with a light coat of satin poly to spruce them up a bit. 

I think at this point I’ve decided to rescue the two rack toms and the floor tom and sell them off as complete, separate pieces when refurbished. The shells are surprisingly sound, in round, with no ply separation. I think I may experiment with re-wrapping the toms in the original wrap that is practically falling off of these already. I carefully removed the wrap on the 12″ rack tom this morning. The hardest part was removing the residue from the two side tape that was keeping the wrap on. The black wrap is in very decent shape, but I am unsure of I’ll be able to get the ripples to stick flat and smooth to the shell. I’ve never wrapped drums before, but these are as good a candidate as any to give it a go. I plan on using 3M™ Fastbond™ 30NF Contact Adhesive, the material all the reputable drums shops suggest, to glue the wrap completely to the shell surface rather than go the cheesy, two sided tape route. Hopefully that’ll give me enough “stick” to tame the uneven wrap. So I guess at this point you can see that I’ve given this project a bit of thought and planning.

The kick drum is missing quite a bit of hardware, particularly one impossible to find spur that Sonor hasn’t used since this initial, first generation run of this 1997-98 Force 2001 series. Rather than hunt down a bunch of original Sonor hardware, I may just part out the kick drum. These drums have Chinese cast hardware that used the original, German Sonor dies so even this “cheap” hardware is difficult and expensive to source...and usually only from European sellers. I’ll have to see how well the re-wrapping of the toms turns out to see if I want to take on the challenge of rescuing the kick drum. The kick hoops are a bit roached, but for some reason the protective, clear plastic sheet that is on the inlay wrap was never removed and the wrap looks great. Maybe I’ll remove the wrap, strip the hoops and shoot them with something similar to the original matte black powder coat should I decide to salvage the kick.

So that’s about it. A whole new world of drum hardware to explore and yet another project to work on in between the vintage Tama drum projects. 

And down the rabbit hole he goes.

Thanks for taking a look!

- jt

[jtzvintagetamadrums]

I scored a nice batch of one owner Royalstars for a sweet parts haul!

I scored this nice little bunch of one owner, transitional period 1980 Royal Pewter Royalstars the other day with a bonus 14″ Imperialstar concert tom (I think that’s a bonus??). Interesting to see the early version double tom holder, the black T badge, smooth chrome T rods and tom mount kick plate, speed boat lugs...with big knob tone controls. This guy got caught in the middle somewhere.

There was also some decent hardware along for the ride....some of which is already half way out the door.

These had been sitting on Reverb for quite a while...listed with local pickup only. I contacted the seller and we agreed on a sweet ass price. They were kinda local to me I guess, but still about a two hour round trip to West Chester, PA. Fortunately and ever so “serendipitously”, the nice lady worked right around the corner from where I work, brought them with her to work one day and pretty much helped me load them in my car.

Sadly the drums were her husband’s that had passed away recently. He bought them new in 1982 and she had many fond memories of him playing the kit in area clubs and bars. She also had some not-so-fond memories of lugging them back out of those same bars after the gig! She didn’t seem too broken up about parting with them, perhaps a reminder of her deceased husband and better days gone by. Maybe she was just sick of looking at them and tripping over them!

AND I SWOOPED IN AND WAS LIKE ALL SWOOSH ON THAT SHIZ YO!

It’s always cool to know the back story on these vintage Tamas. Man, I hear all kinds of stories. Sometimes it feels like the drums even speak to me through their battle scars. 

Oh shit, maybe these drums are hhhhhhhHAUNTED! Like ZOINKS!

Anyway, these Royals are a bit rough and have clearly served their previous owner well. As of this morning, they have been dismantled, shells nested, parts sorted into bins, all awaiting clean up and distribution to the huddled masses. 

Best $100 I ever spent.

I smell parts flip bonanza! Wutchu need?