Tama Stagestart Drum Set Reviews 
4 / 5 based on 1 reviewsI purchased this from a local shop, although I coulda gotten it about $90-100 cheaper over the 'net (oh well).
This is a sweet little unit for the price. Actually, compared to other mfr's units for a similar price, these Tamas sound the best. The hardware is pretty good, and actually the drum shells are decent as well...again better than the shells of other mfr's budget kits. If you are willing to tinker with some things (head tuning and upgrading the cymbals and heads particularly)...you can get a pretty fine sound outta these babies.
The Tama cymbals are crappy...."starter cymbals are nothing but targets", as my friend says. So, after a few months, upgrade 'em....and keep the Tama cymbals for some future sculpture project or something :)
Also, as was mentioned, the stock heads have their limitations...although I spent an hour tuning each of the 3 toms and wow !...did it improve the sound and let me get more mileage out of the stock heads. Later upgrading to some decent Remo or similar heads helps trmendously as well.
Some folks bum on the 18" bass drum...but it sounds good. For Rock, Jazz, Fusion, Latin (which is what I play) in practice situations and out in small venues, the volume is fine. If you're a headbanger obsessed with size...well, dude, size doesn't really matter...but, if so...you won't be happy with this set.
I think some of the folks who bum on this set fail to keep in mind it's price range....don't lose sight of that....it's a real steal.
Everything is well-built and sturdy. I have had no problems with any of the hardware at all. The pedals are OK, although not incredibly responsive, but again, OK for a set in this price range. The shell construction and finsih is decent.
This is a great little set..whether as a starter set, a second set which is more transportable than your main kit, or a jazz kit, it's worth more than the price. Again, with a few simple, relatively inexpensive upgrades such as cymbals (I upgraded to Zildjian ZBT's), new heads (I bought Remos), and some focused head-tuning, it sounds pretty darn sweeeeet. After about a year, just for kicks, I even added an additional Swingstar tom and it fits in with the rest of the drums just fine. So, after a few add-ons and changes, I have a nice-sounding 6-piece Tama set w/ 5 decent Zildjians...and it didn't break my bank.... and I am very happy. This set is decent, easily upgradable, and can serve you well for a pretty long time.
In The Wrist rated this unit
on
2005-01-08.
