Tama Starclassic Performer 5-Piece Drumset Reviews 
5 / 5 based on 1 reviewsI got this for my birthday, but I know it was purchased at the Drum Center of Lexington, Lexington, KY. I specifically picked it out, sizes, color and everything. I got 9x10 and 10x12 rack toms, a 14x14 floor tom, a 16x20 bass and a 5.5x14 snare, all solid birch in a natural finish. The shells, 2 cymbal stands, bass pedal, hihat stand, and snare stand were about $1600.
The sound from these drums is incredible. For being relatively small drums, they (especially the floor tom and bass) put out a great low end sound. The Star-Cast mounting system and die-cast rims make a big difference in mounting and in sound (I play lots of rimshots all over the kit). The snare is responsive and warm, but I can still tune it to get lots of crack in the sound. The hardware is great. It does its job without bending and swaying, is very adjustable, and (tom mounts in particular) helps me achieve any setup I want.
There are very few negative points. One is the snare's inability to keep its tune. This is probably my fault: I use a "funky tuning" most of the time, and that plus rimshots does not make it easy to keep tuned. This takes a split second to fix, but its something to think about. It'll play for a good 2 hours without going out too badly. The other main point is the bass pedal. While this is a very nice pedal that has done very well in my 3 years with this kit, it lacks the speed and smoothness of an Iron Cobra or DW 5000.
The shells are superb, being 8-plies thick, yet 6 mm thin. The only thing that's happened to mine is a scratch on the bass rim, but for the impact it took, the scratch is very small. The shells are very resonant. The finish is gorgeous, very shiny and seemingly very durable. The hardware is rock solid.
Buy this set if you're on a budget but want the best. The sound of these drums rivals Tama's Starclassic Maple and DW's birch shelled drums. And $1600 is a steal.
Richard Crowley rated this unit
on
2002-11-24.
