Hello,
I ran upon this Swingstar snare and since it's really cheap, maybe I want to buy it. It only misses snares and a strainer.
1. Who knows anything about Swingstar? Is it the same Swingstar as the Tama Swingstars you can buy nowadays?
2. When do you think this Swingstar snare was produced?
3. Is it difficult to put a strainer on a snaredrum? Here in Brussels, we have a great drum restaurator (www.sonorus.be) who could do it, or where I could buy a new strainer.
Greets,
Peter
Wow thats an old snare. Judging by the name it was more than likely made by Star before they were even known as Tama.Though I was never aware Swingstar was one of them.Thats def not like a swingstar snare you can find these days.Matter of fact up until only a few years ago Swingstar snares were only metal shelled drums.Only recently have they begun to make wooden shelled Philipine Mahog like the rest of the kit.And since I was un-aware they made the swingstar drum back in the 60's I am unclear as to what wood was used...or if it truly was made by Star.And no it really isn't that idfficult to put a new stariner on a drum.Provided the strainer is like a modern with the use of two screws as opposed to the three holed system then you should be fine.If you can though take some more pics of the snare inside and out.Now my curiousity has been sparked.
This is what Webmaster answered me when I asked him about what he knows about Swing Star:
Swing Star is not a company and was just a name put on import drums from the 60's. In fact they had 50 or 60 different names for drums made by the same supplier.Swing Star was made by Tama before they were Tama. So their are all kinds of drums that are very similar with different badges that were imported into theUS and other countries during the 60'sThe drums are lower quality and in many cases copies of US drum makers like Slingerland.
Ok so it was made by Star. Granted Star wasn't of the highest quality and was an import...but they are more of a name since they became tama.For the right price thats definatly not a bad drum.And I would say its worth maybe up to $40 - $50.Certainly no more though since the finish isn't anything rare and its missing the strainer as you posted.
Hi,
I've got an old Swingstar-set as well, from 1965..on TAMA's website you can find old catalogs and that is, with no doubt, a 65-70's Tama Swingstar Snare! Hold on to it cause it's rare.
ive got a 73' swingstar set (with the steel snare) its not a great sounding kit at all to be honest. so if its sound you are after i would save the dough, but I suppose for a piece of history its something?
