Bad pics but those look like Tama Superstars and the wood is all real it looks like.They are probably the 9600 series superstars with 4 ply,6 MM shell and rerings.

The finish is called super maple,but there is NO maple used in superstars,it's mearly the name of the finish.Those were made in 77/78 I think

They are made of 4 plys of Japanese birch.They should say superstar on the black "flying T " badges.

If not,then thay may be the first edition superstars which were wrapped,vintage 76,which were the 9500 series.Also all birch shell.

I'm not positive but the very first ones may have been 3 ply,then 4 ply in the 9500 series.

I would have to see clearer pics of the interior and bearing edge and badge.I think the badges were both nailed on with 4 nails and some held on by a steel grommet .

Steve B

I think those drums are the best sounding TAMA's...

Superstars were 3 Ply? Are you sure about that, I know that Tama came out with Artstars which were 3 ply.

These lugs were, too, used first at the latest Star (pre-Tama) models. So this appears to be one of the earliest Tama drums, produced around 1973/74/75. Both pedals confirm this (in case that they came originally together with the kit).

The Sonor snare is a nice one (with parallel action?).

Ralf

Yes, They look like early Superstars. I purchased a brand new kit like this back in 76/77. The finish on the early Super Maples was more of a matte finish and not glossy like the later 80's drums. Also, the tom mount has the early ratchet/tooth type adjustment. They were nice sounding drums.

I've had two people swear to me the ,the very first wrapped superstars were 3 plyand they have there drums..

I've never seen a three ply shell...ever,and I just believe they really don't know what the're looking at,and believe they have some kind of rare drums.

I'll believe it when I see it.Supes were 4 and later 6 ply.

If we had a clear pic of the "flying T" badge,we would know for certain what they are.

Steve B

Thanks for all the input, people. I tried my luck and bid on them. Got them for some 200 dollars.

After getting them home and examining them, I discovered following:

-The shells are sprayed with some sort of granitone-like paint, so I can't be sure about number of plies, but judging from the thickness, I'd lean towards 4, rather than 3.

-22x14" BD, 13x8" TT, 16x16" FT

-They have been re-wrapped! Quite a good job, only few wrinkles here and there, but they at one time had internal mufflers, which are now gone, but there are no holes in the wrap. Why would anyone strip their drums to bare wood and then put on a wrap that looks like fake wood is beyond me, but I've seen weirder stuff. The interior paint seem to have been applied AFTER the rewrap. Also the badges look like they've been put back on, which leads me to a rather disappointing find;

-they are Imperialstars, not Superstars. Still, they look decently built, have plenty of lugs and the overall design seems very durable and functional, if simple. It is of course possible that they're Superstars with Imperialstar badges, but I somehow think that it's not very likely. The bass drum has disappearing legs and ten lugs. The high-hat pedal also says 'Imperialstar.'

Serial numbers are as following: BD 63702, TT 65057, FT 64759

Can't tell much about their sound right now, as they've got these mega-heavy Hydraulics on them and I seem to have misplaced my drumkey so I can't even tune them (or examine the wood they're made of any closer)... but the floor tom sounds very nice and insanely fat.

The Sonor snare sounds pretty good, but either I'm missing something about the strainer mechanism, or IT's missing some pieces, because it doesn't seem to work as it should. I think I might start another thread on the snare, as it's quite different from the rest of the drums.

EDIT: Here it is: http://vintagedrumforum.com/showthread.php?t=39510

Hardware is a mis-matched bunch of stuff. Hi-hat stand and straight stand are solid vintage Tama, boom stand and snare stand are contemporary cheap crap and the pedal is of course Tama Camco. I tried it a bit and it doesn't seem too extraordinary, but it's not bad either. I think I'll keep it and let go the cheap Pearl I found in an abandoned rehearsal room.

I'm still planning on selling the kit and keeping the snare, pedal, snare stand (it's totally horrible, but I really need one) and maybe the straight stand.

Before I do that, I might try and peer under the wrap, but that'll have to wait until I find my drumkey or buy a new one and since I'll be travelling for the next few weeks, that might take some time. So, judging from what we know now, what can you tell me about the kit, regarding the age, the wood, and especially the price? Other than the rewrap, it seems to be in a good shape.

The interior colour is called Zola coat/ coating. It's a genuine TAMA 'protection' coat which was applied in order to save the interior shell from taking up moisture etc.. TAMA used that Zola coat for a certain era.

Some months ago I bought a Sonor kit which was, too, covered with an adhesive foil like yours:

+ point: underneath still was the genuine wrap which was saved over the times because it had this additional 'protection' wrap.

- point: it was easy to take off the wrap (you might use, carefully, a hair-blower to avoid that the wrap comes off in small parts - instead in one piece). But afterwards it was an extremely awful job to take away the rests of the glue, which did not come off together with the wrap, but still were on the genuine wrap below.

So there is a little chance that the genuine wrap still is below that adhesive foil ...

Ralf

Yes, Imperialstar.

Luan shells, and one of the earliest Imperialstars as they had the reinforcement rings.

Take care when reinstalling the lugs after removind the foil - they can be extremely brittle, make sure the lugs are in place before you tighten the screws - and don´t overtighten them.

Stewart Copeland of the Police used an Imperialstar kit live and possibly for recording too.

Jon