Hello,

You're owner of a STAR drumset, made in the late 60s. Dampers on the toms, cymbal mount and rail consolette on the bass drum unmask it. STAR was the predecessor of TAMA.

Maybe you set wasn't sold under the brand STAR primarly, but it was manufactured there for sure.

The 13" rack tom seems to be an add-on a little bit later, as the damper is on the 'wrong' side. Maybe taken from another set as this setup could have been a 3-piece-set in the beginning (just with only one rack tom).

If you search for 'STAR' in this forum, you'll get a huge bunch of information about it.

Ralf

NB: Welcome to this great forum!

Ya nailed it Ralf... This is indeed a Star kit. Nice looking!

Certainly a Star, but fiberglass? Star stencils, to my knowledge, were never made with fiberglass. It would have had to been added later. Would you please show the interior of the shells? There was a huge movement in the 70s to add f/g to drums, and maybe someone did so to your drums. This is a very nice, clean set.

EDIT: Sorry, the cymbal mount suggests a Star kit, not a stencil. What are the sizes? Is this a 20-12-14-13? What about your snare?

Wow. Thanks guys! Mystery solved. I appreciate the compliment! It's kept well over the years, and I still gig out with it today. Someone at Pearl told me it might have been TAMA, but I didn't see anything like mine in the old TAMA catalogues. OK Star it is, will check that out for sure.

The snare I used (and that came with the kit) was an old Whitehall. Still have it, but it's pitting, so I got a new one. A Morgan Rose Pearl. Couldn't resist the Alien Green and Aliens. LOL. Does it go with the set? Nope. But eh, who cares, I like it. I like a metal snare with a good snap and a bit of a ring. My Whitehall was trooper!

As for fiberglass, it sure looks and feels like it to me. But here's a pic so you tell me :-).

Thanks again!

Oops - sizes: 12" and 13" Toms. 14" floor tom. 20" bass.

Boom King! Your inner shells are factory painted. Star style.

OK, the interiors are painted grey, all Star shells of this later thick type of wood. They were trying to emulate as many of the American ideas as they could. The thinner shells were either clear lacquered or left bare. The rough texture you feel under your touch is the open grain of the wood. This type of wood dries out and splits over the years. It is nothing to worry over, I just seal them up with lacquer, others use tung oil, no matter. The snare, would you mind shooting some pix of it? Anyway, these are indeed some nice drums. Many people on this forum, sadly, do not share our love for these old MIJ drums. Too bad for them, they could have nice sounding, cool looking gigging kits for way cheap!

Sir, you have Stars! I know because I have an almost identical kit, right down to the alternating tom lugs. I believe your set may be a bit later than the mid-sixties though. probably closer to 1972. Check with jonnistix though. He's the man!!!

Brian

salty 1322

P.S. The cymbal arm which arises from your bass mount is a very rare item to find. If you can locate an extra, let me know. Thanks.

like the staggered lugs... that looks different in a good way