I refurbished a set a while ago. I can't comment on the sound as I didn't play them in anger but they are built well and will no doubt last forever. I still use a Tama BD pedal and Hi-hat stand from this period and have done since the early 90s. They are hard to kill.

Great quality drums, just not aesthetically pleasing veneers hence the Zola Coat spray to cover them.

I still think the Royal Star is the pick - 6 ply phil. mahogany with 2 ply Shina.

I just love them. I'm fortunate to find good ones for fairly cheap. I haven't had the chance yet to really play them the way I usually play (I live in an apartment) but so far they sound pretty damn good. They're well built but might have to replace the tom brackets, at least I had to. My Imps were from the period with the hexagonal bolts, not wing bolts, so the brackets were over-tighten with the years and were cracked and bent. Those were my only issues but hey I'm super happy with them.

Well it's funny you posted this because they are next on my "most wanted" list. I'd like to find a 13/16/24 beater to recover, possibly in BDP. I spent many years ignoring these drums but no longer. And I agree with the posting on the tom brackets- they tend to oval out and not hold so good.

I still have an octal plus size Imperialstar kit in Midnight blue….

They were good enough for Stewart Copeland and Liberty DeVito...

Absolutley great drums!!!!

regards

Christian

I bought my Tama Imperial Star set of drums "New" back in the mid to late 70's & played country & country rock and played them hard & a lot. I bought the Blue Chrome color at the time and still have them. Like these other guys have said, they are hard to kill. Other than heads, & some replacement hardware over the years, they have treated me well & why would you want to change?

I have thought of buying a new set from time to time, but after sitting down and playing the new ones, my old set is every bit as good, they sound great and they never die. Why mess with perfection?

Heck Ramsy former drummer of Tanya Tucker

I owned a set, but from 1983 when the re-rings had disappeared. Midnight blue, Copeland clone. They were extremely loud and punchy but in my opinion not overly "musical" !! Doug

Forgive my being the opinionated "stick in the mud" regarding the late 70's Tama Imperialstars, but since you asked ... I always thought the drums sounded very good for Rock music, yet the lugs, wingnut fasteners, and shell mount castings for legs and toms were thin and constructed of a less than substantial alloy. In my experience finding a complete kit with no issues of stripped mounts and broken lugs has been a rarity. The metal snare drums have a nice cut and to my ear "stingy" tonality, but the same problem with the lugs as previously mentioned. Titan hardware not the prettiest I've seen, was built like a tank, led the industry with their dual strut steel stands and throne. As for the hi-hat and bass drum pedals - overshadowed by other brands with better design. Last but not least - those "flat color gloss wraps"? A sign of the times I guess. If I were to purchase a kit today I'd definitely make a point of stocking up a few replacement lugs and shell mount castings.