You can date your rockstar kit within a year or two.
LOOK at the vintage catalogs closely!
Match your hardware first. look at the lugs.
They change over the years.
LOOK at the badges - they also change over the years.
I bought mine used for less than $200.
I thought mine were 90-93 - I was wrong.
Turns out they are 2003 customs!
My tom lugs are rounded and my badge is an oval with gold lettering.
Mine also had the star cast mount on the tom - although I use a snare stand.
The matching color Bass drum hoop and lugs were the final statement dating my kit at 2003.
I hope this helps.
I'm using Attack 2 ply medium on the toms tops and standard remo pinstripes on the bottom.
Say what you will, but I get NO overtones and a solid full bodied tom sound - healthy too
I have both series of rockstars. They are great drums. Currently have the customs up. Beautiful looking and sounding drums.
Youtube: youtube.com/simpleplandrummerI have a Rockstar DX kit that was purchased new in late '93. Purchased from Guitar Center for I think about $400 or $450, it came with a 16"x22" kick, 11"x12" and 12"x13" rack toms, 16"x16" floor tom and a 6.5"x14" COS snare. About a year and a half later I purchased a second kick drum to add on to it (hey, I was playin in a metal band in high school and having two kick drums wasn't quite out of style yet, haha). The second kick however is a Rockstar RS, as they had apparently discontinued the DX series sometime in '94. As far as I could tell the only real difference between the DX and RS kick drums was that the RS came with painted black metal hoops whereas the DX had chrome, both with a strip of matching wrap finish in the middle. Oddly enough, though this appears to be the only difference between the two series of Rockstars, the RS kick always sounded way more boomy than the DX. The DX still sounds good, but seems to have more of a super-low frequency resonance.
The toms have always sounded great. Amazing attack and lots of punch with just enough resonance. Matter of fact, the floor tom, if tuned properly, has huge resonance. The snare always sounded alright to me. I mean it's just a simple chrome and steel snare, but it always cut through pretty well. I had to replace the screws at one point for the butt plate and throwoff for where the snare cords attach cause they had all started to strip out, but that's about the only hardware issue I ever had with the entire kit. I actually just cleaned up the snare recently and got it tuned up again and honestly, if you get it tuned just right it can start to sound pretty close to a Supraphonic. I A/B'd it not long ago with my buddy's Supra and it really did sound very similar. Main difference was his Supra has a 42 strand strainer on it right now and my DX only has a 20 strand. The DX isn't quite as loud but has a very similar overall tone.
As far as heads, well back when I first got these drums I always used pinstripes on the batter of the toms with either ebonys or the stock heads on the resonant side. Later on I started using coated Ambassadors on the batter with the same resonants, but now I usually use Emperor coated on the batter. Being a two-ply head gives em better resonance and a more focused tone. I typically put a single moongel on top, if I need it, just to tame any overtones. For the kick I always liked Powerstroke 3s, clear or coated, on the batter side. They both sound great on the Rockstar kicks. For recording I typically end up leaving off the front (resonant) head on the kick drum. For snares I almost always use a coated CS reverse black dot on the batter and ambassador snare side, unless I want a little more ring and sizzle. For that I'd go with an Ambassador coated on top.
Overall, I've always loved my Rockstar kit. I've played a ton a shows with it and recorded a ton of songs with it as well. I've also got a vintage Slingerland kit, but I almost always end up recording with one of my Rockstar kicks. A friend of mine had an early '90s Rockstar kit for a while as well, and his kick drum was always being borrowed by another friend of ours (an engineer) to record with, haha. They do sound great for how reasonably priced the kits were.
Oh, and sorry this was so long, haha!
I think if you read this from the catalog you will see that TAMA does not want you to know what the shells are made of.
Kinda makes you wonder
Glad to be here.
I actually have the original receipt from when I bought my Tama Rockstar. I'm assuming it must be an '89 (?) or '90 because I bought it on 2.15.90. The receipt from Ace Music Center in Miami says TAMA RS522XM, but besides the 'RS' I can't really tell what the rest of the number means.
In any event, it's a strong kit. It's served me well for 20+ years.
I have a Tama Rockstar Pro set in that dark brown lacquer. Is there anything special about that color?
Thank you,
Joe
ive got a rockstar dx 8x8 10x10 12x11 13x12 14x13 16x16 x2 22x16 x2
great sounding kit in black ive seen the later 93 rockstars with 12x10 13x11 14x12 toms
and made in taiwan as my dx is made in japan. my mates kit is a rockstar 2000 model
and has 12x9 13x10 toms with still 1 piece lugs. but they are more rounded on the ends
plus the badge is gold slight brown.& made in taiwan my dx badge and the 93 rockstars
are silver
does anyone have any info on why tama did that. because i love the big rocksizes
just need 2 24x16 kick drums cheers
Just an aside.The OP started this thread 7. yes 7 years ago,and hasn't posted since 2008.Drum companies change badges,sizes,shell material,hardware. and virtually everything else because of marketing.They just do it,to sell drums.
ive got a rockstar dx 8x8 10x10 12x11 13x12 14x13 16x16 x2 22x16 x2
great sounding kit in black ive seen the later 93 rockstars with 12x10 13x11 14x12 toms
and made in taiwan as my dx is made in japan. my mates kit is a rockstar 2000 model
and has 12x9 13x10 toms with still 1 piece lugs. but they are more rounded on the ends
plus the badge is gold slight brown.& made in taiwan my dx badge and the 93 rockstars
are silver
does anyone have any info on why tama did that. because i love the big rocksizes
just need 2 24x16 kick drums cheers
Thread back from the dead. They do it because of. reasons. Why doesn't my 2008 Lincoln Town car look the same as my 1988??
Tama moved production to Taiwan to save on manufacturing costs, just like everyone else has done with their lower end kits. My Rockstar DX kit from 92/93 is Made in Japan, but that doesn't mean its a great quality kit. The drums are made of Phillipean Mahogany (Lauan) and have an inner ply of basswood. They work well for low to mid tuning, mostly due to their large sizes, but begin to choke out at higher tuning. I have 8/10/12/13/14/16/18 and 22" bass drums. They aren't bad drums, they are just limited in their range. Definitely a rock/metal kit.
Tommy D's DrumsWell, since you all have indeed raised this thread from the dead, I'm going to add my Rockstar story to the annals.
I bought my first (and to date, only) drum set from the now closed and bankrupt Biasco Music in Chicago (they had the biggest ads on the radio at the time - LOL).
I had wanted a drum set since the age of 12 but my family could never afford to buy one, even a used one. So when I got my first paycheck from my first "real" job out of school, the first thing I bought was a standard Rockstar DX kit (14" snare, 11x12", 12x13", 16x16", 16x22", plus an additional 13x14" tom).
. in Jet Black. because (as I told the salesman), if I decided I didn't want to play "it would be easier to sell a black set than any other color." Kinda funny looking back on it now, because it's the absolute last thing among my possessions that I would ever sell if I needed to. And I certainly never changed my mind about whether I would want to play!
[Granted, I've considered putting it on the curb many a time after watching certain YouTube videos, or on those days when absolutely nothing worked right during practice, but no. it's my baby. And it's been with me all this time. It even managed to dodge a burglary at a practice space because I had reinforced the door and jam with plywood.]
In retrospect, I would have loved to have gotten the purple kit, and bought every single size of tom offered, but it was all I could afford at the time. Thankfully, Jet Black became a staple color (really only one of two in the Rockstar series - Pure/Snow White being the other. even the Wine Red hasn't been consistent), so I've been able to add on and match the color easily over the years.
Around 1994, I added a 10x10" tom from the next generation (simply called "Rockstar"). Thankfully I had gotten the 13X14 tom with the original purchase since the DX line was the last of the Rockstars to feature power tom sizes. After 1993 or so, power tom sizes were only available is higher level lines like the Granstar and Artstar.
The next add-on purchase that I made ended up being the most "troubling" and annoying for me: a second bass drum in 1997.
By now, the Rockstar line had undergone its biggest transformation ever:
- new "rounded" long lugs
- new tom brackets (MTB-25)
- new tom bass mounts
- a new tom holder (the far superior MTH-900)
- new "Accutune" hoops
- a new country of manufacture (Taiwan) and different species of woods.
It was a nightmare tuning the two drums so that they would match. As someone noted above, they had different fundamental tones, whether miked or to the naked ear. (Keep in mind this was before eBay or Craigslist, so finding a matching DX bass drum was a crapshoot and likely only as part of another kit.)
Anyway, that now 8-piece configuration stayed the same from 1997 until last year (2013), surviving many rehearsals in a damp basement, tons of shows and 3 major moves across the country. Despite the workload and conditions it had been under, it was still in amazing shape, just signs of a few errant stick hits on the tom shells.
I suddenly got the desire to expand my kit to increase the tonal range, both because of a new project that I I was involved with that was more experimental, and perhaps boredom with my old girl. So I added an 8x8 (from the last model of Rockstars) and eventually a DX 16x18 floor tom. The latter was something that I added merely for the deeper spectrum, but come to find out, I can't live without that cannon now! Both drums were eBay finds and both were in like-new condition!
It was also last year that I started upgrading some of the hardware on the drums to the newer versions, such as the bass drum mounts, spurs and spur brackets, hinged memory locks and the tom brackets (all of which are far superior to the 1991 hardware, which regularly stripped, bent, did not stay securely tightened or simply broke). I guess in a way I was adding flashy rims to a Pinto, but the new hardware made my life easier and made the drums more stable and reliable.
Late last year, my frustration with the bass drum situation came to a head, and I started searching out a used DX bass drum. Most I saw (and there are surprisingly a lot!) had shells that were in average to really bad shape (mold, rusted hardware, you name it), until I found a cheap, used DX kit at a local Guitar Center. The wrap and a few lugs on the bass drum were shot (tom rash), but the shell was pristine. So I undertook my first rewrapping project. And what a ton of work it was. But rewarding! And finally, more than 20 years after buying that basic kit, I had a matching set of bass drums! Tuning was finally a breeze!
My last addition a few months ago, was that missing size. a 14x15" tom. It was a size that, once again, I originally thought was rather unnecessary, but I found an inexpensive one and bought it on a whim. But now, just like the 16x18", I can't live without it, and the beautiful blend from top to bottom is complete (I've always loved the 1" increments, versus 2" jumps. Harder to tune, but awesome rolls!)
The 15x16" rack tom size is one I'm never likely to acquire, because 1) I don't see the point given the 16x16" floor tom, and 2) I'm outta space.
I recently had my eye on a Granstar II set with virtually the same drum sizes (and hard cases), and at a price that was simply a steal for what it is ($1500. ), but based on the story above, the upgrades I've added, my love for the underdog, and the fact I'm not a "professional" paid musician, I can't really justify the expense. It'd be cool to get one of those 10x11 toms though! Talk about blending those rolls!!
Plus, over the years, my kit has received nothing but compliments from members of the audience (mainly because I change the heads regularly - Pinstripes and Ambassadors, and I know how to tune 'em!), so I can't complain and don't see a reason to change. Yes, the Granstars would probably be better suited to the music I play (extreme metal - so better projection from birch than Philippine firewood) and maybe the power toms rumble a bit too much considering the speeds I regularly hit (240+ bpm).
. but it's my pride and joy!
Well, apart from the DX snare that came with it. Worst.Snare.Ever. I use a 13" Mapex Maple instead.