On 2008-01-22, Jaye gave this Tama Drum a 4...(12870)
History: I play bass and drums...have played for about 30 years. Mostly Jazz, Fusion, Latin.
Purchase: $500 bought locally here in SF, although I could have gotten it $75 cheaper online (but could not have heard the particular kit I was purchasing first).
Pros: I really like this kit....considering the bang for the buck, this has to rate up there. I would agree it's probably too small to deliver any oomph for a headbangin' sorta player, but for Jazz, Folk, Latin, Klezmer, small Alt rock bands...it is pretty darn respectable. It is sturdy enough, and with some good coated heads in place of the thin stock ones, it sounds quite nice (the stock bass head is actually good, though). The cymbal stand, 'hat stand, snare stand, and bass pedal are just fine....good action, well-built.
Cons: The cymbals are, as would be expected, brass trash. Throw 'em away immediately, or use 'em in a sculpture. Also, the thin-shelled chrome snare drum is forgettable...adding an internal muffler helped it, but really...for anyone at the intermediate level or above, they should replace the snare when the time comes.
Quality: The wood is better than any of the comparably priced kits offered by Ludwig, Yamaha, Gretsch, or Pearl. It came out of the factory nice and dry...no greening, no splits or cracks in the grains like most others have. The bearing edges are very, very good. Hardware, as mentioned before, is quite respectable.
Summary: It has gotten a fair amount of good press from straight-ahead jazzers who use it for a portable gigging set. I would agree. With new heads, some good head tuning, real cymbals, and a replacement snare drum, this rig makes quite a good bop kit....again, better than most competitors. Its size makes it great for small practice spaces or venues. For the price, you cannot beat what you get !
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On 2004-09-11, sloan wintersonton gave this Tama Drum a 4...(9975)
Purchase: about 400 bucks on musicians friend.
Pros: i liked its size, some people might not prefer a set that is so small (particularly the 18 inch bass). but i got a long fine with it. after new heads and tape/dampening the shells sound pretty good. tuning wasent actually that bad. all the toms only have 6 lugs i think, so it didnt take long. i would suggest remo o's if you can get them. the bass sounds good if you do the right stuff to it. i keep the batter head loose and the resonant just a little bit tighter.
Cons: the factory head sucked, the hardware/cymbals it comes with need to be thrown out. i kept one of the high hats that had a nice trash sound when it was bent the other way. the t rack that tama makes on most of there other sets isnt on this one. its the same thing but you cant extend the the actually tom holders.
Quality: well its pretty good for the crappy kind of wood that they use on it. if your jamming with people the drums sound really good as long as they are are tuned low and you get new heads. at this point there is nothing wrong with the set. nothing is breaking or anything.
Summary: if you have the money i would go to either a rockstar or a ludwig rocker(if you can find one) but if you dont this will do fine.
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