Posted the below message on BWs site, but give it another try here. Good to be back! Kind of agree with the comment about feeling as in a library over at BWs - although the site was otherwise very nice.

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Hi guys, some equipment talk. I bought a used 6.5X14 Tama ImperialStar back in 1989 (yes, getting old). The shell is some kind of metal (steel shell?/chrome finish) and the drum has one of those internal muffling devices as well as two snare adjustment knobs. Serial number is 174344. The drum looks like the one in the attachmet (if that works), except from a slightly different snare bed and the sorry fact that my drum aint in this apparent mint condition..

Me being away from drumming for far too many years, the drum has just been in the closet for most of that period. After taking up drumming again about a year ago, I decided to dust the drum and provide it with a new batter head. I just bought the first I came across in the store, which was a coated Remo Ambassador. So I recently replaced the snare drum that came with my Yamaha Stage Custom Advantage set (which I find to be a very nice bang for the bucks).

Cutting to the chase: The drum sounds absolutely fantastic!  Cross-stick may even sound too loud unless I restrict myself, and the rimshots has kind of a "soft"/dampened quality, i.e no metallic overtones. Its easy to tune and the two adjustment knobs give me easy access to a variety of sounds. Furthermore, the internal muffling eliminates the need for any rings or pads etc.

So, does anyone else have experiences with this drum, and can anyone - based on the serial number - date the drum for me?

jada

No fancy tagline

Please, can we stop it with the ImperialsStar praise? Just for a while? Just until I have a chance to buy one on the cheap?

Thanks. I'll let you know when I've bought mine. Then we can all talk about how great they are. And watch the prices go up.

jada

No fancy tagline

Yeah...I've had one since the early '80s and everything's broken on it now....it's useless.

I'm not saying that it's a bad drum though. I recorded with it and the engineers and soundmen never bitched about it. It was a workhorse for me throughout the '80s  and it took an incredible amount of abuse. The damn thing is as heavy as a tank too.

If I could find parts I would even consider fixing it for ****s and grins.