Hi again. Well, after figuring out the "mystery" of the Hazy 200 reso heads, I finally got around to the cleanup and refurb of these Starclassic Performers in beautiful Transparent Black. They looked to be in pretty bad shape when I got them, but it turned out to be mostly dirt and grime - just one bad spot of tom rash and a couple other minor road scars. They are definitely 2001-2002s, as they have the static (non-sliding) tom mount in the kick, and are six-ply toms and a seven-ply kick. They sound awesome in my basement (read: kids' playroom) so I can't wait to get them to our regular rehearsal space (a beautiful finished barn with a great "live" sound). The coated Ambassadors are a perfect complement for the birch, and the stock Hazy 200 Powercrafts still resonate nicely. (I now know that these heads come in 200, 250 and 300, which I assume to be roughly Diplomat, Ambassador and Emperor weights, but if anyone has any more detail on this it would be much appreciated, as I am sure I'll have to replace these fairly soon). So, here's how it went, step by step:

Here's how they looked at the store (I did not purchase the mismatched piccolo, however, I did find a matching SCP snare in TBK on ebay last week, it should arrive tomorrow):



Here they are home, stacked up with their older, red-badged brethren, awaiting some TLC:



Ready to begin, good view of the battle scars and those enigmatic resos:







Here's the "workbench." Yes, that's Martin guitar polish (it's still just clearcoat over a lacquered wooden instrument, right?), and Gulf household oil on the lug bolts as a nod to Grandmom, who bought me my first kit some thirty years ago (Grandpop was a Gulf company man, her house was always chock full of Gulf oil ashtrays, bug spray, notepads, household products, you name it):





First tom (8 x 10) and kick (18 x 22) done (yeah, it came with an Accutune batter hoop - I'm working on it ...):





A few nights later, the 9 x 12 and 11 x 14 get their due:



Starting the setup:





The tom rash appears fairly well hidden:



The view from the driver's seat:



Head-on:



Lead guitarist's view:



The whole setup:





And, after all that work, I finally broke down for a set of these:



Thoughts? comments? Let me hear it. Thanks!

Tom rash should be a crime punishable by death! There is just no reason for it!!

@aje_drum: thanks! I agree.

On the tom rash issue, I also agree, but I certainly got the benefit of the tattered condition these SCPs appeared to be in. They were originally priced at $599 on the website of a regional chain known for its used equipment. They were listed with just the double tom stand in the kick, some Frankenstand Sonor base with a Gibraltar single tom mount, and the mismatched snare shown in the first photo. When I first saw them they had already come down to $509. I got some more info and photos and had them shipped to my local branch for a look see, but I could already tell they were the all birch 2001-2002 models (from what I can tell, the TBK finish came in with the switch to all birch, so they had to be post-2000, and these didn't have the sliding tom mount so they had to be pre-2003). I know the guys at this local branch pretty well and figured I could chisel them down a bit more, especially since I didn't want or need any of the hardware, and also due to things like missing Starcast rubber mounting nuts, the Accutune hoop, etc. Then my guy told me that he could really deal if I came in and picked them up right away, as he needed to try and "make his month" (it was March 30). So I went in on the 31st, got another 15% off, traded in an old throne and a set of Stagestars I had (which had some pretty nice upgrades: Starcast clip-ons, a Mapex kick riser, and G2s and Ambassadors all around). After all that, I walked out with these diamonds-in-the-rough for two bills out of pocket! So I'm not that upset about having to clean up and rehab some tom rash. As a matter of principle, of course, I agree wholeheartedly that people should take much better care of their drums. There is no reason for something like that. And as a matter of fact, I could still read the outline of the name of the original owner's band on the torn Ebony kick reso I took off, and was able to find them on MySpace. If I was sure these didn't pass through one or more other owners before finding me, maybe I'd let him know what a bad job he did! Ha ha. Either way, it was amusing to see this kit in its original setting.

Thanks for the comments!

~ Chris

Sexy a LOT !!! :)))

Hey, thanks for the nice comments guys.

Thanks killerkick. Best $200 I ever spent on gear. I got that white reso to give a retro look to the vintage Swingstars seen in the second photo. It was the only white logo head I could find in a 22", and I was actually bummed at the time that it had a SC logo on the bottom. Then when I got these SCPs I was debating whether to go black or white, and I came across a 22" clear pinstripe with a factory original Tama logo (while searching fleabay for a SC hoop to replace the Accutune). I thought "that Pinstripe would look perfect on the Swingstars," so I took it as another sign (in addition to the logo) to shift this white reso to the Starclassics. Glad I did.

Great job on the restoration! What are your thoughts on the new round rider throne?

Hey, thanks spa32! I love the rounded top throne. I looked at the ergo-rider and wide rider and they were both, well, too wide. I bought the "squared-off" round rider but it still dug into the back of my thighs. This one is perfect. The backrest is key and the cloth top eliminates that embarrASSing sweat mark after each set.

And wow! Props from Tom@Tama! I have arrived.

Seriously, thanks guys. It was a fun project and it's nice to share it with folks who appreciate it.