Favorite Copeland Kit

[drummike]

Which of Stewart's Tama drum kits is your favorite, and why?

Possible choices include the early blue Imperialstar five piece, the Superstar kit from Police Around the World and Zenyatta Mondatta, the Midnight Blue Imperialstars from Ghost and Synchronicity, the green Starclassic kit at the Grammy awards, or the blue reunion tour kit. Perhaps you like the Artstar kit from the Animal Logic years.

Personally, I think I like the Mahogany Superstars the best, both for sound and for looks, plus the added Octobans, splash cymbals, bell cymbal and other bits, as well as the echo/delay units.

My second choice would be the Midnight Blue Imperialstars, which added the Paiste Rude cymbals, etc.

Basically, he sounds good on anything he plays, but his sound really seemed to come together with the Superstar kit around 1979/80.

[Tamadude]

I would have to say the Tourzilla kit because it's the only one I've heard him play live. Also they are maple and I like that because I. Am. Canadian. But I'm also biased because there's one downstairs.

[drummike]

Can't say anything bad about maple.

[Tamadude]

Can't say anything bad about maple.

I hear great things about bubinga too.

[Spec A!]

It's a tie between the 79/80 Supers and the 81 on Imperials. I LOVE Zenyatta era tho so maybe that wins by a (grey) hair.

[zilboy]

Midnight Blue Imperialstars, hands down. Especially the recording kit with the black dots. I love the look of the Tourzilla kit, but they're too ringy. Maple drums need just the right heads. Maybe coated instead of clear. Reinforcing rings don't hurt, either.

[irishrose1969]

Well I am going to play along with you other kids and say...definitely the one pictured in my avitar...hee hee of course.
The Tourzilla kit was great, the Synch 83 one sounded awesome too. Hell the guy could play a garbage can and make it sound awesome....wait didn't he do something with the Foos kinda of like that..buckets or something?....lol j/k Ha Ha!!

Ah man, its really hard to pick a kit hands down. They all have their unique quality that makes them stand out either for sound, look or just a combo of the two.

Sometimes I amuse myself...hahaha.

[drummike]

Okay, these are some good responses. I have to agree regarding the heads on the reunion kit, I think coated Emperors would have been better, but that's just me. I also missed the front bass drum head with a half-circle hole in the front. I guess I'm living in the 80s. I did like the cymbals on the reunion kit, though; splashes, crashes, hats, and ride all sounded great. And the percussion kit, tympani, and gong drum were also quite good.

[ltwoman]

drummike (can't call you DM 'cause we already have one of those), these latest threads (this one and Favorite Recorded Police Concert) are great! I am learning alot; alas, I don't think I have enough information to comment on either, but I enjoy reading the back and forth. Thanks for starting both.

[drummike]

Hey, this is fun.

Here's a question...does anyone remember if Stewart's kit still had the "F.O.Y.C." message on the tom heads during the Amnesty tour? I no longer have the video tape.

Also, the snare drum during the televised Amnesty concert sounded quite different to me. Does anyone know if he was using a different head on the snare? It almost sounds like one of those Kevlar heads.

[drummike]

To answer my own question, I found the Amnesty performance online, and the tom heads have nothing written on them. The snare head doesn't appear to be a kevlar type.

[jeffseitz]

[quote="drummike"]To answer my own question, I found the Amnesty performance online, and the tom heads have nothing written on them. The snare head doesn't appear to be a kevlar type.[/quote]

Never a Kevlar Head.

[zilboy]

I'm pretty sure Remo hadn't come out with Kevlar heads at that time anyway.

[drummike]

[quote="jeffseitz"][quote="drummike"]To answer my own question, I found the Amnesty performance online, and the tom heads have nothing written on them. The snare head doesn't appear to be a kevlar type.[/quote]

Never a Kevlar Head.[/quote]

Thanks for the info, Jeff.

Must have been the mike, the mix, the room, or something else, but the snare sound was pretty different from the Synchronicity video or any other Police recording I've heard. The toms sound kind of tubby, also, so maybe it was just the guy who mixed the sound for the broadcast. Regardless, Stewart and whole band really sounded good and played with a lot of energy in the Amnesty show.

BTW, I LOVE the green Colorsound Paiste cymbals.

[drummike]

[quote="zilboy"]I'm pretty sure Remo hadn't come out with Kevlar heads at that time anyway.[/quote]

You may be correct on the Remo Falam head, but there was another company called Duraline that sold kevlar heads in the mid-80s. I'd have to check some of my old Modern Drummer magazines, but I'm pretty sure they were in production around that time. But it's a moot point anyway, since Jeff has verified that Stewart never used kevlar heads. It's great to have Jeff watching our threads and straightening us out on some of these details. Thanks!