I've done that before and have nothing but regret..Mine was a 1976 Ludwig Black Oyster (Bowling Ball) Pearl 5 piece kit..I will never make that mistake again..It's always good to have a couple of spare kits, whether they're being used often or not..It's nice to switch it up every once in a while because believe me, you'll get bored with your Starclassic.. Superstars are a definitive Tama classic..Just look at the drums they reissued at this year's NAMM ..All those classic snare drums have Superstar lineage written all over them..However, if you're selling to finance your kit, then you have a tough decision to make..Choose wisely, because the last thing you want to utter are the words

Why in God's name did i sell my old kit" ?...DOH

P.S.-- As far as price goes, I've seen prices ranging $850-$1100 on ebay..

Awesome kit. Value is hard to determine, mainly because it's subjective. Trying the tama forum might help also? http://forum.tama.com GLWS !

Thanks, guys! Yeah, I don't need to sell it to finance my new kit. I just don't want my Superstars to go to waste sitting in a closet waiting for maybe a future grand kid that might end up serious about playing the drums (long shot). ;)

I really don't think I'll play them again. I've spent A LOT of time listening to Starclassic Maples (I'm a big fan of Joel Rosenblatt, who plays these drums) and I am very confident that they are a perfect fit for my drumming. I've had 35 years of playing my Superstars, so I think I'm done with that... time to move on.

Anyway, I'm probably going to sit on it for a while and revisit the possibility of selling them at some point in the future.

I had a set of these in Aqua Marine and I'm still kicking myself for letting those go, over 20 years now! They recorded and played the best but I thought since I had a newer set of Granstar Customs that I didn't need my Superstars, boy was I wrong!

So within the last few years I've cobbled together a set of Cherry Wine Superstars and I'm back in the game again!

I just don't think I'll ever buy a new set of drums no matter what, but who knows :)

Most likely if you sell them here, they will go to a fine deserving home!

Thanks, Eric! If I sell them, that will be my highest priority.

If they have sentimental value to you, you are not ready to sell them. Personally, if it was my kit, I would not part with them just for that reason. Even if you stored them away, I would hang onto them. Maybe use them on "special" gigs only, you know, to give yourself that nostalgia trip when you need it.

Look at it this way.......Ringo still owns all those kits he played with the Beatles. He never plays them anymore, but he still holds onto them for that personal sentimental value.

Again, I'd hang onto them. Maybe when that grandkid comes along, they can be his/hers provided they take care of them the way you do. I'm sure they would because they were grandpa's ;)

Don't do it!!! LOL

At one point about 20 years ago I had to make a decision between selling my mid-80's Tama Superstars (same as yours) or a Sonor (?Phonic?) kit. I intended to sell the Superstars and keep the Sonors, based on the fact that the Sonors were more costly. In a conversation with a friend/drummer who was more experienced that I was, I mentioned how great the Superstars sounded and that I always had difficulty getting the Sonor kit to sound good - even though the Sonors were WAY more expensive at the time. He said "if you have a kit that sounds good you're nuts to get rid of it."

Fast forward to present: I still have the Superstars and haven't missed the Sonor kit for a minute. Though I no longer gig with the Superstars, I play and with record with them all the time. They are killer. I may take them to the grave. Unless you need the sale to finance the new kit, keep the old kit. If you find you don't play them, you can still sell them next year.

My two cents FWIW.

peace

Steve

That's a beautiful kit in a finish that will always be desirable. Everyone needs at least one vintage kit. Keep em...

Early Superstars do not command the value that I think they should have. They are great sounding drums with good hardware and the wood finishes are awesome. I scored a set of 1979 Superstars 14x24, 8x12, 9x13 and 16x16 for only $500. They were in the natural maple finish and they were in almost perfect shape. I played them for a year or two and decided to sell them when another kit came along that I just had to have. I avoided ebay because of the shipping and ultimately only got $600 for them on local Craigslist. I did not even get a call until I lowered them to $650. I know this sounds harsh, but it is reality unfortunately. The tobacco sunburst finish might garner $1000-$1200, but you are probably looking at $5-700 max. If you had the matching snare, you could add $200-300 more.