Tama Techstar TS 305

Usual suspect line-up

We have this weather thing...called June gloom. Came a bit early. Like most of the month of May. Perfect weather to not stain and paint in. Anyhow, I finally got a "warm weather" break. So the shells got their interiors finished. At least the floor tom and kick drum. Started with cleaning and sanding. Then 2 coats of Minwax Pre-stain wood conditioner. 3 coats of Minwax Rosewood stain. And for the finish, 4 coats of Minwax Polycrylic semi gloss spray. The exterior will get Howard Feed-N-Wax. Bees wax and orange oil, is the mix.  

Hardware arrives slowly

Had to score some missing pieces off eBay. Spurs, some beavertail lugs (to replace damaged ones), have 12" and 13" RIMS to mount the toms. Still need a 12 and 13 triple flange. I'll be able to put together the floor and kick, at least.

Sanding and Staining

OK...long time, no new news. Parts are slowly coming in. Have now sanded both the kick and floor tom interiors, with 2 coats of stain inside the floor and 1 coat of stain inside the kick.  Tracked down memri-loc spurs for the kick. Still no legs for the floor tom.  We'll work something out.  I don't want to drill any extra holes if I can avoid it.  Hoping I have a set of legs/mounts that will bolt into the existing holes, as a quick fix.          

Naked Drum Shells

So day two (of working on the kit) brought great satisfaction. I scored just what I was hoping for, underneath that Rock-n-soc wrap, a natural maple finish. With just the "right amount" of distressed look to it. I want the drums to look like they're 40 years old and been in a few bars. Not "straight off the showroom" fresh. I know, I'm a bit weird that way.

Rogers acoustic drums?

Yeah, here I go again. Couldn't ignore the itch any longer. Scored a Rogers kit off eBay. Maple shells under the Rock-n-soc wrap (8 ply?), memriloc hardware, beavertail lugs. Missing a few parts. $243. That's including shipping. Looks like a project. Smells like a project. Must be a project.

SPD-S, Loop Station & Off Set Pedal System join the ranks

So last night was my first debut of the "drum room" to one of my C.K.T. cohorts. He brought over his synthesizer. All went well. Had to re-arrange my whole kit to fit the new pieces in and still take up a minimal space, but it worked out really well.                                                                                             

New Ride Cymbal

Scored a beautiful Istanbul Mehmet 20" Turk ride to complement my hats. The curtains match the carpet...or something like that. Nothing beats hand hammered "real" Turkish bronze. Well, that's my story and I'm stickin' with it

5.1 Sound System Up

Now we're really rockin'.  Amp. Speakers. And it all works. The way it's supposed to. Got lucky there, I guess.  And there'll be enough room for a second musician. I love it when a plan comes together. The latest storm has shown me that some weatherproofing will be required at the windows. Nothing real major. It just started raining again. Come on sunshine.                         

Nuclear Winter TV up and running

So, the TV/stereo stand had to be taken apart (to make the turns into the drum room) and re-assembled. Then, Tyn and I carried the Tele from the downstairs storage closet to, well, yeah, the upstairs drum room.  Now, at one time, this 27" Sony was the grandmothers. Came with the house, so to speak. And one day, it took a tumble backwards off it's TV cart. With a LOUD bang, it landed on it's back. And ever since that fateful fall, it's a little more red on the left and a little more blue on the right. Hence, its name.  Next step, to find and hook up the 5.1 sound system.

4th CD bookshelf unit up and ...

My final CD shelf unit up. I was gonna say up and running, but it's just kinda there. Against the east wall. Two small tables next to it. For the cats to look out the windows, of course. 2nd piece of carpet down, so the flooring is done. Now, to work on the TV/stereo corner unit.