Fender Starcaster Drum Set - Black Review

Fender Starcaster Drum Set - Black
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I purchased a used Starcaster set as my first, because they were very cheap (which is excellent when you don't know if drums are something you will like or have the talent for).
I couldn't find ANY reviews anywhere for the Starcaster drum set, and so I'm motivated to be the first. I've had this set for three months. I did not receive the starcaster cymabals, so I will not be reviewing them.
PROS - The hardware is most impressive. Although cheap, the bass pedal, hi-hat stand and cymbal stand are holding up very well through my practice (1-2 hours a day) but aren't the best looking. The bass pedal is smooth and accurate, and although the adjustments are VERY limited, it is capable of producing somewhat fast double bass beats (heel up, because for me the pedal is too short for the heel-toe technique). The hi-hat stand functions well enough with all the standard features. The straight cymbal stand doesn't move or even wobble even when I hit my 16" crash extra hard. The snare drum stand is very nice, with plenty of adjustments for a beginner type stand. The shells and other hardware (rims, lugs, tom mounts, bass drum spurs, etc) look nice. I'm happy with the way these drums sound, but the first thing I did was replace all the heads (my heads were used with dents etc so they needed replaced, but the original starcaster heads are very cheap and will need to be replaced quickly in any case).
CONS- The throne is junk. I'm very tall, and it could not adjust high enough. I scrapped it for a nice PDP throne. The snare drum is the BIGGEST disappointment ... because of the MASSIVE overtones it produces, it's difficult to get a lower tuning and still sound good. The drums do not have common numbers of lugs ... the snare only has 8 lugs (very few for a snare, 10 is common but higher is better) 12 and 13 inch toms have 5 lugs each (still low, 6 is pretty common) 16 inch tom has 6 lugs (should usually have 8). The bass drum only has 6 lugs (should have AT LEAST 8). The more lugs you have for tension, the easier it is to "tune" the drum to the desired tone and the less likely the drum will drop out of tunning. Also, the rims are not the most durable ... so if one gets warped or damaged, it may be difficult to find replacement rims that are the proper size with the right number of lugs. Regardless, I was able to tune these drums into a very decent "rock" sound and they are holding the tunning fairly well. The wood shells are a hardwood mix (couldn't tell you which ones) and very cheap. Because of the cheap nature of these shells, the biggest factor for how these drums will sound is what heads you put on them. A few of bearing edges (the part of the shell that contacts the head) were chipped/gouged and needed fixing. The bearing edge is VERY important in relation to how the heads are tuned, and how sound is transferred from the head to resonate through the drum. This could be because the set was used. The stock Starcaster heads are thin and sound terrible, new or otherwise ... because this is a cheaper set I recommend thicker heads (I put Remo Pinstripes on the snare and toms, aquarian superkick and regulator for bass). Thicker heads (especially with dampening agents like the 2 ply pinstripes) will cut out some of the nasty overtones which cheaper drums tend to have for a better overall sound. They are also more durable for the beginning drummer who might be hitting too hard.
OVERALL- For the money I spent, I got more than I paid for. It's a very nice set for a beginner with little $$$ who doesn't mind playing a cheapo kit while saving up for a better one, or for someone who wants to try the drums out without spending lots of money. If you are a student who has played drums, know you like them and wants to own a set of your own I recommend saving for a better set. If you are an intermediate drummer you already guessed these aren't for you. The Gretch Blackhawk is a great set (even for experienced drummers), so are the Mapex M Birch sets. I will probably keep this kit as a kick around set for quite a while, but I'm already looking to buy a better kit after only three months.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Fender Starcaster Drum Set - Black



Buy Now

Click here for more information about Fender Starcaster Drum Set - Black

Read More...

Ferrari F50 Elite Edition 1/18 Yellow Review

Ferrari F50 Elite Edition 1/18 Yellow
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
First off, for those who don't know, Hot Wheels 1/18 die-casts comes in 3 different qualities. From worst to best: Foundation (usually just called Hot Wheels and has a MSRP $30), Elite (MSRP $70), and Super Elite (MSRP $230). I have 7 Elite models myself - most of the Elite models were bought to replace my older Foundation models. Having said that, the Elite is a new branding - Hot Wheels basically took the older models, added more details, smooted out the rough edges of the exterior, and put on a better paint job. It's a mixed bag, with some of the Elite models NOT being that much better than the Foundation model (the 360, 575M and F50). Some Elite models (Enzo, F40, and F430) are HUGE improvements over the Foundation models.
The Hot Wheels Elite F50 I ordered is not that much better than my Foundation F50. Putting it side-by-side, the only improvement of the Elite models is: the paint is richer/thicker, the clear plastic such as the windshield and headlights are more clear, and the engine is painted with the appropriate colors like the real car. There are still rough edges on the die-cast mold of this Elite model. The one thing that is worst compared to the $30 model are the wheels. For some reason, the Elite version sits very noticeably high - a huge gap between the tires and the wheel wells. It actually looked really funny. My non-Elite model was perfectly fine. I had to spend 30 minutes taking a Dremel modifying the car height from the innards.
All of that said, the Elite F50 model is overall, better than the Foundation model (once I fixed the height issue). But it's not worth spending the extra $40 for the Elite version of the F50. You could easily find the non-Elite version for $30. If you're interested in the Hot Wheels Elite models, I highly recommend the: Ferrari F430, Enzo, F40, or 288 GTO.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Ferrari F50 Elite Edition 1/18 Yellow



Buy Now

Click here for more information about Ferrari F50 Elite Edition 1/18 Yellow

Read More...

Chevy Corvette C6R Plain Body Version 1/18 Yellow Review

Chevy Corvette C6R Plain Body Version 1/18 Yellow
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Great Car, And Detail But No Opening Doors,Hood,Etc all Sealed, Too Expensive.I don't know why AutoArt(AA/Gateway Global LTD) Decided to do "Sealed" Cars at a such Extreme price $90!+ Models should be $50. I happen to have the BADBOY JAKE # 4 AND THE YELLOW PLAIN , No opening doors or hood,etc. All sealed, Great Detail Nonetheless, I wish they would reduce the price, or come out with non Sealed Models at a affordable price. It's a Shame Really. The old C5R'S were great and are great. But these are sealed.
Autoart If your out there reading this Please Consider, AS Well AS Consider doing A ARTIC WHITE # 3(Sebring 2007/Ron Fellows) Corvette C6.R and # 33 Mosport Artic White 2007 C6.R/Ron Fellows Car.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Chevy Corvette C6R Plain Body Version 1/18 Yellow



Buy Now

Click here for more information about Chevy Corvette C6R Plain Body Version 1/18 Yellow

Read More...

2010 Chevy Silverado Vs. 2009 Ford F-350 16 R/C Battle Machines (2 Car Set) Review

2010 Chevy Silverado Vs. 2009 Ford F-350 16 R/C Battle Machines (2 Car Set)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
We picked up 4 of these trucks for Christmas so we could all race at the same time. Right out of the box, one of them had control issues and didn't respond very good to the controls. After a while of fiddling and changing channels, we finally got all 4 to behave reasonably well together. If the trucks got too close together, the controls would interfere and at time you could control two at a time even when they were on different channels. After about a month of playtime, one of them started getting louder (probabl gears failing and grindigng) and slowing down. It would still go reasonable fast backwards, but forwards was down to a crawl. About a month later a second one started getting slower and louder and it's almost unusable at this point. We still have two left that work reasonable well, but for as much as they cost, they certainly didn't live up to our expectations. I'm hoping we'll get another month or two out of the two remaining trucks, but I'm not very confident.


Click Here to see more reviews about: 2010 Chevy Silverado Vs. 2009 Ford F-350 16 R/C Battle Machines (2 Car Set)



Buy Now

Click here for more information about 2010 Chevy Silverado Vs. 2009 Ford F-350 16 R/C Battle Machines (2 Car Set)

Read More...

1936 Packard Twelve Sport Phaeton Review

1936 Packard Twelve Sport Phaeton
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I have never bought products directly from Danbury Mint. I bought this Danbury Mint product from a third-party seller on ebay. There are product flaws! On the one I received, a cowl window pane was missing from the front passenger-side window cowl. The rear passenger-side cowl window-frame was not tightly hinged, and came loose. I shopped for another one on ebay; in the sellers listing of another one, the seller disclosed a cowl window pane came off. So the cowl window panes coming off these models is a rampant problem. I emailed customer service. They give me a response that they cant issue a replacement because i didnt buy it from them. However, I never mentioned any issue of replacement. I said in plain english: this item has production flaws! I said "fix the production flaws." I emailed them a second time. I await their second response. Packards were beautiful cars, and packard diecast replicas are great model cars to collect. But the dual cowl is a unique packard. that windshield in the rear with the cowl swing-out panes makes it unique. one missing pane or one cowl coming off at the hinge ruins the whole expierience of owning it and looking at it and displaying it. third-party sellers selling an opened and handled product is not the issue. it would not fall apart if it were made correctly.

Click Here to see more reviews about: 1936 Packard Twelve Sport Phaeton



Buy Now

Click here for more information about 1936 Packard Twelve Sport Phaeton

Read More...

SUPER ELITE Batmobile 1966 all all Review

SUPER ELITE Batmobile 1966 all all
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
The Mattel Hot Wheels 1966 TV Batmobile Super Elite is a super disappointment for the price. The $100-ish "elite" version looks almost identical and is $200 cheaper! A couple of metal pieces and a plastic antenna do not make a $200 difference. The baggy looking parachute packs looks inaccurate and ridiculous. Overall, the car is overpriced and very inaccurate compared to the actual TV car. The two lower end models are much better values for the money...I suggest buying one of them and customizing them to look like the TV car!

Click Here to see more reviews about: SUPER ELITE Batmobile 1966 all all



Buy Now

Click here for more information about SUPER ELITE Batmobile 1966 all all

Read More...

1966 TV Series Batmobile 1/18 Super Elite Review

1966 TV Series Batmobile 1/18 Super Elite
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I keep this die-cast model on my desk at work. It is a wonderful model- the workmanship is excellent, the detail exquisite!

Click Here to see more reviews about: 1966 TV Series Batmobile 1/18 Super Elite



Buy Now

Click here for more information about 1966 TV Series Batmobile 1/18 Super Elite

Read More...