Fender Starcaster Drum Set - Black Review

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.

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