DRUM ADDITIONS AND MODIFICATIONS

This drumset is a Tama Swingstar model in the Vintage Red finish. It came with clear Tama heads on all the drums except the kick front, which is a cool black with the Tama logo. One thing that really attracted me to this set, besides its nice size and color, was the fact that it included a wood snare drum. I prefer wood snares to metal ones, and this one has a sweet 5-1/2 x 14" that really cracks when I want it to. It came with a white coated head which has since been replaced by a black pinstripe head. I would like to go back to the coated head in the future. The sturdy hardware accompanying this kit consisted of the following: snare stand, hi-hat stand, one straight cymbal stand and one boom.

This kit was originally a 5-piece arrangement set up in the standard fashion: kick, snare, two toms and one floor tom. My son removed the 13" tom and stored it away, using only a four-piece variation. After a couple of years, I brought the set back to my house and began to play with it, wondering how I could modify it and add to it. I liked the four-piece arrangement with the ride cymbal over the kick drum where the second tom would be, but I wanted to add more drums to the overall set-up to expand my percussive possibilities.

I brought the 13" tom back, but mounted it temporarily on a snare stand in a floor tom position instead of up on the kick as before. This proved to work out fine aesthetically, and maintained my desire to keep things tight and small. "Maximum Musicality / Minimal Mass" has always been my motto. The 16" floor tom was moved back to "second floor tom" position, so that now my "lower drum area" was complete. I applied the same muffling system my son had used (Remo Muff'ls) and the 13" blended in with the rest of the kit perfectly. In the future I could also add 8" and 10" toms in the upper area over the hi-hats, as this would round out the overall set-up very nicely.

I am fully aware that Tama Swingstars are not the "top-of-the-line" models, but I really appreciate the affordability of the standard-sized drums included in this line. I do not require large, "deep" toms or heavy-duty hardware to meet my needs, and I don't need to spend a fortune on "professional-grade" drums since drumming is just a hobby for me. While "The Fortress" consisted of Imperialstar drums, a mid-grade Tama line, I believe "The Mini-Fortress" will do fine with the more budget-friendly Swingstars.