what do you think of my drums? time to change?

[indiadrummer]

ok so from the start I have never had much money to buy, upgrade, etc. my drums. They have the same heads, everything, with some stuff i threw in using a little christmas money. I play a pearl forum series (please dont eat my head off laughing :) because I mainly could not afford anything else. I have added a tom and a couple cymbals. I really think its time to start getting a little more serious about drumming, and I just dont feel like my kit is giving the most. I see all you guys showing off your kits, and honestly, I ENVY YOU. So, I would like some insight on how to upgrade my kit a bit without spending much money, cause I dont got it, im 13. I got like 600$ which I could spend. suggestions?

[somedrummer]

Basically, short of going for a new set, the 2 biggest things you can do are heads (Including tuning) and cymbals. There are quite a few threads on this that you might try searching around for, but this is pretty much what it comes down to.

[altered_beast]

In fairness, you said yourself, you are 13. You can't expect to have a top notch kit at such an age. I was lucky, I got my first kit which is the same one I have now, ten years later (although I am changing it), and that kit is a Yamaha 9000 series which I got second hand for £750 (about $1000USD I think?) but it has lasted me and it's only now i want to spec my own tom sizes etc that I'm changing. As has been said, short of messing with heads, cymbals and maybe a nice new snare that you can carry over to your new kit when you can afford one, save the $600, maybe next year of the year after it will have doubled or tripled and you can get a really quality kit. You're young! Enjoy your youth, the grass isn't always greener.

Cheers

Al

[drumbum1977]

The biggest things to do are to get new heads.....high quality high hats and a new snare. Then your kit will sound like a totally and new improved one.

[cjl71178]

hello indiadrummer,

don't beat yourself up dude. believe me, i didn't have the best equipment starting out either; but i eventually upgraded my gear as i could afford to. i also had a paperboy route and i was playing in bands throughout my high school years, so that helped me out financially.

maybe you can ask Santa for new drumheads at least? christmas isn't too far away and new drumheads will definately help you out.

i agree with altered_beast; i'd try to save as much of your money as possible. just keep saving it until you have enough that you can shop around and find something that you're going to have for a very long time. i still have the first snare drum i ever bought with my own money.

don't give up dude!

that's coming from someone who's been where you are right now.

[radiofriendlyunitshifter]

ok so from the start I have never had much money to buy, upgrade, etc. my drums. They have the same heads, everything, with some stuff i threw in using a little christmas money. I play a pearl forum series (please dont eat my head off laughing :) because I mainly could not afford anything else. I have added a tom and a couple cymbals. I really think its time to start getting a little more serious about drumming, and I just dont feel like my kit is giving the most. I see all you guys showing off your kits, and honestly, I ENVY YOU. So, I would like some insight on how to upgrade my kit a bit without spending much money, cause I dont got it, im 13. I got like 600$ which I could spend. suggestions?

first off, almost every single person here started off with a beginner kit. because every

single person here was just that at one point... a beginner. so there is no shame in

saying you play a forum.

i started off with a ludwig student snare a several christmases back. that was when my

parents weren't sure that i would stick with drumming and thought it might have been a

phase (granted, paintball was). i got a pair of cheap paiste hats for my following birthday,

and by fall after taking a few lessons i used the money i had saved up over the summer to

buy my own $300 beginner kit. fast forward to the present, and i have a decent gretsch

kit, with professional cymbals and pedals.

how i got to that point was mostly christmases and birthdays, and saving up some money

from working and splurging in guitar center.

for your current situation: buy some new heads! they make a hell of a difference.

after that, start saving your pennies. since you're only 13, you're going to have to try to

find odd jobs (mowing lawns for example). aside from that, christmases and birthdays are your friend.

save your $600 right now. start looking at some nice hats, and a nice ride.

[indiadrummer]

hey thanks a lot guys :) I am actually teaching tae kwon do for 20 bucks an hour, so I will definetly have loads of money next year! I am planning on changing the heads, Im guessing evans hydraulics. For the snare, what would you suggest (heads?)?

[maddrummr]

Remo ambassador on the snare works really good on my set. You could try remo pinstripes or evans ec2 i hear are pretty good. And keep following everyones advice on waiting for a whole new set, upgrade what you can. Then (since im guessing you are in 7th or 8th grade) when grammar school graduation comes around you have some spending cash if you want a new set, just save up a good amount of money prior to that moment. This is exactly what i did. 7th grade i bought a groove percussion set for like 300 bucks and it came with everything. I am a ref for hockey so i got a decent income (800 bucks in a 6 month hockey season usually) i bought new cymbals and a better pedal. Now i have a Pacific MX set with all the upgrades i bought previously and its rockin!


Oh and more than half of that 800 bucks from reffing has to go in my bank account by my parents rules, so not all of it is spent. Or else i would have had a intermediate drumset earlier in my life.

[Skitch]

Remo ambassador on the snare works really good on my set. You could try remo pinstripes or evans ec2 i hear are pretty good. And keep following everyones advice on waiting for a whole new set, upgrade what you can. Then (since im guessing you are in 7th or 8th grade) when grammar school graduation comes around you have some spending cash if you want a new set, just save up a good amount of money prior to that moment. This is exactly what i did. 7th grade i bought a groove percussion set for like 300 bucks and it came with everything. I am a ref for hockey so i got a decent income (800 bucks in a 6 month hockey season usually) i bought new cymbals and a better pedal. Now i have a Pacific MX set with all the upgrades i bought previously and its rockin!


Oh and more than half of that 800 bucks from reffing has to go in my bank account by my parents rules, so not all of it is spent. Or else i would have had a intermediate drumset earlier in my life.


Interesting...I have had just about every odd job that you can think of...and one was umpiring fast pitch softball!

You're getting good advice here. Also, I would try to hold onto what you have even after you but another kit. It will come in handy if you ever have two gigs tightly spaced in the same day. I used to love the Evans Hydraulics when I was your age (hmmm....I sound old all of the sudden). If you are looking for durability then I would suggest these:

Remo - Emperors, Pinstripes or PowerStroke 4
Evans - G2, Hydraulics or the EC2

Mike

http://www.mikemccraw.com
http://www.dominoretroplate.com


http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=drummermikemccraw

[altered_beast]

first off, almost every single person here started off with a beginner kit. because every

single person here was just that at one point... a beginner. so there is no shame in

saying you play a forum.

i started off with a ludwig student snare a several christmases back. that was when my

parents weren't sure that i would stick with drumming and thought it might have been a

phase (granted, paintball was). i got a pair of cheap paiste hats for my following birthday,

and by fall after taking a few lessons i used the money i had saved up over the summer to

buy my own $300 beginner kit. fast forward to the present, and i have a decent gretsch

kit, with professional cymbals and pedals.

how i got to that point was mostly christmases and birthdays, and saving up some money

from working and splurging in guitar center.

for your current situation: buy some new heads! they make a hell of a difference.

after that, start saving your pennies. since you're only 13, you're going to have to try to

find odd jobs (mowing lawns for example). aside from that, christmases and birthdays are your friend.

save your $600 right now. start looking at some nice hats, and a nice ride.

Haha, I didn't : p I actually started with a Yamaha 9000 series. But like I said in the last post where I mentioned it - I was very lucky.

[Drummer Karl]

Well...first: Be proud of your set man! Many people don`t have a kit at all...(like my drum teacher when he was young, he got his first kit with 18!)
Pearl Forums are coool sounding kits, as I heard when I listened to LD Guy`s stuff.

an if you have got $600, that is great! just save up some more money and you could buy a new laqiered Gretsch Maple or Birch or Tama Superstar...or a Yamaha Stage Custom!!

good luck buddy! =)

Karl

[rhydianjlewis]

Dont worry about the kit itself, a bad kit with good heads and tuning can sound better than a good set with bad heads and tuning :S if u understand.

I am 14 and have been drumming for 3 years and have a CB drums kit. Gradually i have upgarded heads (get ec2 insted of hydraulics) and cymbals from birthdays and christmas.

Only now am i upgrading and thats because my great grandma decided to reduce her fortune :):):)

Also save up until you have about $900 at least because then you can get a decenty intermediate kit (yamaha stage custom, mapex m birch...etc)

You can get a long way with a starter kit

[Miggle]

Try getting even just one batter head.. maybe an ambassador or Emperor and try it on your 12" tom. Have another drummer help you out with tuning. If you think the sound has drastically improved, then change the head of your whole set.

I've heard really good players and they have made poor drums which cost $300 sound like expensive drums. So maybe, that $600 may be better off going on to some professional drum lessons. Well, ofcourse I am not sure how much lessons cost where you live (i assume from India) but i'm guessing its around $10-15 per hour.

$600 is a lot of money. Don't rush. Make sure you make the most out of your kit. Forum series may not be very good but if you're only playing it at home, its probably good enough until you can save up for a good intermediate set. $600 should get you more than a good 2nd hand intermediate kit.

[indiadrummer]

Try getting even just one batter head.. maybe an ambassador or Emperor and try it on your 12" tom. Have another drummer help you out with tuning. If you think the sound has drastically improved, then change the head of your whole set.

I've heard really good players and they have made poor drums which cost $300 sound like expensive drums. So maybe, that $600 may be better off going on to some professional drum lessons. Well, ofcourse I am not sure how much lessons cost where you live (i assume from India) but i'm guessing its around $10-15 per hour.

$600 is a lot of money. Don't rush. Make sure you make the most out of your kit. Forum series may not be very good but if you're only playing it at home, its probably good enough until you can save up for a good intermediate set. $600 should get you more than a good 2nd hand intermediate kit.


hehe im not from india, Im from America my parents are from india, so im an indian in america. :)
and yes i try some new heads and start saving up thx guys!!!!