Im getting a new drum kit soon, but i need some help decideing

[George@drums182]

Hey, its my birthday in about two weeks and my rents are going to get me a new kit as ive been playing for about 7 and a half years now and ive hald my kit for about 6 years, and its a gretsh blackhawk series, its a good kit for begginers, but obviously as ive improved in my drumming im going to get a new kit. I was origenally going to get a pearl, because i love the sound the make but in my local drum shop, the londond drum center they have some pdp's and i was going to get the x7 series, but then i saw the 805 series and have seen some pretty good reviews of it so im stuck on what one to get.
Any advice from you guys would be greatly taken in.
Thanks
George

[Brundlefly]

Try them all. Pick the one that sounds best to you. Whatever anyone else has to say (other than the folks footing the bill) is meaningless. It's going to be your kit, is it not?

[nhzoso]

Get the Pearl, always go for your 1st instinct. Even if you get a pdp 805 and like it I guarantee in the back of your mind you will always be wishing you bought the Pearl instead. I am not saying Pearls are better than pdp's, thats just a matter of opinion but for your situation I highly recommend the Pearl, even if you have to search a little to find it. Good luck and let us know what you get

[Concrete Pete]

Hey,
I gotta agree with Brundlefly-- try them ALL (within your budget) and take your sweet time in deciding.

A lot of music shops are suffering from the crappy economy, so don't be shy on asking them to sweeten up the deal, and throw in accessories, or better heads, cymbals, etc.

Go for it, and let us know what you end up with.

Rock on,
C. P.

[eddiehimself]

Hey,
A lot of music shops are suffering from the crappy economy, so don't be shy on asking them to sweeten up the deal, and throw in accessories, or better heads, cymbals, etc.


plus one on this. You can haggle them down nicely as right now they are pretty desperate to sell their stuff.

[fat in the middle]

Think about sizes and type of wood etc, ergonomics, and die cast rims/ flanged, bearing edges, and then think about brand names. This is what you will be expressing yourself on, and at the end of the day, sound and feel are important. If you listen to a recorded song, you will not know if it is pearl or Pacific, you may hear the die cast hoops over a thin shell [gretsch] and with good ears maple etc,, but the bottom line is every drum in a drum store sounds good. Ask to take them into an iso booth. Play with them with a drum key, tune them, get to know what they feel like , check the bearing edges, do they tune up? etc... sorry if you know this already.