i need help making my kit sound better

[ihatemykit]

okay, i've had my percussion plus kit for like 9 months now, stock heads and everything except i got zbt high hats and a crash ride (zbt) and i have one zxt crash. Overall my set sounds horrible, what can i do to make it better?

[alparrott]

Depends on how much money you have. But the place to start is with new heads. Stock heads on everything except pro-level kits are usually at the best serviceable; I'm willing to bet on a Percussion Plus set they aren't even that. Once you get the heads, tune the drums the very best you can. (If tuning is still a mystery, do a search on the DW forum.)

If you have more cash after that, upgrade cymbals. Get away from the starter lines and upgrade to pro-level. In this Craigslist and eBay are definitely your friend. You can listen to cymbals at the local shop and then look for those models online. Still, test before buying and don't bother with buying a damaged cymbal for cheaper. Start with hi-hats and ride, and then work on crashes, splashes and chinas if you like/want.

A simple thing to do is look at your bass drum beater. Simply upgrading that will help. The fuzzy marshmallow beaters that come on most starter kits sound terrible without definition.

The last thing I might recommend, money dependent, is get a good-sounding snare drum to replace the one that came with the kit. Even the lousiest set in the world can be brought to passable with a great-sounding snare at its center. Again, buy used if possible.

Good luck, hope this helps!

[caddywumpus]

Yeah, what he said!

Only, I would upgrade the cymbals in this order: crash, ride, hats. When you get a quality, professional-level cymbal, you'll notice a huge difference, but more so in the crash, less so in the ride, and even less so in the hats.

[alparrott]

Yeah, what he said!

Only, I would upgrade the cymbals in this order: crash, ride, hats. When you get a quality, professional-level cymbal, you'll notice a huge difference, but more so in the crash, less so in the ride, and even less so in the hats.

How about this: Pick your worst-sounding cymbal and replace it first, then the next lousiest, etc. etc. I think we can all agree on that one...

[caddywumpus]

How about this: Pick your worst-sounding cymbal and replace it first, then the next lousiest, etc. etc. I think we can all agree on that one...

Truedat!

Sorry, Al. Didn't mean to step all over ya!

[alparrott]

No prob, man.

Anyways: @ OP - did you get the answer you needed?

[keep it simple]

You got all you need to know from Caddy & Al. Confused on which heads to buy? Search the forum for advice on that subject too. Ok, you'll get a wide variety of opinions but cut through them & look for posts from members who are after the same sound as you want. On both tuning & head selection, the Evans site is a good first base. The simple tuning instruction on that site by Bob Gatzen is especially good as a starting point. Good luck.

[DiP]

I totally agree to change your drumheads immediately.At least the batter side if you don't want to spend much money at the time.
Also if you see that buying pro cymbals is impossible due to their cost, you could try cymbals from less known manufacturers. One friend of mine bought "Constantin" cymbals (or something like that) for little money and they sound very nice. They are cast bronze cymbals and sound much better than the sheet bronze starters of Zildjian. In my opinion they can stand side by side with an expensive line of Zildjian cymbals. I would never use a ZBT if I had for example a set that contains K custom cymbals but I probably use a "Constantin" in the same setup.

As for the snare, you can buy something like a SONOR Force 3007 snare that sounds great with good tuning. I suggest to tune it high and put a very little piece of paper with tape on it to muffle it.Don't muffle it more with other kind of stuff.

That is my suggestion! Hope I helped..

[ihatemykit]

okay thanks, i have about 200 dollars and i'm going to replace avery head on my set with remo ebony pinstripes (should look good against the red drums lol) and some remos for the resonant side, and a remo powersonic bass batter head and a powerstroke 3 for the resonant side. i'm pretty happy with the cymbals i have now, except the zbt's dent pretty easily, not as easily as the stock cymbals though (god those blew). Thanks for the help, i'll probably post pictures as soon as i can

[DiP]

i would suggest you not to buy pinstripes,because at least for me,they are difficult in tuning. if you don't reach a pretty satisfying tuning they may bring you a very bad sound due to lots of overtones and you will not be able to muffle them more to cut out these annoying overtones.I you muffle more the "pre-muffled" pinstripes there are going to sound like you are hitting a wooden box. That is what I experienced when i put pinstripe to my floor tom.I couldn't tune it ! May be it happens only to me! But I would Suggest to buy clear emperors and RemO kind of stuff http://www.remo.com/portal/products/2/599/604/dh_remos.html.
For me that is really working.

[yesdog]

here is a link for drum tuning. Just like learning how to play tuning drums takes practice.
dont use those stupid torque wrench tuners either use your ears

http://home.earthlink.net/~prof.sound/id5.html

I hope this sight gives you help.