Crap drums

[Dave4436]

I have a very bad set of drums and can't afford a new set. any tips on improving the sound quality?

[C_H]

re tune your toms and get some e-rings that will give a nice muffled bouncy sound to them wich is nice try stuffing pillows, jumpers etc. in your bass to muffle that and give it a nice feel and tighte your snare regularly, aside from that get a job and earn money lol :)

[Speedy]

Before I got my pearl drums i had a crappy set made by enforcer. It sounded like crap but then i got the pinstripe pack and got tom and snare rings. After that is sounded much much better to me.

[mediocrefunkybeat]

Good set of heads, a few muffling rings and a pillow in the bass drum, touching both heads. Spend some time playing around and you can get a good sound out of almost any kit.

[NUTHA JASON]

if you can, get a quality snare drum. its the pivot of a drumkit and thus is worth spending money on. i had a bad drumset (8th hand century drumkit) and i scrimped and saved and bought a brass tama snare drum and immediately my world opened up. no more buzzing muddy snare but a sharp crack. even my horrible toms sounded better now that they weren't causing the old snare to rattle.


j

[Tyrnox]

Aye like MFB mentionned a good new set of head's always give's out a better sound, even cleaning your cymbals will change the sound. I hadn't cleaned my cymbal's in forever, after I was done cleaning my ride, the sound changed dramaticaly.

[insane drummer]

New heads, new snare, good tuning job... That does it.

[mediocrefunkybeat]

Better get me a new snare... hmm... anyone know any quality pic. snares that don't cost too much? Open to anything here...

[Speedy]

hey MFB here's a ludwig snare from musicians friend at around 90 dollars.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/fg=122/g=perc/search/detail/base_pid/446325/

[mediocrefunkybeat]

Looks too deep... I'm really not into deep snares, I'm looking for a Wooden Piccolo snare, something like a Mapex Black Panther... I'm sure that snare sounds good, better than the one I've got, but it probably won't end up fitting between my legs!

[somedrummer]

Looks too deep... I'm really not into deep snares, I'm looking for a Wooden Piccolo snare, something like a Mapex Black Panther... I'm sure that snare sounds good, better than the one I've got, but it probably won't end up fitting between my legs!

Dude I think you can get a wooden pearl piccolo for $99 or $89 if you find the right place. Also spend the money for good heads!!! Seriously, stok heads are close to worthless, in fact, many people with more money than most will throw out the stock heads from their kit as soon as it comes ot of the box.

Good luck

Rob

[Pedro]

I think the best thing to do with a crappy drum is the opposite you do with a really good drum :-).

That meas: get pinstripes or emperors or G2's, and just muffle your drum :-)

[Raymond Bloom]

speaking about crapy drums...
I have a thread @ pearldrummersforum about ''ghetto'' drum sets http://www.pearldrummersforum.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

Check that out!
http://www.pearldrummersforum.com/showthread.php?t=89778&page=1&pp=12

some of those are just hilarious! http://www.pearldrummersforum.com/images/smilies/eek.gif

[Doom]

I have a terrible set and dont have the money to buy new things for it. I find the more muffled they are the better they sound. Also the snare sounds awful if I play it in the middle but actually pretty good nearer the sides.

[Raymond Bloom]

There is one thing what all of u should remember...good drum set doesn't make a good player...

[somedrummer]

There is one thing what all of u should remember...good drum set doesn't make a good player...

Certainly this is true. However, a drumset or any instrument that sounds good encourages one to practice more frequently, which in turn makes a better musician. No, having a great drumset and never playing it doesnt make you good, but how many people with great drumsets dont ever play them? Not to gloat, but I have a good friend who has a crappy drumset, and frankly he sucks. I have Pearl Session Customs and think and have been told that I am quite good. A high quality set usually (not always) leads to higher quality playing.

Rob

[Raymond Bloom]

Certainly this is true. However, a drumset or any instrument that sounds good encourages one to practice more frequently, which in turn makes a better musician.
yes, yes, that is true either, playing and enjoing (the playing and sound) will definetely give u a possitive impact on your playing

[BeBop]

I used to have a cheap Pearl Snare that wouldn't sound good no matter what I tried. I tried different heads, tunings etc. Then someone gave me the tip to simply buy a quality set of snare wires (I hope that's the correct name for it, sorry, I'm german). I bought a Sonor set and suddenly my Snare sounded excellent.

[Stu_Strib]

I always found good old pinstripes do well to disguise the crapitude of low end kits.

[Class A Drummer]

new drum heads. I think remo is the best. Evans are good too.

http://drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7204

[da cheese walks]

i have a crap set,a PP kit,2nd hand that i got for free....and all i did to get it to sound better was get a new snare.....it took me a year to get one,but i now have my sonor force 3005 snare...and it basically helps the sound of my kit....

i mean my kit is stil terrible and im looking to get new shells,but i just cant afford it!so i just have to make do...but just a good quality snare,and cymbals too.....help a lot

[drumbig]

i have a crap set,a PP kit,2nd hand that i got for free....and all i did to get it to sound better was get a new snare.....it took me a year to get one,but i now have my sonor force 3005 snare...and it basically helps the sound of my kit....

i mean my kit is stil terrible and im looking to get new shells,but i just cant afford it!so i just have to make do...but just a good quality snare,and cymbals too.....help a lot
( good piont) A descent snare will color a kit nicely.

[fullmoon]

one of the best things to do is get your bearing edges recut but dont try and do it yourself get a professinal to do it

[bighaibigdrums]

Good heads and proper tuning will make even the crappiest kit (as long as mechanically it sound) sound great.

[stickers]

One of the reasons I love playing my kit because I love the sound of my snare. it's addicting, I swear.

[Kenny Aldrich]

one benefit of playing a "crap drum set" is you have the unique ability to sort of force yourself to sound good despite the crappy drums! sounds weird but just look at it this way.. if you can sound good on crap just think of how great you will sound on a good kit!!!! work on you chops and musicality first then buy a descent kit..that's what I did and looking back I am greatfull I did it that way as opposed to starting off on a great kit think of how appreciative you'll be once you get a nice set!

[murphinelli]

i agree with all the posts saying a) new heads b) good snare.

i've had the same piece of crap drumset since 1980. it has no heads on the bottom of any of the drums, except the snare. back in the 80's that was the thing to do. make them all "concert toms." anyways....last night i had some fun....after being inspired by another thread...the homemade, little hipgig kit thread...

i made my own hipgig set out of my crap set and love it. i'll post pictures later...
the floor tom is now the bass drum. i have an 8" tom and my 13" tom is now the floor tom. the bass drum (floor tom) lies on the floor (carpet) with no support whatsoever and my dw5000 pedal is free standing. i brought the beater down about an inch and it works fine...the drum does not move and the pedal does not move. dw5000 has some nice spikes on the bottom that keep it in place...

anyways, i'm having fun with this crap hipgig kit now. my yamaha stage custom advantage nouveau i bought a few weeks ago is not happy...but i'll get back to her...

the point is, a crap set is always a good set. i would not even think about getting rid of it. my wife would and has....but that's another story.

[Mr.Pacific]

i agree with heads and snare (duh) But i also find that hats/ride makes a big difference. Don't go for any thing to crazy though. I put some Xs20s on my crap set and now it's not half as bad. I'm goin for a new snare too.

[that-guy-plays-drums2112]

Looks too deep... I'm really not into deep snares, I'm looking for a Wooden Piccolo snare, something like a Mapex Black Panther... I'm sure that snare sounds good, better than the one I've got, but it probably won't end up fitting between my legs!

http://www.guitarcenter.com/shop/product/buy_pearl_m1330_maple_piccolo_snare_drum?full_sku= 100308070 try this.

[fijjibo]

I always found good old pinstripes do well to disguise the crapitude of low end kits.

Thats why recording studios use them - a blanket cure....

That and visiting drummers wont be able to damage pins too much, saving money.

[DrumBuster]

The best thing is obviously new heads but it really important to learn how to tune correctly as this makes a lot of difference. Also a new snare and hats are good as the snare is the most recognized sound and should be the best and the hi-hats are most often used (obviously depending on music genre).

Hope this helps.

[Joel Woody]

There is one thing what all of u should remember...good drum set doesn't make a good player...

EXACTLY......just because you have a bad set doesnt mean you cant play the crap out of it..........it doesnt matter how bad the kit is, what matters is how good the player is......you could have the worst kit in the world, but how you played it could make it sound oh so much better.....

check this out.....they are horrible drums....but look at how the drummer plays them.....it shows that its not the kit, but the person behind the kit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyO7lvzfw5Q

[spartacus1989]

I did have a set of CB drums before i went electronic (supersonic)!

They kept going out of tune,
They sounded awful no matter what heads I used,
And the tom mounts were unstirdy!