New member and new to drumming here.

Adifferentdrummer

Junior Member
Hello everyone. I used to play drums when I was a kid. I was actually pretty good, but I haven't played in like 15-17 years. I'm 26 now. I'm pretty much starting over from square 1.

I'm going to buy a drum set soon. I'm thinking about a ddrum d2 set like this one http://www.musiciansfriend.com/drums-percussion/ddrum-d2-5-piece-drum-set#productDetail

Are they good sets? What makes a quality set? This one is in my price range, and I love that blue color. I could have the money for one of these kits in just a couple days. What could I do to make this kit better (heads/cymbals? etc.).

Also any tips on learning and becoming a better drummer will be appreciated. Thanks.
 
That set is the bottom line of DDrum products. You would be better off buying a used set of better quality within the same price range
 
Would you mind explaining specifically what makes this kit bottom of the line? I'd like to know what makes a drum good or bad quality.

Also, is ddrum, as a brand, a bottom of the line brand? Or are there high-end ddrum sets?
 
Any set that includes HW and cymbals is designed to be a beginner set and considering you can buy one cymbal or no cymbal for the price of the entire set, it's definitely entry level. Entry level kits have no manufacturing quality in their process, so very doubtful the bearing edges will be straight or even the drum truly round for that matter. That'll make them near impossible to tune properly and if done won't stay in tune. The hoops are going to be super thin, so they will move far too much adding to the tuning issue. The cymbals won't be real bronze, so they won't take but a few hits, before denting and the HW will likely strip out fairly easily.

There are so many quality used sets to be had, for double that price you could walk out with a set of quality used B20 cymbals, and drums that actually tune up. A cheap set will make you hate playin, while a quality set, however beat to death will still sound decent and be fun to play. The response you get from a decent set is night and day, so best to pass on the entry and look at a decent step up used set.
 
Take a look at used Sabian XS20s on Guitar Center's website. Sometimes they will even have used starter packs for $200 (hats, ride and crash). You can also check for late model used Yamaha Stage Customs for around $350. Then you can find 2 used PDP 800 stands for $20 each or hold out for Yamaha ones for double that and enjoy every moment with your new drums. Real drums and real cymbals ready for gigging. That's about as cheap as you can get away with, unless someone donates you a set.

All the best in your hunt. :)

Oh almost forgot. You'll need a HH Stand and BD pedal. You can find some used Yamaha chain or strap drive pedals for as little as $20 and they work really well. There are tons of PDP HH stands used for cheap too. Nothing fancy, but they will kill the ddrum throw in stuff.

Also, there are some super nice older ddrum kits out there too before they cheapend out.
 
Regardless of what set I get, can someone please recommend a quality set of heads I can put on my new drum kit that will sound good? Also, can you recommend some decent cymbals that are not so expensive? I think Four heads and cymbals I am going to go ahead and get brand new stuff instead of buy used.
 
The "go-to" for getting into/back into drumming on a budget is a used Pearl Export with starter pack cymbals, which you can acquire for less than $500 most of the time. And of course you can substitute similar sets like Tama Rockstar, Ludwig Accent, PDP Mainstage, Ludwig Accent, Yamaha Rydeen, Mapex Rebel, Gretsch Energy, Sonor Force, etc.

I'm getting back into it after 5 years and got a used Export with Paiste cymbals for $500. Very happy with them.

edit: heads is pretty subjective. I like to just get whatever sells most which tends to be coated Evans heads. and you will do just as well with Remo coated heads. Emperors and Ambassadors have great reputations. cymbals is tough because you simply get what you pay for, and you can pay as little as 50 for a cymbal and as much as 500 for a single cymbal. so just go by your budget and try to find good deals on used gear. I found a Paiste Alpha crash for less than a $100 and I'm very happy about the cost/quality ratio
 
If funds are limited get a Stage Custom. More limited, then used Stage Custom. :)

Not only do you get good drums for the money, but you get a decent snare drum.

Good cymbals are important, but you don't need that many to get started. They don't have to be expensive, but get propper cymbals. Not the stuff that comes with an inexpensive kit. A cymbal should be a propper responsive instrument. Those "can lids" are not.

For playing it's always advicable to get a few lessons, learn to read and have a basic technique routine, practice and utilize the rudiments etc... Get into the basics of the most important styles, play real songs, preferrably with other people, but play-a-longs are better than nothing and then go from there.
 
Regardless of what set I get, can someone please recommend a quality set of heads I can put on my new drum kit that will sound good? Also, can you recommend some decent cymbals that are not so expensive? I think Four heads and cymbals I am going to go ahead and get brand new stuff instead of buy used.

I made a reference to the XS20s earlier. They are real B20 bronze cymbals and you can actually play them live without cringing. XS20s were discontinued and replaced with XSRs. I personally prefer the older models, but either will work. With regards to heads, none will sound good, if the bearing edges on a drum aren't true. That's why spending a bit more on a higher quality set makes sense.

It's your money, but if you're going to spend it on lower end gear, I'd seriously recommend going used. Play them for a year and get a feel for what you may like, take good care of them, turn around resell them for the same and upgrade. I got back into drumming 10 years ago and found a guy selling a used PDP MX maple set with two snares, hats, ride, two crashes, an Axis pedal, sweet Pearl snare stand, two wood blocks, cowbell and three cymbal stands, all in mint condition for $700. I sold the XS20s for $300 when I upgraded to help offset my new cymbals, so I'm into the rest of the remaining set $400. That was a decade ago and I'm still playing the drums. Had I gone new, I would have easily spent $1200 or more or forced to get a kiddie set I would have hated.

There have been some other good drum recommendations already, but I'll throw in Gretsch Catalina in the mix. Those sound sweet, but you have to watch for bad bearing edges on them and most of the above recommendations. I haven't seen a bad Stage Custom yet though. Amazing quality and sound considering their price. Light as a feather too, so they open up quick and resonate well. Super easy to haul around too.
 
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I made a reference to the XS20s earlier. They are real B20 bronze cymbals and you can actually play them live without cringing. XS20s were discontinued and replaced with XSRs. I personally prefer the older models, but either will work. With regards to heads, none will sound good, if the bearing edges on a drum aren't true. That's why spending a bit more on a higher quality set makes sense.

It's your money, but if you're going to spend it on lower end gear, I'd seriously recommend going used. Play them for a year and get a feel for what you may like, take good care of them, turn Armand resell them for the same and upgrade. I got back into drumming 10 years ago and found a guy selling a used PDP MX maple set with two snares, hats, ride, two crashes, an Axis pedal, sweet Pearl snare stand, two wood blocks, cowbell and three cymbal stands, all in mint condition for $700. I sold the XS20s for $300 when I upgraded to help offset my new cymbals, so I'm into the rest of the remaining set $400. That was a decade ago and I'm still playing the drums. Had I gone new, I would have easily spent $1200 or more or forced to get a kiddie set I would have hated.

There have been some other good drum recommendations already, but I'll throw in Gretsch Catalina in the mix. Those sound sweet, but you have to watch for bad bearing edges on them and most of the above recommendations. I haven't seen a bad Stage Custom yet though. Amazing quality and sound considering their price. Light as a feather too, so they open up quick and resonate well. Super easy to haul around too.

A huge +1 in favour of XS20s. I purchased these with my first kit when I got back into drumming (and gigging) a half dozen years ago.

I've JUST, in the last couple of weeks got rid of my final XS20s which were the medium 14" cymbals.

They are really sound cymbals. The 18" crash is an absolute beauty. I've tried many more expensive cymbals and they've come up short by comparison.

And...cheap as chips these days most importantly for a new drummer. Probably get a second hand set (hats, 16 crash, 20 ride) for around £100 I bet.
 
I'm thinking about a ddrum d2 set like this one http://www.musiciansfriend.com/drums-percussion/ddrum-d2-5-piece-drum-set#productDetail

Are they good sets? What makes a quality set?

No. For the amount you're paying, yes, they're fine, but you'll grow weary of them after a few months or a year. Stay away from ddrum. They started out as an electronic drum pad company, and then decided to offer acoustic sets about ten years ago. I'm pretty sure the shells are outsourced, and then assembled in-house.

A quality set is one that has a proven history of making drums that:
  • Are round
  • Have nice bearing edges
  • Have reliable and easy to adjust mounts
  • Have top quality hardware (hoops, lugs, etc.) with good chrome plating
  • Offer a good selection of sizes
  • Sound great
Look at Yamaha, Tama or Pearl for drums, and for cymbals, the Paiste 900 Series are really nice for the price.
 
Regardless of what set I get, can someone please recommend a quality set of heads I can put on my new drum kit that will sound good?
Any model from Remo, Evans or Aquarian will sound fine. It just depends on the sound/feel you're going for.
 
Would you mind explaining specifically what makes this kit bottom of the line? I'd like to know what makes a drum good or bad quality.

How expensive the wood is. How much time a human has to spend working on it. The quality of the metal fittings. The chrome plating.
 
No. For the amount you're paying, yes, they're fine, but you'll grow weary of them after a few months or a year. Stay away from ddrum. They started out as an electronic drum pad company, and then decided to offer acoustic sets about ten years ago. I'm pretty sure the shells are outsourced, and then assembled in-house.
Incorrect.
Ddrum was a electronic drum brand created by a swedish electronics company, Nord.
The last kit they made was the ddrum 4 SE.

Armadillo Enterprises were the US distributer of Nord and ddrum. And Nord sold the ddrum brand to them, as they were done with it.

So Armadillo was talking about making a ddrum5… and it went nowhere. So they decided to offer cheap acoustic drums with a familiar name, ddrum.

Ddrum today has nothing to do with the past. It is just the name that's the same.


Yamaha Stage customs are birch. Can be gotten cheap, but sound amazing and have high quality hardware. Great deal.
 
I agree education and good cymbals are #1. Your drums are fine. Just start with coated Reno Emperor drum heads with a Powerstroke 3 bass drum head. That's a good place to start. If you also change your resonant heads, just try some clear Ambassador heads on the bottoms. Get them tuned right, and you'll sound fine. XSR an XS-20 are great starter cymbals. Far superior than other starter cymbals because they are b20 alloy. Good luck!
 
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