Club kits can be anything. Sometimes you get lucky. In schools, chirches, public buildings it's usually better. But if they say they got a house kit, ask questions and come prepared for nothing to work properly.

Bass drums and toms are usually ok, or something you can live with.

This comes to priorities when buying your own kit, too. The basic shell pack, bass drum and toms is the least important. With decent heads and tuning skills you can make it sound ok. I encourage to spend money on the other stuff first:

Pedals
A decent snare.
Cymbals (they can't be tuned. :) )
A throne that works for you.

There's also a limit on how much you want to put into a kit that will travel through any sort of club. Catalinas and Stage Customs work fine.

There are also lots of accessories you need for gigging. Bags, tools, felts, trolly?, tape, washers, spare parts, extra heads...

I personally only have heavy hardware, but if you don't need it, I pretty much advice against that. It's not necessary unless you hang a lot of stuff on each stand. Anything can hold a single cymbal properly.
 
Unless you are a very experienced drummer with knowledge of the tones produced by individual woods, and the intricate sounds involved in depths and diameters of shells you will simply tie yourself in knots.

As Bo says, get a cheap used kit as a starter. Put decent heads on and buy the best quality cymbals you can. If you stick with gigging you will eventually upgrade the drums. By then you may have some idea of what sound you want to hear from the drums and you will have more experience of what you need to get that sound.

I have been playing for 50 years and I still couldnt tell you what wood is what in a blind test. Heads? now thats a different ball game.


Can I change my post to state that IMO Helena should get what she thinks she wants?

I just feel it's better to follow your gut than someone else's gut. Then if you're wrong (not you Mike) you adjust your perceptions.

I think it's better to want something, get it, and not like it, than to not have an opinion and blindly get what other people suggest.
 
Can I change my post to state that IMO Helena should get what she thinks she wants?

I just feel it's better to follow your gut than someone else's gut. Then if you're wrong (not you Mike) you adjust your perceptions.

I think it's better to want something, get it, and not like it, than to not have an opinion and blindly get what other people suggest.

No offence intended, Larry, apologies if it came over that way. I just though if someone was a complete novice where kits are concerned trying to get there head around wood tones and mounting types might be a distraction, If they have no experience whatsoever.
 
Can I change my post to state that IMO Helena should get what she thinks she wants?

I just feel it's better to follow your gut than someone else's gut. Then if you're wrong (not you Mike) you adjust your perceptions.

I think it's better to want something, get it, and not like it, than to not have an opinion and blindly get what other people suggest.

Yes, I agree with you, Lar, but I think Helena just wanted a bit of a steer, which is fair enough - goodness knows, I've needed that myself, and got it, and then used that information to make my own mind up - and in all honesty, how far wrong can she go by asking on here? Good call, OP!




Hi hat clutch and Allen key.
 
No offence intended, Larry, apologies if it came over that way. I just though if someone was a complete novice where kits are concerned trying to get there head around wood tones and mounting types might be a distraction, If they have no experience whatsoever.

I'm almost unoffendable so no offense taken Mike, and I understand your response. This thread reveals a pet peeve of mine, people with no opinions lol.

I always knew what I want, or at least what I think I want, when it comes to drums. I just can't comprehend a person not knowing what they want.

Like I want an 11" tom. How do I know that? I never played one. Yet I want one, and have for some time.

My ex wife, she used to ask our server what she (the server) likes on the menu. I'll never understand that. It's one thing to have a question about a dish, but to just put the decision to an uninterested party is wacky to me. Maybe I'm the wacky one.
 
You may find on Gumtree or other site, some Premier APK or XPK, Tama Rockstar, Sonor Force 2000 or Pearl export for cheap.
spend more money on cymbals and new sets of skins.
Eventually, get a better snare (wood snare, for most of those kits had metal snare that could be too aggressive)
You should also choose the kind of kit you'd like : standard 22 12/13/16, fusion 20 10/12/14 for instance, the later would be easier to carry around.

I have had a very good experience with Premier mid level kits (build quality, sound) , being in England, you should find some easily I guess.
 
Why do people write again exaclty what was already written a few lines before? I don't get it. Snare, Hihat-clutch, Keys etc. all that was already mentioned more than once before...

I also hate it when people repeat other posts.

Oh, and be sure to take allen keys, a snare and high hat clutch.
 
I've got an old Tama Royalstar white kit that I picked up for 200 bucks! (shells only) 2 rack toms and a 16" floor tom, 22" kick with ten lugs, it's really nice and fat. It's all beat up, but because it's white, it becomes the color of the lighting that's on it. I put the isolation mounts on the rack toms, and I use a Gibraltar rack as well for consistency of setup. I use Evans EQ heads on the top and believe it or not Evans oil-filled heads on the bottom. Been doing that since the 70's! It gives you a huge fat quick "studio" sound that doesn't have much over-ring, it's great for miking, because the gates are easier to set.

I have a nice maple DW Pacific kit at home, the older one with ten kick lugs, etc...but it's too nice to haul all over town and set up in clubs, so that kit is my home kit only.
 
Buy low or mid level used drums (depending on how committed you feel you are), used good cymbals. Here is a list I got from someone on here and added to it. I have this list on the wall in my drum room and while most of my gig packing is done without much thought from doing it I always take a quick look at the list just to be sure. And for all of the goodies others have mentioned I have a multi-compartment case I use to put them in, felts, cymbal sleeves, drum key, spare springs etc.

Drums
rug
hardware case
Throne
cymbal bag
drum cases

mixer
Mics
Cables
Personal headphone monitor
Headphones
ear buds


earplugs
two drum keys
coaches tape
Duct tape
gaffers tape
plastic wire ties
spare wing nuts
spare felt
spare cymbal sleeves
spare hi-hat clutch
screwdriver pliers and vice grips
pencil
bandaids

Fan
flashlight small and big
stage lights

music stand
led task lights (2)
paper
charts

Extension chords
Power strip

Extra Sticks
Snare head
Bass drum head

towel
extra shirt and pants
Hat
Ibuprofen

Spare kick pedal
moon gel
spare pedal spring
plumbers tape
spare snare wires
 
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