Most versatile kit?

Hello guys!

I've been playing an electric drum kit for a little more than 4 years and, as I'm going to play with different bands soon, I'm going to have to buy an acoustic kit.

My budget is approximately 1500 euros (shells, cymbals, accessories,... everything) and I need a kit that is going to be very versatile. I play mostly rock (very soft powerballads to very heavy neometal), jazz (mostly bop and brushes but also blues and lounge), pop and latino (samba and bossanova). I know this is going to make things difficult to choose a good drumkit.

It doesn't have to be loud (small gigs and practive with the bands) but I like a precise sound so I was thinking that a 20'' bass drum would be a better choice.

I've consider some models : Gretsch Renown, Mapex Saturn IV and Sonor Select Force.

Could you guys please give me some advice and opinions about these models or other models to consider within this budget?

Hi, and welcome!

Firstly, before talking about brands and models, a few general tips:

1.Consider buying used. You can save a lot of money and get better gear for your budget. (you will hear this a lot on this forum!)
2. Dedicate a significant part of your budget to cymbals. You can make cheap drums sound good with tuning and choice of heads, but you can't change the sound of cymbals, so it's worth spending a significant part of your budget on them to buy good ones from the start if you possibly can. Again, you will get make your money go further buying used.
3. Search this forum. Many have asked your question before and there are many suggestions that you will find useful in the threads already posted.

Now with that said, if I had 1500 Euros for a complete set I would personally budget at least 600-700 of that on cymbals (see point no. 2). That leaves only 800-900 for shells and hardware.

At that price you can get a used Gretsch Catalina, Yamaha Stage Custom or a number of others such as Tama Imperialstar or Rockstar, Pearl Export, any day of the week. These kits will serve you well in many genres. If you can find a deal on a higher-level kit in the same price range, so much the better. Don't forget that some kits are sold without hardware or pedals, in which case you will need to allow 200-300 Euros for those (I recently bought a used Catalina Maple shell set and bought hardware separately).

For cymbals you will get versatility from any of the core lines from the big three (Zildjian A, A Custom or K; Paiste 2002 or Signature; Sabian AA or AAX). Of course there is more to it depending on your personal taste, but those are a good place to start. Examples: on eBay you can easily find a pair of 14" New Beats for 150-200 Euros, a 20" Medium Ride for about the same and a 16-18" thin crash for a little less. You will find equivalents from the other makers for similar prices.

Hope that helps a little!

Thanky you! This helps a lot!

I considered buying an used kit but the second hand market in Belgium is really poor for drum kits.

I also considered a relatively good budget for cymbals but I was thinking like 400 euros maximum for a set (2 crashes, a ride, a HH and maybe a splash). Do you think it's not enough? I really like Sabian AAX but they are soooo expensive!

The "cymbal kit" out ranks the drum kit as far as difficulty in getting them right. Focus on them, all drums can play any style. Cymbals are harder to buy. Drums are relatively easy, it's hard to mess up.

That said, true versatility lies within the drummer.

I would get a Pearl Export or Tama Imperialstar and then use the rest on cymbals. You can always make the drums sound better, but the cymbals mostly stay the same. So make sure you buy the right cymbals the first time!

TerryV81 said:

Thanky you! This helps a lot!
I also considered a relatively good budget for cymbals but I was thinking like 400 euros maximum for a set (2 crashes, a ride, a HH and maybe a splash). Do you think it's not enough? I really like Sabian AAX but they are soooo expensive!

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400 euros is light for 6 cymbals (included the 2 hi-hats). You may be over-killing the number of cymbals for your shot at acoustics with your budget. As others also said, cymbal choices are paramount to what you are doing. You may want to consider a crash/ride, a 16" crash, and a good set of hats first. If you can, make sure you hear whatever you buy first. If you cannot hear them in person, there are lot of samples on the internet for almost every good cymbal, which will serve as a good reference point.

It's so nice to see a number of people saying "buy good cymbals" first. I always recommend this.

However, the talent will lie within you, the drummer. Any set of drums will really do, so buy used, buy cheap, it doesn't matter. Put good heads on it and you're done as far as drums go. It's nice to see people here in the know about how important good cymbals are, because you can't make bad cymbals sound good. You'll just spend more money down the line upgrading them.

You could actually get away with just a a good solid set of hi-hats, crash, and ride cymbal. Sabian AA's (since you like Sabian) would be perfect for you. Since you have to cover all kinds of genres, AA's will fit the bill perfectly or everything. Zildjian A's will also do, as will Paiste 2002s, or Meinl Classics (I think that's what they call them). If you can find these cymbals used, that's even better.

I've done gigs with a pair of hi-hats and a suitable crash/ride cymbal (specifically, in my bag I have a pair of 15" Zildjian New Beats, and a 19" Zildjian Medium Thin crash that rides rather well too). Nobody ever asks why I don't have more because I'm giving them what they want with what I have. On my bigger sets, I do carry more cymbals, but lots of times I don't need them.

I know you said your used market isn't that great, but scour a little harder. There has to be other people in your area that have played before and decided to get out of it. These are the people you want to find. But please follow the advice that you need good cymbals over good drums at this point - you may think your audience will not care what kind of cymbals you have, but subconsciously they will because you're giving them what they expect to hear. and this is what separates the men from the boys (or the women from the girls

There are a lot of kits/cymbal packs that should get.you there. Maple or birch is my recommendation. Many companies. offer these in competetive price and quality. I'm with whoever it was that mentioned used. Used high end beats new intermediate gear at the same cost every time (assuming the used is in good condition). My first intermediate kit was a Premier XPK for $1000 new. My first high end kit was a Pearl MLX for $900 used (and not a scratch on it). Which one do you think was a better deal?

Really good advice guys! Thank you so much! It's really opening my eyes. I'm going to concentrate on a good cymbal set first.

Just a last question. I have the tendency to think that a maple set would be more versatile than a birch one. Is this right?

No the wood of the set isn't versatile, it's the drummer that is versatile. The drums don't play themselves. You are giving human qualities to an inanimate object. Really, the wood doesn't matter for versatility. Get the drums you like the look of and sound of. Drumsets aren't versatile, people are.

I think the versatility lies in your choice of sizes. If you choose a kit that sounds good to you, it would be wise to get a 6 or 7 piece shell pack (not including snare) that gives you options for different setups.

TerryV81 said:

Really good advice guys! Thank you so much! It's really opening my eyes. I'm going to concentrate on a good cymbal set first.

Just a last question. I have the tendency to think that a maple set would be more versatile than a birch one. Is this right?

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Maple is used the most by drummers for drumsets, but it mostly depends on the drummer.

TerryV81 said:

Really good advice guys! Thank you so much! It's really opening my eyes. I'm going to concentrate on a good cymbal set first.

Just a last question. I have the tendency to think that a maple set would be more versatile than a birch one. Is this right?

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Not really. Trick makes aluminum drums, there are acrylic drums, drums made out of steel or other good hardwoods, they all work. Really.

All birch or maple will be plenty good enough. You might also end up getting a kit that's mahogany with inner plies of other woods, which will sound awesome with the right head selection.

I always recommend a 4 piece kit that has average to small sizes. For example, I'd go with a 14-16" floor tom instead of an 18". 20-22" kick instead of 24" or larger. Same goes for tom sizes.

I'd start with a the basic cymbals. Hats, ride, one crash. Then add on other crashes, splashes, chinas, etc. as time and money allows. Don't skimp unless you know that cymbal sounds great. Wuhans are inexpensive chinas but sound incredible. Old Sabian Pros had some winners among the entire line and are very cheap on eBay..

It all comes down to research, research, research before the purchase.

T.Underhill said:

All birch or maple will be plenty good enough. You might also end up getting a kit that's mahogany with inner plies of other woods, which will sound awesome with the right head selection.

I always recommend a 4 piece kit that has average to small sizes. For example, I'd go with a 14-16" floor tom instead of an 18". 20-22" kick instead of 24" or larger. Same goes for tom sizes.

I'd start with a the basic cymbals. Hats, ride, one crash. Then add on other crashes, splashes, chinas, etc. as time and money allows. Don't skimp unless you know that cymbal sounds great. Wuhans are inexpensive chinas but sound incredible. Old Sabian Pros had some winners among the entire line and are very cheap on eBay..

It all comes down to research, research, research before the purchase.

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So I'm guessing the optimal sizes are a 12, 14-16, 22?

Emmaticus00 said:

So I'm guessing the optimal sizes are a 12, 14-16, 22?

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I'm careful to say anything that's "the most", "best", or "optimal" Most of the shell packs are that size so that says a little about it.

It's just always my experience (with cymbals too) that right in the middle will work better for more situations. I really like the 20 or 21 kick drums just for the size and versatility. I'd much rather play out and record with that size opposed to a 26" kick. A 13" rack tom is also pushing it for me because I have no high end tom sound. When I do Zeppelin, it works. Other styles? Maybe not.

TerryV81 said:

Thanky you! This helps a lot!

I considered buying an used kit but the second hand market in Belgium is really poor for drum kits.

I also considered a relatively good budget for cymbals but I was thinking like 400 euros maximum for a set (2 crashes, a ride, a HH and maybe a splash). Do you think it's not enough? I really like Sabian AAX but they are soooo expensive!

Click to expand...

plenty of drums to find, not even that hard.
And there's a few facebook groups aswell recently that sold complete kits with stands & cymbals well withing your pricerange (tama hyperdrive)

The other folks have offered up some good advice. Get the best cymbals you can, then figure out what drums you can afford. A pair of used New Beats, a good thin crash or 2, and a medium weight ride will cover a lot of musical ground.

I think that the Gretsch Catalina series has great versatility, and are in my opinion the best sounding "semi-pro" kits. I mean they sound way better than other kits in that price class. Or is this just me?

When it comes to cymbals. I agree with most of the posts above. This is way more important than the kit. You can get the worst drums to sound alright, with the right heads and tuning. Cheap cymbals however is absolutely horrible. If you wanna get cheap cymbals, then never go for the economic series of the big brands. Find some smaller brands like Dream. They sound very good, and are relatively cheap.

p.s. I would never go for a cymbal package. An important rule for me is to never buy a cymbal with out trying the exact one myself.

Ok guys, so I tried to look over the used market but it's really hopeless! Especially if you're looking for a 20'' bass drum. :-/

So back to the new market and I heard a lot of good things about the PDP concept maple. For a thousand euros you get a six pieces kit with hardware.

For the cymbals I think I'll stick with some of my favourite ones, the Sabian AAX. There is a pack (HH, ride, 16 and 18 crashes) for a little bit more than 600 euros.

What do you guys think? Good enough for all kind of styles?