Buying drum stuff

is there a place thats cheaper than guitar center but is still reliable?

Buying online is more often than not cheaper than retail stores. The downside is you can't 'try before you buy'. The solution?.......go into GC, play around, get a feel for what you like/don't like......then order online....or head straight off to another retailer and play one off against the other for the best price.

LATE EDIT: How could I forget?...........Buying gear used is usually the best way to save money. You can often pick up pro-level gear at intermediate level prices this way.

I feel like if you try at GC and find a better deal somewhere else, you should at least let GC try to pricematch.

jim_gregory said:

I feel like if you try at GC and find a better deal somewhere else, you should at least let GC try to pricematch.

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That's what I usually do. Check the wanted product on the online stores to figure out the lowest price, then go to your local dealer to try and play it and try to get "close enough" to that online price. If I get the price to a comfortable level I always try to support the local dealer. Your "close enough" maybe different from mine and it might depend on the product also.

I've learnt through experience if it's sticks, drum bags and a paticular skin you want then buy them online as you know what you're getting but if it's drums or cymbals then buy from your retailer. He may charge a bit more than online but that's to cover the cost of a retail outlet and being able to try it and if we don't support them to a degree then they won't be there to be able to try anything.
I bought some cymbals online and my local retailer gave me nearly the discound price I'd payed for them online in PX which really got me out of a hole rather than ending up with stuff that didn't go with what I already had.

The best way to do it is this:

Sticks, bags, thrones, heads, felt washers, hardware, crap like that = Can be bought online. They either don't change your sound or in the case of heads they're all very consistent regardless.

Drums, cymbals, general percussion = definitely store bought. They each sound different. I tried out a few cymbals at my local drum shop to see what I wanted to buy, and I had to "re-pick" them when I finally went to order 4 months later because no 2 cymbals sound the same.

Agreed. Buy the stuff that doesn't need to be heard (sticks, stands, thrones, replacement heads) as cheaply as you can find it online. (There's this wonderful thing called Google Shopping, people...)

Stuff that needs to be heard before buying (drums, cymbals, new types of heads) should be tried in person first - the very one you're looking to buy, if possible.

jim_gregory said:

I feel like if you try at GC and find a better deal somewhere else, you should at least let GC try to pricematch.

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Actually, they guarantee to be the cheapest or they'll beat the competition by an additional 10% off. I use this every time I go to GC and always get stuff cheaper than I can find it anywhere.

I usually check GC against Interstate Music, which is usually the cheapest out there.