New Drummer - Drum Kit Building

LeverageL1

Junior Member
Hey guys,

I'm new just registered actually was just looking for a forum and community i could join to better increase my knowledge of drumming.

Below is a picture of my drum kit its a beginner kit and i've only been playing for a few months im getting lessons every week or so and i'm also learning to read music to. The one thing i find difficult is knowing what drums i should be looking at getting to make my kit better cause from what ive seen and already know there is so many different types of drums so yeh just a bit confused.


IMG_0522.jpg

(^^Mapex Voyager^^)

The genres of music im into and would love to end up playing are Rock and Pop music

Any help would be appreciated.

thanks,
 
My best advice to a newbie? Learn to play your drums first........THEN worry about what drums to upgrade to.

It's a life long journey mate. That kit is just fine to learn on.....it's a damn sight better than many beginner sets I've seen (including my own). Pour all your energy into picking up a trick or two first......what's the point of a Gucci kit if you can't play the thing? Learn first....then upgrade.

A famous old saying for you......."It's the Indian....not the arrow" Never a truer word spoken, my friend. :)

And welcome to DW!!
 
That kit is better than ok for learning on. If you have a little dough and want to improve what you have (slowly would be fine) you could re-head the kit to optomise its sonic potential.

Then you could work on some good sounding cymbals. Again, only at a pace that you could afford, and only if you are loving drumming and making some decent progress in your playing.

Good luck and have fun.
 
Exactaly what they are saying learn to play the damn thing before you buy your dream kit. But you probably should upgrade your cymbal ( I would suggest Sabian B8's or Zildjian zbts for begginers) and some newer nicer heads. Your kit is pretty damn nice for a starter kit ( far far better then mine when I started).
 
As they've been saying here, don't worry too much about buying new drums yet. Mapex actually has probably one of the best (if not the) best starting kits out there. I started out playing my dads old Pearl Thunderking (I think that's what they was called). My first kit bought with my own money was the Mapex V7, awesome sounding kit with some new Remo Emperors and Pinstripes on ;)

Those drums you have there, will probably sound amazing with some new heads (when you have worn out those stock heads *winkwink*). But when you decide to get new cymbals, I would recommend upgrading too cymbals that's not from the cheapest line of Zildjan or Sabian. Step it up just one notch. They will be a bit more expensive, but the cymbals will become sooooooo much more playable and sound soooooo much better (probably last longer also)! I'm thinking something like Sabian B8 Pro, Zildjan ZHT or maybe Paiste Alpha series =)
 
my biggest tip to new people would be to use the search function. lots of good information stored here!
 
Yeh thanks everyone for your advice. this forum is awesome :)

I would also just like to ask another question and i guess its still staying on subject.

Well todays my birthday and i am thinking of getting some new drum heads better quality ones i think someone mentioned that below.

I want to get the white drum heads i think they look cool :p i don't like the transparent ones.

this is the website for the place i will be getting them from if anyone could help me out it would be amazing.

http://www.thedrumshopnewcastle.com.au

Thanks.
 
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Yeh thanks everyone for your advice. this forum is awesome :)

I would also just like to ask another question and i guess its still staying on subject.

Well todays my birthday and i am thinking of getting some new drum heads better quality ones i think someone mentioned that below.

I want to get the white drum heads i think they look cool :p i don't like the transparent ones.

this is the website for the place i will be getting them from if anyone could help me out it would be amazing.

http://www.thedrumshopnewcastle.com.au

Thanks.

Go with what sounds best, not what looks cool.
You can have the coolest looking, but the crappiest sounding drum set.

If you want something "cool" and sounds decent, go with Remo Ebony Pinstripes
 
Go with what sounds best, not what looks cool.
You can have the coolest looking, but the crappiest sounding drum set.

If you want something "cool" and sounds decent, go with Remo Ebony Pinstripes

Theres absolutely nothing wrong with coated heads (white ones). They are extremely popular with pro's and beginners alike.

Check out Remo, Evans and Aquarian. They all make high end coated and non coated heads.
You could even get coated Remo Pinstripes. I would go with a 2 ply head for your tom batters (top) and a 1 ply for the resos (bottom).
 
Welcome to the world of drumming. Your drums are actually pretty good. I suggest Evans coated G2 on top and coated G1 on the bottom for the toms. Tuning drums is a whole new art. Good luck, and do not hesitate to ask a question here. Most posters here are cool, unless you ask a question that has been asked a million times. Use the "search" feature first.
 
cheers mate thanks everyone for your advice i appreciate it :)

I'll be buying some aquarian drum heads (was suggested by the drum shop guy) in the next 2 days so thats exciting.

and tuning is a bitch cause i don't really know the sound im looking for yet and when i bought the drum kit i didn't get them to tune it but they said today they would be more then happy to tune it with the new heads so full steam ahead :)
 
Cool man, make sure to take notes and ask a lot of questions, assuming the guy tuning up your kit is a patient teaching type. It never hurts to learn as many different ways to tune a drum as possible, then sort out your own method :)
 
yeh ill replace the batter and resonance heads in one go totally forgot about the resonants haha.

As for whether to go with the super 2's or the response 2's i have no idea what the difference is. any opinions on which ones i should go for?
 
Just another question i like to ask them in this thread cause there is the picture of my kit at the start hope thats ok.

Im going to buy a new cymbal to replace my 18" Crash/Ride cymbal i would like to get a zildjian type symbal someone mentioned the ZHT and the ZBT range which one is more suited for what i want and what type of symbal am i looking for exactly?
 
i would like to get a zildjian type symbal someone mentioned the ZHT and the ZBT range which one is more suited for what i want and what type of symbal am i looking for exactly?

A used one. Honestly, this is one area where is does pay to spend a bit extra.

Forget ZBT, ZHT, ZXT etc.....look for a used Avedis or A Custom. They show up all the time on Aussie ebay. If you need further guidance on cymbal condition and price, yell out.

What size crash are you after? How much can you spend?
 
around $150

I'm not a big fan of used items id rather spend a bit extra and have something new that is mine from the beginning.

i'd really like a zildjian brand they seem like there really awesome plus my auntys dad who is a really good drummer but is really sick now gave me a necklace of his which is to do with the zildjian brand so id really like to find something from them to add to my kit.
 
I'm not a big fan of used items id rather spend a bit extra and have something new that is mine from the beginning.

A used Ferrari or a shiny new Moped?

My best advice, get into Hydes, hit everything you can lay a stick to and start to familarise yourself with some sounds that you like. Get an idea of what's out there....take particular note of the vast difference between a ZBT and an Avedis and see if you're still set on spending the money on entry level cymbals. If so, great (I'll never understand it, but then again I don't have to). If not, gimme a yell and we'll try and scout for something a little better for you.
 
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