need advice on buying drums

Mike7300

Member
Hi all,
I am going to start drum lessons and need to buy a drum set. I would like a set that's good enough to play small shows with, I rather buy now than have to upgrade. I want to play country and rock music. No real heavy stuff. Heaviest I go is soundgarden or pearl jam. Let me know cause I have no idea about equipment and don't want to get ripped off or buy something cheaply made. Thanks
 
Okay let's see here...
Get a good kit, maple is overall the best and most prefered. So look at pdp maple kits or crush maple kits.
Cymbals: hihats-13" sabian AAX. Crashes Sabian 17 or 18" AA AAX or HHX. Ride: 20"-22" HH AA HH Paragon.
Stands: 3000-5000 series stands
DW 3000 or 7000 series pedals: they are adjustable and dual chain.
Sticks: Vic Virth, Pro Mark, Vater
That's really the best stuff I can think of as far as serving your purpose of playin small gigs etc. the stuff is expensive, pdp is a sister company of dw drums. Sabian cymbals are simply what I like I reccomend them. With cymbals, the more you spend, the better the sound and quality. Hope that helps.
 
First your budget....
Second, the features you want, number of drums, sizes etc
Third... the color or finish. Also maple is only one choice, neither the best or most popular, don't fall for the Marketing. Birch, oak and others are just as good they just offer different sounds, not necessarily better sounds
Then see if you can find all of that used which will allow you to buy a better kit for fewer dollars. Happy hunting,
 
This would be a good sitch where I would recommend buying used, something mid-to-upper range. Obviously everyone who comments on this thread is going to have their opinion of what drums are the best - I'm no different, you OBVIOUSLY should buy a set of Yamahas - but the truth of the matter is, the sound and quality of what you're buying is first and foremost, everything (including make and model) comes second or further. Whatever kit you buy, new or used, needs to be scrutinized for bearing edge trueness, roundness, and structural integrity. (Bob Gatzen has an excellent set of videos that cover these aspects of drum inspection.)

I would recommend perusing the Craigslist or equivalent in your local area and see what you can find. You say you're about to start drum lessons - excellent! Enlist your drum teacher in the hunt; if he or she is any sort of knowledgeable they should be able to steer you clear of the junk and get you into something respectable.

Then later on, once the first advance for the debut album comes in, you can go out and splurge on a brand new kit in custom sizes ;)
 
Are you going to tell him to buy Sonor's, or am I going to tell him to buy Saturn's. What's it going to be! :)

I say the op is still being a bit too vague. There's so many pre-packaged new kits that would fit the bill, let alone all the pro-level, or used stuff he could search for. Actually, I don't care what kind of drums he gets. Just get pro cymbals first. As we've all been saying, an old beat-up drumset can be made to sound good. But a bad cymbal cannot be helped. So buy the best plates FIRST!

Fortunately, buying great cymbals will eat up most of the budget, but he'll only have to buy them ONCE. The money leftover for the drums will mean cheap drums, but enough to put pro heads on them, and then those will sound good.
 
Would prefer not to spend over 1k for everything if possible. just want a decent set. Any specific sets i should check?
 
And what do you mean put pro heads on them? Sorry I don't understand

When you look at the pre-packaged sets, the heads they come with are not quite good heads. They'll get you started, but they'll be less durable and will not sound as good to begin with. Something like Remo Ambassadors or Evans G1 heads would be a good place to start. A Remo Powerstroke 3 or Evans EQ3 on the bass drum is also a good bass drum head. I would recommend putting good heads top and bottom on any kit you decide to buy - it's like putting new guitar strings on a guitar. You'll be doing it all the time if you want to have a consistently good sound.

Zildjian makes an A. Zildjian pre-pack, which I think includes 14" New Beat hi hats, a 20" medium ride, and a 16" thin crash, which shouldn't run you more than $600. If you get something like this, I guarantee you will not have to buy better cymbals ever. You could use these for your whole career and never have to upgrade, and when you think about it, you play more cymbals than anything else. This will leave you somewhere around $400 to find the drums, and better heads.

I just did a review on the Sonor Bop kit, which is $400, but you still need heads. Mapex (with a nod to Sticks) also has some intermediate kits, but I don't think they'll be this cheap. You'd also still need hardware. I think you need more money. Let's say 2K should be your limit, then.

You can do whatever you want, but trust the theory that you want good cymbals FIRST. I can take any drumset and make it sound good, you can learn how to do that too. But bad cymbals will just sound bad, so you might as well get it over with and get the best you can. Usually, people asking for advice here will usually spend all their money on the drums and then buy crappy cymbals, only having to upgrade a couple of years later, spending even more money to fix a mistake, because they won't believe us to begin with. I think it's like some kind of rite of passage.

Get a copy of Modern Drummer magazine and see what's advertised and start looking at what guys are playing. There's so much stuff out there that it's easy to get overwhelmed. Having us tell you what you need will only confuse you more.
 
New or used?
Strongly recommend Gretsch, Tama, Sonor, Pearl, Mapex. Any intermediate level kits of theirs can last you a long time, and sound really good. I'm a big Gretsch Catalina fan. I would recommend used though, and even if you're new to this if you spend some time, do your research and read on here you can get a good idea what will work. Really, you can't go too wrong with any of the major brands that you'll read about on here (so don't fret).
.
Cymbals - buy a decent set of 'pro level' hats, crash, and ride, and thats IT to start. Should be $500 if you can scoop USED ones. Used pro level cymbals are the best start, if you know you're sticking with this. .Maybe start another thread here for recommendations on that aspect (it also depends on what cymbal sound you want). D
 
buying great cymbals will eat up most of the budget, but he'll only have to buy them ONCE

when you think about it, you play more cymbals than anything else

I would add to this by saying that what you need as a beginner [or even as an experienced player] is a solid foundation: good quality cymbals, of course - but also things that are often overlooked are

  • A decent throne. Sitting comfortably at a height that makes it easy for you to reach all parts of the kit is essential. Whatever you do don't spend all your money on drums etc and end up using a crappy milking stool or some such. You don't need to spend a fortune but if you see a few side-by-side you should be able to tell the difference between one that's good enough and one that isn't. Your back and your legs need proper support and the first thing your teacher should tell you is how to find the right throne height for you and where to place the rest of the kit so you can reach it comfortably.

  • A good bass drum pedal. You don't necessarily need one that can be adjusted in a million different ways or anything but as you develop your technique you'll need something that won't fall apart and that feels just right under your foot [or feet]. This is really only something that you'll be able to ascertain by trying some out. Specifically the Pearl Eliminator and Tama Iron Cobra are still high quality pedals without being exorbitantly priced.

  • Sturdy stands. Shiny cymbals and customs drums made from exotic woods ain't much good to you if your stands won't stay up or the threads on their tightening bolts are stripped off in a few weeks. Bear in mind that a small boom arm clamped to another stand will hold up a 10" splash no problem - but your hi-hat and snare stands should be built like a tank.

  • The best snare drum you can afford. If you're playing country and rock then [like a lot of styles of music] your snare drum will be your workhorse. Put more thought into that than any other drum in the kit. As has already been mentioned, you don't necessarily need a fancy one, but don't scrimp on the snare: mostly because a poorly made snare drum is less likely to hold its tuning. Seeing as the snare batter head is typically tuned (cranked) tighter than the other drums and tends to get hit more frequently - having a snare with good quality hoops and lugs is a must. Many people run into grief when it comes to tuning snares [and drums generally] because of crappy drums that don't hold the tension of the heads well enough and then go off and blame their playing or drum-dials or Bob Gatzen or whatever.

Good luck and have fun.
 
So9meone said to me as long as you're not buying entry level all of the manufacturers inetrmediate level kits are good as the competition is so fierce if any of them were rubbish in comparison they just wouldn't survive.
Also a well tuned intermediate kit with good heads will sound better than a poorly tuned pro kit with average heads, personally I don't think there's a huge difference.
Yamaha seem to have gained a very reputation especially for quality / hard wearing kits / hardware and I'd look at their Stage Custom series, Mapex recently seem to have gained a reputation for getting a lot for your money and would look at the Meridian or the older versions being M Birch, that said though they're all pretty much of similar quality.
As others have said where you want to spend the money is the cymbals, personally I'd look at 2nd for these as well as the drums for your 1st kit and you can get some good combinations of kits with quality cymbals for well within your budget.
 
Buy used. It's a buyers market out there, and you'll get way more bang for your buck. There are countless threads on this subject ... so ... do some research. Get pen and paper, and make lists. Educate yourself to know a good deal, from a bad one. Craig's List and eBay are the two most popular places to score used drums.​
Once you find a kit, then run it by us. People here will tell you to "pull the trigger", or not. Figure, a guy who spent $1000 on a drum kit, new ... is probably gonna have to sell it for $500-$600. A $1500 kit, new .... is gonna sell for around $800. If you can scoop up a used kit, at a good price ... then you can "always" upgrade a component (or two), if you need.​
Say, you buy a kit with a "marginal" snare ...not a big deal. Sell it off, and get a better snare. Also, get yourself into a drum shop. Several, if you can. Lots of shops carry "used" kits, also.​
You're gonna start lessons, soon ? Then, your teacher might have a used kit, or know of one.​
 
When you look at the pre-packaged sets, the heads they come with are not quite good heads. They'll get you started, but they'll be less durable and will not sound as good to begin with. Something like Remo Ambassadors or Evans G1 heads would be a good place to start. A Remo Powerstroke 3 or Evans EQ3 on the bass drum is also a good bass drum head. I would recommend putting good heads top and bottom on any kit you decide to buy - it's like putting new guitar strings on a guitar. You'll be doing it all the time if you want to have a consistently good sound.

Zildjian makes an A. Zildjian pre-pack, which I think includes 14" New Beat hi hats, a 20" medium ride, and a 16" thin crash, which shouldn't run you more than $600. If you get something like this, I guarantee you will not have to buy better cymbals ever. You could use these for your whole career and never have to upgrade, and when you think about it, you play more cymbals than anything else. This will leave you somewhere around $400 to find the drums, and better heads.

I just did a review on the Sonor Bop kit, which is $400, but you still need heads. Mapex (with a nod to Sticks) also has some intermediate kits, but I don't think they'll be this cheap. You'd also still need hardware. I think you need more money. Let's say 2K should be your limit, then.

You can do whatever you want, but trust the theory that you want good cymbals FIRST. I can take any drumset and make it sound good, you can learn how to do that too. But bad cymbals will just sound bad, so you might as well get it over with and get the best you can. Usually, people asking for advice here will usually spend all their money on the drums and then buy crappy cymbals, only having to upgrade a couple of years later, spending even more money to fix a mistake, because they won't believe us to begin with. I think it's like some kind of rite of passage.

Get a copy of Modern Drummer magazine and see what's advertised and start looking at what guys are playing. There's so much stuff out there that it's easy to get overwhelmed. Having us tell you what you need will only confuse you more.

Do you mean the Zlidjian A Classic or Custom Cymbals?
 
Would prefer not to spend over 1k for everything if possible. just want a decent set. Any specific sets i should check?

Bo is right about cymbals being the priority. But, you don't have to buy new cymbals, just good used ones. You should be able to pick up a set of good hats for around $125 used, a ride for about the same, and figure on spending $100 a piece for a couple of crashes. You really shouldn't have to spend more than $400 on hats/ride/2 crashes in this economy, but for the sake of expediency, let's say $500. I've seen MANY "intermediate" kits in the $300 range lately on craigslist...Pacific CX or LX kits, Yamaha Absolutes, Catalina maples...to name a few. This will leave you with about $200 for hardware and a good snare. $100 for an Acrolite--BAM! Now, you need to find some ads for $20-$30 stands (which there are many!). Hi hat stand, snare stand, and 3 cymbal stands. And, a good throne is a good investment, but that might wait until later. You can also forego buying that second crash cymbal and buy a roc-n-soc throne instead.

...OR, you can just find a decent kit with some decent cymbals as a package deal, which might be the way to go, given your budget. You can always sell a cymbal or snare you don't like in order to replace it with one you'll be more happy with. It's certainly the right time to buy used! Good luck!
 
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