Upgrade drum kit for my son

Bacchus170

Junior Member
My son is 13 and bugging me for a new kit. He has been playing for about one and half years on a Studio Gretsch. He has already added a double bass pedals as he likes playing Avenged Sevenfold. He loves playing and I would like to reward him for all his hard work and practice. He wants a three up and one or two down setup. The kit he has told me about is the birch Pearl Vision.

So from what I read the Pearl Vision can be a beginners kit. My question to you is what is the next step up? My budget is around 1500 give or take.

Let me know you thoughts.

Thanks.

John
 
Hello

I use Sonor gear and find their kits outstanding. I originally (two years ago) purchase a Sonor 3007 kit and then more recently Sonor Delite. For years before these two had an old Pearl Export. Chalk and Cheese.

The 3007 kits if you can get your hands on them are great quality and fairly decent pricing.

I believe the 3007 kits were replaced by Sonor Select Force which, if the rest of the kits are anything to go by, will be nothing but outstanding.

Hope this helps a little.

Cheers.

Luke
 
If you want to go pro there are some really good deals on Mapex Satruns out there. I liked them so much I bought one! That said, the Pearl vision series are good solid semi pro gigging drumsets and are definately good enough.
 
Knowing what youngsters are like, this may not be an option, but you might be able to get something of a very good quality used. Drum gear second hand is not holding a huge amount of value at the moment, and obviously, I'm assuming at least, he'll want to upgrade the cymbals too? If he is hell bent on a new kit, a PDP X7 maple will fit the sizing criteria nicely..... Cool kits too!
 
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I can get you a Dixon Outlaw kit for 1/3 of your budget, 2 up, 2 down....in the elusive Black Burst.

F
 
I would stay away from the pearl visions, the most recent series of them is much worse than the older ones. Mapex Saturns are great I play them myself, but Tama has the starclassic B/B (probably a bit expensive) and the superstars (which would be under your budget) Sonors are amazing drums but not value for money especially in the US. Yamaha has some nice drums but I'm not as familiar with their line-up. PDP I don't love that much because I feel DW makes them worse than they could to separate them from the real DWs, especially since the performance series was released. And of course used is the best way to go for value, as long as everything is there and the bearing edges aren't damaged you can't really get a lemon. I would recommend figuring out some options and then giving your son the final choice so he can get what sounds good to him. But my vote for best set for the money is the saturns.
 
My son is 13 and bugging me for a new kit. He has been playing for about one and half years on a Studio Gretsch. He has already added a double bass pedals as he likes playing Avenged Sevenfold. He loves playing and I would like to reward him for all his hard work and practice. He wants a three up and one or two down setup. The kit he has told me about is the birch Pearl Vision.

So from what I read the Pearl Vision can be a beginners kit. My question to you is what is the next step up? My budget is around 1500 give or take.

Let me know you thoughts.

Thanks.


John

Personally, I loved the Yamaha Stage Custom Advantage! I have one in a 3 up one down as well with a steel shell Yamaha snare. I can by far recommend this drumset! I played it for 10 years and never got tired of it. Has really good attach and nice tone! Mics great even if you were ever to record it

I'm actually selling mine to go with Tama Starclassic. I want to try Maples as I am upgrading too, but if I wasn't looking to spend 2 or more grand on the entire set, I would go for the Yamaha Stage Custom or Stage Custom Advantage Noveau.
They are quite decent too price wise! I'm actually selling my 6 piece, double pedals, crash, splash, vintage Paste Ride and Zidjian Hi-hats all for 1100! I'm sure youd be able to get a decent price in your area too for such a set! It is an intermediate set btw.

Hope it helps
 
To make any kind of accurate suggestion,I need to know a few things.Firstly,does you budget include upgrading cymbals and hardware also?What drum sizes and finish are we talking about?

Off hand, I would suggest buying used.You will double your buying power,especially where cymbals are concerned.Buying a mid grade new cymbal is waisting money.Buying a used prograde cymbal is the way to go.You can't make bad cymbals sound good.

Buying used drums is a great idea also.You can get very well made,great sounding kits for around 1000 to 1200 bucks US.

Lastly,the Pearl vision kits of late are ok,but for the money,Tama Silverstars,or Superstars,are amazing drums.Mapex Saturns,and lastly Ludwig Eipc series are also great sounding drums.

It all depends on budget and what you need to upgrade/replace now,and if cymbals are included,then a large portion of that budget should be allocated there.

Steve B
 
Personally, I loved the Yamaha Stage Custom Advantage!
Second that. If you gotta buy new, you can get a Yamaha 5 piece for around $650 http://www.google.com/products/cata...a=X&ei=YVGDT-PyFIaliQKlzeGdAw&ved=0CGAQ8wIwAA add one more tom (for the 3 up, 1 down) and you're good to go. And you won't have spend all your $1500.​
If you're intent on spending all $1500, Mapex Saturn http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mapex-Satur...ltDomain_0&hash=item256e657155#ht_3438wt_1103 is a pro level set. Again, add a tom (for the 3 up, 1 down) and the young man's got a kit that will last him the rest of his life. He quite "may" buy another drum set (I own 7) but he will never "need" to buy another kit.​
 
id love to have a studio gretsch. makes me want to treat myself to that tama silverstar bop kit even more :p
 
Dear John,

At the age of thirteen, if I had it to do all over again, I wish my parents had booked me some study time with a touring drummer who had the patience to teach. Rewards, then, all around.

As to kits, there are two thoughts: one is to go under budget (PDP X7), or go slightly over (*Crush Sublime 7pc).

Were it my son asking, I'd book him a spot at a Mike Johnston Clinic (http://mikeslessons.com).

But whichever way you decide to go, keep in mind that your son's demands will change as he becomes better practiced. And once he actually understands his craft, he'll understand that his skills are what will keep him in demand - not the size of his kit. Were it my son, that 1500 dollars would be invested into developing skill sets, not drumsets. FWIW

*http://www.ebay.com/itm/Crush-Drum-...ltDomain_0&hash=item256e4caf74#ht_3824wt_1103
 
Thank you everyone for your advice. I have lots of info to consider. Tony you have some good points. My sons take lessons and the instructor told me he needs to start playing with other kids. Not sure how I go about doing that, especially at 13. As for working with a touring drummer, not sure how to do that either or even who I could contact. In any case, I will look into the clinic and hold onto the money for now. Last night he told me he wants DW drums as that's what Avenged Sevenfold plays. He obviously has no clue about costs but did tell me I could empty his savings to help out. I think I will see if his tastes change iover the next several months.

Again thanks everyone and sorry for the long winded response.

John
 
As a daddy who raised 6 kids,3 of them sons,I can tell you at that age,their tastes change like we change sox.

The only other thing I have to say is...its not the drums.....it's the drummer.If tomorrow ,"The Reverand"(Sevenfolds drummer) started playing Tama,Ludwig,Yamaha,or any other brand,He would still sound like himself.Recorded or miked and mixed drums,don't sound like what "real" drums sound like,without the PA or studio magic.

So forget what the hero drummer plays.He's probably playing whatever drum company will give him the best endorcement deal.Drummers change what brand of drums they play on occasion.There are other factors involved,besides sound.Good luck.:)

Steve B
 
Just to give you an idea of what'a available in clinics, John, give this a look-see:
http://www.drummercafe.com/calendar.html

As to playing with other kids, that's a critical part of the process; top of my list for recommendations would be school band and/or drum corps. Also, some of the larger music retailers now sponsor/offer/organize workshops that your son may find exciting, motivating, and inspirational. His drum instructor should certainly know how to get him involved in these things. Playing music, while deeply personal, is very much a social process. Even the studio drummer has to be able to work with people.

To keep things on topic,

1. Buy pro-grade cymbals - anything less is money not well spent.
2. There a many mid-level kits available from the top manufactures, you won't have any trouble finding drums and hardware - consider buying used.
3. Heads, head combinations, and pedals are purely personal and will change with experience - plan on seeing your son's wants to these things change many times.
4. When it comes to snare drums, there is only one rule: one can never have too many. Thin, fat, small, large, steel, alloys, woods of every species ... there's a gig for each of 'em.

I have one more thought to this, then I'll shut up, encourage your son to learn music as an art form. You want him to understand that music is made by musicians, not faked by computers. Drum circle versus drum machine ... one breathes, the other doesn't.
 
...he wants DW drums as that's what Avenged Sevenfold plays.

Sounds like a PDP X7 kit might be a good compromise for your needs (budget) and his desires (hero's drums). PDP is a DW company.

I wish I'd spent time on this site before I bought my first (crappy) kit a short time ago. There's great advice here that will be very useful when it's time for me to upgrade.
 
The only other thing I have to say is...its not the drums.....it's the drummer.If tomorrow ,"The Reverand"(Sevenfolds drummer) started playing Tama,Ludwig,Yamaha,or any other brand,He would still sound like himself.Recorded or miked and mixed drums,don't sound like what "real" drums sound like,without the PA or studio magic.


That would be a neat trick considering the Rev died 2 years ago ;)

I don't know where you are, but if you just happen to be driving distance from Hunt Valley, MD the Best Buy there has a new PDP X7 kit for $399. Please buy it so that I don't :)
 
My Oh MY. since he is a member of the Gretsch family, why would you leave. Take a look at the Gretsch Catalina Maple or Catalina Birch kits. Both can be had in 3 up 2 down and often come with the 8 inch tom or the 16 inch tom free. Check them out before you make up your mind. You can thank me later.
 
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