Your 1st drumset?what and when?

braincramp

braincramp

Gold Member
I searched but couldn't find anything on this. Theres a post now about some Stewart drums and I see alot of members recalling thier first set so figured I'd start a thread here about our first drumset.
My 1st set in 1974 was a Whitehall 4 piece. I believe they were made by Pearl. It was kind of a light brownish osyter shell type wrap...lasted a couple years then got my 1st pro set of Slingerlands in '76
 
The first kit I bought with my own coin was a '90 model Pearl Export.

The first kit I started playing on was the old man's spare kit. It was an early to mid '60's Premier in a blue mother of pearl wrap. Back then, I thought it was dink 'cos it was "old" and "only had two toms"........or something equally as stupid. Man, what a tosser!! For some strange reason I always loved his Luddies in the same config, though.

Thank christ I've learned a trick or two since then.
 
1980 Rogers XP8 5-piece.
12/13/16/22
14" Dynasonic

14" Zildjian New Beats
17" Zildjian Med Thin crash
19" Zildjian Med Thin Crash
21" Zildjian Rock Ride

a few months later I found a brand-new matching 18" floor tom ,in a pawn shop, for $75.
 
Ha ha, Blue sparkle Remo drums with a Zim gar snare!!!!!! As I remember they sounded awful
 
prob most of you (perhaps all) never heard of this brand
its is a hybrid 6 ply lazer drum
im still rolling with this, looking forward to buy a new kit (hopefully craviotto) soon
 
Two more votes here for Rogers.

The first kit I got to use was a 67 Rogers Holiday 4 piece.

The first kit I bought, five years after I started playing...

1977 Rogers 24, 13, 14, 15, 18. With Dynasonic 5x14.

I bought these in 1979 when I was 19. My own money.
2375624370028342110S600x600Q85.jpg



So, I am 50, and here they are.......24, 13, 16, 18. I still have that COB Dynasonic snare drum, and a few others.

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I wish I had my first kit back - it was a used Rogers 4 piece in marine pearl finish that my grandparents bought for me. I was 12 or 13, had never heard of Rogers. I thought they were an off brand. I thought the painted interiors were ugly and I wanted to take the bottom heads off. I could hit myself for even relating this, worse yet doing it, but I convinced my folks to let me trade for a CB700 kit with 6 concert toms! I was in heaven for a year or two, then I started getting smarter...

What I wouldn't give to have that kit back today! Live and learn, I guess.

Edit: forgot the year - it would have been about 1976 or so...
 
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braincramp said:
My 1st set in 1974 was a Whitehall 4 piece. I believe they were made by Pearl. It was kind of a light brownish osyter shell type wrap...lasted a couple years then got my 1st pro set of Slingerlands in '76
Click to expand...

The first ever kit I was able to use was my dad's late 1940's Ludwig four piece set, although he only used three of the four pieces with the 16" floor tom living most of it's life in the attic. The reason I quoted the above is that in 1965 I was able to save enough money doing odd jobs and I was able to buy my first ever set of Whitehall drums and yes they were made by Pearl. Mine happened to be a five piece kit with a 20" x 14" bass drum, 12' x 8" rack tom, 13" x 9" rack tom and a 16" x 15" floor tom. The metal snare was a 14" x 5 1/2". I still have this kit today after thousands of gigs by both me and my dad. I'll never let it go until I'm gone, lol.

Here's the kit now, although the snare, cymbals and hardware have been changed. The kit sounds as good today as it did in 1965... I think.

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Dennis
 
Does a single drum qualify as a kit?

I still have my first drum and it's about 50 years old and in mint condition - enameled tin heads and a cardboard shell - sounds awesome still - not much rebound but plenty of impact noise with the 6" long sticks.
 
1967 - Wooden practice pad with rubber playing surface
1969 - Snare drum (Asian)
1972 - 4 piece drum set (Asian)
1977 - 5 piece Ludwig (the beginnings of my Octoplus project)

Hiatus - Hand drumming and percussion

2011? - Gretch USA Customs

GJS
 
First kit was a hand-me-down from my older brother, which was new when he got it in 1958-9. I inherited it in 1965:

jbsludkit.jpg


Blue/silver Duco, transition badge Ludwigs. Wish I still had them...

Bermuda
 
bermuda said:
First kit was a hand-me-down from my older brother, which was new when he got it in 1958-9. I inherited it in 1965:

jbsludkit.jpg


Blue/silver Duco, transition badge Ludwigs. Wish I still had them...

Bermuda
Click to expand...

Ah, blue ducos! My first set was a terrible black oyster pearl Slingerland clone from Japan, but it had this wonderful blue duco Ludwig Pioneer snare with it... I bought that set for $225 and sold the snare some fifteen years later for well over $400. The set was atrocious, except for the snappy little 14x20 kick...
 
In 1972 I bought a used "St. George" (asian firewood made by Hoshino, I think) 4 pc kit in a cool purple pearl color. 20" kick, 13" tom, 14" floor tom and 14" snare. The drums were not very good but boy, was I excited! It actually came with a set of decent 14" Ludwig/Paiste hi hats and an 18" Ludwig/Paiste crash.

Barry
 
My first set was a 5 piece Cannon kit in a flat blue, with these cheap no name hi hats that inverted every time you played them and a 70's Paiste crash / ride. It was an epic pain, but I was never happier than that christmas when I was 13 (so 11 years ago) and saw it in the basement. I kinda wish I still had it even though it sounded like crap.
 
It's embarassing, but a 2003-4ish PDP lowest of the low 5 piece kit.I was 14ish and it was a gift. It was such a POS the "brass" cymbals were the worst! The top hi-hat cymbal would invert if you stepped on it. The shells sounded awful. I think I took the resonant heads off and had evans hydro's on it at one point in time. I'm glad I stuck with it, and got a Gretsch Catalina Club Rock kit about 2 years later.

I have ownend 6 kits since I started playing,and I own 5 today. I don't regret giving those PDP's away.
 
My first kit was a 3rd hand blue sparkle 5-peice Reuther 12/13/16/22. I got it March 7, 1981. Still have the floor tom...
 
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