In your opinion, which companies give you the most bang for your buck?

M

Muse FTW

Member
Honestly, I can say that Zildjian gives me, at least, what I paid for and more.
Their A Customs and K Customs are just magnificent and they are fairly priced.

Drum-wise, I can't say that any brand 100% fulfills my expectations especially considering the $ they are worth.

The closest I've come to that would probably be Tama drums with their Hyperdrive kit I got a while ago. It wasn't that expensive (for a 6 pc.) and they still sound awesome.


What are your guys' opinions?
 
Hands down, Gretsch. It isn't just that renown maple are great, the Purewoods are more powerful than any high end maple kit I have heard. They cost less. I would never spend $3k- $5K on a 5-pc maple kit when (IMO) a purewood rosewood, bubinga, cherry or walnut sounds better to me, for much, much less. Gretsch purewoods are insultingly cheap for what they offer.

I also have to give the nod to UNIX stave drums. They offer the ultimate in wood drum performance and looks for less money than most high end maple kits. Compare: a 5-pc DW exotic is only an outer veneer of exotic wood, and they cost about $6K. For much less, you get a stave kit, a fraction of the sound-deadening glue, and solid exotic wood, not just to outside. That...is value!
 
trkdrmr said:
Hands down, Gretsch. It isn't just that renown maple are great, the Purewoods are more powerful than any high end maple kit I have heard. They cost less. I would never spend $3k- $5K on a 5-pc maple kit when (IMO) a purewood rosewood, bubinga, cherry or walnut sounds better to me, for much, much less. Gretsch purewoods are insultingly cheap for what they offer.
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Don't forget their lower line drums - the Catalina series are quite good for the money. Great value across the line, as long as it's not an anniversary drum.
 
Chonson said:
Don't forget their lower line drums - the Catalina series are quite good for the money. Great value across the line, as long as it's not an anniversary drum.
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Sorry, I let my lust overtake my typing. You are correct IMO. The Catalina series are a wet dream for the price, especially compared to entry and intermediate kits just a few years ago.

I even had fun on the club mahogany, which was much warmer and fatter than what I would associate with many Luuan/Phillipine mahogany kits. Catalina ash are just stunning.
 
maddrummr said:
Well I'm probably going to get flamed for this but I will say it anyway.

Wuhan Chinas

If you are looking for a raw and trashy china sound or just a little flavor to your kit...wuhan just makes sense. Cheap and good (if you dig the sound of course)
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I read a post that slams Wuhan in favor of Paiste Chinas. Sorry, different animal. Paiste Chinas are bright and loud, but expensive. Wuhan are low, dark and trashy, and dirt cheap.

Wuhan Chinas are indeed, a bargain boomer.
 
Mapex M Birch and Pro M's (Now Meridians I see)
Ludwig Acrolites
Dream Bliss (if you get a good one)
 
Ludwig Classic Maple is still one of the most affordable, high quality, customizable drumsets on the market.
 
Overall I believe Pearl offer the best value for money on the drum side of things. The Chinese cymbals by Wuhan and Stagg are also good value but not for me.

Yes, I agree the Ludwig maples are very well priced. The rest is expensive though, at least where I live.
 
Mapex offers the most bang-for-your-buck hands down. Not only do you get a great quality kit, but you get a hardware package as well as other freebies.

Another would be the Sonor 3007, fantastic kit at an even better price.
 
I'd say it's changed over the years.

In the mid 80's it was a toss up between Pearl and Tama.

Into the 90's Premier jumped by leaps and bounds into the most bang for the buck, but then they faded off sharply. At the end of the 90's, PDP emerged as one of the better kits for the money.

Now it's tough to say. As pointed out, Gretch is offering a wide variety of quality kits which they didn't offer before, and Mapex has become a strong player. Peace and Tayne can't be completely ruled out either.
 
DrumEatDrum said:
I'd say it's changed over the years.

In the mid 80's it was a toss up between Pearl and Tama.
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I'd give the nod to tama for the 80's, specifically, Imperialstar. Super heavy duty hardware, and solid drums. The artstar II/Cordia birch was an amazing exotic finish that was no where near the price of a sonor. Very solid value.
 
DrumEatDrum said:
Into the 90's Premier jumped by leaps and bounds into the most bang for the buck, but then they faded off sharply. At the end of the 90's, PDP emerged as one of the better kits for the money.
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Premier absolutely kills me. Those drums they offered in the 90s were unbelievable - Genista was hands down one of the best kits you could buy; the Signias were also great (though not my cup of tea)... slightly undersized shells, good hardware, great finishes, consistent build quality and great sound.

And now, 10 years later, it's virtually impossible to find a Premier kit in the United States.
 
The 80's and early nineties I definitely agree that Tama was making some of the best kits, not so much the imperialstars (aside from the snares) but the superstars, artstars and grandstars were all tremendous instruments. The Premier genistas definitely were nice and went with the sonor theme of scandinavian birch shells and undersize shells, but those flying saucer looking lugs were something I couldn't quite get used to. the signias were nice as well, I especially liked the extended snares and massive die cast hoops they used on the snares.

Today who knows, there are so many different options, basically you can get your own shells and put a wrap and decent bearing edge on them and get really close to what many high end companies are selling today.
PC
 
pcastag said:
The 80's and early nineties I definitely agree that Tama was making some of the best kits, not so much the imperialstars (aside from the snares) but the superstars, artstars and grandstars were all tremendous instruments.
PC
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Actaully the imperialstars were outstanding for the money. Stewart Copeland used them for years to rave reviews. They obviously sound great mic'd up and are plenty solid...as they are still around.

That being said, as far as tonality, the superstars and artstars had them beat, but cost much more. They had better wood and finishes, where imperialstars were just a wrap.

Even then, superstars were about 20% (or more) less money than a Ludwig, Slingerland or Rogers Kit. And yet, Tama had solid hardware, and didn't have a 1" tube going into the drums.
 
If the 'bang' can be interpreted as versatility, then by all means a Ludwig supraphonic. Either size is great for concert band, combo jazz, big-band, rock (of course) and other "pop" styles of music.
 
Chonson said:
Premier absolutely kills me. Those drums they offered in the 90s were unbelievable - Genista was hands down one of the best kits you could buy; the Signias were also great (though not my cup of tea)... slightly undersized shells, good hardware, great finishes, consistent build quality and great sound.

And now, 10 years later, it's virtually impossible to find a Premier kit in the United States.
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It kills me too, because I bought a Premier Signia in 93/94.

I was working at GC at the time, and it was by far the best sounding kit we stocked at the time, and sound per dollar it was unbeatable. And it was hard to not want to buy an APK/XPK kit as a secondary kit, because they were smoking drums for rather cheap.

And then they stupidly changed the shell, and then discontinued the whole line with in a few years. And now the company is barely hanging on to a thread.

Their entire NAMM booth consisted on one 5pc kit sitting next to a small desk.
 
trkdrmr said:
Actaully the imperialstars were outstanding for the money. Stewart Copeland used them for years to rave reviews. They obviously sound great mic'd up and are plenty solid...as they are still around.

.
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It's funny how much times have changed. If a company introduced a drum like the imperial star today, most drummers would thumb their nose and consider it maybe a mid level kit at best. But at the time, they were considered pro level, and used by a lot of big name guys.

Mike Portnoy continued to record and tour with his Imperial Star well after the line was discontinued.
 
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