Need help on what to buy!

TraxxFactor

TraxxFactor

Member
I'm not sure exactly where to post this so I put it in here.
I have $130 right now and my b-day is coming up in a few weeks and I'm stuck between four choices on what to buy:
- My friend's Meinl Classics China cymbal for $40 and I have to buy a cymbal stand
- A Ludwig Acrolite snare on ebay and I might have to buy new heads
- A single or double bass pedal on ebay. I'm stuck between an Eliminator, Flying Dragon, Iron Cobra, DW 5000, or DW 9000
- A tom mount so I can attach my rack tom to my cymbal stand
Thanks.
 
TraxxFactor said:
I'm not sure exactly where to post this so I put it in here.
I have $130 right now and my b-day is coming up in a few weeks and I'm stuck between four choices on what to buy:
- My friend's Meinl Classics China cymbal for $40 and I have to buy a cymbal stand
- A Ludwig Acrolite snare on ebay and I might have to buy new heads
- A single or double bass pedal on ebay. I'm stuck between an Eliminator, Flying Dragon, Iron Cobra, DW 5000, or DW 9000
- A tom mount so I can attach my rack tom to my cymbal stand
Thanks.
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A lot of this depends on what you already have, and what style you play. Do you have a decent array of cymbals already? If not, do you play a style where they china will be used a lot, or would it just be something pretty to have? How does your snare sound? Are you happy with it? Do you like it, but want a different sounding one as well? If you love your snare, the Acrolite seems like a dumb purchase...but if you hate your snare, it's way better than a china. How's your pedal now? Does it work well? Are you comfortable with it? If it's a single, do you really need a double? Do you play music that requires it? Are you at a point with your single pedal technique where it's a good idea to add a double pedal?

Finaly, do you have your rack tom mounted at all now (like, on your bass drum)? If you do, I would say the tom mount would be the worst idea right now, since it won't really add much to what you can do. With that said, if you can't play the tom at all right now, it would probably be your best purchase, because then you'd be able to play that tom.
 
Mrchatter pretty much nailed it. What is the most needed item at the moment? You could always buy a cheap snare stand and mount your tom on that......... then would that free you up to purchase a second item?
 
mrchattr said:
A lot of this depends on what you already have, and what style you play. Do you have a decent array of cymbals already? If not, do you play a style where they china will be used a lot, or would it just be something pretty to have? How does your snare sound? Are you happy with it? Do you like it, but want a different sounding one as well? If you love your snare, the Acrolite seems like a dumb purchase...but if you hate your snare, it's way better than a china. How's your pedal now? Does it work well? Are you comfortable with it? If it's a single, do you really need a double? Do you play music that requires it? Are you at a point with your single pedal technique where it's a good idea to add a double pedal?

Finaly, do you have your rack tom mounted at all now (like, on your bass drum)? If you do, I would say the tom mount would be the worst idea right now, since it won't really add much to what you can do. With that said, if you can't play the tom at all right now, it would probably be your best purchase, because then you'd be able to play that tom.
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1) The cymbals I have now are Meinl MCSs and a Paiste PST5 crash. The china would be more of something to just have.
2) My snare now sounds great but I've always wanted another snare drum.
3) My current pedal is ok. It's just too heavy and clunky and it's just a single. The technique I'm using now is heel-up so I'm guessing it would be good to upgrade to double.
4) My rack tom is mounted on the bass drum but it's a terrible mount and I can't move it to many places. Also, I would like to get rid of the mount so I can have more room to move the cymbals around.
 
Drumsword said:
Mrchatter pretty much nailed it. What is the most needed item at the moment? You could always buy a cheap snare stand and mount your tom on that......... then would that free you up to purchase a second item?
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If the snare stand would be really cheap, then I could definitely buy a second item. It could most likely be any of them.
 
TraxxFactor said:
1) The cymbals I have now are Meinl MCSs and a Paiste PST5 crash. The china would be more of something to just have.
2) My snare now sounds great but I've always wanted another snare drum.
3) My current pedal is ok. It's just too heavy and clunky and it's just a single. The technique I'm using now is heel-up so I'm guessing it would be good to upgrade to double.
4) My rack tom is mounted on the bass drum but it's a terrible mount and I can't move it to many places. Also, I would like to get rid of the mount so I can have more room to move the cymbals around.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you should get the tom mount, because a comfortable set up is more important that having an extra anything. If you have extra money (if you do what Drumsword suggested), I would probably go with the pedal...it sounds like your pedal is the only part of your setup that you are unhappy with (other than the tom mount), and fixing problems is more important than just adding on another piece.
 
I vote for the tom mount. You may also look for a tom mount that will hold a cymbal allowing you to move one cymbal to make room for your china.
 
Thanks guys for your help! So it's the tom mount and pedal. Would the mount still make the tom attached to the bass drum or would it be an arm that attaches to a stand? Does anyone know how much they are?
 
TraxxFactor said:
Thanks guys for your help! So it's the tom mount and pedal. Would the mount still make the tom attached to the bass drum or would it be an arm that attaches to a stand? Does anyone know how much they are?
Click to expand...

You can go in either direction, but generally you want to get an arm that attaches to a stand. As with most things in drumming, there are a ton of different options, but you can find them for decent prices (or go with a snare stand, as was mentioned). Depending on what type of kit you have, and what kind of mount you have, will depend on what you need. For instance, with a Pearl, you only need to get one of the little clamps that will clamp onto the tom arm and the cymbal stand, because you can use the tom holder from the kit. The way Tama is set up, you actually need to get the right kind of holder, because you can't use the tom arm from the kit itself.
 
Yes, The pearl style holders are easiest, about $25 for an adapter to mount on your stand. IF, you have a single 12", 13" tom etc. Then grab a used snare stand off ebay and mount it directly over your snare, again anywhere from $25 to $50 used.

Tom mounts for the other style kits can range anywhere from $50 - $100. Hope this helps.
 
I don't really want another stand since I'm low on room in my garage so I'll buy the adapter to make sure the tom is attached to the stand.
 
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