Having a very hard time picking a drum brand.

Bob Gatzen really puts it straight in his vid that was linked when he says,
"Don't look at the price or the shell type so much, Listen to the sound that the drum makes and see if you like it. Listen to hear if the drum can do what you want it to do"

I have two inexpensive kits that I love to play because they sound so real to me.
It is also nice to have "Pretty" gear that you like to look at.
The cool thing is that they make gear of all prices that looks great.
 
Also remember...that kit you play in a store will sound different when you get it home. Even moving it around the room will result in different sounds.

Then there is head choice...tuning....etc....
 
lol.
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You said, what I was thinking. Go and try some kits out man. They are all good. Nobody makes a consistently bad kit anymore. It kind of sounds like you don't have enough experience to know the difference between the sound of each kit anyways.

One guy will tell you to buy for re sale. Well you won't be getting rich off of any drum kit you sell, so don't look at it like an investment. One guy tells you he won't buy a brand because of the bass drum spurs, even if it was the best sounding kit in the world to him?

Buddy! Just go and try some out, or look at a bunch of pictures and pic the prettiest one of the bunch. They all sound great, and have little subtle differences in sound, and how they work with hardware.

Heck, why not go give a new company a chance like Crush. They have some really cool looking drums right now.

My point is, just go out and look, touch, try, smell, and buy the one that makes you feel good inside, because all the drums in the shops will have great things about them, and they will all sound similar. By the time you take them home, put your idea of the perfect head on them, tune them, if you are any good at that, put them in a completely different room, than the one at the store, they are going to sound way different anyways.

Heck, one of the reasons I bought my Saturn's is because of the way the bass spurs attached without mounting directly to the drum. Everyone has a different opinion, just like you. So go out and use yours! :)
 
A better drummer than me can play my inexpensive kit and it blows me away. When I play it, it just blows.

If you get either brand there's so many things that you can do to make both sound better. I just try to learn all I can about what I'm buying then fiddle around with the hardware and see how the two differ.

Then I leave the store because I don't have any money, ftw.
 
Heck, why not go give a new company a chance like Crush. They have some really cool looking drums right now.

:)

Good point about Crush. Go with what sounds, looks, smells, feels the best to you that fits in your budget. Give them all a look. The more competition the better. Competition breeds better drum makers.
 
Yep, you guys got it. I have had three drum sets in total. They were easy buys. I just sort of fell in to them.

This time I am just getting really particular about everything early on. It is a crazy journey. My understanding then is that the finish makes a difference and then the hoops. I will go to the stores and try the major ones mentioned the maple and birch without asking and then the different hoops. Hopefully they have them available.

My thought then is that the brand is not so much important as the technique of the drummer and the actual make of individual drums.

That linked video was something I needed to watch growing up. Wow.
 
Yep, you guys got it. I have had three drum sets in total. They were easy buys. I just sort of fell in to them.

This time I am just getting really particular about everything early on. It is a crazy journey. My understanding then is that the finish makes a difference and then the hoops. I will go to the stores and try the major ones mentioned the maple and birch without asking and then the different hoops. Hopefully they have them available.

My thought then is that the brand is not so much important as the technique of the drummer and the actual make of individual drums.

That linked video was something I needed to watch growing up. Wow.
There is a great store in Virginia, called Greenbrier Percussion. They are set up in a wear house, and if you let them know you are coming, they will let you try out some sets. They have a ton of stuff. Ask for Bradley, and tell him Glen from Canada told you to call.
(540) 372-DRUM (3786)
 
You've picked two great brands - don't sweat it. Choose based on your favourite colour/finish.

Seriously, why not.

Davo
 
There is a great store in Virginia, called Greenbrier Percussion. They are set up in a wear house, and if you let them know you are coming, they will let you try out some sets. They have a ton of stuff. Ask for Bradley, and tell him Glen from Canada told you to call.
(540) 372-DRUM (3786)

I am way south of them, but I will certainly remember this so that when I travel up there I can see if my dream set is there waiting for me! Thank you for the referral.
 
Today I fell in love with two Tama silverstar birch kits. One was 900 and the other was wood finish 970. Both with snare and hardware. They look like winners. I will probably be deciding between those two. Pretty good price I think as well. What do you guys think?
 
I wouldn't go silverstar. I would save to buy a starclassic, the silverstars are entry level, the superstars/starclassics are fantastic. You can get a superstar hyperdrive kit on ebay for around 1300. Don't let the little toms fool you, they pack a huge punch. The starclassics are beautiful sounding, i love mine. A b/b starclassic is 1500 new, the maple, bubinga, and bubinga elite are a little more if I remember right. Tama will be great if you like the stuff you mentioned earlier, gordian knot would sound good too! :) (good band, by the way, I like your profile pic!)
 
I wouldn't go silverstar. I would save to buy a starclassic, the silverstars are entry level, the superstars/starclassics are fantastic. You can get a superstar hyperdrive kit on ebay for around 1300. Don't let the little toms fool you, they pack a huge punch. The starclassics are beautiful sounding, i love mine. A b/b starclassic is 1500 new, the maple, bubinga, and bubinga elite are a little more if I remember right. Tama will be great if you like the stuff you mentioned earlier, gordian knot would sound good too! :) (good band, by the way, I like your profile pic!)

Yep. Gordian Knot are the bomb! New Cynic ain't that bad either. Nice little EP to chill to.

Something about the Silverstars speak to me. I don't know what it is. I also found a new video of Mike Portnoy beating the shit out of them. They sound pretty awesome to me! I really think I am leaning that way. Either them or Meridian Mapex.
 
Today I fell in love with two Tama silverstar birch kits. One was 900 and the other was wood finish 970. Both with snare and hardware. They look like winners. I will probably be deciding between those two. Pretty good price I think as well. What do you guys think?
I think that that will be a fine choice.
See, When the right kit comes along you warm up to it and you don't have to lose sleep ;)
You were all worked up for no good reason.
Compare the Meridian and the Silverstar and simply choose the one that you like best overall.
 
Not sure how far you are from these but I noticed people suggesting spending 1200 to 1500 on a new kit but given the chance and that amount of money I would buy these considering the maple shells alone were about $5000 when they were new and you could have them shipped by greyhound if they are too far to go get personally. Sound wise it dont get much bigger or fatter.
http://louisville.craigslist.org/msg/2813965467.html
 
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I checked out the Silverstar snare and loved it, but based on everything I'm hearing here, my suggestion would be to get the Mapex Meridian in maple. Why? Sounds like you want an upper intermediate kit that can deliver a punch in a variety of situations. Maple is a proven wood for this application, but besides that, the maple kit comes with the thicker 2.3mm hoops. So this is gonna be a keeper set that you won't have to replace in a couple years. I just saw a beautiful kit yesterday at my local Guitar Center in Brea for only $700 (I think). I took a look specifically at the hoops and saw that they were indeed thicker than the rest of the intermediate kits nearby, because you know they only put out intermediate kits anymore. Either that or like the other dude said, keep saving your money and get the Starclassics.

That's my 2 cents if those are your only 2 choices.
 
My vote is the silverstar over the maypex, but i still think used starclassics would be better
 
I wouldn't go silverstar. I would save to buy a starclassic, the silverstars are entry level, the superstars/starclassics are fantastic. You can get a superstar hyperdrive kit on ebay for around 1300. Don't let the little toms fool you, they pack a huge punch. The starclassics are beautiful sounding, i love mine. A b/b starclassic is 1500 new, the maple, bubinga, and bubinga elite are a little more if I remember right. Tama will be great if you like the stuff you mentioned earlier, gordian knot would sound good too! :) (good band, by the way, I like your profile pic!)

not even that much (in US anyway). I got my superstar hyperdrive new for $1000 (6pc, 2up, 2dn).
 
My vote is the silverstar over the maypex, but i still think used starclassics would be better

Haha! You have replanted the seed of doubt! Seriously, this is the fun part. Finding that drum set of my dreams. I am still actively looking around. My idea is get the thing in the spring. It is not exactly imminent or anything.

I just want something that can be powerful but with some snap to it as well.
 
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