I just bought my first drum, what should I do now?

[bouchnick]

Hi, this is my first post ! :)

For days I looked on the web for crash, splashes, drum heads, etc!

I bought the Pearl Forum as my first drum with a 16'' thin ZHT Zildjian crash along with a 20'' ZHT Zildjian ride. (And the 18'' pearl crash/ride that came with it)

Now I've been playing for 3 months and the drum head of my 12'' tom broke so I bought a Remo Emperor Clear 2-ply. I made a mistake so I'm going to buy Evans Hydraulic drum skins for my other toms/bassdrum and a coated for my snare. (I don't know if it's that bad to have one drumhead that differs from the other ones :s)

So what should I buy now? Should I wait until I'm better or should I buy a second crash or a splash before another crash?? (I'm aiming for a B8Pro 13 or 14'' thin crash)

Any advice would be nice! :)

Really sorry about my poor english! I'm french canadian. Thanks a lot for your understanding.

-Tommy

[stasz]

Welcome to drumming and congratulations on your first purchase! There's no problem with having different types of drumheads on various drums on your kit. If it sounds good to you, that's all that matters. In time you will learn how different drum heads sound by trying them and by asking here on the forum. Hydraulic heads will have a much more choked and "dry" sound while an emperor will have more ringing after you hit the drum.

What should you do now? I would say hit them! Play as much as you can and enjoy it. Oh and save up because you're gonna be buying a lot of stuff : )

[bouchnick]

Wow thanks! That reassures me!

So hydraulic heads are the one for me if I want a studio sound with little resonance? Because the resonance is awfully high in my drum's room. :P

Also should I relax on buying anything else than drum heads for now? Is buying a real drum head for the resonant important for now?

Is it that bad If I don't know how to tune my kit (I mean I just adjust it until I think the sound is ok..) Cause I'm really confused when I read how-tos on the web.

[shaolin_cb]

Save your money till you really know what you want and need. (The best way is by playing alot).

But, if you don't have hihats yet you should probably get a pair.

[Nodiggie]

Welcome to the forum....

Play until your hands bleed.

Have fun and don't get discouraged.

As far as tuning concerns, I would visit your local drum shop or music store and they should be able to show you "hands on" steps to tuning a drum. It is a learned skill that comes with time. But it sure is a whole bunch easier if someone shows you what to listen for and how to do it.

I am very happy you have chosen to play drums; the most fun, coolest instruments on earth to play.

[mind_drummer]

Salut & bienvenue sur DrummerWold

Je suis Québecois aussi.


Let continue in english.

My two advice is first in regards of heads, instead of Hydraulics why not buy some kind of REM-O-RING which will muffle your heads, I mean I know by experience that newbie behind a drum kit tend to like their drum sound very muffled but in course of time begin to like their sound more open so having the ring will help you keep your heads expense at a minimum.

Second advice, wait to have enough money to buy higher end cymbals instead of sheet B8 cymbals. Those B8 are OK but you will end-up upgrading and replacing them eventually so it's like throwing your money by the window, I know, I did the same. Ebay, Craigslist or Kijiji Montreal is a good source of deal on cymbals.

[TheMarkV]

Welcome to Drummerworld.

as far as learing to tune goes. its always good to watch a lot of viedeos here on drummerworld or on youtube or something to get an idea of what you might want your drums to sound like. but you have to remember that the sound they get is recorded and mixed with an equalizer so you can get similar sounds in real life but you can't get the same sounds they will have in most of the videos. you just have to play with it a lot, tuning takes time and practice. its all about learning for yourself through experience. but remember to always go for the tone that sounds good to you, its your drum set.

have fun!

[bouchnick]

Nice! That really helped me out! thanks you all! :D

[rogue_drummer]

Welcome to DrummerWorld!

No need to apologize about your english - it looks fine! Congrats on that as well!

You've chosen the coolest instument on the planet - Drums! And it's backed by a wonderful group of people - drummers! Birds of a feather baby!!

Play as much as you can, learn as much as you can, and HAVE FUN!!!!

As others have said, tuning a drum is a skill that can be easily learned but it may take some time to learn the type of sound you want, what you like, what heads to use to get that sound, etc. Any reputable music store or drum shop will be able to go over the finer points of tuning and drum head choices.

Explore, analyze, try stuff, and HAVE FUN!!

[joshisaces]

Like everyone else said. If you really want to play badly, get good cymbals. Start with a good high hat. After that, get a good ride, then a crash, and then you expand from there.

[bouchnick]

Originally Posted by joshisaces

Start with a good high hat.

Well the one that came with my pearl Kit seems ok for now. If a buy a new one later do I need to buy a stand or use the same one?

[wolfmoon]

You can use the same stand. There is nothing wrong with that. You can upgrade stands at any time. I'm still using stands from 1987.

[bouchnick]

Originally Posted by wolfmoon

You can use the same stand. There is nothing wrong with that. You can upgrade stands at any time. I'm still using stands from 1987.

1987 :P wow. That's good to know.

But how do I choose the right hats that fits with my drum.. I can't bring my drum at the store D:

[wolfmoon]

Most shops have a set that is set up to costumers to play on while trying out cymbals or whatever.

[RogerLudwig]

Congratulations! Life is going to be a whole lot more fun from now on.

My advice:

1. find a good teacher who is a working drummer, take lessons, ask questions, hang out with other drummers and musicians. A good teacher is going to be a great source of information and will be able to introduce you to other musicians. Get good enough and they may recommend you sit in on gigs they can' take.

2. Hang out at the local drum shop, make friends, buy lots of your stuff from them and ask for their advice. A good percussion/drum shop will have more knowledgeable staff that a Mega store (GC or Sam Ash) or general music shop.

3.Practice (disciplined exercises) at least an hour every day. Then go crazy for 15 minutes and beat them like they owe you money.

Remember, this advice is free. It is worth exactly what you paid for it. Work hard, have fun, good luck, and welcome to the fraternity.

Originally Posted by RogerLudwig

Then go crazy for 15 minutes and beat them like they owe you money.

XD

Sound advice is I ever read it...

[matt986]

Hey!!

Welcome to the party, we are all glad to have you!

Remember that the most important thing about music is the enjoyment we get out of it. Have fun and be patient. Understand that perfection will not come over night and that it takes time to develop your skills as a drummer.

And please, take the time to learn how to tune your drums at some point. You will be much happier when you learn how much control the tuning of a drum has over the sound instead of constantly buying new heads to change your sound.

There are plenty of videos out there that do a great job of showing how to tune and what to listen for. You're local drum shop should have a ton of them.

As for buying more gear, take it slow. Wait until you have developed your abilities a bit more and then make an investment into some better cymbals that may last you a life time.

But most of all, enjoy every single second you have behind your kit.

And for the record, Chicks love drummers.

Cheers,
Matt

[bouchnick]

Nice advice everyone but I don't have a Drum Store where I live D:

Only general music store.. and when I go there it's like they don't know what they are talking about :'(

I'd go to the other music store but it's like 20 min away from my home..

[diosdude]

Buy what makes you happy man. But take some advice, if you "settle" for something less than what you'd be happy with, you'll regret it in the long run. That being said, who here on the forum can identify a Sabian b8 pro by sound alone? I sure can't and I bow down to the guy that can. My only advice about cymbals, listen in person before you buy. Each cymbal is a unique instrument, even two identical cymbals, make, model, gram weight are going to have uniqueness.

well ive been playing for 2 years now last week or so i have suddenly become obssesed like whenever i get a new peice of equipment i just cant stop.

i play b8s just cos the guy who sold me the kit gave em to me he gave me a crash some hats a pro crash and a stagg splash. so rather than getting higher end stuff like i now know i should have i kept with b8s got a ride which in my opinion is aweful, the an effects pack i was going to get a new set of aas starting with the effects pack for 160 a great price but was for a limited time and i missed out anotther big regret. christmas im getting a remo 50th anniversary snare it was between that and some new aaxcelertor hats but i chose the snare.

over time you will want and eventually acuire a lot of equipment i found some good deals a some good site for stuff www.wembleydrumcentre.com and idrums.co.uk bith great in their own right. as said you will need a lot of cash if you wnat to set up your dreams.
to my knowlage roughly:
bigdog double bass pro pedal:120
2x bigdog c grade boom stands: ~40 each
bigdog b grade boom stand:~50
b8 rock ride: ~100
b8 effects pack:99
meinl cowbell and mount:~35 together
2 yamaha clamps:10 each
1 sonor boom: cant remember
1 gibralter cymbal stacker: 15 (for sale if any one is interested)
plus new snare: 200

so alot there not including the pearl export kit

will soon need sa new throne that has half snapped next editions xcelerators and possibly an aa raw bell ride will be going to wmebley with my m8 to try stuff out so will decide then as he wants all new cymbals only got paiste 101s.

so some sound advice from others and enjoy yourself get in a band and start rocking

[SpankYDubbS]

Originally Posted by wolfmoon

You can use the same stand. There is nothing wrong with that. You can upgrade stands at any time. I'm still using stands from 1987.

nice my stand is old too. time to upgrade eh