Fritz Frigursson
Senior Member
Hello everyone. I am still on the search to find the best sub 1200 euro drums. So far I've found these 5 kits that are very similar in price and quality:
-Tama Silverstar
-Gretsch Catalina Maple
-Yamaha Stage Custom Standard
-Pearl Decade Maple
-Mapex Armory
Observations:
Most of these kits are maple but the Yamaha and Tama are birch. I'm not very picky about wood type and I think birch shells are very good.
Every kit except the Gretsch comes with hardware but I prefer Yamaha's HW780 single braced stands. The hardware can be replaced later for less money so I won't take that too much into consideration.
The shell sizes are nearly identical, and I'm not searching for a specific sound, so I am happy if I get any of these kits.
Yamaha SC does come with a "better" snare since it has 2 more lugs than competition, meaning more range when tuning. Meanwhile Mapex's kit comes with a Tomahawk steel snare drum which I'm a fan of.
Finish options are very good and there are a lot of different options provided by the manufacturers.
Very similar in price, though the Catalinas will require another set of hardware. So far the most expensive option is the Tama Silverstar.
Drum hardware (Lugs, Rims, Heads) are very good across all 5 kits though I think Yamaha's YESS tom mounting system is the best since it's very simple, durable, not bulky and clean looking.
Mapex comes with a virgin kick and separate tom mounts for a cleaner look which I really like.
I will replace the heads anyway so the Remo UTs that come with all the kits are not important.
This is a very hard choice to make for me, and it's also a very important one since the kit that I purchase in the end will have to last me a lot of years. Was initially thinking of the Tama Superstar Hyperdrive but the snare and hardware is too much and the total comes in a bit too high (200 euros more than these 5 kits). I have looked into other brands as well but none of the kits in this price range are comparable to these 5. For example I won't choose the Pearl Export over the Stage Customs or choose the Rydeens over an Armory.
I'd still like to hear your thoughts on this topic, and if someone thinks the options mentioned above are not the best ones, please let me know.
Sorry for the long post, here's a floor tom:
http://s4.lonestarpercussion.com/resize/images/product-image/DW-DDL1618TT.jpg
-Tama Silverstar
-Gretsch Catalina Maple
-Yamaha Stage Custom Standard
-Pearl Decade Maple
-Mapex Armory
Observations:
Most of these kits are maple but the Yamaha and Tama are birch. I'm not very picky about wood type and I think birch shells are very good.
Every kit except the Gretsch comes with hardware but I prefer Yamaha's HW780 single braced stands. The hardware can be replaced later for less money so I won't take that too much into consideration.
The shell sizes are nearly identical, and I'm not searching for a specific sound, so I am happy if I get any of these kits.
Yamaha SC does come with a "better" snare since it has 2 more lugs than competition, meaning more range when tuning. Meanwhile Mapex's kit comes with a Tomahawk steel snare drum which I'm a fan of.
Finish options are very good and there are a lot of different options provided by the manufacturers.
Very similar in price, though the Catalinas will require another set of hardware. So far the most expensive option is the Tama Silverstar.
Drum hardware (Lugs, Rims, Heads) are very good across all 5 kits though I think Yamaha's YESS tom mounting system is the best since it's very simple, durable, not bulky and clean looking.
Mapex comes with a virgin kick and separate tom mounts for a cleaner look which I really like.
I will replace the heads anyway so the Remo UTs that come with all the kits are not important.
This is a very hard choice to make for me, and it's also a very important one since the kit that I purchase in the end will have to last me a lot of years. Was initially thinking of the Tama Superstar Hyperdrive but the snare and hardware is too much and the total comes in a bit too high (200 euros more than these 5 kits). I have looked into other brands as well but none of the kits in this price range are comparable to these 5. For example I won't choose the Pearl Export over the Stage Customs or choose the Rydeens over an Armory.
I'd still like to hear your thoughts on this topic, and if someone thinks the options mentioned above are not the best ones, please let me know.
Sorry for the long post, here's a floor tom:
http://s4.lonestarpercussion.com/resize/images/product-image/DW-DDL1618TT.jpg