Are you still playing the same brand drums as your first real set?

[SomeBadDrummer]

DW
Ludwig
Gretsch

Don’t get me wrong, I think everybody makes great drums, but I found dealing with parts, or add-ons, if you’re a big nobody like me, it sucks when dealing with companies overseas, so this is why my top three are US companies. They’re easier to deal with the network of dealers and stores in the US.

Oddly enough, I’ve stuck with Zildjian my entire life - and some cymbals I’ve had for at least 25 years. I alternate between two head manufacturers, both in the USA, as well as sticks from Vic Firth for the last 40 years. Man, I’ve been doing this for a long time!

Thanks for the summary, it totally makes sense especially on the shells and hardware which can cost more to ship than they are worth sometimes depending on the piece. Lately I’ve been looking at Tama parts online and shipping from Asia is expensive and takes a while. So your reasoning is a lot more logical than my sentimental attachment to a brand.

I like VF sticks but prefer the feel of Promark and get those at the local shop so I can roll them and hold them to select the best of all they have.

I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess Remo & Evans for heads.

 

[SomeBadDrummer]

Thanks for the summary, it totally makes sense especially on the shells and hardware which can cost more to ship than they are worth sometimes depending on the piece. Lately I’ve been looking at Tama parts online and shipping from Asia is expensive and takes a while. So your reasoning is a lot more logical than my sentimental attachment to a brand.

I like VF sticks but prefer the feel of Promark and get those at the local shop so I can roll them and hold them to select the best of all they have.

I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess Remo & Evans for heads.

And I’m a bigger nobody for what it’s worth

 

[SomeBadDrummer]

No. Thanks for asking. Oh. Are you?

No, thanks for asking. I’m on my second kit in 30 years and both Tama. First was candy apple red, the ‘new’ one is custom scarlet fade.

I’d post a photo but unfortunately I don’t own a cheap 1998 Kodak anymore that takes low res photos so every picture is rejected as too large.

 

[SomeBadDrummer]

No, thanks for asking. I’m on my second kit in 30 years and both Tama. First was candy apple red, the ‘new’ one is custom scarlet fade.

I’d post a photo but unfortunately I don’t own a cheap 1998 Kodak anymore that takes low res photos so every picture is rejected as too large.

But I’m getting wilder with age and added a mismatched 10” Tom to go between the 12” mount and the 8&10” rototoms! (It’s a tama, different line and slightly different wrap...I couldn’t abandon the brand)

 

[Bo Eder]

Thanks for the summary, it totally makes sense especially on the shells and hardware which can cost more to ship than they are worth sometimes depending on the piece. Lately I’ve been looking at Tama parts online and shipping from Asia is expensive and takes a while. So your reasoning is a lot more logical than my sentimental attachment to a brand.

I like VF sticks but prefer the feel of Promark and get those at the local shop so I can roll them and hold them to select the best of all they have.

I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess Remo & Evans for heads.

I played ProMark in drum corps and Disney because that’s what they gave us. I guess I can play anybody’s stick, but everywhere out here on SoCal, VF are available so that’s nice. And yes - those are the two big names for heads. I have a whole new set of UV2s waiting to be used after I go through my current G2’s. So after that I’m tempted to go back to black dots since I’m so Charlie Watts now

 

[belairien]

My first "real" branded kit was a Mapex horizon. I've tried Ludwig, OCDP (the cheaper guitar center version) some Pearls and Yamahas. Cymbal wise I started with Sabian B8. Then bought a bunch of used Zildjian. I still play the Master sounds.

Now I'm playing a Gretsch kit with a blend of Sabian AA and AAX with my Mastersounds. Thought about switching over to Zildjian or Paiste, but I love the combo of 21" Bash ride and 19" Xplosion Fast crash. Just need new hats.

So all in all, mostly different. Something about the Gretsch sound and thinner, larger Sabians just screams rock.

I do still have most of my cheap stands, but I am rocking Tama Speed Cobras now a days. Stands and hihat are the last thing I need to replace.

 

[John Q. Drummer]

Started playing the mid-80’s and my first kit was a Tama Swingstar with the smoky chrome type wrap with the speckled coating on the interior of the shells. (“Zola coat” as I found out later.) My next two kits after that were also Tama. (A Rockstar and then a Rockstar RM series.) At that point I discovered vintage drums and got huge into that. Slingerland, Ludwig, Gretsch, Rogers, Premier, I had multiples kits from all those manufacturers at one point. But then in 2000 I discovered GMS and slowly got out of vintage drums. I just wasn’t in love with the vintage drum sound anymore and wanted something a bit more modern sounding and gig-worthy. I was pretty faithful to GMS for almost 20 years, but I did flirt with other drum brands during that time. I’ve had Fibes, PDP, Premier, Yamaha, Sonor and a few others that I’m forgetting.

About a year ago I caught the Yamaha bug BAD. So I’m making the switch to Yamaha for everything. Drums, hardware, pedals, the whole she-bang. So I’ve been slowly selling off all my other drums. It’s allowing me to streamline my entire collection which is very welcome at this point. I still plan on keeping a few pieces from other brands, but for the most part, everything non-Yamaha is going. I had accumulated way too much extraneous gear and I was slowly suffocating under the weight of my collection. It’ll be way easier to manage and the consistency that Yamaha brings to the table for their entire line of drums is world renown.

I did have the opportunity about 8 months ago to buy another Tama RM kit in the same sizes and wrap that I had back in the 90’s. I bought it, cleaned it up and put new heads on it but it really proved the old adage: sometimes it’s better to leave the past in the past. That Tama kit just doesn’t do it for me sonically. I’m glad I had a chance to revisit a more innocent time in my life, but it’ll be on the chopping block before Thanksgiving.

So to answer the question posed in the title of this thread: Yes, technically I am playing the same brand of drums as my first real set. But not really nor have I since the 90's. Tama: great drums, just not for me and haven't been for a really long time.

Cymbals? That’s a whole other thread, for me anyway.

 

[Old Dog new Cans]

My first real kit was a PEAVEY!! I will NEVER lug those big ass drums around again. I miss them, don't get me wrong. They were one of those kits where the harder you hit them, the sweeter they sounded. But with my back problems now, No Way I want to pick up that bass drum included with that kit. I will always be a huge fan of Zildjian, but I'm no loyalist. I own Paiste, Meinl, Wuhan, Stagg cymbals now as well.

 

[Quai34]

Well, my first kit was supposed to be a TAMA at the bar if 15 and finally, 40 years later, I bought my first kit, an old Tama Star 1973, in super shape, Maple, very nice sounding drums... For cymbals, the ones came with the kit were Zildjian 70's mars in Canada but now I have Sabian, Meinl and zildjian...So, we could say that I still owe (I don't think I could say "play" !!!....) The first kit I got!!!

 

[force3005]

My first professional kit was a Slingerland (Country Tour) kit. What I play on now is a Sonor, Force3005 and Ascent kits.

 

[PorkPieGuy]

Nope.

First drum set - Tama Rockstar
My kit of choice now - Ludwig classic maple
Snares - I go with my Pearl Masters for indoor gigs and my Legend phosphor bronze for outdoor gigs.

First cymbals - A mix of Sabian and Zildjian
Now - Heartbeat all the way around

 

[Drumolator]

When I got my first drum set in 1969, it was a stencil kit called Drum Mate. My first good set was Slingerland, and my first good cymbal was a 16" Zildjian crash. Now I have all Mapex drums and all Sabian cymbals, except for one Wuhan China. Peace and goodwill.

 

[brushes]

I started playing on a Ludwig, afterwards played on Pearl drums. Both were okay, but not great. Then came Sonor (short stint), followed by Tama. Tama is the brand that I call my home since almost ten years now. No intentions on changing brands. I guess I will keep on playing Tama for decades. Just perfectly made drums.

Same with cymbals. I started with Paiste but nowadays play Sabian HHX (good allrounders) and Istanbul Mehmet (great Jazzcymbals).

 

[Juniper]

Started off on a Pearl Export, still have/love that kit and I'll never part with it for sentimental reasons.

Now have a DW Collectors, some of it as seen in my avatar.

 

[Rhythm666]

No, I started on a
Ludwig, then Mapex, Tama and now Pearl ( btw still have the first Ludwig I received from my parents on my 8th bday)

 

[js218]

first kit Kent, then red Rudwig Vistalites and Rogers big R, and a Premier kit

 

[someguy01]

No. I have no loyalty. I will play anything. The woods make minor differences in tone range, but with heads and tuning I can make any kit sound how I need. I have never and will never pay more than $1000 for drums. Same for cymbals, whatever makes the sound I need gets bought but I am willing to part with more $$.

 

[SYMBOLIC DEATH]

Nope. Started with Ludwig, then Tama, then Ludwig, and now I've been using the same DW kit for the past 20+ years.
I don't think I will ever own another Ludwig kit, they just aren't for me and I hate their hardware.
I can't see myself buying another kit anytime soon that's how happy I am with them. I'd also need to find a large stack of cash to afford another 8 piece kit, cases, hardware, cymbals, etc., etc.

 

[MusiQmaN]

After 27 years switched from Yamaha and Remo to DW and mostly Evans.

Zildjian, Roland, and Vic Firth stayed the same over these years.

Craviotto snares entered the chat a few years ago.

 

[Kiddi]

First kit was a MaxTone. I don't remember the cymbals. Went through Sonor, Pearl, Yamaha and have ended up with C&C and Gretsch, Always with Zildjian Cymbals since the Sonor when I was 14 years old. I've found my home now with C&C and Gretsch.