Ever regret buying a drumset?

I bought a second hand Tama Rockstar DX.

Piano black, long lugs etc etc.

The bass drum was absolutely bloody awful.

The toms were lifeless no matter what I did to them.

Just a dreadful pile of plies and chrome.

Regret selling my Premier Genista......BIG time.
My first kit was a Tama Rockstar DX in Royal Blue. I had them for 13 years and only sold them to get something better in shell material (I'd begun working in instrument retail and discovered how much better maple shells sounded), I'd grown tired of "standard" size power toms, and the wrap had started to bubble in several places. The bass drum and floor tom sounded great, considering the luan shells. The rack toms were boxy and lifeless until, about 8 years in, I bought the first gen Star-Cast mounts for them (the black ones that clamped onto the rim), took the brackets right off the shell and put them on the SC mounts, and then they sang as beautifully as the floor tom always had. All that said, I don't regret selling them to get the Pacific CX kit that replaced them, because they had a much higher quality tone for a real bargain of a price.
 
I agree, 12s are weird sometimes.
The 18x22 is nice..the 10 which I'm not going to use is real nice. The 8x12 is or was a big disappointment. I'm going to go through a gazillion head combinations to try like hell to live with it. The 14x16 is um? Ok. The aqua sparkle finish is the bomb!.
12s can be weird. It’s a long shot, but have you tried the drum in different locations...moving an in or two in one direction or another can make a big difference. My Gretsch 12 has some weird tone cancelling effect when it’s positioned certain ways. I think it’s relative to my bass drum.
 
I regretted buying a Alesis crimson and a breakbeats Ludwig kit. I have 5 kits including a Ludwig classic maple pearl 70s wood fiberglass a Ludwig stainless steel and a pearl crystal beat. The crystal beat is my least favorite I hate the sizes
 
What don't you like about the 16x14 then? Just interested, I have an RN1 in those sizes too.
I always have to tune 16's so low that they are floppy. When I tune them higher I'm disappointed. On my 16 I have to use an o ring. Heads are critical on a 16. My favorite floor is an 11 or 12x14 hanging. They always blow the 16 out the door.
 
I agree, 12s are weird sometimes.

12s can be weird. It’s a long shot, but have you tried the drum in different locations...moving an in or two in one direction or another can make a big difference. My Gretsch 12 has some weird tone cancelling effect when it’s positioned certain ways. I think it’s relative to my bass drum.
If I have to change hoops I'll do that to.
 
Selling one...yes. Buying one...no.
 
My first kit was a Tama Rockstar DX in Royal Blue. I had them for 13 years and only sold them to get something better in shell material (I'd begun working in instrument retail and discovered how much better maple shells sounded), I'd grown tired of "standard" size power toms, and the wrap had started to bubble in several places. The bass drum and floor tom sounded great, considering the luan shells. The rack toms were boxy and lifeless until, about 8 years in, I bought the first gen Star-Cast mounts for them (the black ones that clamped onto the rim), took the brackets right off the shell and put them on the SC mounts, and then they sang as beautifully as the floor tom always had. All that said, I don't regret selling them to get the Pacific CX kit that replaced them, because they had a much higher quality tone for a real bargain of a price.


Jeez Tim, kudos on making that bass drum sound good......you are a good resource for any of my future tuning issues me thinks.

Mind if I flick you a PM on the odd occasion for any help?
 
Jeez Tim, kudos on making that bass drum sound good......you are a good resource for any of my future tuning issues me thinks.

Mind if I flick you a PM on the odd occasion for any help?
I don't mind at all, but I don't think I'm an expert. I keep it simple, esp. bass drums; both batter and reso, JAW, maybe 1/2 turn above (a little more if it's a new head) and I seat it with pressure from my palm in the middle just like I would a tom or snare head, but it still settles in a bit over time- I check the lugs every few gigs by seeing if I can turn the tension rod with my fingers on the square head, and if I can, I turn it to where I can't, and use a key for an extra 1/4 turn. This is such a low tension that there isn't much chance of tension at each lug getting very different. With a new head and much less occasionally over time, I check them anyway, and what little difference there is, I use the highest as a reference and bring the others up. That sounds like a lot, but it's probably just over-descriptive.

I use P3 or similar self-muffling heads to get most of the wonky overtones out, 4" or 5" off-center port in the front head, and lately I've had one small piece of acoustic foam in the bottom of the drum, touching neither head, just to tamper a few remaining overtones (at the insistence of our sound tech, but I think it sounds fine without it), and no laundry or bedding. Any excess boominess anyone's ever noticed from it when I play alone is lost in the din of the band on stage. I even used this setup, minus the acoustic foam, in a studio once and the engineer got a great sound- never even mentioned further muffling. This has been with mostly 22" drums, with the exception of one 18" that had the same P3 style head combo, I think- matter of fact, it was whatever came with a Tama StageStar kit, which were basically Rockstar shells, same luan wood. I didn't have the foam piece yet and I left the front head non-ported, and it sounded fantastic at rehearsal. I never gigged or recorded it.

All that said, your mileage may vary. :)
 
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Sorta. Due to living arrangements, I bought a set of Hart Dynamics with a Roland TD20 brain. I went all-in and bought a few extra toms and cymbals and a nice Gibraltar rack. After about a month or so, my wrists were aching and my elbows started feeling like they were getting twerked when I played. I realized after playing on regular heads for 35+ years, the mesh heads were just not going to work for me. Fortunately, I was able to sell them on Reverb for not too much of a loss and I quickly replaced them with my Yamahas. I couldn't be happier now!
 
I agree, 12s are weird sometimes.

12s can be weird. It’s a long shot, but have you tried the drum in different locations...moving an in or two in one direction or another can make a big difference. My Gretsch 12 has some weird tone cancelling effect when it’s positioned certain ways. I think it’s relative to my bass drum.
I have the issue with my 12" PDP CX series, where its tone dies if it's suspended or tilted slightly , as soon as I lift it a bit to take some weight off the Tom mount it sings!
 
Biggest disappointment in my life! Was an 80's recording custom kit. The story is so long you'd need some beer and popcorn to read it but it was THEE..BIGGEST..MISTAKE..of my life..(concerning drums). It was a twilight zone affair. Worst kit ever. Horrible..bad..painful..get my drift?
 
I wouldn't really want to call it a regret, but after i bought my Pearl Vision in 2012 i realized after getting it that it was impossible to order add-on drums. It was a limited edition and even contacted Pearl, but sadly all the wrap was gone and ordering an add-on was impossible. Was really bummed out by that, but it was a great excuse to buy a Masters kit 1 1/2 years later hehe. I bought it on an impulsive without really thinking it through and that is what i regret. The kit is now my b-kit and keep it at home stacked up in bags. Won't sell it for sentimental reasons; recorded an album on it and the wrap is just amazing! Wit the right heads it sound really good and it's waaaay lighter than my Masters BCX, so i will use this if i need a kit for a gig that i don't mind hauling around.
 
Biggest disappointment in my life! Was an 80's recording custom kit. The story is so long you'd need some beer and popcorn to read it but it was THEE..BIGGEST..MISTAKE..of my life..(concerning drums). It was a twilight zone affair. Worst kit ever. Horrible..bad..painful..get my drift?
Yeah what the deal with the 80´s RC? I've seen loads of people say the kick drum is honking.
 
I had a set of stop-sign Gretsch. Bebop kit. Amazing. A few years later, and having a few bucks after a tour, I traded them for a new set. The new set was not made as well, and didn't sound near as good. The quality control was crap. The square badge itself was tarnished over half it it. Heads didn't fit as well. Couldn't afford another set for 30 years. A friend of my "trued" the shells, and people would remark to me how great they sounded. But they never sounded great to me. I got a lot of money for that set, because it was by then "vintage." I got a set of New Gretsch Classics, and they were much better. I even had $600 left after that deal. Now, I own a set of Canopus NV-60s, and they're fantastic.
 
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