Should I sell my kit?

Jonathan Curtis

Silver Member
Ok, I have an enormous Mapex M Birch drum kit in the following specs:

  • 2 x 22" bass drums
  • 8", 10", 12" rack toms
  • 14" & 16" floor toms
  • 14" snare

and a Gibraltar GRS-850DBL double bass drum rack.

Now, I started out with the basic 10-12-14 configuration, and then added to it. I added the 8, I added the second 22 kick, I added the rack, and it's grown very large. The problem is, I am gigging and rehearsing more and more, and it is becoming quite a pain to take parts of it out and put them back again to transport it to gigs.

I am considering selling the lot, including hardware, to free up space and reduce my massive amount of drum equipment, to buy instead a new, higher level yet smaller kit.

The problem I have is, I bought all this a few years ago for my metal band. We had big ideas of the double bass kit matching the scene, but the logistical realities of it are rather significant, and I'm now doing a lot more jazz work, for which this kit is just too big. Most notably, I do not use the second bass drum at all, and I can't use the rack on a single bass kit.

I do, however, have quite a sentimental connection to the kit.

I want perhaps a Gretsch New Classic, or maybe a Yamaha Custom, but would need to shift this big one first. However, I already have the shells. Should I stop moaning and just put a new set of skins on it?

Your thoughts?

Photo0082.jpg
 
keep it or sell it for a higher priced kit? both ideas are good. why not get rid of the rack and make a 4 or 5 piece with stands? looks like a nice kit but it also looks like a pain to transport.
 
Get a double tom mount, 2 boom stands and a straight stand and take some of it out sometimes and the rest out other times. Remember - if you have the bigger kit then you can take as much as you need - if you have the smaller option but need more then you're stuck!

If you've really got a need for a new kit have you considered saving extra hard, buying used and having both?
 
Are you unhappy with either the sound, looks, or durability of your current kit? If not don't bother, if so find the kit you want to replace it with and try it out in person before you even make a decision to keep or sell.
 
Since from what I can read from your post...the problem is too much equipment.

Just make a smaller kit from what you have and if you have room, store the rest.

Like Netz posted...."Remember - if you have the bigger kit then you can take as much as you need - if you have the smaller option but need more then you're stuck!"

Good advice!
 
Yes, mass of equipment is the issue. Maybe you can make out from this photo, the kit is as wide as the room, and I almost literally have to climb into it. It can be a real pain sometimes. I am happy with the kit itself, when it is properly skinned and tuned it sounds nice.

Maybe I'll have a shuffle around with the equipment.

Thanks
 
when you stack the non used drums in a corner, they only take up 22 inches of floor space. as far as the rack, sell it and get stands so you config is more adaptable to the size kit you feel you need. I have a 9 piece double bass that i currently use as a 1 up 2 down single bass set. the rest are stacked and only take up the corner of the room. my extra hardware stays in my hardware bag. however i can always go back to the big kit or add a couple of toms on stands. boom stands work best for adding tom because the cymbals reach in over them.
 
I'd love to have your kit as is (the shell config is pretty close, no, identical to what I'd dream of) - just some more cymbals would be fine. (I have -no- full kit ATM.)

+1 on keeping/storing the stuff you don't really need, I wouldn't sell them (nor the kit as a whole). But keep the kit. Good manufacturer, good quality - why sell it.
 
no need to sell. if you broke your kit down to 1 up, 2 down, 1 kick drum, got rid of the rack, you'd have plenty of room there and enough drums to still hold a groove. sell the rack and use the $$ for another fave cymbal or a snare. i see a lot of space and air around your kit as is.but if you want to sell, yes i would go for a gretsch or yamaha over mapex birch.
 
I'm going to take the contrary position to some others and suggest that you sell it to fund a high-end kit. You're in the position where your playing can justify a high-end kit and it would serve you well (for the sake of durability) to have a kit that is going to last the test of time and playing. I'm sure the Mapex is very well made but higher-end kits can last longer on the road because they can be made even better.

My personal ideology leans towards fewer, high-quality drums anyhow and I can see this being the ideal time to implement that if you're serious about not needing all of the drums. There's a lot of money in selling second-hand, especially with the rack and you could get yourself something quite serious. A second-hand Sonor Delite could be on the cards, for instance. If you really are having issues with portability, perhaps a 20" bass drum would serve you well.
 
There are an endless number of stories of guys that had nice big kits in their younger years, that sold them for some reason or another, and down the road, wished they had them back. You have all the pieces to make any size kit you want. Just use the pieces that you need. Sounds like you are going to use them for gigging anyways, so why spend lots of money on a top of the line Maple kit that is not going to sound much different anyways, just to potentially mess it up out on the road. You have a good sounding Maple kit, with a nice finish. I would just pick up some nicely priced stands to make a smaller footprint. You have already payed the depreciation once on this kit. Why do it again? Down the road you might want to put the big kit together again. At least you will have the pieces and stands all ready.
 
If you are happy with the sound and it gives you what you need for the genre that you are playing, keep it and downsize. It's a nice kit and you're in a good position in the fact that you have too much rather than not enough.
And, you never know, after downsizing for awhile, you may find yourself wanting to go bigger again- no problem, just pull 'em out and build!
 
When I bought my Premeier Signia, it was 2 bass drum, 3 rack toms (10-12-14) and a 16" floor.

Since then I've added the 8" and the 18"

Do I ever use it all? No.

99% of the gigs I've done, I've taken it out as a 5 pc.

But I keep it because I have versatility. Need smaller toms to record one song? OK, I'm covered. Need larger boomier toms for a different song? OK, I got that. The guitar player thinks double bass would look cool for this one gig? OK, I can do that. Need to record one song with long rolls around a lot of toms? Can do.

Granted, these different situations are few and far between, but whatever may come up, I've got the drums for it.

Just because you own it doesn't mean you have to use it.
 
I'm going to take the contrary position to some others and suggest that you sell it to fund a high-end kit. You're in the position where your playing can justify a high-end kit and it would serve you well (for the sake of durability) to have a kit that is going to last the test of time and playing. I'm sure the Mapex is very well made but higher-end kits can last longer on the road because they can be made even better.

My personal ideology leans towards fewer, high-quality drums anyhow and I can see this being the ideal time to implement that if you're serious about not needing all of the drums. There's a lot of money in selling second-hand, especially with the rack and you could get yourself something quite serious. A second-hand Sonor Delite could be on the cards, for instance. If you really are having issues with portability, perhaps a 20" bass drum would serve you well.

I share this position as well

Coming from someone who recently purchased a New Classic set for mainly Jazz, I wouldn't give it a second thought. That assumes you like that sort of sound. It's not too complicated to make the New Classics get a vintage sound. Additionally, they sound awesome in other tuning ranges as well.

I'm not out to start a which brand is better debate. It's all opinion and they all make fine stuff. I'll leave it with my recent exploratory experience - I couldn't go with anything other than Gretsch.

Quality reigns over quantity in my world.
 
I am considering selling the lot, including hardware, to free up space and reduce my massive amount of drum equipment, to buy instead a new, higher level yet smaller kit.


I want perhaps a Gretsch New Classic, or maybe a Yamaha Custom

I'm going to take the contrary position to some others and suggest that you sell it to fund a high-end kit. ....
.... A second-hand Sonor Delite could be on the cards, for instance. If you really are having issues with portability, perhaps a 20" bass drum would serve you well.
And I support MFB, here. Get into a high-end kit. Perhaps a used one. A Yamaha RC, or Maple, or Oak Custom. A Tama Starclassic. A Pearl Masters. And if you pick a kit that doesn't have a "one-of-a-kind"/hard to match finish ... you can always add to it later. If that Metal band ever calls back.​
Having a room full of drums is fun, sure. And so is having multiple kits. But it don't make you a better drummer. You're young. You have a lot of drum years ahead of you. Hopefully, some day, you'll have the room (your own house/studio to have another monster kit ... that never leaves the room. And, you'll have gigging kits. Rome wasn't built in a day. Things take time. Do it right, and do it the way you want it.​
 
And I support MFB, here. Get into a high-end kit. Perhaps a used one. A Yamaha RC, or Maple, or Oak Custom. A Tama Starclassic. A Pearl Masters. And if you pick a kit that doesn't have a "one-of-a-kind"/hard to match finish ... you can always add to it later. If that Metal band ever calls back.​
Having a room full of drums is fun, sure. And so is having multiple kits. But it don't make you a better drummer. You're young. You have a lot of drum years ahead of you. Hopefully, some day, you'll have the room (your own house/studio to have another monster kit ... that never leaves the room. And, you'll have gigging kits. Rome wasn't built in a day. Things take time. Do it right, and do it the way you want it.​

My recommendations are quite simple. Get a high-end second-hand kit. A Sonor Delite, a Yamaha Maple Custom (etc), a Gretsch New Classic, a Mapex Saturn or a Pearl. I'm sure there are others and you know what they are. If you have some money left over, you could get Dean at Guru to make you a snare drum - they are relatively inexpensive for what they are and that would be a drum for life.
 
My double bass Pearl EXR is exactly what you have. If you are connected to the gear, then don't sell it and continue to use it. Don't eat out for a few months and then go buy yourself a smaller upper-end drum kit. Use the time to find the room. I love having three kits to choose from, and although I admit, the big double bass doesn't come out of the house much, it's fun to have and this weekend it's going out as a rental for $600. So it's paying for itself without my having to even play it, and that's always cool.

Besides, Sticks4Drums would be upset if you got rid of the Mapex, since that's really the only drum brand on the planet ;)
 
My double bass Pearl EXR is exactly what you have. If you are connected to the gear, then don't sell it and continue to use it. Don't eat out for a few months and then go buy yourself a smaller upper-end drum kit. Use the time to find the room. I love having three kits to choose from, and although I admit, the big double bass doesn't come out of the house much, it's fun to have and this weekend it's going out as a rental for $600. So it's paying for itself without my having to even play it, and that's always cool.

Besides, Sticks4Drums would be upset if you got rid of the Mapex, since that's really the only drum brand on the planet ;)

Well the only good one anyways! :)
I like Bo's suggestion the best. You keep what you have, and get another high end jazz kit to go with it. Two kits instead of one. Sounds good too me.
 
hey man, why not just buy some rack pieces thatll adapt to a single bass kit?

I currently have a gretsch catalina ash kit, with 8, 10, 12, 13 rack toms and 14 and 16 floor toms. Its single bass, but ive found lately that my ideal setup is 3 up 2 down, so i got rid of the 8" tom in favor of a setup thats 10,12,13,14,16.

then my tastes changed a bit, and i decided to go small sizes, 8,10" up and 13" mounted low on a cymbal stand for a floor tom.

Basically what im saying is that having more drums than i need has let me switch around my setup and explore different configurations, sizes and tunings. Lately ive been keeping the 8" off to the side tuned really really high for kind of a timbale sound for accents and just messing with.

Youve got a lot of beautiful drums in some really good sizes, and it may be a bit cumbersome, but theres nothing wrong with putting some extra drums off to the side and playing with a small kit, with the option to add them in for other gigs or as your mood changes.

Im sure for 50-100 bucks gibraltar makes some add on pieces that will make your rack work for the setup that you want.
 
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