Starting all over again - what would you buy?

The quality of "mid-range" sets like the new Yamaha Tour Customs are astounding. Essentially its a Maple Custom Absolute just not manufactured in Japan.

If starting over I'd all the same set in a shell bank of sizes to choose from

10x7,12x8,13x9,14x14ft,16x16ft,18x16ft
18x14 and 22x16 Bass drums

14x6.5 Brass, 14x5 Aluminium, 14x5 Maple snares

That would cover pretty much all gigs I'm ever likely to get.

2 sets of cymbals
A "Jazz" set and a "Rock" set, probably Istanbul Agops.

Cheers
Mick
 
Great thread Wave!

My first kit was a Del Rey 3-piece in Blue Sparkle, when I was 13. The one in the picture is not mine, but mine looked just like that.

If I was starting again (if I knew what I know now) I would buy some good snares. Brass 5", Aluminium 6.5", Maple 5", maybe a 6.5" Maple too.

And I would get some good cymbals. B20. Likely I would get Zildjian (set of A's, set of K's) again, or maybe Sabian (set of AA's, set of HH/X's). I would Probably get lighter rides than I bought first time around, nothing heavier than a medium ride. I had some real manhole covers for rides early on!

Then I would get two mid-range kits, one 22/10/12/14/16, one 18/10/12/14. Probably Stage Custom or something similar.
Oh, and a Pearl Export to leave at the rehearsal space, haha.

I'm with JohnoWorld on this one. It's all about the cymbals and snares for me. Seems like each time I buy a kit, I spend less on it than the last one!
 

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Okay, I currently have : -

1) Sonor S-Class Pro, Birdseye finish, 20, 20, 8, 10, 12, 14.. but no 16 despite trying to find one for years.. I rescued this from a barn a few years back, lovely kit. Having 2 kicks is handy (I never set them both up).

2) Premier Signia in Rosewood finish. This was my dream kit when I was a kid in the 90's. I actually went a bit mad and ended up buying 2 sets 2nd hand (during the last few years) so I could get the 20" bass drum and the 8" tom. I now have these shells: 22, 20, 16, 14, 14, 12, 12, 10, 10, 8... So I need to sell a few shells I think ;-) I still love the Signia, but I do wonder if it'd be my first choice now. Sometimes it's good to move on. It sounds great, but I can't get spare parts, the badges have gone funny, the bass drum has a funny sized down tube holder so I can't get a better tom mount (I hang off cymbal stands these days, the Premier mount is shockingly bad).

3) Premier XPK, 1996.. this was my first real kit (which I still have stored in my garage). Officially my first kit was a red Hohner.. I remember putting my foot through the kick pedal! It was cheaply made..

4) Mapex Saturn III, Red Supernova Burst (20, 20, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8).. which I have for sale. It's a lovely kit, but I just don't need it.

5) Lots of Paiste Signature cymbals, and a Sabian 10" splash.

6) Yamaha DTX 750 electric kit.. which hardly gets touched now I have my little studio with the Signias in.

Now, if all of that was to disappear and I had a load of cash in my hand... I'd probably pick up a Sonor Ascent / Select Force brand new with the finish / sizes I wanted. I'd get 6 peices (1 snare, 1 kick, 2 rack, 2 floor) 20, 16, 14, 12, 10.. (though most of the time I'd play 1 up and 1 or 2 down).

I would probably go Paiste again, but perhaps look at their darker cymbals (I currently have mostly Signatures), or at least have a broader range, rather than lots that sound similar. I'd also get more effect cymbals. I've been thinking of picking up a 18 and/or 16 Meinl Vintage Trash Crash recently..

I sometimes wonder about selling up *everything* and starting again. It'd be exciting. I doubt I'd sell the XPK as I have nostalgia for it.

Playing wise, if I was to start again, I'd have spent my younger years practicing a lot more, or at least practicing *properly* a lot more, and found a really reputable teacher or 2 to help me.
 
Id have to weigh options.. Do the drummers get the better groupies or the guitar players? ..Bass players get sausage party..

Id guess Id have to stay with drums..

Playing in middle school and high school, it was a masterfully crafted piece of junk drum set that had different manufactures and different colors. Cymbols didnt even have names and when they craked we just drilled holes in the top of the crack line to stop them from going any further.

My first set was a black mapex venus series with mix of old sabians. It was pretty good set for my first band.

2007 I got a used Tama starcaster series in emerald green laq finish.. it was a 7 piece and I had a PDP rack mount, with Sabians, DW 7000 double bass pedal. I had to sell that when I got married and started a family. We lived in a trailer.. I used money from that and savings to put down on a house. Now the house is paid off kids are 7 and 3 I can bang on the drums again loud and proud..

Knowing then what I know now.. lol I just ordered a new 7 piece Tama Superstar in the black laq fade, a Gibraltar G6 double bass pedal, Gibraltar Drum Rack , Gibraltar drum throne with nice big bike seat. However I had to drop low budget on cymbols with B8x but they sound decent for practice but tax time , im going to drop some coin on nice set of cymbols and mics and a good compressor and reverb unit.. Oh BTW what is the best bang for the buck on a compressor and reverb unit? and what are you interfacing with on the laptop to record?
 

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My first kit was a an early/mid 60's Slingerland in an a Green Satin Flame (I thought perhaps it was aqua or blue, but have since learned that was the catalog name in spite of the appearance). 22/13/16 sizes, matching snare that I believe to be an Artist series. I can't really remember what cymbals came with it, but I'd like to have one or two of them in my collection now.

This was in the mid 90s, so I played whatever alt/grunge stuff was on the radio mostly.

I don't have that kit anymore but I would probably do nefarious things to reacquire it, because I lost it in such a fashion.

I have a few different sets currently, but the flagship is a Tama B/B 22/10/12/14/16, but I usually only use 2 or 3 toms in whatever configuration seems appropriate. Playing anything from swing to underground metal.

If I were to consolidate the things now and be rid of them, I'd probably end up with a shell bank: 24/20 bass drums, 18/16/14 floor toms, and 13/12/10 toms, and probably keep them as seperate kits most of the time, but give me options. I'd like the floor tom to be easily convertible to a bass drum. I don't really care a lot on the specific make/model as long as it's a solid and reliable kit, but I'd lean towards Inde, Oriollo, or another Tama. Standard/Traditional depths are fine. Not too picky on color/finish as long as it looks good under lights.

It's more important to me that I feel comfortable using it in basically any musical setting than it be specialized sonically or visually for any particular genre.

I'm pretty happy with my cymbals and I doubt I'd change those. I've got 3 rides, 4 crashes, 2 chinas, an o-zone, 2 sets of hats, and 2 splashes to choose from, and I'm pretty satisfied with that palette. I'd be tempted to acquire a giant ride, some giant hats, and a stack that actually sounded like what I hear in my head.

I'm also content with my snares but they could be something else of similar quality and I'm sure I'd be equally happy.
 
Jenkins-Martin (although they didn't exist in the 90s, so Blaemire). 12/14/16/22. Guru Walnut, same sizes, plus an extra 18" kick for quiet gigs. Oriollo brass kit, same sizes, if they ever make a brass kit.
 
A freaking piano !

For drums I have been lucky/blessed, so same thing I did have in my 25+ years minus the ludwig legacy and usa custom, simply because they were unplanned impulse purchases and hence I did not honour them as I should have and unloaded them too quickly to recoup my losses.

Man I would love to see my first tama kit, don't even know which model it was as I bought them used when I was 15 and did not know any better but I would give anything to get those back.
 
A freaking piano !
...
Man I would love to see my first tama kit, don't even know which model it was as I bought them used when I was 15 and did not know any better but I would give anything to get those back.

See, any time I think of selling my XPK's I read something like that ;-) That's what garages are for I guess.. or is it cars?? Can't be.. I'd never fit my car in mine ;-)
 
.... What equipment would you buy, if you would have all the money in your hand, that you have spent the past couple of years on drum gear? ....


I picked up drumming again in 2012.

Since then, I've bought 6 mid level and 3 (1 new/2 used) pro level kits.
There was some selling/trading, and wheeling/dealing going on there too.

If I had the cash in hand I've spent on those 9 kits to use for one kit,
I'd probably get Ludwig Legacy Mahogany in enough sizes that I could
switch them around for different configurations.

I'm satisfied with the cymbals I've got, but I spent a lot of money getting there.

.
 
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Id have to weigh options.. Do the drummers get the better groupies or the guitar players? ..Bass players get sausage party..

Id guess Id have to stay with drums..

This reminded me of something my grandmother said after I mentioned something similar. That is, "when the music gets cranked up, and the drums and bass "bring the thunder," it inspires women's pelvic bones to vibrate. They know who is exciting them, and it's not some self-obsessed jerk going 'widdily-woo' on his guitar."
 
My first kit was a Stewart 12/12/16/22 (yeah, they marketed their kits with two 12's) with a cheap metal snare drum and cheaper cymbals that lasted a month or two.
Pre-internet days, you were pretty much limited to what was sold regionally. If I had known better back then I would have likely bought a Rogers or Blaemire kit, a
Black Beauty snare drum and K Zildjian cymbals.

If I had known what I know now--and these kits were available back then--I'd still buy my current Yamaha Custom Recording Series kit with a variety of snare drums
and Istanbul Agop cymbals, but I'd somehow find the room to add a Guru kit and a Jenkins-Martin kit.
 
So I've gone full circle and back to the mapex - essentially almost all kits sound the same and the extra cash you pay is either for the name, more engineering or a more exotic wood/finish.

This is so true, no matter what drum companies want you to believe.
 
This reminded me of something my grandmother said after I mentioned something similar. That is, "when the music gets cranked up, and the drums and bass "bring the thunder," it inspires women's pelvic bones to vibrate. They know who is exciting them, and it's not some self-obsessed jerk going 'widdily-woo' on his guitar."

They always say Grandma knows best.. lol
 
Wuhan, just traded my K mini China in. It kind of hurt because the K was so much more expensive and I just wouldn't afford it again, but then my Wuhan China came in the mail and wish I had done it a long time ago. ...so much more versatile. The mini K China was a good cymbal too, just for a drummer that wants that one sound out of it.
 
I came late to drumming, so there's not much that I would change in my journey. Even my cymbal path has been relatively straight. For what I was doing and what I needed, everything has worked out well.

Started with a crappy no name kit.

Bought some decent (UFiP Supernova) cymbals.

Sold the crappy kit for what I paid for it, bought an old but tidy Pearl Export kit, changed heads and did a bit of experimenting with cymbals.

Sold the Exports for what I paid for them, and bought a Mapex M Birch kit, which was very pretty, but didn't really offer much by way of providing the sound that I wanted. This kit was the closest to a wasted step in my path.

Sold the Mapex for what I paid for them, but kept back the hardware.

Bought a set of Mapex Saturn V's which I love. Gives me the sound I want, with a growling floor tom and wonderfully deep and resonant BD. When I first set it up, the 12" tom made my chest cavity resonate...it's been love ever since.

There are no steps here that I would rather I hadn't taken; each made perfect sense at the time, and none were regretted.
 
I've never been more satisfied and in love with my gear as I am now. I found the sound I had always wanted in my Oriollo aluminum kit and different snares I have. Between my two kits and snares I'd feel confident walking into just about any gig and I love the way they play. It took about 50 kits to get to this point but it's been fun not having a desire for a new kit. These kits weren't around when I started playing drums, but I'm sure glad they are now.
 
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