Thinking of picking up a bop kit

9

93civEJ1

Senior Member
Ok,

So ive got 3 bop kits in mind.

Right now the ludwig breakbeats is on sale at GC for 349. I see mixed reviews on them.

Ive heard also that the SPL (sound percussion labs) street bop set (18" kick) sounds good, and is 299. It has a 6 lug snare though, which is kind of weird.

I also know where a premier APK microbop (16" kick also) is that I can pick up for 275 or so in like new condition.

What would you choose and what are your reasons?

I already have 5 acoustic sets, all have 22" bass drums. I am just looking for maybe something little that I can take to some smaller gigs, or use and just leave up in my drum room for practice that does not take much space.
 
SPL - for one reason only - 18" bass drum. Under that size is too small, IMO.

If the Breakbeats had 18, I'd go with that.

If you want to go really small, maybe look at the Sonor Martini set - 14" bass drum.
 
Of the three you mentioned I would get the Premier. I've heard really good things about it. The SPL will have zero resale value. The Ludwig is a good kit too.
 
I'd take a look at the Sonor Safari kit as well.
 
Tried a Questlove kit once and the kick sounded massive. I was blown away by the tone. Chalk it up to good tuning etc but it is possible.
 
93civEJ1 said:
Ok,

What would you choose and what are your reasons?

I already have 5 acoustic sets, all have 22" bass drums. I am just looking for maybe something little that I can take to some smaller gigs, or use and just leave up in my drum room for practice that does not take much space.
Click to expand...

I'd give some additional consideration to the next tier up. Something like a Club, which looks and sounds almost like a real drum set.

I have to say that I was not impressed with the Ludwig Breakbeats kit. Neither the sound nor overall quality appealed to me. The only other kit in the thread that I have had the opportunity to play was the Imperialstar, which walks the line in terms of acceptable functionality and sound.
 
KamaK said:
I'd give some additional consideration to the next tier up. Something like a Club, which looks and sounds almost like a real drum set.

I have to say that I was not impressed with the Ludwig Breakbeats kit. Neither the sound nor overall quality appealed to me. The only other kit in the thread that I have had the opportunity to play was the Imperialstar, which walks the line in terms of acceptable functionality and sound.
Click to expand...

i already have 5 other "real" drum sets. Looking for something small to use other than a cajon/snare setup. :)
 
I just picked up a Tama Imperialstar Bop kit a couple of weeks ago for $229.

The "normal" price that I have seen in most online stores is $399. Guitar Center/Musician's Friend had them on sale during the December-January timeframe at $250.

I was interested in them at the $350 price, excited at the $250 price, and when I went to look at them again, selected the color that I liked (Candy Apple Mist, fancy name for your basic red sparkle) and was shocked to see that this color was on sale that day only for $229 for GC's version of MFs "stupid deal of the day".

Couldn't pass that up. Ordered it on Wednesday, picked it up from my local GC on Friday at lunch. I like to have things like this shipped to the store so that if the packaging looks damaged I can deal with it immediately.

The drums sound really nice. Notice I didn't say "nice for a $229 kit". They sound really good. I put some black dots over ambassador resonants on the toms and used the bass drum heads that came with it until I can order some better heads. You can't find 18" bass drum heads in local stores in my area. I did add an Aquarian impact patch on the batter head, though. I have several nice snares so the snare that came with it hasn't been used at all.

Quality-wise, these are perfect for what I bought them for: a decent-sounding kit that I can throw in my car for rehearsals and most gigs. I still put them in drum bags but if they get a ding I'm not going to cry. The weight and space savings for the bass drum alone makes it worthwhile for me. The little 14x18 kick sounds good and will always be mic'ed up so I'm not worried about the volume on it.
 
Ya - check that site ^^^^. Lots of good ideas there.

If small is the main thing, you might also consider a kick drum pad/pedal, with a set of multi-pads.
You could use acoustic hi hats with it too.
The e-hi hat pedals I have (and have tried), just don't do it for me.
 
CompactDrums said:
Make your own! Check my website for lots of DIY instructions.
Click to expand...

Thats a really cool little site. I think at first I will probably just buy to save the time. But this may be a really fun little project in my future.

Any videos of some of these DIY kits?
 
I have a Breakbeats kit and absolutely LOVE it. I'm even still using the heads that came with it (gasp!). For a 16" bass drum the thing really had some punch. Evans makes 16" bass heads too if you wanted to change it out.

I've brought it to many gigs and it's kind of my preferred set now. It's just so easy to stack the drums and carry them in in one shot. Plus it comes bags which is kinda cool. The snare on any of these kits you pick up will probably be crap anyway so I wouldn't worry about the snare so much. The snare is just ok but that's expected with any kit.

Plus the aqua sparkle is purdy....
 
greenstar323 said:
I have a Breakbeats kit and absolutely LOVE it. I'm even still using the heads that came with it (gasp!). For a 16" bass drum the thing really had some punch. Evans makes 16" bass heads too if you wanted to change it out.

I've brought it to many gigs and it's kind of my preferred set now. It's just so easy to stack the drums and carry them in in one shot. Plus it comes bags which is kinda cool. The snare on any of these kits you pick up will probably be crap anyway so I wouldn't worry about the snare so much. The snare is just ok but that's expected with any kit.

Plus the aqua sparkle is purdy....
Click to expand...

Ive heard lots of mixed reviews on this kit. Did you have any issue with the pedal / riser mount at all. ive seen people mention the pedal hitting the rim of the bass drum when clamped.

If the guy with the premier doesnt get back with me soon, I may look at the breakbeats.
 
I've posted quite a few times about how much I like the BreakBeasts kit and how much fun it is to play, but it's a personal thing (as always with drums!) and I haven't played the Premier so can't comment on it.

This thread has some info I put about the BreakBeats kit and others have posted about the Premier kit too, it might help you with the choices you mention.
http://drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1351009#post1351009

I notice that some of the comments on the Premier kit are not good however I've played lots of Premiers (and own a vintage one) and if they have been looked after they are pretty good in my opinion. Although, as I say I have no experience with the model mentioned.

Good luck!
 
I think the two best bop kits in that price range are the breakbeats and the sonor safari. Put some nice heads on them and they'll sound great! I preferred the sound of the breakbeats but I think the sonors have a better build.
 
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