Low Budget Drum Kit

[travelin travis]

Check out the cleaveage on this kit:

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-5-Piece-Pc-D...ayphotohosting

On a some what serious note, any sugguestions on a cheap ass drum kit? brands, features, etc. I'm not a drummer and am looking for a basic kit to put some good tuned heads on. The plan is to use the kit for one man recording in a 10 x 12 bedroom which will have the corners covered with 703 insulation or rockwool. right now I'm looking at the Ludwig Accent kit or the Pacific EZ kit and a Meinl Cymbal pack at Musicians Friend. I've been combing through all the cheap ass kits on ebay too.

[johnny5dm]

I've been a bit out of the loop recently on drum brands and such, but I can give you at least a few tips.

First of all, look for good, double-braced hardware. That means that on the leg of a cymbal stand, there are two metal strips instead of just one. The hardware will last you that much longer.

Also, if you can manage to find a cheap kit that has good isolation mounting (don't know if they exist), that's a huge plus. Isolation mounting means that the drums are isolated in some form (usually rubber, or special rim mounts), which lets the drum shell vibrate more freely, thus sounding better (it DOES make a difference). If I were you, I might try to find a good used set, rather than going for a new one.

Above all, just go and LISTEN - try to find a good drum shop, not just your giga-retailer that doesn't give a crap about how their drums are tuned.

I'll let some other guys chime in on some other tips.

[daav]

i got a sonar 1001 on ebay for just < $200, included 20"" bass drum, 2 mounted toms, floor tom, 2 cymbal stands, kick pedal, snare and stand (no cymbals). with shipping it was about $225. It took about 2-3 weeks of looking and selectively bidding to get the best possible deal. The cymbals I found (custom A hats, A 16" med thin crash, 20' A ping ride) cost WAY more all together than the kit. First thing i did was replace the head on the snare, and it now sounds a great deal less crappy.

I dount if anyone will marvel at the quality of the shells but the hardware is very solid for an entry level kit, and it has been fun as hell to play. Replacing heads and tuning correctly can go a long way here. I am still working on the tuning and have a bunch more heads to replace as well

daav

[persondude]

My set is a Gretsch Nighthawk. Entry-level, made in China, blah, blah.....it's still Gretsch and think it sounds real good for the money.

[tilinmyowngrave]

DO NOT GET A CHEAPO DRUM SET FROM EBAY!!!!! I had to learn the hard way.

[junplugged]

drum store. guys there will help you put together what you want from pieces, parts, or whole used kits. I got one I think it was on consignment or something but he gave me a new throne, new pedal, a zero ring - cheap but I still use it, this included cymbals and stands and it was complete. these days I go over there and for really low prices I see kits, but not as good a quality as similarly price used.

Also snares can cost a lot, but if you can deal w/ a cheap one, I just got a second one for $30 on MF, it's a soprano but I like it and it could help round out a kit that would otherwise be $100 more for a good one they have there.

I just remember now that the snare stand fell apart since I got it, so there's $50 more, and I got a smaller crash for the studio and a new stand, but that's over a few years.

[I M Green]

Originally Posted by TravisinFlorida

Check out the cleaveage on this kit:

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-5-Piece-Pc-D...ayphotohosting

ROFLMAO!

[boomtap]

I like my Pacific kit. It was $450, but I get great sound from them.

[travelin travis]

Originally Posted by tilinmyowngrave

DO NOT GET A CHEAPO DRUM SET FROM EBAY!!!!! I had to learn the hard way.

Which kit did you get? Most of the Ebay ads for those cheap drum kits just have a flea market vibe to em. I don't know what it is.....

Is anyone recording drums n a small room like mine (10x12) and getting good results? I'm just thinking that everything is gonna be muddy as hell even with bass traps (rockwool panels) covering the corners.

I've got word on an old Ludwig jazz kit for $350 with decent cymbals. I'll have to see how that pans out. The way my luck goes though......

Thanks for all the sugguestions so far.

[travelin travis]

like i guessed, the ludwig kit does'nt look like it's gonna materialize.

so, i'm looking at getting a ludwig accent combo kit. they're cheap as hell and i read some good reviews of them. has anyone tried one of these kits?

it has a wood snare with no muffle. i have never tried a wood snare and don't really know what to expect. i'm also guessing that with no muffle, the snare will ring too much. would moon gels take care of ringing if this is the case?

just for reference, i owned a tama rockstar kit a few years ago. i thought this kit sounded nice and clear. the snare was a little loud but sounded pretty nice. would i be sorely dissapointed in the ludwig accent kit?

if i buy this kit, i'm gonna change the heads first thing. i was thinking of remo ambassador's. what is the difference in sound between coated and uncoated heads? should i change the resonant heads too? i'm planning to use this kit for music ranging from dark country to semi heavy rock. some rough ideas of stuff i'm planning to do are on my soundclick page. "drive" and "here she comes again"

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page...?bandID=303881

thanks for any info.

[drummerdude666]

Rather than buy a cheap kit that will sound bad and will annoy you forever as everyhitng brecks, just buy a better used kit.

Used kits are never in that bad shape, so go to your local store and see if they have any, or look at their noticeboard for ads.

[tilinmyowngrave]

I second that. I got a used Superstar from th 70's for less than lots of drums that dont sound as good.

[travelin travis]

i found a 6 piece pearl kit in the paper today for $350 but as my luck goes.......the ad had the wrong phone number. i guessed and tried some alternative numbers but still no luck reaching the correct one. damn!

[travelin travis]

between the opinions of you guys and a article i read, i think i have decided not to get a really cheap kit. it would probably just be a waste of money in the long run and alot of frustration. i think i want to at least get a rockstar or export kit. i guess i'll just keep watching the classifieds and ebay. the pawn shops here really suck and i never see an affordable used kit in any of the music stores here. any other ideas?

[drummerdude666]

Originally Posted by TravisinFlorida

between the opinions of you guys and a article i read, i think i have decided not to get a really cheap kit. it would probably just be a waste of money in the long run and alot of frustration. i think i want to at least get a rockstar or export kit. i guess i'll just keep watching the classifieds and ebay. the pawn shops here really suck and i never see an affordable used kit in any of the music stores here. any other ideas?

Good decision.

Go to your local drum/music store and look at their classifieds, or find out if they do part ex.

[DM24]

Well it all depends how budget you want to go....

Im in the UK so i will use ebay.com to get your USA prices for you...

($100-$400)
NEW
If you are after a brand new kit at this price i would say do not bother, they do a few kits on eBay at around the $199 point with cymbals and a throne -

http://cgi.ebay.com/199-NEW-SILVER-5...QQcmdZViewItem

This may seem like a good deal BUT the hardware will fall apart in a matter of no time so that will need to upgraded, the cymbals will have practically no sound and again will need an upgrade, the stock drum skins on the kit will again need to be upgraded to get a fairly decent sound and also the snare itself will most probably need an upgrade sooner rather than later.

So in the long run when you add up all the upgrades that you will need to make its gonna cost you a lot more than the $199 price suggests....


SECOND HAND
This is easily the best option to go for...

The kits recommended at about this price are....

Pearl Forum
Pearl Export (ELX)
Tama Swingstar
Tama Rockstar
Mapex V Series
Tama Rockstar
Gretsch Catalina

You are best off trying to find one bundled with a hi hat stand, bass drum pedal and a couple of boom/straight stands and maybe some cymbals...

If you cant get hold of any cymbals with these kits then try any of these for mid ranged sets...

Zildjian ZBT
Paiste 502
Sabian Pro Sonix

Again try getting those second hand, just make sure they have no cracks or keyholing....

And there you go, hope you can find a bargain!

[drummerdude666]

Pro Sonix are stupidly expensive compared to us in the UK. Arbiter for some reason sell them almost 60% to us in the Uk than anywhere else in the world.

Alse any reason why you specify ELX over EXR or just EX? They are exactly the same kits. The difference in codes refers to the diffrent finishes.

Remember TravisinFlorida that you HAVE to buy new heads for these drums if you're recording...heads can cost the same as a cheap drum kit once you've totaled up the cost!

[DM24]

No reason just adding a few example kits...

For a brand new kit of that price range than yeah you would have to change heads, but if you went for a second hand kit with newish heads on it already then i see no reason to change them....

[travelin travis]

Originally Posted by drummerdude666

Remember TravisinFlorida that you HAVE to buy new heads for these drums if you're recording...heads can cost the same as a cheap drum kit once you've totaled up the cost!

I've been looking into heads but I'm kind of confused on reso heads though. I was thinking that whatever kit i get, I would put new batter heads on but reso heads seem to be just as important when it comes to tuning. The tama rockstar kit that i had a few years back seemed to have pretty good heads on it. I don't know much about drums, heads, etc. but the drummer I played with back then told me that the heads on that kit were good especially for stock heads. I'm thinking that with the cost of new heads for a used kit, I might as well just hold out for a new kit. I regret selling that kit now. I paid about $400 and it was in almost new condition with decent cymbals and extra cymbal stands. I see that line has been discontinued. Have the rockstar's been replaced with another line?

I read an article that helped quite a bit. Do you guys agree with this?

http://georgesdrumshop.com/shop/jmdr...c8e09ce0324efa

I'm looking at the student level, as mentioned in that article.

[travelin travis]

[QUOTE=DM24]
SECOND HAND
This is easily the best option to go for...

The kits recommended at about this price are....

Pearl Forum
Pearl Export (ELX)
Tama Swingstar
Tama Rockstar
Mapex V Series
Tama Rockstar
Gretsch Catalina
QUOTE]

The kits I have played and heard are the forum, export, swingstar, rockstar, and mapex v series. I thought that the forum, swingstar, and mapex v kits all felt kind of cheap and did'nt sound that good. I like the rockstar. I have only heard the export with crappy heads but they did'nt feel like a cheap ass kit.

[DM24]

Originally Posted by TravisinFlorida

The kits I have played and heard are the forum, export, swingstar, rockstar, and mapex v series. I thought that the forum, swingstar, and mapex v kits all felt kind of cheap and did'nt sound that good. I like the rockstar. I have only heard the export with crappy heads but they did'nt feel like a cheap ass kit.

Well the Forum, Swingstar and V kits are all the lowest kits that Pearl, Tama and Mapex do so obviously they will send worse than the Export and Rockstar costing about $150-200 more. It's like anything, you get what you pay for....

The Export in my oppinion is the best sounding mid range kit, great price, great finish options, durable hardware and great customer service. The rockstar again is a good kit but i think the Pearl is better kit.

The Pearl Forum kit is another good kit, i was very surprised when i heard the kit tuned up nicely, it was not that different to a kit priced a fair few hundred more. Aslong as you can tune fairly well and keep your heads in good condition there's no reason why any of the kits mentioned here will not fullfill your needs.

[mjau]

Originally Posted by TravisinFlorida

Is anyone recording drums n a small room like mine (10x12) and getting good results? I'm just thinking that everything is gonna be muddy as hell even with bass traps (rockwool panels) covering the corners.

My room is a little bigger than yours (about 15' x 12'), and I've got a Yamaha Stage Custom I'm recording. Two things have helped me tremendously: bass traps, and relying less on my overheads and more on my close mics. I try to get a solid kick and snare sound, and use my overheads for some cymbal pickup and some stereo spread. A mono front of kit mic with a little compression is usually all the "room" I have in my drum mix.

[travelin travis]

Originally Posted by mjau

My room is a little bigger than yours (about 15' x 12'), and I've got a Yamaha Stage Custom I'm recording. Two things have helped me tremendously: bass traps, and relying less on my overheads and more on my close mics. I try to get a solid kick and snare sound, and use my overheads for some cymbal pickup and some stereo spread. A mono front of kit mic with a little compression is usually all the "room" I have in my drum mix.

thanks for the info. i have read that some where - small room, close micing is best. i will definitely be putting up bass traps. what exactly is the problem when using overheads in a small room? do you get a muddy sound?

where in the room do you setup your kit? i mean like the center of the room, against a wall, etc. do you have any sound clips?

[VFsticks69]

By far the pearl export would be the best bet. You can get one for pretty cheap without cymbals but it would be worth it. They rock. It also is the heads you put on it. Alot of people would shoot me for it, but remo pinstripes sound the best on this kit. Pearl kits usually make the best entry to mid level sets on the market. Export is the best though. I have played on others and the only mid level set to match, well beat it for that matter, was a birch pacific set. it costs WAY more too. good luck choosing.

[travelin travis]

i just talked to a friend about a guitar amp that he has been trying to sell me for a while (i've been holding out for a lower price). anyway, he said he has an old tama rockstar kit complete with cymbals and all hardware, that i can use. i just have to buy some heads for it. apparently the kit has been stored at a friends house for 2 years so i would probably be able to keep it for awhile without any worries of him needing it back any time soon. so now i just gotta figure out what heads to get.

i'm gonna be recording in a small room (10x12) lined with rockwool panels for bass traps. i like big open sounding drums but in a small room that's probably not likely gonna happen. the mics i have right now are 2 sm58's and a cad m179. i planned to get a pair of MXL 603's and a Superlux fk-2. i was gonna get remo ambassador's but i'm wondering if the open resonant sound of those heads would just turn into mud in a small room. can anyone reccomend heads?

i'm still gonna keep my eyes/ears out for a kit of my own. at least i will have something in the mean time.