Different woods...

[sirslurpee]

I'm searching for a new drum set, in fact, I am trying to find something around the 800-dollar range that is wood and with or without a snare it doesn't matter. I like the sound of maple, I know that already, but most sets I can find in maple are not in my price range. There is a mapex set that fits the description, but I don't know if it's worth it. Any thoughts on this kit?
Although, a lot of people are telling me that Pearl Exports are nice. They are poplar though. What kind of sound characteristics does poplar have? Other than poplar, I have seen basswood in my price range too. Same deal, what kind of sound characteristics does basswood have?
Last, I found an 8-piece Pulse kit that is mahagony. My dad is a drummer and he said that mahagony is good wood and it is hard to come by. The thing is, the set is $499. I am assuming that it is a pile of shit, but if anyone knows about this kit please let me know what you think.
A friend of mine owns a Pacific 7-piece CX maple kit and I love it, although I believe to get it in the configuration I want is way out of my price range. My setup needs to be something like this: rack-toms: 8", 10", 12". floor tom(s): 14" but if a kit comes with more floor toms then it's okay.. bass drum: 22x18" or something similar. I don't really need a snare, but it would be nice to have something that matches the kit and still sounds good. I don't really have any places where I can go out and play the kits because Guitar Center is cracking down on that stuff, and all of the other music stores around here basically suck.

[scrubs]

Most of the inexpensive kits are 6-ply mahogany. There are different types of mahogany, so don't be fooled. Not that the mahogany kits are bad, they are just a different type of wood than classic mahogany.

You might also want to look into birch. The Gretsch Catalina Birch kits are pretty solid and in your pricerange.

A used maple kit should be available to you as well.

[Brad_C]

Taye makes some fairly cheap maple kits and birch kits as well and the gretsch catalina birch are pretty rockin as well.

[sirslurpee]

Okay.. I have a feeling I am going to end up with a Pearl Export or a Gretch Catalina (sorry sp?) I looked at some other stuff and it's way out of my price range but it's all good because I know I will find something good that will keep me happy.

[jaykeMURD]

Exports are the top sellers (or were) for a reason... It's what I play on.

[fritzmusic]

Of all the "more affordable" maple kits, Gretsch Catalinas (shell kit) and Pacifics (shell kits) are well within your price range. I recently bought a Pacific MX shell kit from guitar center and while it sounds comparable to my old Ludwigs at times when I take painstaking efforts to tune them right, I wish I spent more and gone with the catalinas instead. I was truly impressed with the catalinas because they sounded better and felt more solid than the top of the line DW kit that was set up and if price wasn't a factor, I'd get 'em in a heartbeat.

[Freethinker]

Hbdrums.com has Birch kits in your range, and they come with a snare and hardware.

[PYRRHO]

Ya know what...
don't get wrapped up in all the hype about wood. Is there a difference? Sure...a rather subtle difference. Drum makers over the years, have exagerated and sensationalized the differences in the interest of selling drums - "buy our brand because we use wood X while the other guys still use wood Z." Once upon a time, makers didn't even mention wood type, and it sometimes varied from production run to run depending on availability.

So what to do...
you find a kit with in-round shells, good bearing edges, solid hardware, and a finish you like. That's it. Put some quality heads on there, tune them well, and the drums will sound good.

[tom5]

lol the sound of maple...you do know that very very few people can tell the difference between different would types...the differene in drums usually has to do with the hardware, as well as tuning. You can't tune, maple doesnt mean a thing. I 100% agree with PYRRHO. Don't get caught up in all that B.S. Live, you will not be able to tell the difference and in the studio, the sound is subtle. Its all about your head combonation and how well you tune. You can find alot withing your price range, but just make sure when you get something, that its something you really like and will like for a while. Take your time.

[tmix]

I also agree to a large extent with the previous 2 posts.
I have recorded with many, many different kits, and although there are always subtle differences, other factors like tuning, heads mics, micing positions, and the room acoustics make a larger difference.

Buy a kit that has good mounting hardware and bearing edges.
You will learn the right combo of heads and tuning.