Drumset for the new house

[zed32]

Me and my cousin are gonna be getting our own place pretty soon, since my rent where i'm at is just too high. i'm looking to use a spare bedroom at the new place as a jam room and want to get a (used) drumset on the cheap that is decent.

i came across a newer Pacific drum kit for $350 and a 2004 Pearl Export Select for $500 which are nearby for sale. i'm gonna go check out the Pacific kit later tonight, i'm not sure if it's one of their better models or not. the Pearl kit looks really nice, but i'm not sure what the pricing on those is like. it has the tom mounts that don't go thru the drum, and is a nice sunburst finish. i emailed to see if any hardware is included, but haven't got word back yet.

the Pacific kit doesn't come with any hardware. which one of these kits would be the better value? i don't mean as in a head-to-head which is better, but which one seems like it's more worth the price? i heard some good stuff about the Pacific kits, and hopefully this one for sale isn't the cheapest EZ series or whatever its called.

i already have some nice hi hats with a stand, and a snare/stand and can bum a throne off of my other cousin so thats not too much of a problem, just gotta find a couple cymbals/stands to go with.

if the Pearl set worth $500 by itself minus the hardware? would a decent Pacific kit be a steal at $350? any thoughts before i go check out the kit tonight? thanks!


oh and these probably aren't gonna be recorded much, so i don't care about the overall quality tooooo much, just looking to get the best deal.

i'll stick with DFHS until i can get some better gear!

[zed32]

nevermind on the Pacific kit. it turns out to be the cheaper model, and $350 is too much! it's got the mounts thru the shell and had the metal snare and not-so-great hardware.

so what do you guys think of $500 for the Pearl?? just wondering if i should even consider it for that price. i'm really no drum expert.

[zed32]

OK i got confirmed that the drum kit comes with hi hat/stand, throne, cymbal/stand, snare drum/stand, kick/pedal, 3 toms, and some practice pads. from the picture it's hard to tell what kind of cymbal, but it looks like a large crash or maybe a ride. and i think it appears to say Zildjian on it.

so is $500 OK?? should i go for it or should i just wait for maybe a better deal to come around? maybe i can make an offer for $450? hmmm

[zed32]

Nobody??? screw you guys then i think i'll just buy it! hopefully i'm not getting ripped off, but it seems like a pretty good deal....

[TragikRemix]

difficult discussion to get into.

from experience with lower end drumsets, well, i don't have much experience with them.

i went from a cheap cheap cheapy to a vintage vistalite, and not much happneded in between.

my friends have sets like the Tama swingstar and pearl exports, and they are OK. if they are tuned right and played well, they can sound good. they are pretty good deals if they come with hardware.

the cymbals are junk usually, but the hardware should be OK.

[zed32]

yeah i'm not expecting great quality out of this drumset or anything, i was just wondering if that price seemed OK compared to a new one, or if i could do better for $500.

[ermghoti]

If it's just for around the house, how about reduced sized drums? They are always cheaper than comparable full-sized kits, and will be less likely to get the knock-on-the-door treatment.

Theres a Catalina Club kit on Boston's CL for $400, less cymbals. Alternatively, you could get a fusion floor type kit, and mount the floor tom on a Hipgig riser, effectively making a 16" kick, with 10 and 12" toms.

[zed32]

oh snap! came across a good deal on a Pacific FS Birch kit! much less than the Pearl kit, but no hardware...damn!!! this one's closer to my house too. too many decisions.




anyone know if the birch kit comes with a maple snare? or is it all birch? i already have a decent metal snare, i guess any wood snare would be a nice addition.

[ermghoti]

The snare with the kit is birch, IIRC.

[dkerwood]

Hardware can be the deal breaker. Take my advice and grab some cymbal multi clamps - that way, you can do 2 cymbals to one stand. I have a splash mounted to my hi hat stand, two more crashes on one stand, and then my ride sits alone. 3 stands and 5 cymbal options in front of me. Very cost effective.

Avoid the Pearl clamps and look for the Gibraltar. http://www.zzounds.com/item--GBRSCGCA

My thought is that the birch will probably resell better than the Export... $500 for an Export with all the hardware is pretty much market value, IMHO. My drummer got his Export with a Pearl rack, all the other hardware, and a set of Zildjian As for a little less than $500. My vote is for the birch, though. Btw, how much "less" than the Export is the Pacific kit?

[zed32]

the deal i'm workin on right now for the birch kit is $350 for the shells with a good cymbal stand and snare stand. i think it's pretty decent. the kit is near new and it has the tom mounts that don't penetrate the shell.

gonna go take a look at it tomorrow night.

the guy with the crappy pacific kit wanted $350 for just the drums! kinda crazy cuz you can get that kit new for $299 at GC.

[EdWonbass]

I bought the Pacific FXR birch shell pack to replace my mostly crappy drums. I have enough decent cymbal stands donated from the drummer in my band. The kit is upstairs and I can't mess with it yet because my wife is giving it to me for Christmas.
I did put the heads on the kick and without doing much tunning it sounds killer. I paid $399 and it seems like a pretty good deal. They are beautiful drums.

[dkerwood]

I'd go with the birch kit then. I'm jealous. :-)

[zed32]

BAM!......

[zed32]

it's not set up right, i just got it and threw it together real quick to get a pickature, but it's too late at night to be playing drums around here. i got a pretty smokin' deal on this drum set, it's in excellent shape! im probably gonna flatten out the toms and lower them a little bit, thats just how the memory locks were from the previous owner.

so here's what i got: Pacific FS Birch kit with 10x8, 12x9 and 14x12 mounted toms, 14x5 snare, 22x18 kick. i got the heavy duty Pearl cymbal/tom stand (this thing is super heavy and strong, pictured on far left), an older 17" A Zildjian crash (not sure what model but feels like a medium thin or medium, sounds great) with Pearl stand, double braced snare stand, brand new heads on everything (and well tuned! the seller really knew his drums, he had like 3 other DW kits at his house!), and a brand new Pacific double kick pedal (not that i really use double, but it works nice as a single too). grand total for everything came out to $500...what do you think? that's $350 for shells, big stand and snare stand, and an extra $150 for the double kicker, 17" crash and another cymbal stand.

but i'm not gonna be able to play it for at least another day!! i got work all day tomorrow, then i'm going straight to a concert afterwards and probably not coming home til saturday. oh well!

[EdWonbass]

I love it! I like the fusion size toms. My drummer has a Pearl kit with 10" and 12" rack toms and a 14" floor. My new kit has a 12" rack and a 16" floor tom.
I might try to find a 14" stand mount tom eventually. First I am going to replace the stock heads and go from there.
Are you going to put a hole in the kick?

[zed32]

Originally Posted by EdWonbass

Are you going to put a hole in the kick?

definitely.