Great cheap drums? "SM7 is to mics as X is to drums..."

kojdogg

kojdogg

bollocks redux!
The wifey and I are closing on a house in a month (knock on wood), which means that I may finally get to have another drum kit to bang on terribly for my own enjoyment as well as to use for recording more competent drummers occasionally.

Can you folks recommend some great bargains in drums (like the SM7 is for mics)-- either shell packs/kits or individual drums new or used?

Thanks!
 
If you are looking for the price of an SM7, good luck.

Otherwise, I'm a Sonor fanboy. You can't really go wrong with the 2007.
 
Yeah, but he's talking about cheap drums, I wouldn't call the Sessions cheap by any measure :P

The 2007 ain't cheap either but its still pretty damn good.
 
Bargains? No. Everything of quality costs a freakin' arm and a leg. Keep an eye on Craiglist.

DW makes nice drums.

Tama, Pearl, and Yamaha make nice high-end kits.

You can gussy up less expensive shells to sound nice, but you must have excellent cymbals.
 
Yep, all you need on drums are nice clean bearing edges and well tuned heads. While cheaper drums have a narrower tuning range, they still can sound good.

But good cymbals are a MUST! You can throw effects on drums to make them sound decent, but cymbals, if they're crap, they're always crap.
 
Personally I would say the sessions are cheap as hell. They retailed for about a grand. When compared with 3+ grand "professional" drums that's a total steal for professional grade drums. On ebay you can find a good used kit of sessions for about the amount you'd spend on a tama rockstar or pearl export new. I got myself a session 10" tom off ebay for 30 bucks. It was in great condition is one of the best sounding drums I've ever played.
 
If you're buying new, I higly recommend the Mapex Meridian or the Sonor Force drums, either maple or birch. As far as I know, the shells are made in the same factory, so the choice between the two brands is mainly aesthetic, or based on how good a deal you can get.

Cymbals... Whether you're buying new or used, buy good cymbals that are appropriate to the music you'll be recording.
 
open to buying used or new, packages or individual drums.
i know i won't get a good kit for the price of an sm7-- it was just an analogy.
let me give some examples:
i understand that pearl sensitone snares might be a good value, pork pie BoB's are also a good value (albeit a little more expensive).
any suggestions for good cymbals for rock and roll? i know new beat hi hats are pretty popular...
 
As far as cymbals go you can find some fairly inexpensive bosphorus crashes on ebay. They absolutely sing. Among the best crashes I've played and I've never payed more than 50 bucks per cymbal.

The Paiste Alpha line is an amazing bargain. Wonderful cymbals that are less expensive because its a cheaper alloy (I think).

I've been using an aging pair of AAX stage hats for 12 or more years now. I keep getting compliments on them. No one knows what they are 'cus all the logos are gone. In fact... We recently left them at a festival and the drummer of the band holding the festival was very upset to learn that the hats actually belonged to someone.

He went so far as to offer to buy them off of me for any price in order to keep them. I refused.

Another series that's worth a looksie is the Sabian AA El Sabor line. The rides in that line make killer crashes for hard hitting rockers. And their bells are extremely explosive.


P.S. I'd steer clear of the sonor force kits. I've played 2 different sonor forces and really disliked both of them. They felt sluggish and sounded dull.
 
My favorites are Zildjian A's, Paiste 2002's, and Sabian AA's. All along the same line in terms of tone. The Paiste's are the most expensive though.
 
Tama Rockstar is the 57 of drums

Can sound like just about anything, parts are available everywhere, its cheap, and everyone has 7
 
the old Rockstars, you mean. They were discontinued in like 05 (replaced by the Superstar). The new ones are shitty intro models.

But yeah, there were a ton of those old Rockstars. Almost as many as there were Exports.
 
Seafroggys said:
the old Rockstars, you mean. They were discontinued in like 05 (replaced by the Superstar). The new ones are shitty intro models.

But yeah, there were a ton of those old Rockstars. Almost as many as there were Exports.
Click to expand...

Ahh!!! thanks for the info! I was just about to reccomend some I saw for cheap at guitar walmart
 
It's worth picking up a used Ludwig Acrolite snare. Definitely a workhorse and usually under $100 in good condition on e-bay.

You can get A-Customs as a pack from Zildjian for around $700. A pretty good deal, imo, but buying used will be cheaper - just make sure they are in good shape.
 
Just my opinion,

but i wouldn't buy new.
Drums remind me of cars where they lose value as you drive them off the lot.

In my local craigs, there are fantastic deals every week on used drums.
If they don't have to match, or be collectable, or be in perfect condition, so much the better.
The best deals are on whole kits.
Once they decide to get rid of the big pile of drums in the garage, they want to see it gone.
they dont want to piece it out.

For recording, i like smaller kits. i think they mic up better.
besides, do you really want to have a huge kit that takes up half a room,
that's really loud?
Ok, maybe you do.
but still.

Agree on the need for quality cymbals.
Again, i find smaller cymbal sizes mic up better.
Try to tame the wash from a 24 inch ride.
Zildian A's from the 60's and 70's can be had for $100 on my local craigs.


for recording, i would eventually try to get a couple of extra snares.
The snare is the signature sound of popular music.
It's much easier to audition a few snares in a session, than spend
hours trying different effects and mics to get a different sound.

i find each snare has a place when you tune them where they speak.
it's a waste of time to try and get a snare to sound like another snare when it doesn't want to.
 
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