In the market for a drumset... any advice?

I started with a used kit with B8s from craigslist. It was ridiculous in my financial situation to spend more than a couple hundred on an instrument I didn't know how to play...especially with the time commitment involved in improving (your financial situation may be better). But I easily spent 15 hours a week pounding away my first year. It's a lot to put your family through if you have one. Sometimes I'd do 5 hours (broken up) on a weekend day and it wasn't always fun.

As time went by and only after seeing improvement, I started eyeing cl for decent used cymbals and slowly worked my way around the kit replacing 'em. Then I found a deal on decent used shells. That's the cool thing about drums- if you have a set that you can get reasonably tuned and beat on, you can upgrade piece by piece as you get better.
 
I actually kind of like B8s. They're definitely my favorite of the entry level cheapo cymbals. Much better that PSTs or ZBTs.
 
Greg_L said:
I actually kind of like B8s. They're definitely my favorite of the entry level cheapo cymbals. Much better that PSTs or ZBTs.
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The B8 ride is easily the best of the bunch. mos def better than ZBTs. PST hats sound kinda nice too.
Used cymbals are another great option. On the guitar center used site you can find nice cymbals for decent prices.
 
I can tell the difference between cheapo and nice, but that's about where it ends. I can't tell an A from a K or a high-end Sabian from a high-end Paiste. Light, dark- all sounds the same when you're bashing the crap outta them.
 
fat_fleet said:
I can tell the difference between cheapo and nice, but that's about where it ends. I can't tell an A from a K or a high-end Sabian from a high-end Paiste. Light, dark- all sounds the same when you're bashing the crap outta them.
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A, K, and Z all sound way different to me.

If I had to generalise them:

A: Mostly bright standard sound.
K: Crisp, lots of flavors, specialty... expensive. haha
Z: Brashy, my least favorite.
Avedis: A lot of this stuff seems similar but less refined to the A custom stuff. Still sounds good though. I would say this stuff sounds pretty standard as well.

I pretty much know jack shit about any other cymbal company.

I am willing to bet I could tell a recording of a 20" oriental china vs a 20" A custom china though, or an A custom 22" ride vs a K custom 22" ride. The crashes might be a different story.
 
Greg_L said:
I agree with that, except I like Z's. I think Zildjian K's are highly overrated.
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Brashy might be the wrong word, but Z custom crashes for example being from what I can tell thicker than A customs have a heavier sound to them.

I personally don't like them.
 
Guitargodgt said:
Brashy might be the wrong word, but Z custom crashes for example being from what I can tell thicker than A customs have a heavier sound to them.

I personally don't like them.
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They're similar to Paiste RUDES, and I love me some Paiste RUDES. They're like manhole covers. Heavy, aggressive, hardcore cymbals. Not for jazzy gaybois. :D
 
Hmm... Well it seems that crap drums can be upgraded to sound decent but you're stuck with garbage cymbals...

Do you guys think it's worth it to buy a less expensive kit and use the savings to splurge on a good pack of cymbals?

Also, I'm going to my local music store next week to check drums out; seeing as I don't play drums [yet] I have no feel for what is good, bad, etc. I tried bringing one of my drummer friends along, but our schedules don't meet up. Given my total lack of drum chops, what do you guys suggest for gauging build quality? As of now all I can say is "I like how it sounds", but the sound is only one part of it.
 
Stop thinking in terms of drums coming with cymbals. New drums that come bundled with cymbals never come with good cymbals. Never. The only time you'll find good drums with good cymbals is when you find someone selling his entire setup via ebay/Craigslist/personal ad. Drums and cymbals are separate entities.

As for drum quality, you pretty much get what you pay for, and drums are all pretty much the same in certain price ranges. Say you're looking at a Yamaha 5 pc kit for 800 bucks. It's not going to be any better or worse than a Tama or Pearl in that same price range. Are you going to gig with this kit? If so, hardware becomes a factor. You want beefy hardware for a gigging kit. If it's studio only, you can get by with cheaper hardware.

As for how they sound in the store, don't go by that unless you tune the drums yourself. Drums are not like a guitar or amp. You can play a guitar and amp at a store and get a good idea of how it actually is. Poorly tuned, cheaply headed floor model drum kits rarely sound good.
 
Buy second hand good stuff. Crap stuff breaks, usually sounds awful, sometimes can be tuned properly, cant be repaird. Good stuff lasts like forever and can alwayz be fixed up or improved later. If you have to fork out another $200 to get an old good kit, at least you know you can resell that kit for the same price if you look afta it.
My pearl kit is oldr than me, and wil probably out live me.
 
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Greg_L said:
Stop thinking in terms of drums coming with cymbals. New drums that come bundled with cymbals never come with good cymbals. Never. The only time you'll find good drums with good cymbals is when you find someone selling his entire setup via ebay/Craigslist/personal ad. Drums and cymbals are separate entities.
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Agreed!
 
Well everyone I made my decision.

I'm going with a Sonor Force 1007 and a pack of Sabian XS20s. I guess it's not the greatest kit in the world, but for a little over $ 1000 canadian for drums+cymbals I'd say I didn't get ripped off too too bad :p. I could've done much worse!

I'll be picking it up this Saturday... can't wait to get my hands on it! :D

Thanks for all your help!
 
Congrats! that kit looks nice and XS20's are great for the price. I think they are essentially Sabian AA cymbals that require less manual labor to make. Be sure to post up clips :guitar:
 
One thing that I didn't take into account for buying a new kit...

I didn't realize I actually had to assemble it myself :facepalm:

But, I'm figuring it out as I go along. It's not as hard as I thought, but it sure is taking a while! :p

JG96 said:
Congrats! that kit looks nice and XS20's are great for the price. I think they are essentially Sabian AA cymbals that require less manual labor to make. Be sure to post up clips :guitar:
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Give me a few months so I can learn how to play! :D
 
Drumsets are pretty easy to assemble...once you know how to do it.

When I gigged with my Sonors frequently, I could tear them down and load them into the van in less than 20 minutes. Setup was pretty quick too, although I never timed that.
 
I just recently minimized my gigging setup to the bare minimum for my needs in the band. Fuck it. The crowd doesn't know the difference or give a shit if I use two fewer crash cymbals and 2 fewer toms. Set up and teardown is way faster. It's been nice.

Back in my rockabilly drumming days all I used was a kick, snare, floor tom, and a ride cymbal. That was the best.
 
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