New to Drums. (playing)..need a kit

aaronmcoleman

aaronmcoleman

The truth is out there!
Ok, I haven't done any shopping or googling...I'm using the easy way and just coming straight to you guys.

I don't play drums. I want to play drums. I need a kit. What's a good starter kit, what are the price ranges, what do I get if I step up from a beginner kit to something better? I don't want garbage that won't tune, but I don't wanna drop $5k on a super set. I don't know what my budget is, it probably depends on quality and what I can get at each price point.

I play mostly Americana kinda rock and love old 70s sounds, basically very vintage sounding kits. I'm not big at all on modern sounding drums or metal, I know a lot of that is how they're recorded too. I love simple kits (kick, big snare, one rack, one floor, ride, HH, two crash). I'm not terrible at recording drums, but I just can't play and finally have a house where I can make as much noise as I want.

So, please give me some places to start. Thanks a ton!
 
If you are looking for beginner sets, try a Gretsch NightHawk. Or even a Ludwig Accent sets. I'm also pretty sure that 70s sound is part of which wood was used to make the kits also the heads. You don't have to drop big bucks to get a decent beginner set. Check this out if you are interested: Drum Set Wood Types : DrumThunder.com - Your source for Info about Drums, Recording, Live Sound and More

Although do stay away from the Sound Percussion kits that run like $200-$300. They won't stay in tune and you can't tune them low if you like lower sounding toms. After about ten minutes of playing, all the lugs are rattling around and the heads have no tension.

Short and brief but still hope it helped a bit. Cheers!
 
Well Im a huge fan of craigslist, ecspecially if you live in well populated area, you can easily find complete sets meaning drums, pedals, cymbals, all day long for around 500.00 bucks.

All the major drum makers have excellent entry to mid level sets for well under a grand. I wouldnt get too worried about shell types, maple , birch, etc, because most everyone agrees that head choice will affect the sound of the drum more than anything else, but do plan on getting all new heads on anything you buy used or new. Even most new sets have crappy heads.
 
fat_fleet said:
Are you near LA? This looks better than what I started with:

Red Pearl Export 5pc Drum Set w/ Zildjian Cymbals & Double Pedal

Looks like it's got Aquarians already and you could try and get the guy to substitute a single kick pedal and go down a few bucks too.
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I'm probably 15 minutes from there. So $500 is a good price? I know NOTHING about drum pricing. But $500 is definitely in my budget.

I think I live in one of the most populated parts of the world...our craigslist is usually full of good stuff...but people know what it's worth, so the GREAT deals are pretty much gone...but that was the way I was going to go since GOOD deals are still around and it always beats new.

Oh, and one thing to add, this will only be for recording, I'm not going to gig with it unless I lose some kind of bet and have to embarrass myself.
 
aaronmcoleman said:
I'm probably 15 minutes from there. So $500 is a good price? I know NOTHING about drum pricing. But $500 is definitely in my budget.

I think I live in one of the most populated parts of the world...our craigslist is usually full of good stuff...but people know what it's worth, so the GREAT deals are pretty much gone...but that was the way I was going to go since GOOD deals are still around and it always beats new.
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I'd file the price under good and not great, but better than new. Anything you get new or used, you're probably gonna wanna reskin it right off the bat, especially the kick drum.... so if those Aquarians have any life left and aren't stretched to shit it'll save you about $80. It looks like the hardware is in decent shape. He's got it on ebay too for $50 more:

Pearl Export Drum Set w/ Zildjian Cymbals & Pearl Double Bass Pedal | eBay

Looks like he's got a few Pearl kits. As always check the hardware and bearing edges...all that stuff. The important thing is to get a passable kit to start with that will tune up, then as you start outgrowing it, work your way around the kit replacing cymbals and hardware a little at a time. I've only been at it a few years. I'm sure Greg or RAMI will give you better pointers.

I moved from an apartment in the city to a cabin in the woods pretty much for the sole reason of being able to play drums in the house. :)
 
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If you're looking for a good playable kit, go to your local Guitar Center and see what used kits they have there. They may be a bit scratched but the shells and hardware are often sound, I've seen Perl and Gretsch 5 and six piece kits going for as low as $150 (but that is rare) They occasionally have older Tama and Pacific kits too. It's worth checking out. Buy new when you really know what you want and have all the money you need. Buy your cymbals individually (not in packs) and try to find some good used or specials. Stay away from Stagg, Wuhan (except for China crashes) and Pearl cymbals because they are garbage. Zildjian, Sabian, Paiste, and even Meinl are better choices, but try before you buy. All cymbals of the same brand, style and size do not sound alike. Then make sure you get good heads and tune your drums properly.
 
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fat_fleet said:
I moved from an apartment in the city to a cabin in the woods pretty much for the sole reason of being able to play drums in the house. :)
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Yeah I moved into a house for the same reason...loud music. My next stop is hopefully a cabin in the woods.
 
Whatever kit you buy, put aside about another $100-$150 for skins. If it's a used kit, you'll probably want to change the skins. If it's a new kit, you'll want to change the crap factory skins most companies put on their kits.

The skins are of about 70% importance, the shells about 30%. So, just about any kit will do, as long as nothing is cracked or broken. Good skins and knowing how to tune them will be the real difference maker.

Oh yeah, cymbals, too. But that's another post......
 
I've got a friend with a Tama Rockstar(?) set. He lives in an apartment and said I could use them until he moves...which will be never because he's the ultimate slacker (pretty much The Dude)...so I pretty much have a kit for as long as I want. So I'm definitely going to roll with that for a while. I'm not sure what snare he has, but he used to have a beautiful sounding Supraphonic that I loved, so hopefully that's still there.

I will definitely get new heads. What are some you guys would recommend for a super vintage 70s sound...for mostly pretty mellow American rock?
 
aaronmcoleman said:
I've got a friend with a Tama Rockstar(?) set. He lives in an apartment and said I could use them until he moves...which will be never because he's the ultimate slacker (pretty much The Dude)...so I pretty much have a kit for as long as I want. So I'm definitely going to roll with that for a while. I'm not sure what snare he has, but he used to have a beautiful sounding Supraphonic that I loved, so hopefully that's still there.

I will definitely get new heads. What are some you guys would recommend for a super vintage 70s sound...for mostly pretty mellow American rock?
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Coated heads. Remo Ambassadors, and if you want really fat and dead sounds, coated Emperors. Try to get your sounds with the heads alone as opposed to stupid tricks like taping a bunch of stuff to the heads. Low tuning and two-ply coated heads will get you the sound you want while still being toneful and rich and you won't need to muffle them with a bunch of bullshit. You can alter the sustain and decay by tweaking the bottom head tighter or looser as you see fit.
 
Cool, thanks. I don't think I want a really fat and dead sound...so two-ply heads? Alright, I'll start looking.

He does have the Supraphonic! Which probably also needs a new head.

I'm pretty stoked on learning to play drums, maybe in 5 years I'll be good enough to actually record something!
 
aaronmcoleman said:
Cool, thanks. I don't think I want a really fat and dead sound...so two-ply heads? Alright, I'll start looking.

He does have the Supraphonic! Which probably also needs a new head.

I'm pretty stoked on learning to play drums, maybe in 5 years I'll be good enough to actually record something!
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Try recording yourself now. You don't have to record with the idea of actually using it (but you never know). Listening to yourself on a recording playing with a melodic instrument is a great learning tool. You can then see where you've really screwed up and you might find that things you think you screwed up on actually sound pretty good. This is great training because when you are sitting behind the kit, it sounds very different than what the mics hear and what the audience hears. In our advanced techno world that is a great advantage that we have that our forefathers didn't. Use recording yourself to help make you a better drummer. (You may find that it will help you to ease off on the cymbals a lot. You don't have to hit them as hard as most beginning drummers do).
 
Rimshot said:
Try recording yourself now. You don't have to record with the idea of actually using it (but you never know). Listening to yourself on a recording playing with a melodic instrument is a great learning tool. You can then see where you've really screwed up and you might find that things you think you screwed up on actually sound pretty good. This is great training because when you are sitting behind the kit, it sounds very different than what the mics hear and what the audience hears. In our advanced techno world that is a great advantage that we have that our forefathers didn't. Use recording yourself to help make you a better drummer. (You may find that it will help you to ease off on the cymbals a lot. You don't have to hit them as hard as most beginning drummers do).
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Great idea...thanks! I plan on having a friend who knows how to tune and set stuff up help me and show me how, then we are going to set up the mics and it'll be easy for me to record them for practice.
 
aaronmcoleman said:
I'm probably 15 minutes from there. So $500 is a good price? I know NOTHING about drum pricing. But $500 is definitely in my budget.

I think I live in one of the most populated parts of the world...our craigslist is usually full of good stuff...but people know what it's worth, so the GREAT deals are pretty much gone...but that was the way I was going to go since GOOD deals are still around and it always beats new.

Oh, and one thing to add, this will only be for recording, I'm not going to gig with it unless I lose some kind of bet and have to embarrass myself.
Click to expand...

I always get excited when I get into a new practice room with a band and see a Pearl Export waiting for me - I'd rank them as the best entry-to-mid level kit. In fact Martin Che from Don Cabellero was still using his Pearl Export kick and toms on every live performance and recording Don Cabellero did before they originally split up.

Like he said, just make sure the bearing edges haven't taken any damage, because that can/will be a huge problem with the sound you get from the kit. You will almost absolutely need new skins. Make sure the hardware is sturdy and reliable, beause ergo-dynamics is probably the most overlooked and one of the most important aspects of technique. You want to sound like John Stanier, not play like him, but shotty hardware will limit how you can set up a kit (and that will give you trouble with mic placement and recording).

And then - cymbals. I don't actually have a kit right now, but I do own a great set of cymbals that cost me and arm, a leg and 8 months worth of work at a job I hated. Obviously you don't want to spend as much, but what I will say is their's no point in having a decent kit without decent cymbals (especially for recording) - so maybe look at getting something like a Sabian B8 cymbal kit. Yet again, I think Martin Che used a B8 ride with Don Cab. They've served me and a lot of drummers I know well. If you're buying second-hand make sure to look out for hairline fractures and warping (some people out there are bad to their cymbals).

Being a musician is an expensive hobby...
 
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