What Drums Should I get?

M

Miseria_Cantare

New member
I am not a drummer, and don't really have any experience playing drums, except for a few times at other peoples houses, etc.

But I want to buy a drum kit, so I can learn.
Which of these should I get?

http://www.stagebeat.co.uk/product.php?product_id=10008

^ I can afford right now, but it it actually good?

http://www.stagebeat.co.uk/P/3731/PP300BLK+GLOSS+BLACK

^ Can also afford that.

http://www.stagebeat.co.uk/P/964/Pvi+BLACK

^ And that.


Also, there's the Yamaha Rydeen, which from reading reviews on the interweb, seems like a very good kit, but it's also extremely expensive.
I would have to wait many a month to be able to afford it.

Basically, would it be worth me waiting to get the Rydeen?
And are any of those about kits decent enough?

Or give me a link to any other drum kit in that price range that you would reccomend over the ones I listed.

Any help is appreciated.
 
Watch for some used Pearl Exports, or some used Tama Rockstar. Excellent beginner sets, pretty good imtermediate sets too!
 
jaykeMURD said:
Watch for some used Pearl Exports, or some used Tama Rockstar. Excellent beginner sets, pretty good imtermediate sets too!
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Pearl Exports are a well respected set.....note that regardless of what you get...you should install new heads and its all about tuning!
 
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acollisionofcon said:
the cheapest thing you can get cos if u dont like playing drums u will be happy you didnt spend alot of $$$ on a sick kit hahaha
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On the flip side of the coin, if you are fairly sure you'll want to continue playing drums, a decent startup kit will last you much longer, and in the long run it will cost you less than a dirt cheap kit and the inevitable upgrades. Plus even if you DIDN'T end up liking drums, something like the Rydeen will hold it's resale value much better.
FWIW, I'm in a very similar situation just starting out, and I decided to go with the Rydeen. It comes today, so I'll let you know what I think after I play around with it a little.
 
Going with some of the more popular names in drum kits will help to hold better resale value if & when you want to sell. The Yamaha kit is good value.

No matter what you get, what heads you use and how you tune your drums will make a big difference. You can make a cheap drum kit sound pretty good if you learn how to tune 'em.

The snare drum is one of the hardest ones to get right, and some of the kits you're looking at only have 6 lugs per head. Most high quality snares will have 10 lugs per head which makes a huge difference for tuning the thing, but they start to get expensive. I'd be looking at starter kits with 8 lugs minimum. You can get a lot more tension on the head which helps for making the sticks bounce and getting a better pitch from the drum.


sl
 
well if u put it that way on the whole resale thing , but that depends on how much cash u can save up in a short period of time , like im 16 so i started on a $200 kit and now i have a $4000 kit so
 
reshp1 said:
I'm in a very similar situation just starting out, and I decided to go with the Rydeen. It comes today, so I'll let you know what I think after I play around with it a little.
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I got the set last night, put it together and messed around with it. My initial reactions...
The hardware that came with the set was excellent. Although this is my first set, I've been playing in bands for 10+ years and recording for 5, and (much to the chagrin of my drummers) have tooled around on quite a few sets. The ball mount system for the toms is REALLY easy to use and allows for almost complete freedom of movement when adjusting. When you've got the toms where you want and angled correctly, tightening the clamp securely locked them there. The hi-hat and cymbal stands were pretty heavy duty for freebies, and even the Musician's Friend freebie boom stand was excellent (I don't know if they screwed up or what but I got a double braced Yamaha stand, instead of the single braced one they advertise). Much better and more heavy duty than the pacifica stand they also included. The kick pedal wasn't the best, but it seems solid enough too.

The drums themselves were around what you'd expect for the price. The bass and snare were pretty good, and I was able to dial in a decent sound pretty quickly. The single ply heads that come on the toms were just terrible, so I had a little trouble getting those to sound good, but I bet with better heavier/double ply heads, they'll sound much better. Musician's Friend also threw in a set of Zildjian PlanetZ hats and a crash, and although they pretty much sucked, they were nice to have so you can put together a complete, ready to play kit right out of the box. Anyway, I'm pretty happy with my purchase and I'd recommend the Rydeen anyday.
 
I got the Rydeen. :)

Although since it's my first set I really don't know what I'm doing as to setting it up/tuning it in.

I've so far managed to get the cymbals and the hihat set up, and I've got the kick drum standing with the pedal, and everything else, pretty much.

But can anyone help me with tuning the actual drums?

I've read a few things on the interweb, but still can't get it right.

The main problem is the Snare drum, it sounds horrible.
I've tried tuning it in many ways, and I've also adjusted the snares at each tuning.
What it is, is, when I play it, there is a tinny echo sound.
I can stop this, by pressing down on the top of the drum as I play, or just putting something with some weight on top (a book) but otherwise I can't get rid of the metally echo noise.
What do I need to do?

Also, everyone else I know who has a drum kit always seem to have a blanket inside the kick drum.
Why is this?
 
I'm no expert, but having just gone through the set-up of the Rydeen myself, I'd suggest you get a new set of heads. The stock ones are pretty bad, the snare batter head is a pretty thin single ply, albeit coated one. I got a Evans ST Dry head and it toned down the ringing a lot. I put half a piece of moongel on the new head, over the Evans logo and now I have a very dry, almost marching drum "crack" which is what I was going for. As far as the bass drum goes, I really liked the way the drum sounded without any dampening (blankets), but I guess it's a personal taste thing. Then blankets will make the drum resonate less, more of a "thud" than a "boom". Tune both the bass heads pretty loose, with the front one a just barely tensioned enough to get rid of the wrinkles when you pust on it with one finger in the middle. I went with Evan's hydraulics on the batters for the toms because the stock single ply ones rang forever, but the hydraulics ended up being a little too far in the opposite direction, IMO. My next set of heads will probably be Remo Pinstripes, which will hopefully split the difference between the stock and hydraulic heads and give me a dark deep sound without killing all the resonance. Good luck!
 
If you have some talent with tuning you can get by with a shitty set. I still haven't replaced the CB Maxx kit (about $200CDN) that I got about 10 years ago. It's served me through a whole shit load of shows and a couple demo recordings.

I'd love to get a Starclassic Performer kit but there are just more important things to add to my studio right now :)
 
FunkDaddy said:
If you have some talent with tuning you can get by with a shitty set. I still haven't replaced the CB Maxx kit (about $200CDN) that I got about 10 years ago. It's served me through a whole shit load of shows and a couple demo recordings.

I'd love to get a Starclassic Performer kit but there are just more important things to add to my studio right now :)
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Thats a very good point. When buying drums concider that you can make cheap drums sound good BUT sucky cymbals stay sucky cymbals.
 
I don't understand why drum makers don't put better heads on their lower end sets! I guess they want to make you think you have to buy a higher end kit to get a great sound. I don't have alot of experience with low end sets but for drums to sound good with thin single ply heads you need a well made, really round shell with really good bearing edges.
I have a GMS Grand Master set that came with Evans single ply heads & they sounded great out of the box. A kid that used to live near me got a new Export set & I couldn't get it to tune up for crap. Put some Remo Pin Stripe heads on them & those tubz sounded pretty good. With all the CNC machining on bearing edges now even lower line drums are easier to tune.
All of the drum builders are making good drums pretty much now. To much competion not to now.
Dave Huffman
 
I recently bought a set of Union drums. For 350.00 (US) delivered, I got a laquered 5 piece set with 10,12, and 14'' toms. The snare (5 1/2'' x 14, wooden) has 10 lugs per side, the 10 and 12'' have 6, and the 14'' has 8 lugs per side. It came with double braced hardware and a "sliding" adjustable multiclamp to hang the 14"" with. All toms have suspension mount hardware (like RIMS.) The kick drum (18x22") has 10 lugs per side and matching wood hoops. The kick drum pedal is very solid (has a steel floor plate,) . For a cheap pedal, it has a decent feel.

I did not even hit the drums once before changing the tom heads to Evans Genera G2's, and the snare to a Remo coated black dot. For an investment of about $400.00, I got a decent sounding kit, that is "gigable." My band mates could not believe that I only spent 350.00 for this kit. At one time, I was considering buying a Ddrum "Punx" kit. After seeing one in person, I was turned off by their "cheap" look.

Dislikes: The kick pedal has a cheap beater, and the high hat clutch is kinda weird.
 
David-H said:
I don't understand why drum makers don't put better heads on their lower end sets! I guess they want to make you think you have to buy a higher end kit to get a great sound. I don't have alot of experience with low end sets but for drums to sound good with thin single ply heads you need a well made, really round shell with really good bearing edges.
I have a GMS Grand Master set that came with Evans single ply heads & they sounded great out of the box. A kid that used to live near me got a new Export set & I couldn't get it to tune up for crap. Put some Remo Pin Stripe heads on them & those tubz sounded pretty good. With all the CNC machining on bearing edges now even lower line drums are easier to tune.
All of the drum builders are making good drums pretty much now. To much competion not to now.
Dave Huffman
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If they did it would be the best marketing move ever.
 
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