JPF Home Page Forums Musician Gear and Techniques Bass and Drum Forum SHARE YOUR DRUMSET WISDOM!

I am a newbie drummer and I'm looking to buy a set. Will you drum gurus out there please fill me in on the short list (or long list if you want) of good beginner sets, pro sets, price ranges, etc?

I am serious about this and want to buy the best possible product but not get too carried away cause drums cost a fortune. I figure I can trust you guys more than guitar center.

Hey colorvision, In my opinion, you can't go wrong with Pearl Exports. They are great sounding drums with good hardware so they will really take a beating. Most kits come with everything you need to get started - bass pedal, stands, throne, cymbals, etc...They aren't the greatest cymbals, but they would get you started. You will probabaly want to change out the factory heads at some point. But you could probably get going for about $800. I think you will be pleased if you choose Pearl. Best of luck and happy drumming!

One word: USED

You may see my name on a lot of bass postings, but i played drums for about ten years before I switched to the bass. Don't go to guitar center, find a drum shop in town. They will probably have a good selection of used drums. Pearl, Ludwig, Tama, Drum Workshop (dw)are all good choices. Don't worry if they look a little beat up, just make sure the hardware (stands, etc) is solid and can be adjusted to different heights and that is will stay put where you set it to. Personally, I recommend sticking (no pun intended) to a four piece set. For cymbals try to get Zildjian or Paiste (or Sabian). Go for a highhat, ride and one crash to start with. If there are no cracks showing the cymbal is probably ok. Hope this helps.

Thank you guys. The advise is much appreciated. It's the littlest details that really make the difference. I ahve a lesson with Johnny Smith on saturday too. Apparently he's been teaching for 60 years and he sounds like a cool guy.

It depends on the style of music you play. I play a lot of jazz and really like the Mapex manhattan Pro. Also, you can have a great set and bad cymbals and still sound awful. Again with jazz, a good ride and hat sound is very important.

Hope that helps!

Colorvision,

Not that the drums I use aren't high-end but like Dave said: "BUY USED"!
For less than you would pay for a new set, you can get a high-end, even collectible set that you might keep forever and modify or expand upon.

I personally have always liked the sound of cast hoops and so I use Gretschs with a Premier snare. Gretsch and Premier have cast hoops.

Find out what the groups you like the most are using. Pink floyd used Premier; Charlie Watts of the Stones uses Gretsch as did Jimi Hendrix's drummer, Mitch Mitchell.

Check out the snare mechanism on a Premier snare; I think its the best.

If you really want to hear the difference between a pressed metal hoop and a cast one, hold up just the hoop and hit it with the butt end of a stick — or listen to rimshots on both types.

The Premier hoops have a low profile (not as high off the head surface) compared to Gretsch and so I bought some Premier hoops to put on my Gretsch shells. . . but they wouldn't line up with my lugs -- oh well.

I've always used a Ludwig Speed King pedal with a modified Japanese footplate that I put together -- size 15 feet.
the Speed King is unique in that it has compression springs inside the two columns, rather than the typical external "stretch" type spring setups.

You can pick up cymbal setups of the stars- type books so that you can find out what the band that plays the music you like most uses for cymbals. Again, I'm with Dave re. Paiste or Zildjan -- mine are all old Zildjians.

If you find some nice high hat cymbals and a ride. . . take your high hat top cymbal and that ride to a drum store, go into a back room, set yours up on two stands and try various paper-thin crashes with your own. It worked for me to get the crash that sounded like it belonged with the others. I drove the store owners nuts making up my mind.

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Terry

[This message has been edited by Tall_Terry (edited 05-17-2005).]

my advice to any new young drummer, is to
find a set at an affordable price
and experment with heads until you
hear the sound you like, and make sure
the set and pedals feel comfortable
to you ,a cheap pedal whihch functions
well may feel better to you than an
expensive DW for instance, remember
it has to adapt to your comfort zone
for peak performance
i've been a professional for thirty five
years
Neil Buckley
Boston, MA

I just recently purchased a TD-20s. It rocks. Highly reccomend it. BTW, when you're ready to pull the trigger check out www.rmcaudio.com/. Great service, incredible price, and just all-around good people.

Good advice. I'm no drummer, but I own a very old Ludwig set which I keep at Razzy Bailey's studio. I go over and pound on it once in a while, but when we have a real session I get to hear the pros hit them. It sounds good but looks bad...like me.

Mike

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You have to practice improvisation. -Art Tatum

Mike Dunbar Music

Colorvision,

So did you ever get your kit? And what did you buy and has it worked out?

Brian

Wow, you guys really keep an eye out! And thank you. I read over the advise and found exactly what I was looking for.

I did buy a drum set and I did go used. I recently found a 2004, five-piece Mapex set with six cymbols and hardware included for about $350. Some of the hardware is on the down side and the set needed a few screws, etc., but still a good deal and definitely perfect for a beginner like myself.

This brings my instrument total to 2 pianos, 2 trombones, a drumset, a didg, a berimbau, misc brazilian percussion, and a guitar. If anyone wants to jam stop by my house...

You should come back around Colorvision... we need more folks to participate on this board! = )