Drum Kit
 

I want to buy one. Any cheap suggestions? I really am looking into the $300-$400 range. I've wanted to learn to play drums forever, and I've decided that its time for me to stop wanting. I've never really played them before.

My dad used to play drums in the school band, and I think the regular drum kit too. He wants to buy a kit, but doesn't really have the money, and doesn't think he should. So I have kind of buttered him up and talked him into spliting the cost with me. :cool: (We'll see if he follows through).

I like banging around on things when listening to songs. I have no real idea what I am doing, other than snare on every 4th hi hat. Anyway, who plays drums here? Was it hard to learn at first? I don't want to get too discouraged, especially if I have to spend the most money I'll have in my hands until Christmas.

Any thing I should be aware of when purchasing? My dad knows pretty well what he is doing when it comes to looking around, but any advice would be awesome as well. Thanks guys.

Does yr budget include symbols and hardware, or is it just the drums?

The kits we are looking at (the 300-400 dollar ones) come with the cymbals and hardware...

If I was a drummer I'd have 2 rides, an assortment of bells, a kick, a snare, and a low tom. Crashes, high toms, and high hats are over-rated IMO.

hmmmm. it depends if you want a really cheap kit or a higher quality. A cheap kit is a cheap kit no matter what brand. Cymbols come in a few prices ranges and materials. Good ones bring yr sound up alot. A good kit whick comes with good hardware is the pearl EX. My drummer has a few kits and loves this one for the price. Cost about 600. But then again his cymbols cost about 300 a piece so he sounds really good. Just get a cheaper kit, get good and then go for something a bit more pricey.
good luck.

are you buying used or new?

Thats why I'm looking at the $300 dollar kits...what if I don't like it? When and if I get good, I'll buy something of higher quality.

Haven't really decided. We haven't looked at any used ones in pawn shops yet. But there are new ones for the price.

if you find another cheap drum kit besides the one you buy, you're sending it here.

i played drums in middle school and i play on and off now. i don't really have any advice or anything, sorry :(

if you get cymols w/ the kit they are most likely very cheap, like you dont care if it at all sounds good cheap. If you can but a kit for 300 and then get a set of cymbols for about 200 you will sound very good. Paiste and Sabian make very good (cymbol) kits. Since you live in cali sabian from canada will be alot cheaper than paiste from swiss. Or even zildjin for than matter. I think you should buy a cheaper kit that comes with hardware and buy symbols on the side. You just gota go to a music store and look at prices. Sabian B8, paiste 101 and 201 kits are very good and cheap when you look at the quality of their sound. Westbury kits cost about 250-300 and come with hardware, and they sound very good for the price.

Whatchoo mean?

Cheap one with cybmals:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/PulsePro5PieceDrumSetwithCymbalsWineRed?sku=444648

thats a good starter kit. But the cymbals in that pic are sabian, so they would not look like that if you got it. Most likely more shiny. and the ones you get are not sabian.

The thing is, I'm not super concerned about the quality now. I just want one that I can play without it falling all apart.

then you should just buy a pulse or something like the pulse. The pulse is a good kit if you dont care that much.

My advice:

-Don't get a no-name brand kit.
-Don't worry about the cymbal quality at all. I've played in bands with shitty cymbals, and no one cares. The difference is almost completely preferential, and if you're looking at that range, that's the last thing you need to worry about. Plus, cymbals do break. So I honestly don't invest much money into them anyway.
-For starting out, get something with a bass drum, snare, hi-hat, crash, two toms, and a floor tom. Maybe also a ride. The reason you should get those pieces is because it's standard, and if you want to learn it's best to learn on that. You can decide on one tom or two, bells or whatnot once you can play this.
-For $300-$400 I think you could probably get the bottom end of a good brand if you look hard (like Pearl or Tama even) or a decent used kit from the same brands.
-I would recommend getting a book of rhythms and rudiments and learn how to read them. Even chill out on the set for a while and do the boring stuff on the snare or a drumpad. You know, paradiddles and crap. It's like scales; you have to learn it to get better at some point.

Something like this should work. Just look at ratings and read tons of reviews. Don't settle, because there are good kits for good prices. Also, spend as much as you can on it. Drums aren't something that you can completely upgrade for Christmas, so go as high as you can with the actual drums (again, don't worry too much about the cymbals - yet).

Also, look for sales, just like any instrument. Potentially saves hundreds.

i love drums, def. the most fun of any instrument to play!!

I am broke/poor and I'd like some drums :)

You can get a nice Pearl kit in your price range.

i want to get a small kit too. Just bass, snare, and high hat. I can play some sick dance beats with that....

Yeah man get one....always been the best release for me. I'm kind of drunk so I'm not reading the posts to well, but you can get one for around 400 bucks....the cymbals are going to be shitty as hell though. If you are really serious then I'd save up a little more money and maybe get a decent used set with decent used cymbals (that won't sound like pie pans clanging together.....not really loud either). Either way a set is a set and you can fucking rock it.

i want to buy a kit also.. my only problem is finding room to put them

^I still have the problem of where to PLAY THEM.....you can't really go nuts when you live in an apartment building. I'm going to save up and get an elcectric set which will greatly revolutionize my life.....oh yes.

you can always put carpet or egg crates on the walls

Ha ha....that won't work for me man!

My room consists of basically a bed, a desk, and a kit. No floor. I have to take it down sometimes just to breath.

But I've never played before. I probably won't be able to tell the difference. I don't have tons of money. I don't even know if I'll continue playing after I start. So I want to potential amount of money wasted to be as little as possible.

Right on....I'd honestly try and get a half way decent USED set....you can always replace the heads if they've been shredded on. Check yr local music stores, City Paper/any classified, Craigs List, and maybe even EBay. ROCK.

Plus, super-cheap sets are usually not as "playable" as somewhat better ones, which can be frustrating and make the learning process more difficult. I know that after a few years of having a crappy guitar and then getting a nicer one, my playing improved drastically in a far shorter amount of time just by having an instrument that was "more playable."
Also, if you ultimately decide not to pursue it, a somewhat nicer set will retain more value and be easier to sell without losing a ton of money on the whole thing...
A nicer instrument is always a good incentive to work on your playing. Having a beginner's technique and skill is hard enough without having an instrument that sounds crappy and feels rickety.

Good point.

I have a basic Sonor kit with Paiste Cymbals. It's awesome.

Though I don't know much at all about drums, I agree with everyone else in saying, get good drums and cheap cymbals, for now.

I've recently started playing drums. My sister put $700 into her set and about $200, I believe, into her cymbals, and I'm there denting everything up. They're really fun to play, even if I am unaware on how they're to be played. I usually just listen to a song I want to learn and play it back. I'm having trouble keeping the hi-hat in rythmn when I'm trying to do something rather tricky with the bass and snare.

Yes, more talk about drums I say.....

I have this, but it's a 6 piece not a 5 with Sabian hats, ride, and crash plus a Zildjian dark crash.....in this color. It's a Pearl Session Series. After I get my electric set (which I used to think were so fucking cheesy and would never want one......they are soooo fucking awesome to play...effortless) I'm going to get a set of the new Vistalites that Ludwig are putting out because they fucking rule. Ya heard?

Ah, see, now I'm of the school that says it's better to learn on a crappy instrument, because the flaws and imperfections, once conquered, will make you a better player. The logic running that if you play a crappy guitar well, you'll play a good guitar better. And also, no harm done if you buy a low-price piece of shit and then give up and sell it, whereas it can be difficult to shift expensive things quickly. The price-drop in 'bought' to 'selling' on expensive gear can make the money lost seem a lot more.

There is some truth to that (when I got a REALLY nice guitar after going from crappy to semi nice for several years, I sounded about 5 years better immediately), but I think that had I owned better gear when I first started, the actual sound of the instrument would not have been as objectionable and I would have wanted to practice more.
Also, shitty drums suck way worse to play on than most shitty guitars.

I agree.....especially for a new player. This is mainly true for the cymbals I think....most so for the high hats (again, playing with pie pans can be a real buzzkill). Not only do you have to play harder to get a better/louder sound, but I think it is easy for a new player to get discouraged with how shitty they sound in comparison to the sounds you hear on record/at shows. It takes quite a bit of effort to play the drums as is and with a shitty set I think it can quickly become more of a chore than for having fun.

I think the main think to look for quality in, actually, is hardware. Crappy shells and cymbals are not as detrimental as a crappy hi-hat stand or bass drum pedal. Heads also have a huge affect. It's all about feel and reliability. The rest is just sound, which, in my experience, is really only noticed by drummers.

Good drums don't really come cheap. You'll be hard pressed to find a pretty good drum set for $400. I suggest saving a bit more money and buy a real good drum set.