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Geek Culture / Drum Kits

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Code eater
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Posted: 25th Jun 2010 22:04
Hey.

I've been playing drums about 4 years now. I started on a free kit we got off a thing called free-cycle, which I used until my parents could bare it no longer. We then gave it away (turns out it was top of the range in the '80s and would sell for a lot :S). Anyway. Since then I've been playing on a traps electric kit (E450) which has served me well. I am just about to do my grade 5 tomorrow. However, I am now playing in a punk band and think I need a real kit due to lack of volume varience and such in the electric kit. My parents are reluctant and I'm pretty sure I can persuade them to buy me one (even if I pay half). I'm looking at something like this perhaps. But I'm not sure how good it will be for the money. I'm not an expert on drums and I dont really consider my self a beginner, so I'm not sure it will do.

Anyone got any experience and can advise me?

Much appreciated

Thanks,,,

Codeeater
Peter H
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Posted: 26th Jun 2010 02:07 Edited at: 26th Jun 2010 02:07
Hey, another drummer! greetings from your transatlantic cousin.

I've owned several acoustic drumkits over the past (one of which was a beautiful massive maple kit with 24" bass drum, and 14", 16", and 18" toms), forever, and i currently own an electric kit (a TD-9S).

What is your budget? I understand that you might not know how much your parents will contribute, but it's nice to have an amount you're willing to spend, so you can find the best for that amount.

I'm not as familiar with the brands outside of america, but i can tell you the basics to look for.

There are four kinds of wood usually used in making drums (though there are many unique woods used in minorities). you can read about them here http://www.drumthunder.com/drum-set-wood-types/

For you i would probably recommend a birch or mahogany kit. They're pretty cheap, but not so cheap that they don't come with nice hardware (cymbal stands, etc). AND, they would fit the music style you want to play (punk).

Really though, 90% of a drum kit is in the heads you put on it, i have seen crappy kits that sound 100x better than expensive kits because they had nicer heads and were tuned properly.

So the problem with getting a "starter" kit isn't necessarily the basswood, as it can be made to sound great! It's the cheap hardware that comes with it. And if you want to gig with it, you will not want flimsy light hardware that falls over all the time and is likely to break. The set that you posted a link to seems to be on the flimsy side to be honest with you. That and it doesn't come with a ride, which means you would have to invest more money on that. (assuming you aren't planning to just buy a set of nicer cymbals).

I think that if you bought that set you would be disappointed. Especially with the crash cymbal.

If you can you could go to local shops and try out some different sets to see what you like, and then find it online for a cheaper price.

One man, one lawnmower, plenty of angry groundhogs.
James_TGC
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Posted: 26th Jun 2010 20:00
I can't provide much advice but I had my first drum lesson the other day! Will be interested to see how this thread develops as I'm also on the lookout for a drum kit.

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Code eater
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Posted: 27th Jun 2010 20:57 Edited at: 27th Jun 2010 20:57
Ok cool. Thanks Peter H. Im probably looking at a maximum of £300 ($465.3327). I'll look into those wood types. Cheers

P.S. Good luck with drums James_TGC

Thanks,,,

Codeeater
Code eater
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Posted: 27th Jun 2010 21:02
Sorry to double post. I cant seem to find any drum kits less than £300 with both a crash and a ride.

Thanks,,,

Codeeater
James_TGC
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Posted: 27th Jun 2010 22:17
Same here, seems like a budget of £500+ is required.

Here is a decent list of drum kits: http://www.musicradar.com/tuition/tech/electronic-drum-kits-6-best-beginner-sets-in-the-world-today-177956

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Tom J
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Posted: 27th Jun 2010 22:34
What will the kit be for? You said you were going to be in a punk rock band so would it be for practice/rehearsals, actually moving around to venues (which may or may not have their own equiptment depending on the place), recording etc.

If it is for band practice only then you could probably get away with a cheap one like CB drums and then just change all the heads to give it better sound. The cymbals that would come with such a kit would however be quite poor, and you would probably only get a crash and hi-hat. At such a low price though, you could potentially somehow sell the cheap unbranded cymbals for money for something else affordable like Zildjian ZBT or Paiste Pst3/5 or whatever. For live, I imagine a better kit may be in order mind. And for recording anything, if you have any studios for hire near you they can probably do the job in quality

Drum Kits are one of those things where to get some of the things you want in terms of quality you inevitably have to jump overbudget - at least to start with... so the process of trying to buy the best possible stuff at a low price is always frustrating. At the end of the day, you need to think about what this kit will be for and whether you will want it to be the best possible for its price range... or whether you can afford to step on the other side of the price line a bit, and go for a slightly higher up kit that will pay off nicely. In your position as well, not being a beginner means you probably don't just want to settle with what a classed as "beginner kits".

Sonor Force 507s seem nice and are a step up the ladder from beginners kits (although are a bit over the budget) but at the end of the day, find a drum shop and I'm sure the owners will be more experienced that me in helping you with finding the best kit.
Code eater
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Posted: 27th Jun 2010 23:04
Well, I intend on using the kit for pracitses (with the band) and performances and maybe a bit for practising for grades (because they use a real kit). But for normal practising (on my own) I will use my electric kit.

Thanks,,,

Codeeater
The Slayer
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Posted: 27th Jun 2010 23:53
Quote: "I cant seem to find any drum kits less than £300 with both a crash and a ride."

Not sure if these drumkits would suit your kind of music, but they are cheaper than £300, so, check 'em out.

[href]www.Gear4music.com/Drum_Kits[/href]

Cheers

Slayer rules!!! Yeaaah, man!
Thebeely
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Posted: 28th Jun 2010 17:37
You should check ebay or something, you won't find anything new worth buying for that price. Trust me. Buy used drums (just check if cymbals are cracked and if pedals/anything else is working ok, that includes heads, od course).

Anyway, I'm a proud owner of Alesis DM5 electronic kit. It's a bit outdated, though.
charger bandit
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Posted: 28th Jun 2010 19:41
Yay actually someone around here that listens to punk rock. I don't really know much about drums but you should get used ones if you are still on intermediate level.


Code eater
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Posted: 28th Jun 2010 19:44
@ James_TGC
I am really looking for an acoustic kit. But thanks for the link.

@ The Slayer
That link appears to be broken. But looking on the site, I found the drum kits for less than £299 section. Only one has both ride and crash. Its a possibility. If i'm honest, sparkly silver doesn't really suit me

@Tom J
I will be using it for gigging a bit. But not too seriously. I wouldn't take transportability into the equation to be honest. I think i'll manage anyway.

Thanks,,,

Codeeater
James_TGC
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Posted: 9th Jul 2010 15:44
I bought an Alesis DM6 electronic drum it yesterday. It seems decent and does what I need it to do! A good entry level electronic kit. Now I can practise at home in between lessons!

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Hobgoblin Lord
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Posted: 10th Jul 2010 21:49
Not sure what you have there but in the US places like Daddy's Junky Music and Guitar Center usually have nice second hand kits they took as trade ins. Take a look at your local music store for a good used kit, and remember to haggle, you can usually get stuff 15-30% off the listed price. Sometimes if they don't have what you are looking for you can offer to prepay for a kit they can order at a great price 10-20% over cost (which is about 50-60% of list)

Kevin Picone
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Posted: 10th Jul 2010 22:09
Yeah, if you've got a limited budget, then I'd be inclined to look at 2nd hand kits also.

James_TGC
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Posted: 14th Jul 2010 14:12
For anyone in England, I used something called the Take It Away scheme which is for over 18s and lets you pay for musical equipment up to £2000 over 9 months with 0% interest.

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Code eater
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Posted: 4th Sep 2010 19:45
hey, sorry to rebring this up. But I still havent found anything. Although, I have stopped for a while. But I really want to look again. Especially with the possibility of gigs on the horizon.

If I were to buy a second hand kit, would I have to replace all the heads? Also, what makes a good head?

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Tom J
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Posted: 5th Sep 2010 02:33 Edited at: 5th Sep 2010 02:43
First law of physics - you write a long post... and then you accidentally click a link and lose it all

Quote: "If I were to buy a second hand kit, would I have to replace all the heads? Also, what makes a good head?"


If it is second hand kit there is probably not much of a need - unless they are totally battered in which case a change of heads will be something that should probably be on your mind. A second hand kit should already have nice heads - i.e. not the ones that originally come with the kit - and so the sound quality should be nice already. Changing them might still be a thing to keep in mind in the future though. I'm not an expert on what makes them 'good' which is subjective anyway, but presumably just material quality and the structure/composition of the polymer used for the head. Remo Ambassadors are cheap drum heads but industry standard, so perfectly good for versatile music. Remo Emperors are a bit more costly but go fine with snares. There's no need to splash out too much for specialist drum heads in my opinion.

If you want to find a 2nd hand kit, I would just recommend going on ebay and searching high and low for kits. If you find something complete with kit and cymbals, then enquire about the condition of everything and all the details of the gear and stuff - and perhaps give us a link to pass judgement - and hopefully you'll find something. Not the best advice in the world I'm afraid but being committed to the search seems like the best path. Buying something as expensive and varied and drums can be hell, but something should hopefully fall into place. I stick by my reccomendation of Sonor Force 507 or Mapex QR/VX (affordable at 2nd hand most likely) because they could be within your budget and will still sound good enough for the gigs you have planned. They may come with their original drum heads though at that level (contradicting myself, whoops). Good luck
Code eater
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Posted: 5th Sep 2010 21:41
Ok thanks. My parents aren't big fans of ebay. I doubt they would let me buy anything as expensive as a drum kit from there :S however, i may browse some local music shops to see if they do second hands.

Thanks again

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Indicium
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Posted: 6th Sep 2010 20:30
Quote: " My parents aren't big fans of ebay."


How can they not be a fan of ebay? It's great.

Code eater
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Posted: 6th Sep 2010 22:33
Just the fact that you don't know the product really exists and you can't do much about it if they scam you for £500

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AutoBot
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Posted: 6th Sep 2010 23:08
Which is why you usually buy from the "Top Rated Seller" category. Usually ebay gives you sufficient info on whether or not the seller is legitimate.

Code eater
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Posted: 7th Sep 2010 22:11
mmmmmm, perhaps. I'll talk to them about it. thank.

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Kevin Picone
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Posted: 8th Sep 2010 15:24
You can find second hand kits all over the place. Local music stores, pawn/second hand shops, news papers, garage sales etc etc. A lot of people buy a new kit, then it sits in the corner when the novelty wears off.

Code eater
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Posted: 27th Oct 2010 21:48 Edited at: 27th Oct 2010 21:52
Haha, i'm back... yet again...

How does this look. It comes with all the drums and crash and snare and is probably about the top of my price range...

Any ideas about it?

[Edit} Also, this is slightly more expensive but I can probably afford it... Appears to be better from my view... but then I know nothing. I just know that pearl is a good make...

cheers.

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