Buying a drumkit.

[Lex]

There doesn't seem to be a musicians thread any more, or maybe I'm blind, but new thread it is.

I want to learn the drums, and am thinking of picking up a kit. Thing is, I have no freakin clue what I'm looking for. I don't want the cheapest nastiest shit, but obviously I'm not gonna get the top end models - so if anyone here knows, what am I looking for? brands? what sort of prices am I looking at (I'm assuming 1-2 grand)?

even if you could just point me to a good site, google isn't much help when you don't know anything :/

[Cicada]

What would be the style of music you want to play? This makes it a lot easier to work out things like which shell sizes/materials and cymbals you would want. A lot of perfectly functional cheaper kits come with a basic hihat/crash/ride cymbal package, and can be found for less than a grand.

[au4onx]

I'd recommend going into a few music stores (preferrably the larger ones) and having a look at kits.

The Tama Superstar kits are quite good. For your price range, I'd look at Yamaha kits which are great value for money. At the low to mid end price range, the pearl kits leave a bit to be desired... but if you really do dig the brand, you should check them out!

But I think 1-2 grand is a good starting price range. Anything less than 1 ghrand doesn't have that much longevity, unless you're keen on buying second hand which is also an option.

definitive piece of advice: you should definitely spend as much as you can on your drum seat/drum throne (the thing you sit on to play drums). It's the piece of gear that, if chosen right, will serve you a lifetime. Plus it's more fun to play with and more conductive to learning if you're comfortable sitting there for long periods of time. You shouldn't skimp on the seat.

[St@ckboy]

I played on a Pearl forum series kit for many many years and found it to be a great kit to learn on.

I'd go with spending about 1k on a kit and yes make sure you buy a nice throne.

Don't go all out on cymbals at first. If you are just learning, no one else is going to hear you, you can always buy new ones later.

Good luck!!!! New drummers are always encouraged.

[Lazlow]

http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/2792/yamahadtxplorerelectron.jpg

Yeah boi!

[Vindik8or]

dPf0xad3J2w

[St@ckboy]

Those last 2 posts are so much fail. Go with an accoustic kit and be a man, don't be playing with robots.

[Manny M]

Roland V-Drums are the shit!

Click on the Audio/Video tab (http://www.allansmusic.com.au/Product.aspx?p=144712&b=Roland) near the bottom of the page and see what it can do.

Check out (http://www.allansmusic.com.au/Product.aspx?c=4DD64268-00C6-49C1-8B53-7C5E0446977D&p=108892) the Johnny Rabb vid on this one too. Awesome.

[Blue]

Spend 1k.

Don't buy more drums or cymbals than you need. I have a hat, crash and ride, floor tom, a single rack tom, and a kick.

Get black.

[Lex]

Spend 1k.

Don't buy more drums or cymbals than you need. I have a hat, crash and ride, floor tom, a single rack tom, and a kick.

Get black.

Sounds like my kinda kit. As long as it has a snare, a cymbal and a kick, I'll be good for a while.

And no, no electronic kits. I have friends with electronic kits, and while they're very awesome, I don't find them fun to play on. There's just something really unsatisfying about it.

Thanks for all the help guys, I'm gonna try and get into a music store this week and check out some models.

[BB2K]

Keep an eye out for Pearl kits, they're usual pretty good in my experience.

[Vindik8or]

Those last 2 posts are so much fail. Go with an accoustic kit and be a man, don't be playing with robots.

That troll was waaay to easy. But shit, even though you're in a barrel, you're a fish that still needs to be shot.

[Blue]

It's true, though. Electronic kits sound like shit from my experience, and are very, well, digital. Like, each pad can register a light, medium or hard hit, and plays a different canned sound accordingly. It feels like shit thwacking away at rubber pads, too.

Also, make sure you wear earplugs when you're playing. It may sound wussy or something, but that crash and snare will send you deaf, quite literally. You can buy musician's earplugs that quieten the sound without muffling it, but I just use the standard work site/race track orange ones. It's really given me the freedom to bash away as hard as I like without the post-rehearsal deafness. If you're ever playing with a band, you might want some of the professional ones though, so you can hear the rest of the band, or just **** them off entirely. But for practicing, it really is vital.

Another thing: Sticks. Get some that suit you, sure, but I found that when I started, I kept breaking sticks. Sure, I was probably hitting too hard, and you can just tape them up with masking tape if necessary, but I ended up buying some really solid Zildjian Travis Barker sticks. I've been playing with them for ages now and I still haven't snapped one. When you're spending $25 a set, that's helpful if you're a stick-breaker like me. They do feel a little bit heavy or fat sometimes, so I'm going to get a new set of Zak Starkeys for lighter stuff, and use the Barkers for heavier stuff. Sticks are important; surprisingly so.

Also, Remo Emperors make a good replacement skin for the stock ones. Bash the shit out of the skins the kit comes with, sure, but then get some decent ones on there.

[Vindik8or]

Do yourself a solid favour and look up the word "facetious".

[St@ckboy]

This thread is why I never really enjoy talking to other drummers. We are always trying to impress each other, with how awesome we are.

[Lazlow]

Electronic kits sound like shit from my experience,

Mustn't have heard many.

Like any piece of kit, you get what you pay for. A cheap kit will have poor pads and a low quality module. Secondly, a fair amount of studio recorded drums use triggers, which is essentially the same principle as an electronic kit.

Are electronic kits a replacement for an acousitc? No. Of course not. If you are after the sound of an acoustic kit, why bother with an imitation.

That said electronic kits are a legitimate instrument in their own right, that require the same techniques are any other drumkit, and offer a wonderful range of sounds. A lot of credible drummers (Peart, Carey, Moon, Meddows-Taylor) have used them.

[Blue]

Do yourself a solid favour and look up the word "facetious".Are you talking to me?

Because I wasn't talking to, or about, you.

This thread is why I never really enjoy talking to other drummers. We are always trying to impress each other, with how awesome we are.

That's because deep down, we know we were just never good enough to play guitar. ;)

[BB2K]

Are you talking to me?That's because deep down, we know we were just never good enough to play guitar. ;)

I thought you were a guitarist, Blue?

[Spudzilla]

Promise me you'll get a gong.

[Blue]

I thought you were a guitarist, Blue?Yeah, I play secondary guitar in my current band, along with vocals, and I'm playing bass in another, but I could scarcely be described as proficient at either of them. I'm not quite Sid Vicious-awful, but I wasn't born with any sort of natural ability. Drums, on the other hand, I 'get'. So while I'm faffing about with my mates in my current groups, in the long run I see myself as becoming a drummer.

Also, some cymbal packs come with a free cymbal to go with the snare, crash and ride. If you can get one with a splash, I recommend it. Mine came with this bloody useless china that I have no use for, and I'm going to have to fork out for a splash and a wood block at some point. :/

Oh, and make sure that the floor tom is actually floor mounted. With some entry level kits, the 'floor' tom is actually just a big tom that hangs off your ride stand, which is not ideal.

[Lex]

Oh, and make sure that the floor tom is actually floor mounted. With some entry level kits, the 'floor' tom is actually just a big tom that hangs off your ride stand, which is not ideal.

haha yeah, my friend has a kit like that, it needs sandbags to keep it from falling over. shitsux.

[Blue]

haha yeah, my friend has a kit like that, it needs sandbags to keep it from falling over. shitsux.I don't think your friend knows the definition of 'kit'.

[Lex]

wow, that was kinda petty dude. and stupid.

[Blue]

wow, that was kinda petty dude. and stupid.****, take a joke. It's not like you're above making the odd snide remark.

[Lex]

Dude, cmon, it was a petty jab that you carried over from another thread. If it was remotely clever I would have let it go, but it was just silly. Stop being a silly.

[Cicada]

this bloody useless china that I have no use for

How much do you want for this bloody useless china?