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Thread: why not buy the best?

  1. #26

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    Quote Originally Posted by wOOdshedd View Post
    I say if you can afford it, then yeah, why not. Is it a necessity? Probably not...
    For me personally, while I don't play professionally, I have been playing for most of my life.
    I know what works and what doesn't. Even if I could afford to buy better than what I currently own, I don't think I would. Better shells are not going to make me any better as a drummer. I have learned to tune drums optimally and I also have a discerning enough ear to know what shell works for what I need. Would it be cool to own a top tier shell pack? Sure! Would I be unhappy if I didn't? Not a chance.
    Very true. Better drums can't make a better drummer. But it's deeper than that. It's that wow factor you get every time you sit down to play them. That goes light years in inspiring you.

    all the best...

  2. #27

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jackie View Post
    My definition of a best kit is one that sounds good and looks good. I have a mid level yamaha kit which I paid $700 for 5 pcs and hardware which I would put up against most higher end kits. I always check out the drum kits when listening to a band playing with better kits than mine, I just don't here the better sound quality, they look better than my kit. I can tell the drums sound good, first I think they sound good, but I may be bias, but when audience or other drummer say the drums sound good and other drummers come to check out my kit. It's the drums. I am not a pro drummer, so I don't need the fancy kits. To answer your question, it's not about spending a lot of money on equipment, it's all about getting behind a kit and playing. It all about playing. There are drummers that can make any kit they play, sound like a million dollar kit. It's about playing.
    Totally agree heart and soul.

    all the best...

  3. #28

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    Quote Originally Posted by crispycritters View Post
    Sometimes you have to go with what you can afford NOW. I agree that going with the best from the outset works out less expensive and is more desirable - but, I'm a hobby drummer, and with hobbies there is always the possibility, that interest will wane within a few months.

    After 2 and a half years it looks like drumming won't be a short term thing for me and If I'd opted for the 'buy the best' option from the outset, by now I'd have a great set of drums - and no cymbals or hardware..... Waiting until I could afford to buy all pro level gear, would mean I wasted no money on stuff that I will sell and take a hit on financially - but I'd have had to wait a few years till I scraped the money together...

    Taking out a loan for a hobby isn't an option for me. I upgrade items individually as I can afford them - definitely a slower and more expensive route, but, except for sticks and heads, I buy used which means someone else has taken the brunt of the depreciation.
    One has to first decide where they want to go on the drum journey. Only after that decision is made, does my philosophy come into play. At some point you will settle on a style of music you want to play and then address the issue of drum purchasing at that time.

    all the best...

  4. #29

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    Quote Originally Posted by wired View Post
    PCP ain't that "Angel dust?" if you buy pcp you will probably be too high to play anything. Alright I'll quit being smarta$$ just playing now.
    Oh yeah I had a friend that use to have this beat up Camaro and that thing use to eat Corvettes that cost twice as much!
    Good point. Don't know why I was thinking of pcp.

    all the best...

  5. #30

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    Quote Originally Posted by Pearl MCX Man View Post
    I am playing the best.
    Atta boy Pearl!

    all the best...

  6. #31

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    Quote Originally Posted by kaosotis View Post
    Don't you think everyone gets the "best they can get"? Isn't it really just that some can afford more, or choose to spend more on drums over other things?
    I don't mean to suggest that money is the answer to everything. I just mean buy what you really WANT regardless of the price. If WHAT YOU WANT is less expensive then heck! even better!

    all the best...

  7. #32

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    My drums and cymbals are better than my playing. But it's like buying a Porsche. It can go 160 mph. You'll never drive it that fast but it can do it and that makes you smile every time you use it.

  8. #33

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    Quote Originally Posted by G-man View Post
    My drums and cymbals are better than my playing. But it's like buying a Porsche. It can go 160 mph. You'll never drive it that fast but it can do it and that makes you smile every time you use it.
    excellent

    all the best...

  9. #34

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    Well, this took me a long time to realize, but I can never be completely satisfied with any material thing. My wanting and dreaming never ends. When it comes to drums, I've owned five kits that were supposedly the best that money can buy -exactly what I wanted and dreamed of. But, once I had them for a while, they were still just drums. And I still wanted different ones! Same goes with every other lifetime hobby I have. Even the best is never enough.

    In short, that's why I don't own the best - because it does not exist.

    GeeDeeEmm

  10. #35

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    Quote Originally Posted by CycleDude View Post
    Very true. I agree Kaygee, that buy it once buy it for life is a great way to go... If you can. My tastes changed. I sold one set for an Asian Gretsch because:

    A. I wanted a maple shell drum set with a stain finish. (Not a wrap)
    B. I couldn't justify a higher cost as a dad & a non-working pro drummer

    I would love a high-end zoot U.S. Custom Gretsch or DW collectors series with a virgin kick. At this time I can't. But my kit is close enough to get me through for now.
    A fully dressed USA Gretsch or DW set is still probably less than half the price of a Harley

    all the best...

  11. #36

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    Quote Originally Posted by jgziegler View Post
    I think it depends on a few things. As already mentioned, sometimes it's about getting the best you can afford now. I got my drum module because it was the best in my price range at that time (it was actually 20% over budget, but significantly better). Over time, I upgraded.

    I think with adrums, well we should consider a few things. If you're playing heavy music, does it really make sense to go super high end on everything if we have to think about budget? Absolutely not!! If you're playing jazz, do you really need K hats if budget is an issue? Also no (but high end ride defo).

    Personally speaking, I would prioritize this way (again, if we have to consider budget):

    1. Ride, hats and main crash buy what suits your music, don't go cheap here. There's nothing you can do to make bad sounding cymbals sound good.



    2. Better low end/medium drums. Proper heads, tuning and soundman can make any set sound decent.

    3. BD pedal is something I wouldn't be too stingy on, so if not immediately, certainly the first hardware upgrade should be here (going from low to medium...I simply don't know if there is that big a difference between a dw5000 and 9000, my feelings say probably not). All other hardware, well I believe the lighter the better generally, but that's a different convo.
    Oh we can always get by, and we can even sound good with other instruments, of lower quality, but that WOW FACTOR has no no price.

    Actually you raise a good point. I would rather cheap out on the hardware and re invest the savings into better sound (ie. better drums)
    Having high end hardware on mid or low line sets is something...well I've just never understood.

    all the best...

  12. #37

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    Quote Originally Posted by kaosotis View Post
    Don't you think everyone gets the "best they can get"? Isn't it really just that some can afford more, or choose to spend more on drums over other things?
    ^This
    Technique doesn't mean **** if you can't blast beat and spin sticks - Steve Gadd

  13. #38

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    Quote Originally Posted by kay-gee View Post
    Very true. Better drums can't make a better drummer. But it's deeper than that. It's that wow factor you get every time you sit down to play them. That goes light years in inspiring you.

    all the best...
    Well, putting it in those terms, My Saturns are IT then.
    MAPEX - SABIAN - PEARL - VIC FIRTH

  14. #39

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    Quote Originally Posted by kay-gee View Post
    But that's all part of the journey. You aught to see my Martin acoustic. Looks like it's been run through a hay bailer! LOL

    but just about every nick and scratch has a story behind it.

    all the best...
    Yep. Where would Willie Nelson be without "Trigger"? JJ Cale is another one that was noted for his "rat rod" guitar.
    -Brian

    "Too many crappy used drum stuff to list"

    Play the SONG......not the DRUMS!!!

    "I think that feeling is a lot more important than technique. It's all very well doing a triple paradiddle - but who's going to know you've done it? If you play technically you sound like everybody else. It's being original that counts." ~ John Bonham

  15. #40

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    Every time this topic is posed it gets twisted into a "what is the definition of good" thread. So to every "my $700 kit sounds just as good", "I honestly can't hear a difference", " It's the drummer not the kit" voice out there, I say this. I hear you, but the truth is more like this, great drummers play great and great drums sound great. Drums don't make the player better and vice-versa players don't make the drums better. Great players on great sounding drums, to me that's where it's at. I see it all the time. Really good drummers, with intermediate sounding kits. And they always think they "sound " great. To me they play great, but their set just sounds okay. Maybe some can't hear it. If you can't though, I think it would be something you'd want to.

    Collectors Black Ice Finishply
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  16. #41

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    as a working drummer for 10 years (not the last 15) i simply could not afford good gear and was living week to week on terrible musicians pay ..

    it wasn't until i left the buiss for a (real job) and then i could afford a "real" kit

    we are not all fortunate and not everyone has a family that cares for use let alone buying us nice things like drum kits .

  17. #42

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    Quote Originally Posted by 8beat View Post
    Because I don't want to get scratches and dents on the expensive stuff.
    As painfull as it is to put those scratches and dents are when you look at them its what makes your instrument and adds character.
    Sabian!!!

  18. #43

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    I for one have the money to buy a very expensive kit but choose not to. I live the kits I have and I'm quite satisfied. I see so many people with expensive gear who live in dumps and buy their furniture at IKEA. I prefer to spend my money on a nice home (investment).

  19. #44

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    Quote Originally Posted by kay-gee View Post
    Actually you raise a good point. I would rather cheap out on the hardware and re invest the savings into better sound (ie. better drums)
    Having high end hardware on mid or low line sets is something...well I've just never understood.

    all the best...
    Actually Kay-gee. This is EXACTLY what I did. I bought a really old Pearl Forum set and used ZBTs - and bought (used) quality hardware, over the course of the next few months. The combined hardware cost was more than my expenditure on drums, replacement heads and cymbals! I replaced, upgraded everything except hardware as I could afford it, but yes - it was pretty dumb.

  20. #45

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    I have a mid-level kit I bought new. It's a Mapex Meridian Birch. The finish is honey amber. I love both the way it sounds and looks. It didn't cost a fortune, yet I am completely satisfied with it.

    However, snare drums are a different story. I find myself purchasing a new snare every 3 or 4 months. I have a wonderful collection. Though they are not all expensive, I'm more willing to drop a chunk of change on a nice snare drum. I will probably never own a Dunnett, a Cravioto, or a Joyful Noise snare, but I just purchsed my first Yamaha snare. It's a maple hybrid, 14x6, in polar white. Other than a car, it's the biggest money purchase I have made.

    What it all comes down to folks is what your preference is, and if it is within your price range. More expensive does not always mean better quality or more satisfaction.

  21. #46

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    Quote Originally Posted by jmastrodimos View Post
    I have a mid-level kit I bought new. It's a Mapex Meridian Birch. The finish is honey amber. I love both the way it sounds and looks. It didn't cost a fortune, yet I am completely satisfied with it.

    However, snare drums are a different story. I find myself purchasing a new snare every 3 or 4 months. I have a wonderful collection. Though they are not all expensive, I'm more willing to drop a chunk of change on a nice snare drum. I will probably never own a Dunnett, a Cravioto, or a Joyful Noise snare, but I just purchsed my first Yamaha snare. It's a maple hybrid, 14x6, in polar white. Other than a car, it's the biggest money purchase I have made.

    What it all comes down to folks is what your preference is, and if it is within your price range. More expensive does not always mean better quality or more satisfaction.
    Those Meridian kits, whether maple or birch, are a fantastic value. Great drums at a great price.

  22. #47

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    i guess your dream kit changes the more you play, when i firat started playing my dream kit isn't what it is now, i didn't have the knowledge i have now either, that said if i'd have brought a DW Collectors kit for instance as my first kit i doubt i'd have brought as many kits as i have.

    if i had the cash i'd still be searching for that dream kit.

    cheers Mark
    Have you got you're ticket for the rock train? You gotta earn that Ticket!!

    Premier Genista - Pearl Masters - Primus custom snare - Zildjian A Custom- DW 5000 pedal - Zildjian Zack Starkey sticks

    I play lead Drums

  23. #48

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    Quote Originally Posted by markthechuck View Post
    i guess your dream kit changes the more you play, when i firat started playing my dream kit isn't what it is now, i didn't have the knowledge i have now either, that said if i'd have brought a DW Collectors kit for instance as my first kit i doubt i'd have brought as many kits as i have.

    if i had the cash i'd still be searching for that dream kit.

    cheers Mark
    Good point !
    My first top of the line "dream" kit was a Tama Imperialstar Concert tom drum kit , 8" thru 18" toms . The bottomless toms were the thing back then . I don't remember what I did with that kit .
    Rudy .

  24. #49

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    I can't afford my dream DW kit so i eBayed a Ludwig rocker kit.nice shape fits in my living room.I play drums as a hobby to work off steam.I'm a working man who can't afford 2grand for a starter set .I am very happy with my ludwig rockers and 2 ,8 and 10 inch Ludwig element toms

  25. #50

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    I bought a high end kit a few years ago. Yamaha Birch Custom Absolute Nouveau. Don't get me wrong I like them, but they aren't much, if any better than my mid line kit, power tour customs I bought new in 1988. They sound almost identical. There was the wow factor for a while, and even a little still. I take them out on gigs, and they get some minor scratches and what not. I'm not over protective of them. I do get a lot of complements on their sound. I think I'd be just as happy with Tama Starclassic Performers, or several other mid line kits. Especially after owning a high end kit. I just can't see or hear much difference. If I hadn't of bought them though, I'd never known what it would be like to own a high end kit. I some times toy with the idea of having my 12 and 13 PTC's cut down to modern depths. I bet they'd sound great. Well they do sound great now, but then they would look cool too.

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