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Thread: beginer drumset discussion / comparisons

  1. #1

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    Default beginer drumset discussion / comparisons

    this would be a thread to discuss and compare entry level beginer drumsets.
    there are always a fair share of "what should i get?" threads, so i thought something like this might give everyones opinions and answer alot of these questions. i will also start threads for intermediate / mid priced kits, aswell as high end kits.

  2. #2

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    questions like this.....is there any way to make a 200 dollar percussion plus kit sound decent?
    discuss.

  3. #3

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    Quote Originally Posted by funkymcstain
    .....is there any way to make a 200 dollar percussion plus kit sound decent?
    Yes and no. Yes, you can make it sound good to your ears (esp. as a beginning drummer). No, it will never sound like a drumset that's 10 times the money.

    The big question is, "Will that $200 drumset hold up?" And of course the quick answer is, "Absolutely not!"

  4. #4

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    I've only purchased one beginner set. When my son started out three years ago, I bought him a Pearl Forum kit. It was complete with all hardware and sybols. I paid around $600. At the time, I thought it would last hime for many years. As he progressed, however, I could see that the Forum was a pretty cheap set-up. The drums had quite a bit of ring to them, and the wrap had some waves/delamination. The hardware held up very well, except for the kick pedal and hight-hat pedal, which stated to get rickety in a few months. The cymbols were just garbage. A deaf man wouldn't want to hear those things. They seemed to be pretty sturdy, though.

    My assessment of this kit is that it's fine for a youngster who is just starting out, or somone who is desperate for a kit and is on a tight budget and doesn't want a higher quality used kit, or for a teacher that needs a beater kit for his beaters...er...I mean students. I certainly would not consider it good enough for a working musician.

  5. #5

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    with good heads and tuning you can make anything sound decent. now, to me there is a HUGE line between decent and good. example, you cant make a forum sound like a masters however you can make a forum sound just as good as an export.
    the problem with most beginer drum kits is that they are played by beginers. it takes a while to learn to tune a drum well and most beginers are trying to find a sound they heard on a reording. they are never happy cuz they cant get em to sound like that and think a pro kit will magically make it better, only to find out they can't tune that one either. i say this by experience. i remember feeling that way when i was starting out.. until i met a real drummer that tuned up my drums for me and i was amazed at how much beter it was.

  6. #6

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    Yeah, untill I learned to kill the black chicken before I said the magic words I could never get them tuned right.

    Seriously, I'm still learning how to tune, and I think tunung is more straight forward than dampening. I don't think those Forums tuned right could ever sound as good as the DW's tuned wrong.

  7. #7

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    at first look i thought it said kill the black children, not chicken i was like damn, this guys mean.
    the only dif between the forum and exports is the mounting system and limited finishes. i bet with a set of emperors on top and ambasadors on bottom i could get those forums sounding pretty nice. better than a badly tuned dw.

  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by funkymcstain
    at first look i thought it said kill the black children, not chicken i was like damn, this guys mean.
    the only dif between the forum and exports is the mounting system and limited finishes. i bet with a set of emperors on top and ambasadors on bottom i could get those forums sounding pretty nice. better than a badly tuned dw.
    LOL!! Dude, give me a little bit of credit. Man, that is so funny. It was nice meeting everybody, Funky and I are banned now!

  9. #9

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    of course i know your not that kind of guy

  10. #10

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    My son has a Remo Legero travel kit. I understand that they are not being made anymore, but I'm pretty sure this kit was well under $1000 when it was new. It's a five piece that packs into itself. It's easy to transport and sounds amazing for what it is. These kind of kits are cool for kids who have to lug their kit around, or for those with really dinky cars. You couldn't carry it on a motorcycle, but you could get it into a Proshe 914. Anyway, do you think this is more of a beginner or intermediate kit?

  11. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by funkymcstain
    at first look i thought it said kill the black children, not chicken i was like damn, this guys mean.
    Sheesh, that would have been horrible! LMAO J/K

  12. #12

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    Well I've only been drumming for about 6 months so as a beginner i figured i would throw in what i have and how it has worked for me so far. I have two sets both cheapo's. I have a sunlite 5 piece which i purchased at a garage sale for 50 bucks and a Pacific 5 piece which i purchased for a hundred bucks from a friend of mine. The heads that come with both are obviously horrible, the stock cymbals are equally as bad, I replaced the cymbals with Zildjian ZBT's which have worked really well for me especially since ive been on a budget and i replaced the heads with Remo's. The pacific has worked pretty darn well for me so far. As of right now i am playing my Sunlite, not that great of a kit but i mean for 50 bucks its pretty dang good. Since im a beginner im still working on tuning which is coming along nicely, Im taking 4 lessons a month each consisting of an hour so im learning more and more about kits and i soon hope to upgrade mine alittle bit, hopefully to a Tama Imerialstar 5 piece. Well I thought since its a beginner thread i would post something coming from a beginner. Anyone who is starting out who wants a decent kit and are on a budget i would say go with the Pacific and slap some new heads on, and get some good ZBT's on that bad boy and your ready to roll. Thats my two cents.

  13. #13

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    Well, I have an electronic set. I don't know anything about heads, tuning, and all this whatnot. Thank goodness. I might just poke my eyes out with my sticks if I had to figure all that out. I suppose the day will come though when I get a real set. I'm skeered!

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    When I was young (aaah, so long ago now) I had nothing but a crappy set and no money. So I spent a lot of time playing around trying to get it to sound as good as I could. I learnt how to tune properly (as well as different damping methods), what modifications would improve and/or worsen sound quality. I reckon that all that time spent on a cheap crappy kit was absolutely invaluable.

    But the one big thing that will make a 'cheap' kit sound good is playing well on it. For all the tech-talk that goes on about drum kits, and how does this kit stack up against that one, playing a kit well makes more difference than anything else.

    Learning to how to hit the drums properly, rebouding the stick so that the sound is drawn out of the drum (rather than just hitting them willy nilly), hitting the 'sweet spot/s' of each drum and making strokes clean and even. That sort of thing is more essential to good drumming than all the paraddidles and technical exercises in the world, yet it's so basic that I don't think it gets the attention it deserves.

    But I'd rather listen to someone play a simple fat backbeat properly on a cheap kit than someone play complex stuff badly on an expensive kit.

  15. #15

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    well said.

  16. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by funkymcstain
    well said.
    I knew if I kept talking then eventually some vaguely intelligent sounding words would come out eventually.

  17. #17

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    I play a Percussion Plus kit and have for 7 years now. I'm ready to step up but I just can't fork over the cash right now. However, it sound pretty decent because I've got it tuned up pretty well and I'm using Aquarian Performance II heads. But yeah, it sucks. I'll have a proper kit soon enough.

  18. #18

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    I've got a CB percussion set that I used for practicing at home up until yesterday. It was very solidly built and with a set of Evans G2 heads on it the sound was bearable. The cymbals were the 2nd thing I got rid of (after the heads), then the Hi hat stand was really substandard, so I bought a used Ludwig Hi-hat stand to replace that. The shells and Tom holders held up really well, for a beginner on a very tight budget, looking for something to start learning on, I would recommend this set with the warning that some upgrades would be necessary in the near future to keep it servicable.

  19. #19

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    I bought a low-end ddrum kit at my local music store. I'm on a pastor's salary, so I couldn't really afford a more expensive kit (the truth is maybe I could justify it). I'm a bit bit older, and although I have always wanted to play the drums, I had to raise two children first. I started with a practice pad, but I realized that I needed more to let my creativity out. Now, I just need the practice. As has been said, bad drumming wouldn't make an expensive kit sound good, and good drumming just might make my entry level kit sound better. I'll let you know!

  20. #20

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    this being the place to discuss low end kits, tell us a little more about yours pastor bob. i dont supose a pastor could rock a diablo kit, or could they?

  21. #21

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    Quote Originally Posted by funkymcstain
    this being the place to discuss low end kits, tell us a little more about yours pastor bob. i dont supose a pastor could rock a diablo kit, or could they?
    Hate to say it, but you'll have to think lower. It's a D2 kit, but I got rid of the cymbals right away. I bought a four pack of Zildjian ZBTs the day I bought the kit, and I bought a Mapex boom stand. The owner of the store threw in an extra stand and a Rem O for the snare drum. I.m still learning how to tune to the sound that I want. The kit was already set up in the store, and I made the assumption that the owner had some idea of the tuning. Since I have learned some of the tuning techniques, I have discovered how wrong I was, but then that is why I got a beginner kit. I've only been drumming for about 7 weeks now, but I am figuring things out, and I am getting better (he says with determination).

  22. #22

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    hello. i am a new drummer (been playing about 3 months) and new to the forum. this is my first post. i started on an electric kit, but i'm taking lessons and am anxious to get an acoustic kit. i wanted to get opinions on what kind of kit i should buy. i have it narrowed down to two... anyone familiar with Pulse Pro 5-piece kits? the first one i'm looking at is the Pulse Pro 5-Piece drum set with cymbals. i did a bit of internet research, and some people say the cymbals are crappy. the second one is the Pulse Pro 5-Piece drum kit with B857 cymbals. maybe those cymbals are better? i was unable to find any comsumer comments on this one. the first kit runs $329.99, the second for $399.99. that's about as high as i can go for right now.

    any other suggestions? thanks!

  23. #23

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    Quote Originally Posted by spunkerella
    hello. i am a new drummer (been playing about 3 months) and new to the forum. this is my first post. i started on an electric kit, but i'm taking lessons and am anxious to get an acoustic kit. i wanted to get opinions on what kind of kit i should buy. i have it narrowed down to two... anyone familiar with Pulse Pro 5-piece kits? the first one i'm looking at is the Pulse Pro 5-Piece drum set with cymbals. i did a bit of internet research, and some people say the cymbals are crappy. the second one is the Pulse Pro 5-Piece drum kit with B857 cymbals. maybe those cymbals are better? i was unable to find any comsumer comments on this one. the first kit runs $329.99, the second for $399.99. that's about as high as i can go for right now.

    any other suggestions? thanks!
    As another beginner, I want to say that I have seen a lot of advice to start with the best kit that you can afford, keeping in mind that cymbals, etc. will add to the overall cost. I had to start with a kit that would be similar to the quality that you arew describing, and the first thing I did was upgrade the cymbals to Zildjian ZBTs. I knew that I wouldn't be able to stand the sound of the cheap cymbals. I also know already that I will outgrow this kit (heres hoping). So, if this is the best kit that you can afford for now, at least you're playing and learning. I'm sure that there are those that can help you find the best kit, with the money that you have to spend. Maybe a used kit is the way to go for you. I say congratulations on stepping up to the drums and learning to play!
    Last edited by pastor_bob; 05-10-2007 at 01:51 PM.

  24. #24

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    used is always a good option.

  25. #25

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    ok, thanks for the advice. i'll check out some used sets.

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