new kit or new pedals

[Lucius-Borich-JR]

Hey guys, great to be back on the forums, been so busy with school/exams and bass/drums. So I have had my sonic drive/crappy kit for 3-4 years and now I have a part job earning $100 a week. I was thinking of getting a new drumkit which would be something like a PDP or tama hyperdrive 1 up 2 down or 3 up 2 down type thing.

I also play alot of heavy metal/ death metal so I also want to upgrade my pedals which are DW 2002's. I was thinking of getting some mapex falcons or demon drives.

I have the money for pedals now but it will take me a month to earn money for pedals, and 4 months for a new kit. So what do you guys think? Kit or pedals

[Aviator42009]

I'm one of those people who really doesn't care what pedals they use, I have the cheapest double bass pedal I could find, as long as it stays together I'm fine with it.

That being said, you should save up for the kit. The pedals you already have now are pretty solid, and having a different pedal doesn't really affect your sound that much. If you really want a change you could always consider buying a different type of beater - something that is much cheaper to do. A kit on the other hand majorly affects your sound and ability to place things in certain areas.

[slinglander]

I vote new kit if a "sonic drive/crappy kit" is reallly bad= cost less than $200/Pulse kit in disguise ....

[Lucius-Borich-JR]

Lets just say it is slightly worse then a pulse kit. Yeah I was thinking about ordering some iron cobra beaters because they are very light and flat headed. But I love the mapex falcon pedals because when I tried them out I played at least 50BPM faster, even though they say pedals aren't meant to improve your playing. These really help.

[Northern Redneck]

Kit.

[yohin]

I'm with Aviator...I'm not too picky about what pedal I use, but that's just me. I would definitely go for the new kit. You mentioned you were thinking about the Tama Superstar Hyperdrive kit, and I strongly recommend those drums! I've got Superstars in the regular depth configuration and they really are amazing drums for the price. Besides the wood, the differences between the Superstars and Starclassics are IMO almost negligible.

Also, I don't have any experience with your current pedal, but if it's a DW I'd guess it's at least decent. The improvement you'll get from upgrading the pedal is going to be small compared to the improvement from upgrading your "Sonic Drive" kit to a Hyperdrive or some other nice mid-level kit.

And also just throwing the idea out there...you might consider looking for used kits or used pedals. Then you can get nicer gear and maybe you can even get both the kit and the pedal for the same money as a new kit.

[Lucius-Borich-JR]

I live in Australia so the prices aren't cheap but we definitely have a nice amount of used drum kita and gear. My price range is $2,000-$2,500. Which should get me a nice kit. Aren't the tama hyperdrives easier to tune? I will either buy that or a pearl VSX. But if I can get something of better quality for cheap I will. I henr played on either kit. I have never played a kit but my own.

[SpatzST]

Edit: Nvm.... You're in Australia. My post didn't apply to you :(

[Drumbledore]

If your budget's within $2,000-$2,500, go for a kit. Those DW pedals should last you for quite a while. I know what you mean about Australian prices, we do pay a premium, however keep an eye out for when various drum stores do a bunch of stock-take sale specials and so forth. EddaHenry for instance SMS'ed me last week telling me that his local drum store had something like a clearance sale where you could have picked up cymbals that were discounted from something like 50-75% off! And a month or so back the manager of one of my local stores was complaining that they had reduced the price of a Pacific 7 piece set (kick drum, snare, 5 toms from 8"-16") with all the hardware and a Meinl cymbal set of a crash, hi-hats and ride....this was going for $1600 and they still had no takers at that time. I said to him that if I had the room left to store it, I would have done that deal there and then.

[Lucius-Borich-JR]

I see what you mean eh...I'll just keep saving. When I find something I really like I'll be able to buy it. But what do you think if I get the pedals real cheap. Say like $200 for falcons or demon drives?

[Pearl MCX Man]

Pearl Visions, Pearl Eliminator P2002 double pedals and you got great combination for your money.

[Lucius-Borich-JR]

I was thinking of getting one of the pearl visions range. Would you recommend one certain range?

[Pearl MCX Man]

I was thinking of getting one of the pearl visions range. Would you recommend one certain range?

Depending on what wood you want. Vision is available in Maple ,Birch etc. Lots of nice finishes and the hardware is superior. Visit the Pearl website to see the configurations, shell construction etc. You can't go wrong with Pearls

[pastor_bob]

LBJ, the thing is that you are planning to replace both, so which one to get first is really up to you. If you are rewarding yourself for something, then the pedal will be the more immediate reward. But if you are just saving toward these upgrades, then from a practical aspect, saving for the kit first will be a more valuable lesson in saving for the things you want.

Now, having gotten that off my chest, I do think the pedals you have are better than your current kit, so I'd go for the kit first. That's not new advise, though, because so far it seems to be unanimous.

[drumsetsnide]

I would definitely go for the new kit. You mentioned you were thinking about the Tama Superstar Hyperdrive kit, and I strongly recommend those drums! Besides the wood, the differences between the Superstars and Starclassics are IMO almost negligible. And also just throwing the idea out there...you might consider looking for used kits or used pedals.

Totally agree with the TAMA choice. Totally agree with buying used if possible. Do not agree with the "differences between the Superstars and Starclassics" being negligible. But you said it was your opinion and I do respect that.

LBJ, the thing is that you are planning to replace both, so which one to get first is really up to you. If you are rewarding yourself for something, then the pedal will be the more immediate reward. But if you are just saving toward these upgrades, then from a practical aspect, saving for the kit first will be a more valuable lesson in saving for the things you want.

Now, having gotten that off my chest, I do think the pedals you have are better than your current kit, so I'd go for the kit first. That's not new advise, though, because so far it seems to be unanimous.

Great advice given here by PB. I agree that the pedals you have are decent and a new kit would be much more rewarding for you.

[MR. G]

New kit...There's nothing wrong with the pedals, however 200.00 is a great price and doesn't go far towards the kit.

[marko138]

With those pedals I'd go kit first.

[Pearl MCX Man]

Go for the kit and then the pedals later on.

[late8]

go for the kit and then the pedals later on.

+1

[yohin]

Totally agree with the TAMA choice. Totally agree with buying used if possible. Do not agree with the "differences between the Superstars and Starclassics" being negligible. But you said it was your opinion and I do respect that.

I should have worded it differently. What I meant was relatively small differences compared to the big difference in price.

[jgraham798]

I would buy the kit first since it's the most expensive.

That way, you can play the new kit with your old pedals until you save the cash for the pedals.

If you buy the pedals first, then you'll just look at them and have to wait 4 months to save for the kit.

Just my opinion and it's worth what you pay for it!

[xweasel]

Definitely a kit. I did a little research and found a music shop in Adelaide that sells 6-piece Tama Silverstar kits with lacquer finish and hardware for $1,500 AUD. I'll PM you some links

[Lucius-Borich-JR]

I would go buy the hyperdrive/superstars/starclassics but I really like the sound of 3 up 2 down. In terms of quality would you think that the tama range I've noted is better quality then the PDP x7 range? Although I really like the hardware I would get with the tama kits.

[Lucius-Borich-JR]

Yeah but the problem is with the stores in australia they don't just have these stores where you walk in and can look at used stuff. But yeah I will try and look on the local used websites and stuff. What is thedifference between the woods sound wise? Should I aim for a kit where i dont have to upgrade for a while?

[Drumbledore]

Whether brand new or used, my preferences for wood shells tend to be maple, birch or a combination of those. Maple especially for a recording/gigging kit. To my ears they seem a little warmer, especially with the kick and toms.