Mapex or Pearl for beginner

[Pandybelly]

Hi,

I am taking my 7 year old son to his first drum lesson tomorrow night. He has been asking for a long time about it and hopefully he will like it.
I have been keeping an eye on Done Deal etc for a second hand kit for him and found a nice looking Pearl export 5 piece kit with Sabian B8 cymbals for €520.00.

I was in contact with a drum shop and he has a Mapex Tornado 5 piece kit for €320.00 new. The next Mapex kit up from that with two cymbals is €520.00.

What would you advise me to get, if any of these? I don't want to break the bank as my boy may lose interest after a few weeks. Then again, I may have a bash myself as I would have liked to learn to play. Bit too old now though (48).

Thanks in advance.....

A.....

[Bish]

In My Own Opinion, look for a Gretsch or TAMA bop kit. They have an 18" bass drum, 14" floor tom, 12" mounted tom and matching snare. You could purchase a complete hardware pack and a bundle cymbal pack and for 1000 USD (I don't convert currency well, sorry), you can have yourself a semi pro kit without breaking the bank account or budget. However, you might do well with used sets depending on your market.

I mention the bop kit because they are inexpensive new but not cheaply made. Second, with the smaller bass drum you can shrink the kit up so it fits your son and them expand it out when you want to have a go.

I've used them in live gigging and they are an all around good kit for any situation. Even just banging on at home. My 6 year old grand son plays it and I play it so it's very flexible. You'll really enjoy it if you take to beating on things.

BTW, welcome to Drum Chat. All questions will be answered respectfully by this group.

[Ray on the Drums]

Hi,

I am taking my 7 year old son to his first drum lesson tomorrow night. He has been asking for a long time about it and hopefully he will like it.
I have been keeping an eye on Done Deal etc for a second hand kit for him and found a nice looking Pearl export 5 piece kit with Sabian B8 cymbals for €520.00.

I was in contact with a drum shop and he has a Mapex Tornado 5 piece kit for €320.00 new. The next Mapex kit up from that with two cymbals is €520.00.

What would you advise me to get, if any of these? I don't want to break the bank as my boy may lose interest after a few weeks. Then again, I may have a bash myself as I would have liked to learn to play. Bit too old now though (48).

Thanks in advance.....

A.....

Either set of drums will be great for a beginner. It's the B8's I would try and stay away from if possible. Go for the Mapex and try and upgrade the cymbals.

Oh and you are NEVER (Note the caps) to old to start playing drums yourself! You two learning together will help him tremendously. Get a kit too bro! Do it for your son! LL

[MDK]

Yeah not much difference between those kits so I would go with the Mapex as well and upgrade the cymbals like Ray suggested. Also just because they are asking $320 does not mean they wont take less. Offer home $275 and see what they say.

My best advice would be to get a used kit though because a brand new tornado or export will lose approximately half if you don't stick with it and try to sell them used even if only used a lil. You should be able to find a used kit better than those 2 for that money. Let us know how it goes, oh and BTW Your not to old to learn drumming. I started at 39 and absolutely love it.

[tamashane]

Hi,

Then again, I may have a bash myself as I would have liked to learn to play. Bit too old now though (48).

Thanks in advance.....

A.....

You are never too old to start anything. I'm 52 and teaching myself guitar! If you want to play, get a mid range kit and have fun.

[Ray on the Drums]

I bet he's talking his wife into it now. Heh Heh another drummer's born!

[pastor_bob]

Welcome to drum Chat Pandybelly!

I started playing drums at 52, so you'd be ahead of me. It was the best decision of my life.

As to the kits, I would agree with Bish that a bop (or jazz) kit would be a good option, just because it could be setup comfortably for either your son or yourself. I would assume that the "next up" mapex kit would be the Horizon, and if so, I think you'd find that it's a pretty good kit. As to the Pearl Export kit, that was the "go to" kit for gigging drums for many years, so that could be a solid kit too, as long as it has been kept in good condition and not abused.

[myk]

If you're worried he may loose interest,maybe rent a kit for a couple weeks?

[8beat]

Buy used at a good price and you are not likely to lose much if you decide to sell.

You are never too old to play drums. I've played with musicians that were 70+ years old and we had a great time, sounded pretty good too.

[CB700]

My student's Mom bought him the tornado not a bad set.

[kryptondude]

I know its not on your list but I got a sonor force 507 as my first kit, its s good enough kit to start with for a beginner.
I picked mine up 2nd hand for £250 so it won't break the bank and they are easy enough to find on the internet.

I still have mine and have just added on to it, new heads, pedals, throne etc as I go until I buy a upgrade.

Hope I helped.

[Pearl MCX Man]

Pearl Exports drum kits where very popular for gigging live and in the studios over 25 years. You can't go wrong with Exports. As for the B8 cymbals well they are beginners and you can always upgrade later on to better ones.
You are never too old to start drumming.

[N2Bluz]

I don't see anything wrong with Sabian B8 cymbals. They are just fine for a beginner...miles ahead of the brass stuff that most beginner kits come with. They are cheap and plentiful to find used, so they would be perfect for someone learning proper care and technique. You can always upgrade, but I gig with a 16" B8 crash, 20" B8 ride and custom vented 13" B8 hats. They sound just fine for bar room gigs.

[Pearl MCX Man]

I have the no experience with the B8 but I do with the ZBT's which are pretty close. I found them loud and hard on the ears and sounded like garbage can lids lol. They were great as beginners cause you can hit hard and do no damage. Tough pies

[streetmachine79]

My son's first kit was a Sonor Force 507 (basswood) 5-piece kit, which is a very good beginner kit, in my opinion. He played it for a year and a few months ago I ran across a Sonor Force 2007 6-piece kit that was on a close-out deal because the have been discontinued for a few years now...so I decided to get it for him and sell the 507 kit to cover some of the new kit cost. The new Sonor kits, comparable to the 507 series beginner kits, are now called the "Smart Force" series. They are great sounding drums, well built, and are very affordable. As far as cymbals, I have had Zildjian ZBT's, ZXT's and Sabian B8's myself in the past, and I didn't care for any of them. When looking for cymbals for my son, I looked into the Paiste PST series. I ended up getting him the PST8 series, which is made from the same Paiste 2002 series bronze, as well as a PST5 thin crash. In my opinion, the PST series is far superior to the entry-level Zildjian's and Sabian's that are offered.

[quikstang2]

I'd say the "next step up" Mapex kit, not because I'm biased, but because I personally find Pearl's tom arms completely unusable. I'm also not entirely sure what the Tornado set is. (A generic company with Mapex's name?)
As for cymbals, the B8s are cheap and durable enough to get him going. Eventually he'll develop his own taste for cymbals and change them anyway.

[cc1918]

My first kit was a Vater practice pad and pro-mark 5B sticks and it went something like this RLRRLRLL.......just saying