Putting together a drum kit on the cheap

[Jerimiah40]

Hey guys!

I've been a drummer for about 2-3 years, but I've never had a kit of my own before. In late 2007 (September-October), I was talking to someone after a gig, and she mentioned that her son played drums, and had a kit sitting at her house that was just taking up space, that he didn't want anymore. She warned me that it was quite beat up, and offered it to me, free of charge.

The kit appeared to be an entry-level non-major brand (Blanking on the name ATM), but sounded pretty decent. The heads were beat up, and not at all types of heads that I would ever use. As well, the wrap was peeling off/ripping in a few spots.

So I took a screwdriver to the hardware, pulled it all off, bagged it, and then very carefully removed the wrap to reveal a set wonderful looking shells. I'm now planning to stain them, to make them look pretty. However, I've got some hardware questions.

You see, the kit was beat up in a few spots. All of the tensioning rods and lugs are in perfect shape on all the drums, and all the screws holding them were still there. However, I've only got 1 out of 2 bass drum legs, and only 2 of the 3 floor tom legs. Two of the floor tom leg-mounting brackets are absolutely destroyed. My question is, where does one buy that kind of hardware?

Secondly, I would like some advice on heads and cymbals. I've put together a list of heads that I'm considering, but I would like peopls opinions on them.

Snare Drum: Evans Power Center Reverse Dot (Coated)
Bass Drum : Evans EQ2 Batter (Clear)
Evans EQ2 Resonant (Black)
Toms (3) : Evans EC2 (Clear)

By the way, this kit is a standard 5-piece (SD, BD, HT, LT, FT).

Cymbals, on the other hand, is where I'm having a big trouble. I've used the Soundroom-type pages on the websites for Sabian, Zildjian, and Paiste. I have yet to hear anything I really like. The closest I've come has been a rock cymbal pack from Paiste (can't remember which one off the top of my head, I'll look it up later).

Any advice would be super-appreciated!

--
Jeremy

[gonefishin]

Welcome to the board , you could try your local drum shop to see if they carry the hardware or could order it in for you . You can also try Drum Bum , Drum Etc, or American Drum Parts . Good luck with it .

[Jerimiah40]

Thanks for the welcome

The cymbals I'm looking at are as follows:
Paiste PST5 Rock Ride (20")
Paiste PST5 Rock Crash (16")
Paiste PST5 Rock Hats (14")
Paiste PST5 Rock Splash (10")

However, there are no Paiste dealers in Canada (Where I'm located), so I'd have to pay to ship them from somewhere, and I wouldn't even get to try them first. Any advice on other good cymbals that you have personally used would be great. Thanks in advance

--
Jeremy

[saturn]

I have tried many cymbals.
I' m playing with Avedis and A Custom.
Welcome to the Gang

[luddy71]

i would say it depends on your style of music. for example, i play the Zildjian A Armand series. they are vintage 60's/70's classic rock sounding. to me, the best cymbals are the K Constantinoples...so sweet. but not really good for a hard hitter or heavy rock setting - and VERY expensive. that is where is would say any of Zildjians A's, A Customs or especially Z Customs would be good.

i am not very familiar with Paiste or Sabian, so i can't speak to them. i know a lot of drummers love those brands, too.

hope this helps. if you go zildjian def. go for a box set....you save a lot of $ as opposed to buying them seperate.

[RIFF WRATH]

I also recommend american drum parts....their prices are reasonable. you want to make sure of measurements before you order re: screw spacing so you don't have to drill new holes and fill other holes, and screw lengths - shell thickness......also if it matters there are various shapes to the lugs and leg holders.....I just went through the exact (almost) same thing with the kit I just rebuilt.....duh...how does someone lose legs???
good luck and have fun...it's well worth it in the end...my kit looks amazing...still tweaking the sound..oh and welcome
cheers
RIFF

[RIFF WRATH]

Hey Jerimiah...Long & Mcquade carries Paiste....I thought they were, almost, everywhere up here.....expensive tastes methinks..
cheers
fellow canuck
RIFF

[gonefishin]

I would definately want to go into a store first to see what they sound like before putting out alot of money for something you might not like once you get back home.

[Jerimiah40]

Riff Wrath - That's great news! There's an L&M about an hour from me (Winnipeg), and I hadn't thought to look. The Paiste website doesn't list any for Canada, so it didn't even occur to me to check actual stores >.<

[Jerimiah40]

I'm sure I posted once already, but it disappeared.

Riff Wrath - That's great news! There's an L&M about an hour from here (Winnipeg), and I never even thought to check. Paiste's site doesn't list any Canadian locations, so I didn't even think to check the stores.

Everyone else - Thanks for the advice/input. Really appreciate it.

[backtodrum]

Aren't paiste's manufactured in Canada. Seems odd you couldn't find a location there, or did I miss something somewhere?

As stated before American drum will have what you need also you can try Explorer's music also has a decent selection of drum hardware to restore your kit.

[pastor_bob]

Jerimiah, are you going with a satin finish on the drums? If so, no problem, but if you are thinking of a lacquer finish, I've read posts where others warned against it because of the difficulty of getting it right, and the cost involved. Just a heads up in case you are thinking that direction.

Welcome to Drum Chat Jerimiah!

[Zetsumei]

I'd say you got a pretty nice deal, free set and all. If you've got a guitar center you could possibly go in there with some of the set pieces such as a tom and ask for help. People do that here where I live. I've seen people bring in snares so they people there can check them out. Sure it's Guitar center, but they know some stuff about drums too xD.

[Jerimiah40]

BTD - Nope, the Paiste factory is in Switzerland
Bob - I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing for a finish yet. I've got the wrap stripped off, and I've sanded them all down. I don't have a heated location to stain them in though, and it's a bit cold up here in Canuckland :P Thanks for the heads-up, though
Zetsumei - That's probably what I'll end up doing, maybe not a guitar center, but a music store of some sort.

[Jerimiah40]

I might as well use this thread for all my questions, since I'm sure I'll have a lot. The first question: How do I make a snare drum not sound like crap?

I've got a Pearl steel shell snare drum, with Evans Genera G1 heads batter and resonant. It hardly even sounds like a snare drum, more like a tom with a nasty buzz to it. :P It sounds far too tonal, with not very much snare. I've got everything tightened up pretty good, and I don't know what else to try. Both heads are used, will new ones help? How about new snare wires? Or will a steel shell always have a distinct tone to it?

[Kjbakke2]

i am personally a remo man with the exception of my kick drum
i use the emad batter and an eq3 for the reso
i also have a tendency to use evans resonant heads on my snare
but i like the power stroke, emperor, and ambassador batters for my snare
currently i am using the powerstroke
i like pinstripes for my toms but ambassadors or controlled sounds are great choices

and i play sabian cymbals
aa and aax series for the most part
i do like a customs alot though
probably going to be picking up an a custom china before too long
and one recommmendation i have
the sound banks on the sabian and zildjian sites wont do you much good at all
go into a drum shop
tap around a little bit and figure out what you like for yourself

best of luck =]
Kjell

[Kjbakke2]

oh and as for the snare
tune your reso head fairly loose
and the batter tight to very tight
run your snare wires moderately loose
and i would invest in a good set of wires
the dw truetones are my favorite
and new heads will make a world of difference
i like the evans hazy 300
for reso

[Jerimiah40]

So, I finished sanding the drums a few days ago. I'm now starting to look into types of finishes. Does anyone here have any experience with finishing drums? What type of stain/finish should I buy to use on these drums? Any advice would be much appreciated at this point.

[backtodrum]

If you have access to a spray gun I would use a stain of your choice and then lacquer base sanding sealer (important step to seal the wood) and then how ever many coats of lacquer that you want. you can choose between, flat semi gloss (satin) Gloss. you can sand with 1000 grit paper between coats and you should have a professional looking finish. I use a product called CadaLaq for the sealer and finish. I've had great results with that product.

[Jerimiah40]

Alright, I've got the snare drum sounding pretty good, actually! I started looking at it the other day, and I realized that the tensioner for the snare wasn't pulling the wires very tight. I took it off of the shell, and found that there was a screw missing! I replaced that, and while I was putting the snare back on, I saw that it was on upsidedown. So, I fixed that as well, and then put it all back together. It sounded pretty decent at that point, but still very ringy. So, I took the batter head off, and taped a big wad of paper towel onto the bottom (inner) side of it, and put it back together. Now, it sounds like a real snare drum! I think, with new heads, I could learn to like it.

[kay-gee]

Hi Jeremiah, I got boxes of spare drum parts at my moms place in Canada. PM me if you wish. I am pretty sure I have Floor leg brackets. With the present strength of the Can dollar is very viable to order stuff on line in USA. There are many good drum parts sellers. The import duties are reasonable on that kind of stuff too. I admire what you are doing. I got my first kit happening in much the same way. Years later, even though I own great set of Gretsch, I find myself refurbing old junky drums just for the fun of it.

all the best...

[Jerimiah40]

Thanks for the advice, kay-gee. I may PM you some time in the near future, thanks for the offer.

[Jerimiah40]

I went and bought a Gibralter Hi-Hat Clutch a few days ago (I didn't have one), and marvelled at how new and shiny it looked. Then, I looked at some of my other hardware (Lugs, Mounts, Etc.), and was disappointed at how... not shiny, tarnished and rusted it is. Does anyone have any advice on how to clean/polish this type of thing?

[armyoflarry]

I am constantly looking for beat up ludwig drums from the 80's, stripping them down and rebuilding them. They are so easy to find for cheap, and I have already built up a surplus of hardware from 2 failed drum projects. I once found 3 shells that were missing some rims for 35 bucks. The bearing edges were perfect.

I think you will find playing a kit you fixed up is even better than playing a fancy brand new kit. It will have your personality in it and be unique!


The drum in my avatar is a decoupaged club/jungle kit project that I am almost done with. I put images of my influences on one drum (including the cover of my first drum lesson book), a sort of socio/political collage on another and a collection of images from my childhood on another. I can't wait until I get it done! Good luck on your project.

[pastor_bob]

Sounds like you've got a fun project too AOF!

BTW, since I've been in and out of here lately, and I haven't officially met you, welcome to Drum Chat!