Best Starter Kit?

acidbass · Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2004 9:27 am Post subject: Best Starter Kit?

Hello all,

I'm pretty new to the board. I've been playing bass for a few years and want to buy my first 5 piece drumkit. I've had some minor experience playing drums and want to take it to the next level.

The only problem is, I have no idea about what brands to buy, what sizes of drums or anything like that Sad

Can anyone give me some advice on buying a kit? If you can recommend some 5 piece kits for around $500 then I'd gladly take them into consideration.

Thanks in advance for any replies Very Happy

bytor · Admin Joined: 12 Aug 2003 Posts: 5309 Location: Kansas

Welcome to the board, and welcome to your next level of drumming! Boy, if you could only bump up your price a couple hundred dollars, you could get a MUCH nicer kit that you will be much happier with. In the $600-$800 range, you could get a really nice little intermediate/semi-pro five-piece kit that would sound very nice indeed with good heads on it. The kind of kits I'm talking about here are the Mapex Pro-M, Tama Rockstar, Premier Cabria, Gretsch Catalina, and the Yamaha Stage Custom Advantage, to name a few. All of these kits go for about $600-$750 and sound so much better than what you'll get for $500, imho, and I think most of the guys here will agree with me.

If there's any way you can save a little more before you purchase, it will most definitely be worth it. I encourage you to play a few kits in the $500 range, and then go play some of the kits I've mentioned here. Believe me, you'll notice a difference. To put it in your terms, the difference is roughly like comparing a $200 Squier bass to a $600 Fender Precision. There's just no comparison. Wink

One alternative I will mention, which might be right up your alley, is to look around for used semi-pro quality kits. They're out there, and many of them can be found in great shape for $500 or less. Good luck!

acidbass · Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2004 11:55 am Post subject:

Well, when you put it in Bass terms I understand u!

I'll take a look at those kits you've mentioned, if I have enough money to buy them then I'll certainly consider it. It'll be my first drumkit so I may as well start off with a good one.

Thanks for the advice Very Happy

bytor · Admin Joined: 12 Aug 2003 Posts: 5309 Location: Kansas

Saurencaerthai · King Kong Joined: 24 Sep 2002 Posts: 2609

I would recommend against the Pearl Export, as those things WILL fall apart on you eventually. I would personally recommend the Premier Cabria and in "fusion" sizes. You can always downtune smaller drums. You can't easily uptune large drums and expect to get a nice sound.

Just my $0.02

Jonesie67 · Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2004 5:01 am Post subject:

Yamaha Stage Custom Standard. The best budget kit on the market.
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Zildjian! · Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2004 6:37 am Post subject:

Agreed, but I'd recommend the fusion sizes, for the reasons Sauren mentioned. Plus, they're less of a hassle to carry around.
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Snake · Big Lion Joined: 10 Feb 2004 Posts: 989 Location: DFW

If you're looking for drums and cymbals for $500, I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed with what you find. If you can bump up your budget to about $750, you could probably get a Pacific FS kit (around $500) and a Sabian B8 cymbal pack (around $250). Otherwise, I would say go used - drums and cymbals. You'll get more bang for your buck that way.
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drum_solo · Posted: Sun Feb 29, 2004 4:44 pm Post subject:

I have played the new Premier Cabria series
and for the money was the best kit ever i think.
Good finish , excellent RokLok system (toms)
Snare sounded ok , good hardware
Toms had a more power sound , tuning good
Bass drum packed a punch.

Same kit had 16" crash 18" ride 14" HiHats
all by Sabian ~Sonix~

Was impressed
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Lionheartilly · Puppy Joined: 17 Aug 2003 Posts: 217

yea, take their advise...i bought a yamaha YD entry level, and now i want a better kit so bad...

and i agree w/ sauren, in terms of the sizes...get the smaller sizes...

the big ones just don't sound that nice and they took all that *Holy Censor, Batman* space and like i'm stil lhaving a hard time setting everything perfect b/c the hardware just doesn't support the kind of setting i want.

for cymbals., it's tricky if your new, but i bought a ZBT set which is equivalent to B8 set...or get used which contains a lot of choosing. You can always get back here and ask... Smile

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Premier · Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2004 5:48 am Post subject:

I have owned many different kits over my 25 years of playing. That said, the one drum company that I have found through experience that makes quality drums at every level is Premier. These guys are craftsman and it shows in the quality of the drums they make. From entry level up to the top of the line you know your getting a great drum kit. And no I don't work for Premier, but I wish I did. Check them out at www.premier-percussion.com

Another company that says quality all the way is Drum Workshop, but as I have said before in other posts I feel DW drums are way over priced, and I hate the look of the lugs they use. But that's just me.

Zildjian! · Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2004 7:26 am Post subject:

I know this is a tiny bit off topic, but since you mentioned it, I just thought I'd ask:

DW lugs are HUGE! Each drum must have quite a bit of unnecessary weight just because of DW's signature lugs. I wonder if this affects the resonance of the drum at all...?
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AHAMAY081 · Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2004 7:36 pm Post subject:

Usually i can recognize a drum brand without the logo head by the suspension system, but with DW, it's the lugs that give it away. those HUGE round things look like beacons! it just tells you about the craftsmanship of there drums, they can get away with those huge things tagged on. too bad they're WAY over priced.

capybaralet · Posted: Sat May 22, 2004 8:17 am Post subject:

I can't really say, but I had a Ludwig Accent plus until a little while ago and it sounded very good. you can get one for about $400, I got mine used with paiste alpha hats, zildjian A crash and an old sabian ride for $450... very good deal

as far as cymbal sgo, i would advise you against getting lower end or starter pack ones, they have almost no resale value and sound very bad. As far as cymbals go, I would get high quality ones, one at a time as you can afford them.
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Animalien · Posted: Sat May 22, 2004 8:43 am Post subject:

You can still get a good used set for $500. Just watch the newspapers or check up on ebay. Sonor makes a decent set that sells for $575 new. It would most likely sell for $375 used.

Doesn't give you much $$ for cymbals but once again if you watch and wait a bit you can find some good deals.

buying used saves big $$. Just have to understand what to look for. For instance, cymbals without cracks or major blemishes.
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