buying a kit for my son

richard · Newbie Alert Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 1

i'm new to this group, and looking for advice. my just turning ten year old son wants to play the drums. as a musician (acoustic guitar) i'm a sucker for anyting musical, so i said sure!! but i can't spend a bundle, and i don't really know how long he'll stay interested (at age ten, who knows?) so, i'm looking for advice on a starter drum kit. our local music shop likes "peace" drums, and i found one through an online company for the ridiculous low price of $299 (that's for a fice piece kit). it's around the price i'd like to stay at, but i'd like to know if i'm buying junk at that price.
any recommendations for at ten year old? Thanks!!
richard

Ox · Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2004 10:36 pm Post subject:

You pay for what you get. And also how serious your son is. At $299, I say go for it, if you're unsure how serious your son is. Or you could dip in just alittle bit more (about $500-600) at get a kit that last longer. I myself never dealt with those Peace kits that you're talking about, but I have seen the kits that do sell for $299 (at Guitar Center), and they're really poor in quality.

Another suggestion would be to check out E-bay, they're all kinds of used beginner kits for sale. I normally search for Tama (my brand of choice) while I'm in E-bay, I've seen used Tama Rockstar kits sell for $300. By the way Tama Rockstar line is a very durable, and cost effective kit over the cheap kits that I've seen for sale. Also do a search on Pacific Drums (a division of DW) they make some good wuality kits at a starter price.

I remember when I started out my parents bought me a Blackhawk kit (some chep line from Gretsch) it was about $300.00. I made use with it and proved to my parents that I was serious. I eventually ended up working and saving up money to by a Tama Rockstar, so I guess it was a lesson about the value of money.

Hope I've helped a little bit!
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Snake · Big Lion Joined: 10 Feb 2004 Posts: 989 Location: DFW

I suggest buying a used intermediate kit (Tama Rockstar, Pearl Export, Yamaha Stage Custom, Mapex M, Sonor 3001, etc.) for three reasons. 1) Intermediate kits are much better than entry level kits in terms of quality, construction, materials, options, etc. - more bang for your buck. 2) If your son likes drumming and plays for years, you won't need to upgrade and intermediate kit nearly as fast as a cheap entry level kit. 3) If he losses interest quickly, you can turn around a sell the used intermediate kit and get most of your money back.
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"If I didn't make a living beating things with a stick, I'd probably be in a lot of trouble!" - Alex Van Halen

holycow · Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2004 4:19 pm Post subject:

I recommend the same

Get a "Decent" USED kit, and you can get somthing he will be able to use for years... The he can upgrade later when he gets older, and better. If you buy a crap set for 299$, you likely wont even be able to sell it. You can get a "decent" crappy pearl export set for like 500$ As crappy as this set is, its still 5X better then the set for 299 you were referring two. The set for 299 would be a complete waste of money.

examples:

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2F&krd=1&from=R8&MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&ht=1&SortProperty=MetaEndSort&query=pearl+export

Xeper · Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2004 5:29 pm Post subject:

if i were you, i'd buy a second hand intermediate kit. it'll cost the same, or less, than an ultra cheapy that will only last a few years, and if he turns out to be serious, then you won't need to upgrade any time soon!
but, if he turns out to be not-so-serious, then you can sell it for the exact same price you bought it for (provided he doesn't trash it).
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punkrocker7341 · Lion Joined: 23 May 2004 Posts: 926 Location: AZ

I would say look into a sunlite 5 peice they are beginner sets but a high end beginner set (surprisingly there is such a thing as a good begginer kit). thats what i got and its lasted 4 years of brutal beating. but be prepared to do some tuning on those toms.
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TAMA_for_LIFE · Tadpole Joined: 14 Jun 2004 Posts: 28

I am really sorry to say but peace drums are really a piece of... well you know. What i suggest doing is looking in your local newspaper for any kind of drumset then research that kit on musiciansfriend.com to see if its worth buying. But probably what I would do if I was in your situation is get on ebay and look for a set, I am with Ox when he says look for the TAMA rockstar, and the Pacific line by DW, a good set by them without the big pricetag is the FS kit which i think goes for around 650 retail, but once again search that ebay!!! Some other models i would look at including the TAMA Rockstar and the Pacifc FS are the Yamaha Stage Custom, the Sonor 2002, Pearl Forum or Export, the Mapex V series, or the Gretsch Catilina Birch. As for cymbals you cant go wrong with the Zildjian ZXT pack, which again you can find pretty cheap on ebay, another Cymbal choice would be a Sabian B8 pack.

Good Luck.

Barbie · Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2004 9:37 pm Post subject:

About the ebay thing. I'm the queen of ebay but I wouldn't recomend buying on ebay unless you really know the product and current prices very well. Too easy to get ripped off or buy usless crap at or above the new price.

B

RedRandanoRocket · Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2004 2:18 pm Post subject: