What should you look for in a drumset?

[acdctom92]

All budgets set aside, What are the special requirements that should be looked for in a house kit? Even though budgets are excused, please be reasonable this still is the low end theory. Somone told me that you can tell a cheap set from a good set if the bass hoop has 8 lugs or 6. 6 being the cheaper set. Is there a type of wood I should look for?

[ambo]

Look for versatile sizes in maple or birch, preferably wood finish, not wrapped. Toms should be on suspension mounts, preferably not mounted on bass drum. 22" kick, 10, 12, 13 toms 14, 16 floor toms. 12, 16, 22 would be a good start. The number of lugs is not important if it's a quality drum. A Gretsch 12" tom only has 5 lugs and is as good as it gets. It is true that some vintage drums had a student version with fewer lugs, Ludwig Pioneer and certain Roger's kits come to mind. However, they're still fantastic drums.
Check bearing edges for dents etc... and make sure the drums are perfectly round. Slightly undersized shells are nice. New heads, Ambassadors or Emperor on top, Ambassadors on bottom.

Snare drums are usually a separate purchase, although a lot of used kits will come with a snare drum. A Ludwig Supraphonic metal and a nice Maple shell snare will cover a lot of sounds/styles.

As far as brands go, any pro level kit will sound good. stay away from power sized (deeper) toms as they can be harder to tune and look dumb...

For vintage look for Rogers, Gretsch, Slingerland, Camco, Leedy or Ludwig.

[acdctom92]

I'm stuck between the Pearl Export, and the Sonor Force 2007.

The only thing that has me leaning towards the Sonor, is the fact that it is birchwood, and the Pearl is Poplar.

[A LaMere]

look for something that sounds good... are you able to try the actual kits before buying??

I like recording Birch kits... but with cheaper kits I think the type of wood, color, wrap etc.... is a bit of a crap shoot...

Generally speaking... if you're buying that cheap, look for something that sounds good.

To record, I tend to prefer darker and more dead sounding than a "live" kit might normally be....

[BlueRadio]

Honestly?

For recording purposes, if the drums are physically sturdy, whole, it doesn't really matter to me what kind of kit.

That is, if I am on a budget. Budget unlimited, well, that's another story.

I'm a huuuuge believer that head selection, incredible tuning and technique can make any drum kit rock HARD.

I've gotten some great sounds out of a Pearl Export kit, so I'm not just talking out of my ass here.

stikestikestike

Along the same lines, I just bought a junked Squire P Bass from Music Go Round. The pseudo-expert who was working there looked at me like I was crazy, as the neck was bowed like a crescent moon, and hella dirty.

Well, I took her home: New strings, truss rod adjustment, DIY setup/harmonics adjustment, and a little damp cloth action for cleaning.

Played correctly, I am getting one of the best bass sound I've ever gotten.

[allencollins]

I look for the size of the drums and the shell material

[rumimusic]

Originally Posted by acdctom92

All budgets set aside, What are the special requirements that should be looked for in a house kit? Even though budgets are excused, please be reasonable this still is the low end theory. Somone told me that you can tell a cheap set from a good set if the bass hoop has 8 lugs or 6. 6 being the cheaper set. Is there a type of wood I should look for?

Listen to what the man says
Ludwig, Rogers, even Wfl are awesome drums.
Try Late 60's.
They're not expensive!
And i think they sound way better than modern kits.

[Chrisc_o]

I would violently agree with the idea that as long as they are sturdy, then they should be fine.

Head selection and tuning skill will have the biggest role to play in the sound you get. I suggest forseeing the largest portion of your budget on a good snare and good cymbals. The drums can be tuned and tweaked, but a crappy cymbal is a crappy cymbal.

Snares are tricky so it is worth getting a good one.

I have an old cheap Wesbury that I took the wraps off of. I got decent heads on them, and practiced tuning them until I got the sound I wanted. They are used frequently for tracking and rehearsals, and no drummer has been disappointed with their sound yet.

[mrmicguy]

I ended up with choosing a Pearl Masters Birch Kit. It's very nice. The Kick is like nothing else I've heard. Toms are mounted on a rack (not on the kick). I got an old fella that's been playing drums longer than I've been alive to come in and set it up and tune it all etc. He comes back every 6 months or so just keep it in tip top condition etc. Havn't had a dissappointed drummer yet.

[acdctom92]

That's a wee bit outa my price range.


So far with all that you guys have said, Sonor seems to be my way to go.


Anybody know anything wrong with the Ludwig Accent?(the 400$ one)

[forthemusic.com]

Cheap vs good is usually defined by the cymbals. Don't buy anything in a cymbal pack, specifically the Ziljian ZXT or the Sabian B8 Pro (ex. It is better to have one nice crash then 2 crappy ones).

Both of the previously named company's have some of the best sounding cymbals ever played live and recorded. My personal recommendation would be to get some Sabian's in the AA or AAX line. I can give you what prices you should pay for each type of cymbal you would need, so send me a PM if you would like. I currently own 18 Sabians and love everyone of them.

There is nothing worse than seeing and hearing a kit with garbage cymbals. If you are anticipating people bringing in their own, then forget everything I just said.

ONE MORE THING...whatever kit you decide to go with, nothing is more important than new heads tuned to perfection. Think of a drum kit as a guitar. Even if the guitar is $3500, if it is not tuned then it will sound like a $3500 piece of crap. Same with the drums. Tune them well, and even a sub par kit at best can still fit the application.

Also, invest in some Moon Gels. They will be very useful for dampening and tuning.

[warhead]

I would choose Sonor, those entry level drums sound excellent (those toms are kickin'). Something about Sonor and their tom sounds just rocks.

War

[acdctom92]

Originally Posted by warhead

I would choose Sonor, those entry level drums sound excellent (those toms are kickin'). Something about Sonor and their tom sounds just rocks.

War

Now entry level meaning the 750$ Force 2007? Or the 499$ one?

[jsox2409]

when u say house kit i assume u mean a house kit for a studio... so..

probably the best thing you could do is to find a couple of kits that u like the tone of in the store and if at all possible take the first tom of each kit tune it to your liking and put them in your tracking room and find which one sounds the best. then take the kit into the room and move the kit around until you find the sweet spot of the room where the kit sounds the best overall.

the studio i do most of my playing at has a set of Mapex orions with evans G2 coated heads and i love them.

kit for studio use thats most versatile would probably be a 22 kick, 10,12,14,16 toms

i own a gretsch reknown maple kit and it sounds good.

but generically speaking.

get a wood finish not a shell wrap. hanging floor toms ring out more than floor toms with legs. unless you by the DW shock foot things that go on the bottom of them.

pretty much. u can get a good sounding kit reasonably by mapex, gretsch, pearl (any series above the export), DW ofcoarse and Sonor

[Nutmeg II.]

Floor toms can ring out for ever if you use the "patent applied for" sustain blocks and put them under one or more of the toms feet. >>>

P.S.: If you want less sustain in the floor tom you can remove the "patent applied for" sustain blocks from under the toms feet and place them on the top head by using about 20 stripes of ducttape/gaffa.

[Nutmeg II.]

Some times the "patent applied for" Sustain Pad does the job even better with the great "The Looks"™.

You also can use our 2 zone "patent applied for" Sustain Pad Ultra Pro.

[lpkyer]

LOL I wish I could hear that with a german accent too !! That would be kick ass !!!

[HeavyG]

...hmm. I have heard some lower end (price wise) kits that sound great. The Gretsch Catalina Club series comes to mind....I know that most of the Big 3 (tama, Pearl, yamaha) also have theirs...but the Gretsch line is cooler. Nice tone...slick looks...great logo on the bass drum head (the latest big thing will never bitch about playing on a Gretsch). Sure you can find some vintage kits that sound good...so it depends on what you want...vintage mojo or new kit sexiness. Game over...drive home safely. Thanks for playing...

[Hazer]

Never underestimate a modern low-end kit. I have some Yamaha Rydeens which sound great, and were very easy on the pocketbook. Regrettably, they're discontinued.

The new Pearl Forums are pretty good, IMO. They're very similar in spec to an Export EX from a couple years ago. Shells are very well made, bearing edges are great. They're suspension mounted...mounts aren't great, but they can be replaced for very little cash with WorldMax DSS, which are what you get on most drums.

Don't believe hype about different wood species, my drums are made out of absolutely garbage wood, but they are well made with great edges, which is what matters. Poplar can make a great sounding drumkit, in fact many vintage drums were made of maple or mahogany outer plies and a poplar core.

For recording, you may find smaller "fusion" sized toms more suitable, but that's completely your choice.

[HeavyG]

Originally Posted by Hazer

Never underestimate a modern low-end kit. I have some Yamaha Rydeens which sound great, and were very easy on the pocketbook. Regrettably, they're discontinued.

The new Pearl Forums are pretty good, IMO. They're very similar in spec to an Export EX from a couple years ago. Shells are very well made, bearing edges are great. They're suspension mounted...mounts aren't great, but they can be replaced for very little cash with WorldMax DSS, which are what you get on most drums.

Don't believe hype about different wood species, my drums are made out of absolutely garbage wood, but they are well made with great edges, which is what matters. Poplar can make a great sounding drumkit, in fact many vintage drums were made of maple or mahogany outer plies and a poplar core.

For recording, you may find smaller "fusion" sized toms more suitable, but that's completely your choice.

Bullseye on not believing the marketing hype. I heard some very talented engineers say stuff that is just not true..."I kicked two drummers out of bands for playing birch"..."birch is like that crappy presswood plywood at Menards or Home Depot"..."birch sounds like playing a bad piece of furniture"...

...and the best..."all the greats played maple".

Umm...no they didn't. To your point, many drum mfrs back in the day used a myriad of wood types for their shells. "Sandwich" ply techniques utilizing a variety of woods was also popular...

Krupa, Rich, Williams, Gadd, Cobham, Peart, Bonham, Ringo, Katche, Powell, Paice...the list goes on of those who made history with something other than maple drums. Marketing hype? How about when Yamaha's Recording Custom was the TOP OF THE LINE for so many years...with what type of shell...BIRCH. So don't fall victim to the hype...just about any type of wood can be the foundation of a world class drum tone. Let your ears decide...not a bunch of marketing glitz and misinformation.