A first acoustic drum kit. Advice...

[bigbongo]

Wanting to buy my daughter her first acoustic basic drum kit [ she's been learning so far on an electronic one ].

Can someone please point me in the direction of a decent-ish one I could get for her used?

I used to have a pearl export myself back in the 90's but I always hated it's sound, I'm hoping you can get better than that for the price nowadays?

Hope someone can help.

[biggator6]

There's a PILE of great sounding low/mid range kits out there now.. most can be picked up used for $300-700 easy.

PDP mx/cx
Gretsch Catalina
Mapex Pro-M

There are plenty more, but those came to mind. Cymbals will likely cost as much as the drums, though.. crappy cymbals sound way worse than crappy drums! Budget drums with good heads/tuning can sound fine - there's not much you can do about cymbals that sound like trash can lids.

Check out the For Sale section over at drumforum - guys are always putting together beginner packages to help out new players.

[bigbongo]

Thank you, I appreciate this.

[kevbrowne]

Sonor kits can be great bang for buck.
Check out Impressions cymbals.They dont cost the earth and sound amazing

[Mylesh]

I recommend a Tama Rockstar kit ($400-$500) and Dream cymbals. Dream makes great handmade cymbals from high quality bronze for them same price as Zildjian's or Sabian's low end machine made lines. All tolled you could get everything for under a grand.

[dudeitsree]

I work for a very reputable drum and percussion specialty store based in Dallas TX.

We recommend several kits for your kind of situation. The one we sell the most is the Yamaha Stage Custom Birch. It does not include cymbals but includes hardware and is available in several nice colors and configurations.

We usually sell Dream cymbals for budget minded people, but you are locked into dark washy cymbals. Now that Sabian has been selling reconditioned SR2s (high end cast metal cymbals sent to trade shows or used by artists) at a very reasonable cost, you really can't beat the price.


Posted via the Gearslutz iPhone app

[trevoire520]

Go second hand! It's a total buyers market lately. Last year I got a Mapex M Birch kit in excellent condition for £80!

[digibird]

Gretsch Catalina Maples I like a lot for the $ new. A used kit would be an even better value. Might need Remo ambassadors all the way around if it still has the stock heads, though - didn't like those.

[KickSnareHat]

A serious piece of advice: No matter what kit you buy, save a little money for new heads -- even if the kit is new. Trust me on this. At a minimum, get top heads for the kick (Evans EMAD), toms (double ply), and snare. Also get a snare side head. New heads make a world of difference on low end kits.

[Gajdzin]

I second (or third?) the Gretsch Catalina Maple recommendation. That's what I have, with cymbals worth more than the kit (Paiste Signature) and a collection of hi-end snares worth much more than the kit, and yet I feel no need to upgrade the kit itself.

I did change all hoops on the Catalina to die-cast, though. Made a world of difference.

PS. And if it's her first acoustic kit, encourage her to spend a lot of time learning to tune the drums. And I mean a LOT This is more important than what kit she'll end up having.

[More Kick Drum]

If you didn't like your Exports, try the Gretch Catalina series. I personally chose the exports over the Catalina a few years ago and haven't really been disappointed once I changed all the heads and learned how to tune them. I got the exports as all the hardware and cymbals were included when I got the kit (From Costco lol).

If you can get a Yamaha Stage Custom Birch kit used, I'd go for that, they are really nice and can be a great starting point for a novice drummer.

Like others have said, I'd save money and get some decent cymbals as cheap cymbals sound like crap and even beginner drum kits can sound decent enough with new heads and proper tuning.

Good luck! Choosing a kit is one of the hardest things to do lol

[bigbongo]

... eventually went for a Yamaha Stage Custom Advantage that I picked up for £395 and added 3 x new Dream cymbals the resulting kit sounds excellent.

Not sure my daughter realises how lucky she is, this is a lot better sounding kit than I ever had when I was playing.

[KickSnareHat]

Originally Posted by bigbongo

... eventually went for a Yamaha Stage Custom Advantage that I picked up for £395 and added 3 x new Dream cymbals the resulting kit sounds excellent.

Not sure my daughter realises how lucky she is, this is a lot better sounding kit than I ever had when I was playing.

Excellent choices. Really good bang for the buck.

[bigbongo]

Thanks everyone for your advice, it's really appreciated.