Beat drumset for 600$ and under?

[LimeDisciple]

Looking to buy a good kit, no idea where to start...
Will be playing from rock all the way to black metal.
So..nothing jazzy i suppose.
Thanks!

[LimeDisciple]

Correction, best*

also, i would prefer it to come with cymbals, but if not thats okay.

Or would it be best to just buy the hardware and build from there?

[biggator6]

You'll get a LOT more for your money used. Chances are, you won't find one that comes with decent cymbals - and you want decent cymbals. IMO - it's not that hard to make a crappy kit sound decent, but impossible to make crappy cymbals sound decent.

[relayer]

I'm not sure you can get a studio-quality kit for $600, unless you run across somebody that doesn't know what they have is worth. Sonor makes some halfway-decent kits in the $400 range, but they're 3-piece kits; hardly suitable for Black Metal and not really anything I would want to use for recording. Good vintage kits are pretty pricey on ebay. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Lots of Taiwanese Premeirs and Rogers that are very low quality. Cymbals are another matter. $600 will get you two good cymbals.

Good luck.

Steve

[biggator6]

Originally Posted by relayer

I'm not sure you can get a studio-quality kit for $600, unless you run across somebody that doesn't know what they have is worth. Sonor makes some halfway-decent kits in the $400 range, but they're 3-piece kits; hardly suitable for Black Metal and not really anything I would want to use for recording. Good vintage kits are pretty pricey on ebay. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Lots of Taiwanese Premeirs and Rogers that are very low quality. Cymbals are another matter. $600 will get you two good cymbals.

Good luck.

Steve

Oh, you definitely can. I only paid about $500 for my Premier Signia kit (new, approx $3500). One of the regulars over on pressroll is a Nashville session guy - he uses Gretsch Catalinas more than his USA customs... he does some MINOR work to them (sand/smooth bearing edge, seal interiors) and says they record fantastic. If you want vintage.. old Ludwig/Rogers/Slingerland are pretty inexpensive unless you want a rare color or collector-grade kits. If you don't mind a cigarette burn in the wrap, $500 will get you a nice kit.

Plenty of studio-grade options for that range... cymbals, on the other hand... well, they'll cost you. Used is cheaper, but still.

[relayer]

Originally Posted by biggator6

Oh, you definitely can. I only paid about $500 for my Premier Signia kit (new, approx $3500). One of the regulars over on pressroll is a Nashville session guy - he uses Gretsch Catalinas more than his USA customs... he does some MINOR work to them (sand/smooth bearing edge, seal interiors) and says they record fantastic. If you want vintage.. old Ludwig/Rogers/Slingerland are pretty inexpensive unless you want a rare color or collector-grade kits. If you don't mind a cigarette burn in the wrap, $500 will get you a nice kit.

Plenty of studio-grade options for that range... cymbals, on the other hand... well, they'll cost you. Used is cheaper, but still.

I guess I only know from ebay. I'm always on the lookout for vintage snares, and peruse the kits. I just haven't seen anything much like what you're talking about. If you say they're there, I'll take your word for it. But I really think the OP was thinking $600 for drums and cymbals.

Steve

[biggator6]

Originally Posted by relayer

I guess I only know from ebay. I'm always on the lookout for vintage snares, and peruse the kits. I just haven't seen anything much like what you're talking about. If you say they're there, I'll take your word for it. But I really think the OP was thinking $600 for drums and cymbals.

Steve

Yeah, that's not happening.. not WITH cymbals - though, if you REALLY hunt.. maybe.

I never find deals on ebay. C-list, drumforum, pressroll, music stores. Vintage drums still don't have the crazy resale like guitars.. I mean, a nice vintage kit in a fairly rare color is still typically under 2-3k.. a player-grade kit, WELL under 1k.

Check C-List regularly.. if you're patient, they will come.

If you don't want vintage.. look for a used Catalina Maple/Birch or PDP CX/MX/CXR/MXR which sound plenty good with decent heads on them. Deals are out there.. a guy on drumforum just picked up a Mapex Saturn kit for $450!!

As for cymbals.. I bought almost all of mine used, a couple off c-list - most from the for-sale section at drumforum. Be patient.. better to pick up a decent A for $100 than 3 ZBTs for the same $100. Again, deals to be had (I got my Sabian HH Raw Bell Dry Ride for $100) if you're patient!

[Dog Boots]

This thread (or the OP) rather is the reason why the US (and to some extend Europe) is screwed.

Stop trying to get the cheapest crap you can, save up and buy something real at the real price. Remember that your money doesn't just disappear off the radar as soon as you spend it - it can and will be used again, but it's up to you to decide whether that's going to happen in your neighborhood where part of it will serve as tax income for YOUR community and state, and help support you and your neighbors.

A nice bonus is that you will value the gear you get more.
Oh, and the environment will thank you too, for not buying something that still took lots of resources to make (water, pollutants in metalwork and what not) yet will be thrown out after just a few years because it won't last longer than that.

If you want cheap: buy used!