Looking to purchase drumset, don't trust any drummers irl

All instruments that aren't guitars (or bass guitars).
aai
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Looking to purchase drumset, don't trust any drummers irl

Post by aai » Fri Nov 22, 2019 12:53 pm

Hello!

I live in the Midwest and some bad stuff is coming my way on the family front because of aging, etc.

Looking to engage in some music therapy and finally get proficient at drums.

I have $1000 that I can devote to this.

I trust your musical tastes a lot more than the drummers I know IRL, but I will have help tuning.

I've only ever bought cheap sets and borrowed cymbals from real players for gigs where I was the drummer. I liked the smaller shells generally, and while most of my gigging experience is playing hipster-y music, I've been playing jazz guitar and upright bass long enough that I want to learn how to be an acceptable jazz drummer.

Looking for a 4-piece kit (floor tom, kick, snare, one rack tom), all the hardware, a throne, ride, crash, hi-hat for under $1000. Y'all have never steered me wrong, and, shopping-wise, my brain is fried from end-of-life planning and that bullshit and I'd rather just play than windowshop right now. I just want to order it all and be done with the shopping so I can focus on learning.

Thanks, OSG.

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s_mcsleazy
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Re: Looking to purchase drumset, don't trust any drummers irl

Post by s_mcsleazy » Fri Nov 22, 2019 3:35 pm

well it all depends. i mean recently, i built a really basic kit for under £100 and it's basically all premier shells. granted, in the uk, you kinda trip over vintage premier stuff (i found a 70's olympic kick and snare in a skip once) in the US. i'm not too sure what's out there. you mentioned jazz and i'm actually a big proponent of using a jazz kit in a rock setting (if you're in a 3 piece band, it can actually fill out a lot more sound)

i recently tried a ludwig breakbeats. it's a jazz style kit that is designed to be portable. for a sub £400 kit, it sounded way better than some £2000 kits i've heard. as for hihats, cymbals and stands. i say facebook marketplace is great.
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aai
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Re: Looking to purchase drumset, don't trust any drummers irl

Post by aai » Fri Nov 22, 2019 4:07 pm

Thanks, I’ll give those a look!

Yeah, the Facebook marketplace in Iowa blows right now.

I miss the gear haven that was CA.

cheers; your thread about your kit build was pretty inspiring too, but I don’t have the energy to hunt and piece together a mutt kit like that unless I got pretty lucky!

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Re: Looking to purchase drumset, don't trust any drummers irl

Post by marqueemoon » Fri Nov 22, 2019 4:32 pm

Gretsch makes some decent budget bop kits.

I play a Premier APK bop kit. It was super cheap coz kind of ugly wrap. I played indie rock with it and it was great.

Don’t skimp on cymbals. It’s always true, but especially for jazz.

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Re: Looking to purchase drumset, don't trust any drummers irl

Post by s_mcsleazy » Fri Nov 22, 2019 6:20 pm

marqueemoon wrote:
Fri Nov 22, 2019 4:32 pm
Gretsch makes some decent budget bop kits.

I play a Premier APK bop kit. It was super cheap coz kind of ugly wrap. I played indie rock with it and it was great.

Don’t skimp on cymbals. It’s always true, but especially for jazz.
i love the ones that came with the purple wrap.

i've always wondered how popular premier stuff is in the states. as i've mentioned, in the uk. their the best kits on a budget because their everywhere.
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somanytoys
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Re: Looking to purchase drumset, don't trust any drummers irl

Post by somanytoys » Sat Nov 23, 2019 11:36 am

marqueemoon wrote:
Fri Nov 22, 2019 4:32 pm
Gretsch makes some decent budget bop kits.

I play a Premier APK bop kit. It was super cheap coz kind of ugly wrap. I played indie rock with it and it was great.

Don’t skimp on cymbals. It’s always true, but especially for jazz.
Definitely true on the cymbals. Plus, they should be an investment - they should last quite a while, if you don’t go apeshit on them. If you spend some money on them, I’d think that would help to be a deterrent. And jazz isn’t usually about hitting hard anyway.

I have a Tama set, it’s nice but I think they’re kind of expensive. It’s put away in cases right now, until I need to break them out. I bought some of the cymbals with holes for it (x series? Can’t remember). They weren’t cheap, but weren’t really really expensive. Hopefully will sound good, I haven’t had the chance to try them yet.

Also, check out thrones, you want something comfy to sit on as you play/practice. I had a really basic one that killed my ass, and I wasn’t even playing drums, I was using it to play guitar outside. So I bought an Ahead Spinal G throne that’s really great and super comfy, but it was $200. I justify it by sitting in it when I sit & play guitar inside, so dual use. I’m sure there are cheaper, comparable ones. Just wanted to point that out, a cheap throne will fatigue you more quickly.

Good luck finding something you like!
-David

It's a boost booster, to boost your boost - it makes your tone much muchier.

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Re: Looking to purchase drumset, don't trust any drummers irl

Post by somanytoys » Sat Nov 23, 2019 12:05 pm

s_mcsleazy wrote:
Fri Nov 22, 2019 6:20 pm
i've always wondered how popular premier stuff is in the states. as i've mentioned, in the uk. their the best kits on a budget because their everywhere.
I don’t know about nowadays. But I think I had a Premier snare when I was in band in middle school, back in the early 80s. It seems like I remember a couple of other drummers had them as well, and a guy that played drums for us at the middle school’s talent show had a Premier drumset. They sounded good.

There are so many brands out now, there’s no telling how popular those are over here now. I need to get out & start seeing local bands again and see.

You’ve done a great job with your drumset, btw. Very cool on an unbelievable budget.
-David

It's a boost booster, to boost your boost - it makes your tone much muchier.

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Re: Looking to purchase drumset, don't trust any drummers irl

Post by redchapterjubilee » Mon Nov 25, 2019 5:48 am

Budget half that cost for cymbals easily. Drums are mostly about head and tuning choices, well, and sizes too. Cymbals are what they are and if you don't like how it sounds there's no way for it to sound any different. The budget Gretsch stuff (Catalina Ash/Maple) are excellent drums for the price. I'm partial to budget Yamaha (esp. if you can find '80s era Yamaha). Pearl, Tama, etc. Whatever. Just make sure they've been treated well and pretty much any kit from a decent manufacturer will do.

As for cymbals...I always recommend '70s hollow logo or no logo Zildjian as a good budget buy. Usually found used for around $100 per cymbal. I'm also partial to AA Sabian too.

Premier made good stuff but market penetration in America was minimal compared to overseas. We got tons of Pearl, Tama, and Pacific on the cheaper end. I do have a nice '50s era Olympic snare I like. Beech with birch re-rings. But the snare beds are very shallow and I need to have them cut a tad deeper. Can't get snares to sit right on that drum. My brother has a complete '60s Olympic set that I've been wanting to pick up from him for ages but haven't managed to do so.

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Re: Looking to purchase drumset, don't trust any drummers irl

Post by somanytoys » Mon Nov 25, 2019 6:39 pm

DW seems to be pretty prevalent now here, but I don’t know anything about them. Maybe someone else can comment on them, good or bad.

Hell, I barely know that much about my own Tama set, except that they’re a pretty good line of what Tama made, and they sound good.

And that they’re black.

Good info on the cymbals, thanks. I may have to upgrade some of the ones I bought, if any of them don’t do it for me, when I finally try them out.
-David

It's a boost booster, to boost your boost - it makes your tone much muchier.

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Re: Looking to purchase drumset, don't trust any drummers irl

Post by Larry Mal » Mon Nov 25, 2019 8:08 pm

You can get something like a Pearl Export set for $250 if you look for a while, that's a good set and I know because I played one for years. Great entry level kit, not necessarily better than the Tama stuff or anything. But that's a good level for you to shoot for, anyway.

You aren't going to be touring so you don't need super strong reinforced stands. Save money there.

Spend a decent amount on cymbals. Cheap cymbals are horrible. Inexpensive drums can be just fine, but cheap cymbals hurt.

You'll also want to spend a good amount on drum heads, the batter heads especially. Those don't cost a ton but it'll help your sound quite a bit.

Get one of those good drum head tension tuners, also. Tune it up.

Your budget of $1k is very adequate for what you are looking to do. Sorry you are going through whatever it is you are going through. Drums can absolutely help. I know.

Where are you in the Midwest?
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Re: Looking to purchase drumset, don't trust any drummers irl

Post by Lamar Fandango » Mon Nov 25, 2019 9:57 pm

If your looking to buy new, I would look at the Gretsch Catalina series. There are too many configurations, but it sounds like you'd be happiest with the Catalina Club Jazz 4 piece kit. At $699 for the shells you'll be bumping up against your budget ceiling. Another $199 for a compact Sabian cymbal pack, and you've got only another $100 for stands, pedal and throne. But it's close to budget. I started out with garbage cymbals and replaced them over time. If your budget is a hard number, look for this same set used.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... lnut-glaze

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... inch-crash

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Re: Looking to purchase drumset, don't trust any drummers irl

Post by Dok » Tue Nov 26, 2019 2:44 pm

Lamar Fandango wrote:
Mon Nov 25, 2019 9:57 pm
If your looking to buy new, I would look at the Gretsch Catalina series. There are too many configurations, but it sounds like you'd be happiest with the Catalina Club Jazz 4 piece kit. At $699 for the shells you'll be bumping up against your budget ceiling. Another $199 for a compact Sabian cymbal pack, and you've got only another $100 for stands, pedal and throne. But it's close to budget. I started out with garbage cymbals and replaced them over time. If your budget is a hard number, look for this same set used.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... lnut-glaze

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... inch-crash
Was going to suggest this or a Yamaha Stage Custom, which is what I ended up finding used for about $250. Get a Tunebot for tuning (seriously, do this if you've never tuned drums before, or even if you have) and your kit will sound AMAZING. Cymbals are up to personal taste and depends on if you will be doing much recording, but you should be able to get a good ride, crash, and hi-hats for another $2-300.

I don't know where you are in the midwest so I picked the most midwestern of all - check out this Stage Custom kit with drum mics and all hardware for $650! https://desmoines.craigslist.org/msg/d/ ... 85256.html You'd probably still want to upgrade some of those cymbals, but there are definitely lots of good options in your budget.
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Re: Looking to purchase drumset, don't trust any drummers irl

Post by Lamar Fandango » Tue Nov 26, 2019 7:41 pm

Dok wrote:
Tue Nov 26, 2019 2:44 pm
Get a Tunebot for tuning (seriously, do this if you've never tuned drums before, or even if you have) and your kit will sound AMAZING.
Love the Tunebot and recommend it without hesitation.

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Re: Looking to purchase drumset, don't trust any drummers irl

Post by aai » Sun Dec 01, 2019 12:44 pm

Larry Mal wrote:
Mon Nov 25, 2019 8:08 pm
Where are you in the Midwest?
Ames, Iowa.

Very dull musically and all the bars with jam sessions or music venues got shut down (same owner, shithead avoiding taxes got in trouble).

At least Des Moines and Iowa CIty are a bit hip.

Thank you everyone! This is very useful.

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Re: Looking to purchase drumset, don't trust any drummers irl

Post by Larry Mal » Sun Dec 01, 2019 12:49 pm

To Dok Des Moines is the most midwestern of all the places.

Iowa is beautiful, though.
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