Drum kit for 17yr starter - Xmas present type thing.

[KiOgon]

A mate's son is interested in getting a kit & I'm getting asked what he should buy him!
I know nothing - but saw this - any good???
Your suggestions welcome
[url="http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/62272-gretsch-cc-r845-cos-catalina-club-24-5-piece-kit-copper-sparkle-.html?utm_source=Dolphin+Newsletter&utm_campaign=3bca5f3fd6-Just_landed10_8_2012&utm_medium=email"]http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/62272-gretsch-cc-r845-cos-catalina-club-24-5-piece-kit-copper-sparkle-.html?utm_source=Dolphin+Newsletter&utm_campaign=3bca5f3fd6-Just_landed10_8_2012&utm_medium=email[/url]

[charic]

If he doesn't want to get annoyed with him tell him to go electric

[KiOgon]

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1349776013' post='1830251']
If he doesn't want to get annoyed with him tell him to go electric
[/quote]
Very true - first thing I said to my mate was - he'll drive you mad but he wants a 'real kit'

[Zenitram]

Allocate more budget to cymbals than drums. All drums sound pretty much the same (even the cheap ones), but crap cymbals will always sounds crap.

[LiamPodmore]

My suggestion: Go used. My bands drummer currently uses a Pearl Export kit (Cost him £250 with a set of Zildjian ZBT's and all hardware) and a set of Sabian B8's (Cost him £100 used). Altogether £350 for almost a pro level kit, cymbals aren't the best but they're better than most starter sets.

If it has to be new, i would stick with the Sabian B8's and either get a Mapex, or that Gretsch which does look nice, depending on budget of course.

Liam

[misrule]

+1 for go used. Ask a local drum teacher if they know of anybody selling -- my son's teacher always has fliers for stuff. We collected a lovely Premier complete set for £350, looked like it had hardly ever left the house.

Also keep an eye on the 'other instruments for sale' here -- loads of reasonable gear comes up. I got a good Tama set on here too.

Cheers

Mark

[Ian Savage]

[quote name='LiamPodmore' timestamp='1349780474' post='1830328']
My suggestion: Go used. My bands drummer currently uses a Pearl Export kit (Cost him £250 with a set of Zildjian ZBT's and all hardware) and a set of Sabian B8's (Cost him £100 used). Altogether £350 for almost a pro level kit, cymbals aren't the best but they're better than most starter sets.

[/quote]

This ^^^ Mapex Venus/V, Premier Cabria/XPK (even Artist if you drop lucky), Gretsch Catalina, Yamaha Rydeen, Tama Swingstar....yeah, alright, even Pearl will do a MUCH better job in the long run than the equivalent-priced kit new.

As well as cymbals (and by the way, again secondhand, some of Stagg's SH and DH series were PHENOMENAL; you might have to go through a few duffers to find the good 'uns, but they're cheap as chips used and when you do get a good one it's easily as good as anything Zildjian or Sabian make - apparently they used ex-Zildjian machinery shipped out to the Far East), you may want to budget for decent heads on there, which could run you close to a ton on its own depending on how big the kit is / what heads you use - good heads and tuning can totally transform a kit. Oh, and once he starts gigging it you'd want to look at quality hardware as well (I swear by Gibraltar, but Yamaha are good too and some of the other companies' own-brand stuff is fine).

[KiOgon]

Many thanks for all the input & wise words, I'll certainly relay your thoughts but I have a feeling it's going to be shop bought most likely Bonners as they're close [url="http://www.bonnersmusic.co.uk/drums-acoustic-drum-kits.irc"]http://www.bonnersmusic.co.uk/drums-acoustic-drum-kits.irc[/url] or online. From my experience with Bonners - they never do anything 'bargain price'! So I'll put forward some online recommendations to maybe save him a few bob, having said that - he's not short of readies it seems!
I don't think he's got the time, patience or any knowledge at all to look at 2nd hand & as it's to be a 'very big' Christmas surprise, new boxed & all that will be what he's after I'm sure.

Cheerz, John

[Big_Stu]

I bought my son a beginner (Percussion Pro?) kit when he was about 14; so +1 about the cymbals, I think his first lasted about a week before it looked (and sounded) like a pan lid. I always went with the best I could find after that. For his 21st I bought him a Pearl Export kit which he still uses.
He had a full set of Sabian Pros at one time but they all got nicked from a festival in Glasgow, £500+ gone!

I was in Costco the other day & they've just started selling drums as well as guitars. Now they have a Premier kit in, but it's only one model so take it or leave it kinda thing. Their prices are usually excellent though.

[Huge Hands]

I agree with the others RE: buying used. A couple of years ago my brother's mate bought his young lad a kit that looked alarmingly like those "starter kits" on your link.

He asked me to set it up for his son and give him a couple of pointers to practice before he got proper lessons (I used to be a drummer too!).

I am normally the last to criticise gear just because of the price tag, but the drums sounded like biscuit tins and after 5 mins I was able to invert the bottom hi-hat cymbal (turn it inside out) just by holding my foot on the pedal.

I think your mate's lad will get a lot more wallop for his cash if his dad buys a half decent used kit and it will last him longer. if he doesn't get on with it, then he might even get his money back on resale, which I doubt you ever would with a cr*p starter kit like the one I saw.

[Ian Savage]

[quote name='KiOgon' timestamp='1349783464' post='1830383']
Many thanks for all the input & wise words, I'll certainly relay your thoughts but I have a feeling it's going to be shop bought most likely Bonners as they're close [url="http://www.bonnersmusic.co.uk/drums-acoustic-drum-kits.irc"]http://www.bonnersmu...c-drum-kits.irc[/url] or online. From my experience with Bonners - they never do anything 'bargain price'! So I'll put forward some online recommendations to maybe save him a few bob, having said that - he's not short of readies it seems!
[/quote]

In that case (and since Bonners seem to be a Gretsch dealer), tell him to get a Catalina Club ordered in, and a set of Stagg SHs/DHs (or Paiste PST5s if he can spend the extra - NOT the PST3s though, they are brass sh*t). Would be a semi-pro quality kit for six hundred quid-ish.

[throwoff]

Gretsch do a really good kit pack called the GS2 ([url="http://www.gak.co.uk/en/gretsch-gs2e8256klb-gs2-g-series-studio-kit-liquid-black/56858"]http://www.gak.co.uk/en/gretsch-gs2e8256klb-gs2-g-series-studio-kit-liquid-black/56858[/url])

Decent kit, full Gibralter hardware pack and a set of Sabian cymbals to cap it off, for less cash than that kit you first pointed out.

I have had a bang on one of these (I am no drummer mind) and it's a great kit all round for the money.

[pete.young]

Might be worth them talking to a drum specialist such as Soundattak http://www.soundattak.co.uk/home/default.asp . I bought a small Mapex kit from them a couple of years ago at a very good price and they were most helpful.

[Bankai]

Without a doubt, buy second hand.

Take a look on ebay around the £500 pound mark for something including cymbals.

Look for Pearl, Tama, Premier, Yamaha, Mapex, Sonor, Gretsch, PDP, or ddrum.
And for cymbals, Zildjian, Sabian, Meinl, Paiste, or believe it or not; Stagg.



Something like this would be perfect: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sonor-503-Series-Drum-Kit-/251163814324?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Drums_Percussions_MJ&hash=item3a7a87a9b4"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item3a7a87a9b4[/url]
or this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Premier-Drum-Set-Sabian-Cymbals-Muffling-Pads-and-8-Drum-Sticks-/150913740984?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Drums_Percussions_MJ&hash=item232328f0b8

Look at those, top level drum manufacturer, not just some cheapo brand (CB or similiar), and you get a set of named cymbals! All for a very agreeable price!

On which note, all of the major cymbal manufacturers make budget ranges. However they're made to be budget and as such they will intentionally make them to not be as good as their professional ranges. Stagg cymbals come in at the same price as the big label budget ranges, but they're made to proper levels. The long and short of it, is that if you're wanting cheap cymbals, go Stagg (Ideally their DH range), rather than getting a budget zildjian or sabian set.

Edited October 9, 2012 by Bankai

[Owen]

https://www.facebook.com/groups/112075278878005/

http://www.drumclassifieds.co.uk/

[Phil-osopher10]

My friends works in Irelands best drum specialist shop (also smallest) but he'll let you know all you need regarding getting a set up! best to phone as the web site is pretty poor. it is mr drums!

[Mr. Foxen]

I bought one of those Stagg kits as a lender for a gig I was putting on, and my hosuemate played it a bit, sold it on bit later, not thinking much of it, got another cheap kit for housemate, then appreciated how good the Stagg kit was, the hardware was bit meh, but it sounded proper.

[lowdowner]

I'd recommend Odery if the budget stretches - a brazilian drum brand (one of the largest in Brazil) has just started exporting and hence a great price. Drummer magazine just reviewed one of their entry level kits and were wowed I have TRX (dark jazz) cymbals with mine (with a Sabian china) and it's an excellent combo.

[WACOJACO]

my pearl kit for sale in other instruments ....

[PTB]

+1 for e bay. I bought my daughter a late 60s Olympic jazz kit in orange sparkle for around 120 quid. Got cymbals used from some drummer friends and we were sorted. I feel fairly sure I could get most of my money back should I sell it on.

[MiltyG565]

both my drumming mates would recommend an entry level mapex kit, with a set of sabien cymbals. you can get sabian cymbals in packs, and i think they start around £150/£200. a mapex kit... hmm... i think i'm right in saying it would be around the same (or maybe slightly cheaper) than the gretsch.

[MiltyG565]

[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/mapex_tnm5844zdk_tornado_jazzbl.htm"]http://www.thomann.d...nado_jazzbl.htm[/url]

pff, wow! now that is their heapy cheapy model, but they have a big range of models, so you could go onto the next one if your friend was looking something a bit more.... professional looking/sounding. but that would get him started for a few hundred quid

EDIT- my mate spent around £600 on a mapex meridian birch kit, but then he also had to buy cymbals and the like, which brought the total cost to over a grand. and that is a semi-pro kit.

Edited November 21, 2012 by MiltyG565

[Bankai]

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1353529933' post='1875758']
[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/mapex_tnm5844zdk_tornado_jazzbl.htm"]http://www.thomann.d...nado_jazzbl.htm[/url]

[/quote]
Buy that and you'll be looking to upgrade asap. It's good for absolute beginners but nothing beyond that.

Buy second hand, buy second hand, buy second hand! Ideally a Pearl Export, or Yamaha Stage Custom.

[lettsguitars]

Ariou?
I would also say buy second hand if you want something good enough to record/gig with. However!!!!
I would assume your man wouldn't know a good drum sound if it really comes down to it. Besides, you can get a half decent sound from a biscuit tin and going psssshhhhhh with your mouth with experience.On christmas morn I am sure he would appreciate a shiny new drum set as much, if not more than, a wicked kik sound and a crash that really cuts through the mix.
You know him best on that score.
Mapex are the obvious brand new starter choice but personally, and only if I was serious about playing, I would build a small kit from a better maker. kik, snare, high tom and floor tom is all you need from them. You could pick up some Hi-hats, a single dual purpose crash/ride and stands, second hand in almost new condition for a bargain If you is lucky innit.

Edited November 23, 2012 by lettsguitars