What E-drum kit for 12 year old?

[41Hz]

My daughter wants drums for Christmas! 

I don’t know much about them, but I’m assuming an e-drum kit might be a bit better from a noise level point of view. Anyone have any recommendations? I guess I’d be hoping to spend around £200, but could go a bit higher if needed.

Edited December 10, 2019 by 41Hz

[mrtcat]

For that budget I'd be looking for something used. Roland kits might be a stretch but if you can find anything by yamaha you'll not be too far wrong. 

[Jakester]

What level is your daughter at? I only ask because in my view  a poor electronic kit is as likely to put someone off playing drums than it is help them develop - much in the same way as a poorly set up bargain basement bass might.
 

If she’s an absolute beginner, then a cheapo kit might be okay for her to learn the very basics on, but if she’s anything beyond that, it might just prove frustrating. I echo the second hand comment above but IMV you may struggle to get anything remotely decent for your budget, even second hand. Sorry. 

[41Hz]

Ah ok thanks! She is a beginner having never played the drums, but is pretty musical playing a few instruments already.

[BassTractor]

If you have to buy new, and wish to stay roughly within that budget, Gear4Music do a slightly more expensive one (£249) that has mesh on the kettles rather than rubber pads.
For learning to play drums at a budget, I'd go cheap mesh rather than expensive rubber even though a really natural response can't be expected for that price.
But yeah, of course try to find something used first. There should be enough parents who sell their kids' unused instruments.
YMMV.

[skidder652003]

3 hours ago, mrtcat said:

For that budget I'd be looking for something used. Roland kits might be a stretch but if you can find anything by yamaha you'll not be too far wrong. 

I concour, got my lad an awesome 2nd hand yammy kit for £250, played it a couple of times then sat taking up half his bedroom for 6 months until I sold it for the same amount.. expect something similar

[caitlin]

I have had yamaha rubber kits (they bend if you hit them hard) and currently rock a Roland TD30K

I would definitely say go mesh if you possibly can, but anything name brand is better than import stuff.

I'd concur with second user over new, you'll get SO SO much more for your money. Consider fewer objects to hit if you can get better quality objects, drum kits are infinitely upgradable over time.

As skidder652003 says, resale value is something to consider because nicer instruments are nicer and you can't have as many drum kits as you can guitars. I've topped out at one electric and one accoustic drum kit, but i've got 3 guitars and I can't play any of *them* 😛

Also bad luck if she keeps up with it, I have lost more money and time and backache to drums than I ever want to think back on

 

Oh don't forget the extra junk, drum sticks, seat, bass drum pedal, hihat stand, HEADPHONES, often times those things aren't included.

Edited December 10, 2019 by caitlin

[41Hz]

Haha, I’m slowly going off the idea!

[Bolo]

Good input here all-round! I got my boy a  used Yamaha dtxpress2 kit this year for his birthday at around your budget. Came with a seat, a pair of sticks, and a high-hat stand. Roland's gear is comparable in most ways but Yamaha is apparently easier to upgrade separate components or the computer of. 

Note! Floor-transferred noise is still a PITA if upstairs on wooden floorbeams. If the kit isn't going to sit on concrete/in the basement or whatever, look in to building a tennis ball platform. Fun to make and worth a days DIY.

With all the cautions out of the way, it's fun to have a kit around the place. The kids love it, their pals love it, even the Mrs had a go once or twice! I got Samson SR850 headphones as they are cheap and do a great job. Sometimes I connect to our electronic piano through headphones out > aux in to play a bit amplified, it doesn't need much to sound o.k.

As with most instruments but with drums especially, the real value is in lessons. Learning to play along with hits and favourite songs at any level is fun and gives great energy. We haven't regretted it for a moment.

Edited December 10, 2019 by Bolo

[Stub Mandrel]

1 hour ago, caitlin said:

As skidder652003 says, resale value is something to consider because nicer instruments are nicer and you can't have as many drum kits as you can guitars. I've topped out at one electric and one accoustic drum kit, but i've got 3 guitars and I can't play any of *them* 😛

I think this is a real shame. Our drummer only has three kits and refuses to buy  my daughter's Hohner kit 😞

My brother's drummer has something like six in storage, I think one of them is ex Cozy Powell or someone of that kind of status that so there are collectors of these things...

[Stub Mandrel]

23 minutes ago, Bolo said:

tennis ball platform

Never seen those before. I've passed it on as an idea for isolating workshop machinery!

 

[caitlin]

18 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

there are collectors of these things...

I very very nearly went all out on the earth vs the wildhearts tour smiley kit when it was up on ebay, still kind of regret passing it up.

[caitlin]

14 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Never seen those before. I've passed it on as an idea for isolating workshop machinery!

Madness, the last thing you need is a lathe floating around the workshop maiming everything in its path.

Everything needs to be bolted to the slab, the SLAB can be isolated

Isolating drums is a fools errand, embrace you inner animal and deal with for the short time before the drummist is flipping knackered

[dave_bass5]

I got my son (12 at the time) the cheap G4M £150 kit. He loved it at first, but he is also having drum lessons at school, and found the way the snare is sitting was not comfortable and now he doesn't use it at all, other than to hang his uniform on it.

He still has drum lessons but never plays at home. Every now and then he asks for a real kit, but the floors in our flat are terribly thin. I cant even use a bass amp at home. Shame as he is quite good, but he has a couple of guitars, which i try and encourage him to spend more time playing.

[NickD]

I picked up an Alexis DM6 kit for my boy. Given the potential kids have for going off the idea I went used for 120 quid. They're one of those things that folk buy, play for a week then realise it's not as easy as it looks so pack it back up, so there's plenty out there, practically unused. My drummer, who has the all singing, all dancing Roland kit was really impressed by the build and playability.

[Dan Dare]

Nick's right. If you're not sure whether they will stick with it, get them something used and not too dear (but not rubbish, obviously). You can always sell it on if you upgrade.