Drums, need your suggestions.

[cpt_azad]

We're most likely moving to a bigger place come September (our second house which is being rented out till now or so I'm told, right now we live in a basement suite).

Long storey short, I think its finally time I got some drums, in fact they were going to be my first instrument but didn't have enough room in my room to put em, and my mom basically told me I could not put them any where else in the house >_< so I opted for guitar until now.

So what my question is, what's a good quality drumset for the price, I don't want something like Pearl that costs a billion dollars, just a set (or pieces that make up a set) that's affordable, since I am a total n00b to drums if I do buy them now. Just want like a good set to begin on.

What I basically am looking for is a good throne but not too fancy, a few toms (good enough for a beginner), a snare, a few cymbals thrown in, a hihat I suppose, and bass drum with a dual kicker (ok maybe a single but would it be better to start off on a dual or a single, I mean later down the road I'm gonna get a dual either way so should I start of with one and get used to it or not?).

Preferabbly under $1000 canadian. I'm looking right now and I've found some good deals already, but I want your guys' opinion too, since I dont know what I'm getting myself into it.

I'll post links/pics prices of stuff that I find while on my hunt, and I'd appreciate it if you could take some time to help me as well

[lee551]

pearl sets aren't all super expensive. it's just like every brand, they make affordable models and also make professional quality stuff. with a budget of $1000CAD (~$900USD) you can get a pretty baller set.

set's i've seen usually don't come with a throne, so keep that in mind. you'll have to find one separate from the actual set, so that'll be an additional cost aside from the set itself.

most beginner sets also don't come with more than one cymbal and a hi-hat. if you want a crash/ride/hi-hat you'll probably need to buy the crash or ride separate. the one cymbal they give you in addition to a hi-hat is usually a crash/ride dual purpose cymbal that is a medium size and can be versatile as far as sound goes. however, i think most people prefer to have 2 cymbals in combination with the hi-hat minimum, but it's up to you (and depends on what set you settle for, you might get a couple, who knows).

the double pedal thing: personally i wouldn't reccomend anyone start with a double pedal. it's kinda like cheating. you'll soon realize that it's much easier to use two feet to make beats you should be able to do with one foot. this can make for bad practice and will lead to you being a not-so-accomplished drummer when you're in a situation where you only have one pedal.
that's just my opinion though. double pedals do make things way easier to play, but a good drummer should be able to blow your mind with one foot and not be relying on a dual-pedal copout. i think you would be happier if you could build up your main kick foot to a certain skill level and then you can progress to the more advanced double-kick playing. i personally don't find it hard at all to go from playing a single pedal set to a dual-pedal set so there isn't any advantage in the 'getting-used-to-it' department.

here's a few sets i was checking out on musiciansfriend.com for ya:

Pearl Form Fusion 5-Piece - $630USD
Ludwig Accent 5-Piece - $370USD
Yamaha Rydeen 5-Piece - $500USD

you can really get a good beginner set like that Ludgwig for under $500 and it'll be the perfect set to learn on. i've been playing drums for about 7 years, still have my $300 beginner set and it's still perfect for me to dink around on. of course it doesn't sound anywhere near a pro set, but it served the exact purpose of a great learning instrument.

there's just a few of my tips, and i hope you've got some good coordination too, because drums can be pretty tricky when you start.

[cpt_azad]

pearl sets aren't all super expensive. it's just like every brand, they make affordable models and also make professional quality stuff. with a budget of $1000CAD (~$900USD) you can get a pretty baller set.

set's i've seen usually don't come with a throne, so keep that in mind. you'll have to find one separate from the actual set, so that'll be an additional cost aside from the set itself.

most beginner sets also don't come with more than one cymbal and a hi-hat. if you want a crash/ride/hi-hat you'll probably need to buy the crash or ride separate. the one cymbal they give you in addition to a hi-hat is usually a crash/ride dual purpose cymbal that is a medium size and can be versatile as far as sound goes. however, i think most people prefer to have 2 cymbals in combination with the hi-hat minimum, but it's up to you (and depends on what set you settle for, you might get a couple, who knows).

the double pedal thing: personally i wouldn't reccomend anyone start with a double pedal. it's kinda like cheating. you'll soon realize that it's much easier to use two feet to make beats you should be able to do with one foot. this can make for bad practice and will lead to you being a not-so-accomplished drummer when you're in a situation where you only have one pedal.
that's just my opinion though. double pedals do make things way easier to play, but a good drummer should be able to blow your mind with one foot and not be relying on a dual-pedal copout. i think you would be happier if you could build up your main kick foot to a certain skill level and then you can progress to the more advanced double-kick playing. i personally don't find it hard at all to go from playing a single pedal set to a dual-pedal set so there isn't any advantage in the 'getting-used-to-it' department.

here's a few sets i was checking out on musiciansfriend.com for ya:

Pearl Form Fusion 5-Piece - $630USD
Ludwig Accent 5-Piece - $370USD
Yamaha Rydeen 5-Piece - $500USD

you can really get a good beginner set like that Ludgwig for under $500 and it'll be the perfect set to learn on. i've been playing drums for about 7 years, still have my $300 beginner set and it's still perfect for me to dink around on. of course it doesn't sound anywhere near a pro set, but it served the exact purpose of a great learning instrument.

there's just a few of my tips, and i hope you've got some good coordination too, because drums can be pretty tricky when you start.

Wow you rock dude, lemme just start off by saying thanks for the quick wellinformed reply, and secondly I think your help might become a huge ass factor (you've been playing for 7 years, that amounts to a lot experiences for me to learn from lol).

Ok those sets look awesome, I might go with the Pearl after all, and ya the throne I can buy seperate shouldn't be too big of a problem.

And ya I'm gonna need to take lessons and stuff, so my next question is, should I buy the beginner set and learn on that during the lessons using whats avail? OR Should I buy some extra cymbals and maybe a floor tom or two and then start learning on that?

Thanks for the advice on the dual pedal, you're absolutely right on that. So for a while (I'm guessing till I get good enough, a year or year and a half) ill get a dually.

So ya, just start learning on the beginner set as is, or throw some extra things in there then start to learn (such as more cymbals, give it more definition).

Oh and also, I wanna point out I don't know jack shit about drums. I just learned today you can tune them.....my head hurts lol.

I'll google that topic up and if its ok with you I wanna ask some questions (I'm sure I'll have a tonne ).

I'll also post some links to drumsets, lemme knwo what you thyink of them.

[lee551]

well i think all 3 sets i listed come with a floor tom, so i would advise against buying any extra toms.

if you're planning on taking lessons, i would shop around for a teacher first and then get his opinion on what to all get for your set. he might suggest that you get another cymbal to make the set complete, or not.

i'm not sure how serious you are about learning drums, but i'm of the mind to start out with something designed for beginners (and cheap in case you change your mind after giving it a go).

i also noticed that the ludwig set i posted from MF.com says explicitly that it can be shipped to canada.

and yeah, drums can be tuned. getting your heads to sound right can be a tedious process. you just sit there with a stick in one hand and a drum key in the other adjusting until you're satisfied with the sound.

any questions you have, fire away. i'll try to answer them the best i can.

[cpt_azad]

well i think all 3 sets i listed come with a floor tom, so i would advise against buying any extra toms.

if you're planning on taking lessons, i would shop around for a teacher first and then get his opinion on what to all get for your set. he might suggest that you get another cymbal to make the set complete, or not.

i'm not sure how serious you are about learning drums, but i'm of the mind to start out with something designed for beginners (and cheap in case you change your mind after giving it a go).

i also noticed that the ludwig set i posted from MF.com says explicitly that it can be shipped to canada.

and yeah, drums can be tuned. getting your heads to sound right can be a tedious process. you just sit there with a stick in one hand and a drum key in the other adjusting until you're satisfied with the sound.

any questions you have, fire away. i'll try to answer them the best i can.

Thanks for the speedy post man, appreciate it. Don't worry, there will be a lot more questions to come, unfortanately I won't be shopping (window shopping anyway) for the drums or the instructor until after my final exams are done (fuck, grade 12 sucks lol) so I'll dig this thread up around the 3rd week of June when I do go window shopping.

And that Ludwig = sexy lol, Im gonna contact MF tonight and see how much it'll costs if I decide on buying it later on (taxes, S&H, etc).

[lee551]

aight, i'll be here.