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Drum Kit

JuberooJuberoo Posts: 472
edited July 2007 in Musicians and Gearheads
My teenage daughter wants to get her own drum kit. I know nothing about them. What is a good starter for her?
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Comments

  • keeponrockinkeeponrockin Posts: 7,446
    I don't know, but I will say buy at least a decent set. I've played shitty sets and they inspire you NOT to play.

    Sets are expensive though.
    Believe me, when I was growin up, I thought the worst thing you could turn out to be was normal, So I say freaks in the most complementary way. Here's a song by a fellow freak - E.V
  • JuberooJuberoo Posts: 472
    I know!!! Plus the guy at the local music shop has me so confused about what to buy and what not to buy...what woods produce this sound what cymbals crack etc...I don't want to pay top of the line in case this isn't the instrument for her...(she has already tried piano, violin and trumpet) ugghh

    She did take it last year in band but that was basically a xy and a snare.
    Makes much more sense, to live in the present tense.

    A truly liberal person is conservative when necessary.

    Pro-life by choice.
  • keeponrockinkeeponrockin Posts: 7,446
    How much ARE you willing to spend?
    Believe me, when I was growin up, I thought the worst thing you could turn out to be was normal, So I say freaks in the most complementary way. Here's a song by a fellow freak - E.V
  • MichaelMcKevinMichaelMcKevin Posts: 1,161
    I'd look at Pearl Exports and Tama Superstars. Like he said, if the set is too cheap, it will encourage her not to play.
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  • tama_drummer91tama_drummer91 Posts: 205
    Ive been drumming well over 3 years and I recommend any Tama drumkit. Even their lower end, starter kits are nice! They are reliable and not too expensive. I highly recommend the Superstar line because its more of the middle ground and not low end. Not to mention the wood is pretty nice, birch and basswood. Heres a link http://www.tama.com/drums/tama_link.asp?page=http://www.tamadrum.co.jp/world/products/drum_kit/superstar/index_u.html I have a birch kit and its awesome. If you Juberoo or anyone here has a question about them just pm me with anything and I can try my hardest to answer it. You asked about woods and different sounds. Maple is usually held up as the best, along with Birch. Its usually in more expensive kits too. It has a warm, round, full tone. Then theres Birch, its tone can be quite a bit brighter or darker than Maple. It depends on who you ask on that one. Birch IS the loudest wood out of them all. Its the same quality as Maple, but is cheaper 99% of the time. Its not quite as full sounding, but it has a certain attack(the clicky type drum) that is just awesome. It can also cut through any type of music, I mean they can be really loud. Another good wood is Mahogany, its the lowest sounding wood. Its full in tone and deep. Low end drums usually have Poplar, Basswood, and maybe Maple. They all pretty much sound the same. Basswood sounds a lot like Maple, so the two are mixed together often.

    Then theres cymbals. If she doesnt have any technique at all, she will crack the cymbal no matter how good it is. I wouldnt recommend a high quality set of cymbals at first. I would get some low end Zildjian cymbals. You could simply buy her a pack of Zildjian ZBTs for 230 bucks on musicians friend
    http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Zildjian-ZBT-4Piece-Cymbal-Set-with-FREE-18-China-and-Cymbal-Bag-?sku=444594 its a 4 pack, so you wont need anymore.

    I hope that helps some. Like I said if you have any questions PM me or Ill try to check back here. Drums are expensive, but fun. Its well worth the time and patience.
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  • NovawindNovawind Posts: 836
    Can I say though, the secret with any instrument is lessons with a good teacher. Probably the only reason my girlfriend is still playing drums is because she's had lessons the whole time (1.5 years). I'd say lessons are going to be your big (long-term) investment, so do consider how much you're willing to spend and factor that in.
    If idle hands are the devil's workshop, he must not be very productive.

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  • CazpjCazpj Posts: 58
    Hey, this is weird... but I basically am your daughter :) I also played violin, trumpet and piano before discovering the best thing that ever happened to me - playing the drums!!

    Anyway, as mentioned before by someone, it's worth getting reasonable drums even right at the beginnng - when you first play you can't necessarily tell that your drums aren't great quality, but once you've been playing for a bit you will realise they don't sound great or whatever and end up wanting better ones anyway.

    Also bear in mind though that correct tuning and decent heads can make a world of difference even to a fairly crappy kit :)

    E-bay is great, because you can pick a decent, great condition intermediate level kit (such as the tama superstar range previously mentioned) for hardly anything. Also, these days in all honesty once you get into the intermediate/pro level ranges you aren't going to get crap. All the manufacturers do nice mid to pro level kits.

    With different wood types... they all kind of go in and out of fashion to be honest. Lately it's been all about maple kits, but as Tama_drummer91 said, birch is cheaper and just as good - it's just about creating a slightly different sound. None of the woods on offer will sound bad though, so it's nothing to stress too much over :)

    I wouldn't quite agree that your daughter will *defintely* crack cymbals without the right technique, certainly not quickly anyway. But in a lesson one of the first things she would be taught is a correct way to hit them. So don't worry about cymbals that are likely to crack - you would honestly be hard pushed to buy a cymbal that cracked without really being hit hard and wrong.

    Agree that something like the Zildjian ZBT range would be good though, as they sound quite nice and will keep her going for a while. Then she can gradually upgrade them later if she wants to.

    An idea might be to get her a couple of lessons before you commit to buying any equipment - then she can get a feel for whether she is really into learning to play or not. Drums depreciate in value pretty quick, so you want to know it's a worth while investment.

    Any yeah, as mentioned the right teacher can make all the difference :)

    Hope that helps a bit!
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  • JuberooJuberoo Posts: 472
    Thank you all for taking the time to comment. I will check into the Tamas. I definitely don't want bottom barrel quality. Although if she decides not to stick with it I can always donate them to the school.
    Makes much more sense, to live in the present tense.

    A truly liberal person is conservative when necessary.

    Pro-life by choice.
  • StaffanStaffan Posts: 606
    Juberoo wrote:
    Thank you all for taking the time to comment. I will check into the Tamas. I definitely don't want bottom barrel quality. Although if she decides not to stick with it I can always donate them to the school.

    Just a quick note, I have been playing drums for like 20 years now and have tried several types of kits, been playing Tama for the last 10 years and very happy with them, even if you go for a cheaper line they still produce quality, especially the hardware, which is not the case with Pearl or Yamaha cheaper ones.
    As for the cymbals, I'm playing mostly Meinl who also make some cheaper ones, but they are made in Europe so maybe they are not so cheap in the US.
    The best is maybe to buy a complete used set incl everything just to get started.
    And some lessons is a good investment as well, even if my first couple of months of training was quite boring, just sitting with a pair of sticks and a rubber plate and practicing strokes.

    Well, good luck with the drums, hope you find something good !
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