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When it comes to drums, buying the right gear can be stressful, confusing and very expensive….but it doesn’t need to be. With so many great brands out there, it’s never been easier to find fantastic gear at a great price, so here are some things to think about before you go out spending your hard earned cash.
- Does the brand name really matter?
- Do I really care what other people think of my gear?
- Do I really need 24kt gold plated hardware?
- Do all shops really give advice based on my needs over their accounts?
Ok, so not everyone is a crook and not everyone is looking to rip you off but you’d be surprised how many players look back and think “If I only knew then what I know now, I wouldn’t have bought that kit”.
First things first, do you buy new or second hand? One thing’s for sure, your drum magazines will never review an eBay item so you have to research for yourself!
Drums
When buying a drum kit you should be thinking of sound and build quality, not looks and price tag. Here’s a thought: does your drum kit have to be brand new? Any good quality drum kit is made to last, and that means for the price of a cheap budget range new drum kit, you could find a semi-pro or even a pro level second hand kit. Also, the first thing we usually do with a new drum kit is buy a whole new set of our preferred skins, adding between £150-£200 to the price. Most second hand drums have already been re-skinned and there’s normally loads of life left in them. Brand new budget range kits come with cheap and flimsy hardware, which usually breaks sooner rather than later. New semi-pro and pro level kits don’t usually come with any hardware at all! A lot of second hand drum kits are sold with basic hardware of reasonable quality and sometimes can be found with great quality hardware AND cymbals as well. Another plus side to buying second hand is that the older a drum kit is, the more the wood dries out and this helps the shell resonate greatly. Simple fact: older kits sound better. Don’t believe me? A common part of drum manufacturing now is to actually bake the shells in an effort to dry them out!
And lastly...features. The most common reason for people buying new kits rather than second hand kits is to get all the latest features: toms floating on suspension mounts, small low mass lugs for minimal shell contact, air suspension feet for floor tom legs, and amazing new finishes. Well, ask any sound engineer which drum kit he would like to record most and the two most common answers will be the Yamaha 9000 recording custom series and the Gretsch round badge series… And probably a Ludwig 400 Supraphonic or black beauty for the snare. The Yamaha drums had huge lugs that spanned the full depth of the drum shell, it had no suspension mounting, and the tom arms where screwed right into the drum. The Gretsch also had no fancy features because the best line of drums were made in the 50’s and the Ludwig snares (the most recorded in history) were made in the 60’s. While all the new features definitely HELP the drum sound, they are not anywhere near as important as wood selection (e.g. birch, maple, oak, beech, mahogany rather than basswood, poplar), and good skins tuned properly. Typically, a half decent sounding beginner kit would cost between £350-£500. I have bought two top end pro kits of different brands, each for £350 second hand. Drums lose their value FAST! So you can afford to shop around!
Cymbals.
Unlike drums, I’m not really a fan of buying second hand cymbals. There are definitely some great bargains out there, but over time cymbals can crack, and you never know how soon that can be with a pre-owned cymbal. There is however another way to save money on great cymbals…chose them with your ears, not your ego. Cymbals are usually made of either B20 or B8 bronze, or brass. Brass cymbals are very cheap and aimed towards beginners. B8 bronze is an alloy of 8% tin 92% copper and is aimed at semi-pro level offering more of a professional sound at an intermediate price, and B20 bronze in 20% tin to 80% copper being a far more tin-rich alloy the sound is far more musical and are definitely professional cymbals usually carrying a hefty price tag.
Now anyone fancy B20 cymbals for the same or less money as brass cymbals? I thought so. Now comes the great debate, Turkish Vs Chinese cymbals. Turkey have been making cymbals for thousands of years and due to this Turkish cymbals are widely thought of as the best, and are usually very very expensive. However, China too has been making cymbals for a long time and no-one really knows who started making them first, so why are they so cheap? Well, no-one knows that either… there are a few brands of Chinese cymbals out there making exceptional quality cymbals for a fraction of the cost of the bigger names and they really are just as good.
There is more to the manufacturing process than just the metal: they can be cast or sheet, stamped or rolled but for now let’s just look at an experience of mine. I was on a session in a recording studio and trying out different snares and cymbals etc to see what sounded best in the room. Naturally I went straight to my Turkish cymbals (£320 hihats), but the sound wasn’t right, they didn’t seem to have the right characteristics for the song, I then tried some of the studio’s Chinese cymbals (£80 hihats), and they just had “that sound”. I was blown away; I now no longer own any Turkish cymbals and am a proud endorser of a Chinese cymbal company.
So in summary when buying drums…
- Look on internet classifieds and auction sites for good quality second hand kits.
- Research what kits were good 10 or 20 years ago and see how much they cost now.
- Look at kits on YouTube and see which woods you like the sound of.
When buying cymbals…..
- Steer clear of second hand if possible unless seeking specific vintage lines.
- Explore Chinese cymbal manufacturers; you may be surprised by the quality.
- Play the cymbals with your eyes closed and make your choice based on sound, not fashion.
I have chosen not to include brand names within this article as I am endorsed by a cymbal company, and I do not want to influence, only advise. Also, I have only touched the surface of all that is discussed so I really encourage you to research all the fascinating equipment available to drummers.
Thanks for listening!
