Drummers, help - what should i buy?

[swishniak]

although ive been working as a drummer for a bunch of years - im pretty clueless when it comes to gear, usually run in to the music store, buy sticks and heads, and run out.

anyway - its time for a new kit, my old gretsch drums dont want to be schlepped around anymore and my pearl forum (18" kick) isnt cutting the mustard anymore.

so im looking for something with a 20" kick, that i can do jazz / acoustic gigs and some rock / club dates on. hoping to pay less than a thousand. i was thinking about something maple, like those pacific drums, but they're hard to get over here in germany.

are there any smaller companies, or just nice sets that anyone can recommend? thanks alot in advance.

[digitaldrummer]

the pacific maples are a pretty good choice for that price range. I had a set of the CX (made in mexico, maple shells) and they sounded great. The hardware is a lttle on the light (cheap) side and the 14" tom only had 6 lugs (another cost reduction). I have one of the Catalina Birch floor toms (14x14) and it sounds great. I use it with a few other mismatched pieces for jazz. If they sold an 18" kick I'd probably be tempted to get some pieces to match that floor tom (my 18" kick is actually a Catalina birch floor tom converted to kick... but not the same color). I think they might sell a 20" though so maybe check it out. Pretty much anything in that price range is probably going to be comparable.

[vsr600]

hmm if you don't mind going used/vintage, you can get a pretty incredible 60's Slingerland on ebay for around $700 with a 20x14 bass. I got mine there a couple of years ago for $600... if you hunt around and don't mind faded finished or small cosmetic issues you can get something great.
If you wanna go new in that price range, the new Tama Superstars look pretty awesome for the price.

[cgarges]

I got a Gretsch Catalina Birch kit for these EXACT kind of gigs about a year ago. I love it. The downer is that for some reason, Gretsch isn't offering these kits with 20" bass drums any more. Totally ludicrous in my opinion, especially for a company with a reputation like Gretsch's. Anyway, you could probably find a good deal on one of these kits on the used market, or if you're lucky, maybe there's still a dealer in Europe with one of those kit still in stock. They were discontinued in early 2006.

Those drums are great with a variety of heads and work well in that difficult tuning range that suits quiet playing. The bass drum is absolutely fantastic-sounding for a kit in that price range.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[bedard]

I have a custom kit from Jeff Kirsch here in Portland http://www.kirschdrums.com/
very reasonable prices, great detail, fit, finish and awesome tone (recording custom basic design with vintage edges). Ask him about shipping. Most good shells come from Keller, companies remarket the shells with finish and hardware. For a thousand you could get an old kit and put new hoops/lugs as well.

[swishniak]

wow - thanks for the helpful replies. i knew this would be the right place to ask. .

i am still watching ebay.de every now and then, but it seems like there are alot of serious collectors over here who bid way too much for those nice old dusty kits.

one of the german internet music stores here, thomann, offers both a 20" and 18" gretsch birch kit (and they ship to the states it think if your interested), so ill be looking into that.

still a bit tempted by a shiny new maple kit too, so will be looking in the pacifics and tamas also. thanks again.

[LeedyGuy]

Here's 3 options off the top of my head.

There are Taye drums that are at the Living Room in NYC that I can never believe how good they sound. I think they are to Ayotte what Pacific is to DW. I recall checking into them some time ago and they weren't too expensive. The Living Room basically specializes in the music styles that you're trying to go for and this kit really sounds great in there. Maybe that great sound comes from amazing drummers like Kenny Wolleson or Dan Rieser......but I played it, and it sounded good to me and I'm nothing like those guys!!

There are also Drummer's World nesting drum kits. You can get them in a lot of different sizes, but they only come in 3 piece so you'll need a nice snare if you don't already have one. These kits sound amazing just with Remo Coated Ambassadors on top and Clear Ambassadors on the bottom. It's a little out of your price range, but it's huge bang for your extra buck. A downside also to these though is that if you aren't going to be in NYC any time soon, you can't really audition them.

I recall the Yamaha Stage Custom drumsets sounding pretty nice if you can find one with a 20" kick out there. You'll have to mess with it a bit more as far as head combinations and tuning tweaks because it's a mid-level semi-pro set of drums, but it can be a great set. I think it's the Stupid Deal of the Day on Musician's Friend actually....

Let us know what you wound up with!

-Ken

[swishniak]

wow - so almost a year later. . ive been meaning to reply to this thread for almost 6 months now.

in the end i picked up a used Pearl Session Elite kit with a 20" kick, which im very happy with. birch = punchy, but pretty warm. got a great price on ebay too.

i also got 16" yamaha floor tom and converted it to a bass drum with spurs and a lift. it has a much brighter, bouncier tone for jazz and acoustic stuff.

thanks for the tips, all.

[JeremytheDrummer]

Personally, I would stay away from the low end new sets.
For the same price, you can get a nice used set like what
was mentioned. Ludwig, Slingerland, all those are easily
found for under $1000. Since 20" aren't the most sought
after bass drums, you should have no problem.

[JeremytheDrummer]

Wow! Didn't realize this was from that long ago!
What did you end up getting?

[Sean Sullivan]

I got a 4 piece Ludwig Fab Four Classic Maple Bop Kick (20", 14", 12", and 5" x 14" snare) for $630 on eBay and it's amazing. I had a Yamaha Stage Custom before that and it was a very nice kit, I paid $550 for a 5 piece kit with all the hardware.

By the way, the Yamaha hardware is amazing.

[JeremytheDrummer]

Nice! Ludwig!
Those Stage Customs would probably be the one lower priced set I would recommend.

[Sean Sullivan]

Plus, Stage Customs are way cheap used.

My best advice: browse drum sets on eBay within your driving range and see what comes up. Most likely there is something nice and if it's pick up only, there is a good chance of getting it cheap.