Practice space drum set recomendations

[substitute]

There's some change over going on in my band's practice space, and I want to take the opportunity to set things up to be a little smoother and more organized. It used to be my band had all our stuff crammed on one side of the room and another band had all there stuff on there side. I think if the bands shared a drum set we could have space for three bands (the space was only getting used 4 nights a week).

Being that I'm the motivated person in this situation, I'm thinking I should by a drum set in order to get the space set up how I want.

I'm thinking $300 range, I don't want to make people play on a piece of crap and I'd like something with reasonable resale value.

Sooooooo, what do you recommend?

Thanks!

[jgimbel]

I think it's tough to find a set in that range that's really nice that you can expect decent resale. The first thing that comes to mind is Pearl Exports..I see them constantly on craigslist, around that price. They're okay, not something I'd be dying to record with but solid enough for a practice space. They seem to stay in the same range that they've been in for years. I see things like this a lot - http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/msg/1872615009.html - that look like they'd be nice. This too - http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/msg/1871634015.html - I've heard good things about the Gretch Catalina kits, and I think with some hunting you could find one even closer to your budget. If I went to a practice space and there was a kit like that I think I'd be satisfied. I don't know a lot of what's in the new drum market, but I think you might be able to get more bang for the buck by getting a decent used kit. My first drumset was a new Tama set, a pretty small kit, and it was about that price new, and moving up to even the $700 range was a huge step up from it.

[Nick Sevilla]

Two drummers sharing one drumkit is like you sharing your girlfriend.

Good luck with that...

[substitute]

That's funny, I'm in Philly. I was looking at the pearl exports I had no idea where they fell on the quality scale. Thanks for the links.

Our old drummer had a Catalina that I really liked, given the application I was thinking a more standard rock kit would be good.

Sharing drum sets isn't uncommon at all here, usually a drummer will use their own snare and cymbals.

[terryb]

you can find ludwig rocker sets from the 80s for around $300.
The kit I owned sounded great.

[MoreSpaceEcho]

years ago i bought a total bottom of the line 4pc premier kit for $250. i gave the snare away, as i already had a couple nice snares, but i played that kit live for years and literally every show someone would say "your drums sound fantastic!"

i bought a nice kit for the studio for $1500 and it definitely does not sound 6 times nicer than those 'crappy' premiers...

[mojobone]

Two drummers sharing one drumkit is like you sharing your girlfriend.

Good luck with that...

Pffft; they're drums, we hit them. (the sound is more about the heads and the tuning than the shells) In this application the determining factor is durability; drummers that are picky about their sound can insist on playing their kit on the gig, as they should. $300 bucks could go a long way on the used market since each drummer will likely bring her own snare, kick pedal(s) and cymbals. (possibly a throne)

Get a kit with some big ol' honkin' double-braced hardware and the most rugged hihat and cymbal stands you can find. Pearl and Tama make the heavy-duty stuff. Get 'em used but inspect them carefully for wear and functionality.

Yeah, a nice birch Gretsch Catalina is a great and great-sounding low-budget choice, and the smaller the hardware, the more you'll hear the wood, but if you can practice on a pad, you can rehearse on what's available. In this case four or more drummers times up to four hours times four or more nights a week equals a helluva pounding; I'd err on the side of making sure it doesn't break.

[substitute]

excellent advice, I think that get's me on track guys.

[ckeene]

Two drummers sharing one drumkit is like you sharing your girlfriend.

Good luck with that...

Pffft; they're drums, we hit them. (the sound is more about the heads and the tuning than the shells) In this application the determining factor is durability; drummers that are picky about their sound can insist on playing their kit on the gig, as they should. $300 bucks could go a long way on the used market since each drummer will likely bring her own snare, kick pedal(s) and cymbals. (possibly a throne)

Get a kit with some big ol' honkin' double-braced hardware and the most rugged hihat and cymbal stands you can find. Pearl and Tama make the heavy-duty stuff. Get 'em used but inspect them carefully for wear and functionality.

Yeah, a nice birch Gretsch Catalina is a great and great-sounding low-budget choice, and the smaller the hardware, the more you'll hear the wood, but if you can practice on a pad, you can rehearse on what's available. In this case four or more drummers times up to four hours times four or more nights a week equals a helluva pounding; I'd err on the side of making sure it doesn't break.

One thing that's sort of a drag in a shared drum kit situation is there always seems to be someone who dents the heads up and then everything sounds crummy. I'm picky about that kind of stuff, so maybe it would bother me more than it would other folks. Still, might be something to address beforehand.

Also, in those situations people lose cymbal sleeves and felts all the time, so I'd get some extras on hand.

[Jarvis]

Besides being cheaper, one of the reasons I share a space w/ other bands is to play my own kit. How about one guitar and amp for the guitar players to share?

[mscottweber]

Sharing amps isn't that outrageous of a concept. My band's space has 2 triple recs that get used by 4-5 different people. We (for the most part) use our own guitars and pedals, but that is similar to drummers bringing their own snare and cymbals.

[cjogo]

FOR limited space __ the Pearl Traveler or a TRAP KIT 400