Choosing a drumset

[bassteban]

Looking at drumsets. A complicated mission- it needs to be fairly cheap(hopefully under $300), it may need to be used for actual live gigs & ideally will stand up to kids'(5-11)abuse. For the kid factor, an electric set would be great, but I'm thinking that the low budget will guarantee a POS electro-kit. Acoustic/real traps will sound better but can't do the *go ahead and play, son- just use the headphones* thing. Conundrum( )- bad pun intended...
Any/all advice is appreciated; sorry mods if this doesn't belong here.

[tangentmusic]

For kids aged 5-11, I would go electronic with headphones.
Unless you're already deaf....

[BryanM]

If you go acoustic, Ludwig Accents are good kits and can be found used with hardware often for around $150. I don't usually advocate hydraulic heads because they often sound ridiculous but if you through a set of Evans Hydraulics on the Accent with an EMAD bass drum head, you end up with a kit that sounds like a thousand bucks (not a million bucks, mind you) for right around $200 plus brass.

[bassteban]

Originally Posted by tangentmusic

For kids aged 5-11, I would go electronic with headphones.
Unless you're already deaf....

Well, my hearing is bad- but my listening is AWFUL.

On topic- I don't think I specifically said so, but these drums will be played by several folks, including kids & adults; it will be the *house* kit for the occasional GTG but also for serious practice when we can't scare up anything else, or for convenience's sake. I'm leaning toward a *real* kit & just biting the bullet on kids banging away. That really doesn't bother me all that much- I try to llet my kids play w/my musical stuff as much as possible.

[BryanM]

Originally Posted by bassteban

Well, my hearing is bad- but my listening is AWFUL.

On topic- I don't think I specifically said so, but these drums will be played by several folks, including kids & adults; it will be the *house* kit for the occasional GTG but also for serious practice when we can't scare up anything else, or for convenience's sake. I'm leaning toward a *real* kit & just biting the bullet on kids banging away. That really doesn't bother me all that much- I try to llet my kids play w/my musical stuff as much as possible.

You could always get felt practice mutes on the kit and let the kids know there will be serious re-"percussions" if they play without mutes without first asking.

[bassteban]

Man- things are happening fast. The reason I'm ramping it up on doing this is that a new gig is going to happen, sooner than I expected in fact, and we need drums. I just talked to the singer/leader & it's looking like I'll buy an acoustic budget set now & he will buy it from me later(I know this may sound like a recipe for disaster, but we're all 40+ & know what can happen..). His 18-yr-old daughter is going to be playing the drums in the band, so the electric kit for my lil ones will likely also happen, later.
Still interested in everyone's thoughts.

[winston]

Hi Steve, my wife is curious about drums (blame Meg White) and I've been looking for something similar.

The Pearl Rhythm Traveler kit looks promising...portable, mute-able, not too expensive.

[bassteban]

Hello, Winston- I hope all is well in Bezerkely.
Those look nice- I have a GREAT source of drum info in the drummer of two of my regular gigs. I'll pick his brain when I can- he's supposed to call me today.

[Bullitt5135]

I just went through this... I wanted a kit for my 10-yr old who has been taking lessons for a year and is progressing nicely. I also wanted a suitable kit for band rehearsals at my house.

I ended up buying a used 5-piece PCP (Pacific, Made in Mexico by DW Drums) off CL with high-end Sabian cymbals and hardware, all for $700. I know that's a bit out of your price range, but here's my rationale... yes, I could have found a kit for $300-$350. It would have been either a used low-low end big box store kit, or a toy from Toys R Us. I don't believe in buying junk, so I never really considered this route. Looking on CL, I could have found a low-end Pearl Export (there's a lot of them out there) for $450-$500 depending on the configuration, cymbals, hardware, and condition. At one point, I had a line on a Tama Rockstar (w/hardware and Sabian B8 cymbals) for $450, but it was 3 hours away -- I would have jumped on this if it was local.

I ended up finding a realy nice mid-range PCP kit with Sabian HHX and AAX cymbals, all PCP hardware for $700. Yeah, it's more than the $500 I had in mind, but the cymbals alone are worth $1,100. My drummer has a similar PCP kit, and he said the one I got was around $1,000 new for the shells. He was suitably impressed with how they sounded and played. I figure if my daughter ever grows out of it or gives it up completely, I will easily recover most if not all of my investment.

So my advice... first, if you have a good local drum shop, go and pick their brain. We brought our daughter to a local shop armed with a ton of questions. The shop owner was really cool... he spent an hour and a half answering all her questions, showing her what to check (bearing edges, laminate, hardware), letting her try stuff, etc. Not for a minute did he try to sell us anything, even telling us what to look for if we were shopping on CL or Ebay (including prices ranges for each piece). What he told us was (if she was serious about drumming), to avoid the really low end stuff (like the base model of any given manufacturer's line). Quality control, build quality, tone, and potential for tuning problems just isn't worth the hassle to most people. Simply jumping up a notch will get a much better set of shells, solid hardware, etc.

He particularly likes kits such as the Tama Rockstar and the PCP's where the toms have a suspension-style mount (as opposed to being bolted right into the shell). He said Pearl Exports are a pretty good value if you shop around used -- a lot of people buy them for their kids, then sell them in a year . He was generally not a fan of the low end Ludwigs, even though he himself owned two high-end Ludwig custom kits. He definitely said that you are better off with a slightly lower-end shell, as long as you fit them with decent heads and tune them properly, then put a little extra money into the cymbals. Starting out, you can get by with hi-hats, a ride and a crash. Any visiting drummer can bring his own cymbals if he prefers. Also plan on spending around $50 for a new set of skins like Remo Pinstripes or Evans EC2 (I'll let you do your own research). Then get somebody that knows what they are doing to tune them up. My drummer really improved the sound of our kit in only 15 minutes.

Hopefully, others can offer more suggestions.

[Bongolation]

Float a loan, go electronic.

Seriously, by the end of the month you'll be all, "I can't believe I'm going through this unremitting hell and alienation of the neighbors because I couldn't scrape up another $347!"

[bassteban]

Bullitt5135, that's the longest post I've ever been fully interested in reading- thank you.
I will keep this updated as things progress.

Edit: Bongolation, I'll let you know if I regret going acoustic(I'm pretty well set on a real kit for now/the band thing, as opposed to a dedicated kit for my kids, which will likely also happen later), but the one neighbor that might complain can eat dingleberries.

[Bullitt5135]

No problem, glad I can help. Drums are a lot to digest, especially since their are so many brands, levels, options, etc.

Tell me what city you're in, and I'll take a quick look at CL. I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but at least I'm a somewhat informed buyer.

I should add that my drummer mentioned electronics just last night. He played on them once and struggle with it. They are not for everyone, especially experienced drummers used to acoustics. YMMV.

[bassteban]

I'm in Vacaville- I also have a bit of experience w/electrics; don't really like them for *real* band stuff but love the headphone option for kids.

[Bullitt5135]

And I should add that jamming in the basement with my kid on drums is well worth the investment!

[Bullitt5135]

Saw these on the Sacramento CL - $550/BO... http://sacramento.craigslist.org/msg/2251861062.html

Gretch is another brand my guy liked, though they are regarded more (justly or not) as a jazz kit. These were high on my list as well. I think their low-mid line is called the Catalina. From what I understand, the Zildjian ZBT (like the Sabian B8) is a decent set of starter cymbals, too.

[bassteban]

Saw that- can't do anything today, but might check into it. Thanks!