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Drums

#22
Phalex said:
Porkpie. They're pretty sweet. Not sure about affordable, but they are very nice!
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They are nice, but no where near affordable.


For new, there aren't much better values that:
Gretsch Catalina Birch/Maple, Mapex M/Birch/Pro M, Pearl Vision, and Sonor 2007/3007.

All of those feature either all maple or all birch shells, all of them are respected companies.

If he needs hardware as well, I would personally say the Pearl, as their hardware tends to be some of the sturdiest. If he needs no hardware, the Gretsch offer the ability to purchase the kit as a "shell pack", which includes the drums and all of the essential hardware (hoops, lugs, spurs), but none of the stands/pedals.

So...yeah, truthfully, any kit from any of the major brands is gonna sound good enough. If he is willing to spend more, perhaps custom companies would be an option. I know Epiarch Drums offers relatively inexpensive custom work, that is just top notch.
 
#23
Phantopeth said:
For the best bang for your buck, I'd suggest Mapex's Pro-M line. The shells are 100% maple, and you can get a full set for under $1,000. You don't see that happen very often.

Other than those, Pearl's Export line has only gotten better over the years. The shells are 100% poplar, which isn't regarded as highly as maple as a shell wood, but at the end of the day, it's the bearing edges that make the difference. Same goes with Tama's Rockstar line (which may have had its name changed to Superstar, I'm not sure). I had a Rockstar kit years ago, and would recommend it to anyone looking for an intermediate kit (Tama's hardware, patricularly the RoadPro line, is hard to beat to, IMO).

I say go with on of those, which ever one you get a better deal for. If you are shopping at store fronts, and not online, that'll give you the opportunity to take the heads off and inspect the edges (I highly recommend doing so, just like there's hit-n-misses with basses, there are with drums).

There's also a small chance that you may happen across of a kit of RMVs. If you do, get those. 100% brazilian maple shells, top-notch pro-quality drums, for $800 or so. Also, they use some sort of carbon-composite for their hardware, which makes them the lightest drums around, as well (which is a big plus if you gig often, which I suppose is obvious). They were, for a time, the single best-kept secret in drums. Unfortunately, RMV has pulled out of the North American market (for the time being), so the numbers of available kits are shrinking daily. They were also only sold at 5-star drums shops, so the weren't easy to find to begin with.
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Exports have been changed. They are now all maple.

Rockstars are now Superstars, as you said, and feature a birch/basswood composite shell. The Tama hardware is nice, I agree.
 
#26
We found a five piece set of Tama Swingstars on Graigslist with a High hat stand, and cymbals for 200.00.a few scratches but overall in pretty good shape, Thanks again for everyones help:) Can the scratches be buffed out?
 
#28
ANd even though it's too late, I have to add that the best value I am aware of in the drum world has to be Conaway Drums. Totally custom Pro-level sets for about as much as a Pearl Export.

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I hope that will take you to them. If I ever get my home studio as fully pimped out as I would like, it will have a set of those in it.
 
#31
Bard2dbone said:
ANd even though it's too late, I have to add that the best value I am aware of in the drum world has to be Conaway Drums. Totally custom Pro-level sets for about as much as a Pearl Export.

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I hope that will take you to them. If I ever get my home studio as fully pimped out as I would like, it will have a set of those in it.
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Those seem very cool! Price isn't bad eithier.
 
#33
There is a brand out there called Taye. They are an excellent quality kit for the money. I'll let you in a little secret...They make the shells for Mapex and several other well know brands including some of the custom drum builders. They buy the blank shells from Taye.

I had a Taye Tour series 7 piece kit they were made from Birch & Basswood. They had very clean and sharp 45 degree bearing edges and the shells were finished nicer than any mid-range Tama or Pearl that I ever had. I was talked into them by a friend who was a dealer for Taye. Prior to that I had never heard of them before. They also have a Studio Maple set that sounds excellent. I could have bought those but I was happy with the warmer birch sound.

I used them with Evans Coated EC2's on the batter side and G2's on the resonant side. They sounded fantastic. Nice fat & warm.

Mexican Pacific drums are very nice for the money as well and could be had for a good price used. Anything used is possible. even DW kits can be found for a decent price used.

If you buy used pay close attention to the hardware, especially the threads on the hoops. The cheaper Chinese made Pacific and Greatch drums have a tendency to back out during playing and will cross thread ruining the threads. The maple shells can be made to sound nice with good heads and tuning but you have to watch that hardware.
 
#35
Bard2dbone said:
ANd even though it's too late, I have to add that the best value I am aware of in the drum world has to be Conaway Drums. Totally custom Pro-level sets for about as much as a Pearl Export.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

I hope that will take you to them. If I ever get my home studio as fully pimped out as I would like, it will have a set of those in it.
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Dave is not taking orders anymore, so I don't think your dream will come true.

It sucks, great prices, and a really nice guy.
 

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