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I'm buying a drum kit to start learning drums

Cheap, electronic starter kit.


Like I said, I'll buy a beginner cheap kit to study at home. Since I have another friend who wants to get better at drums (he's mainly a guitarist) we'll share the cost.


I'm like you and got into home recording, and I love it.

When buying a cheap e-kit, be sure to get one with a tower bass drum and pedal set up, the cheaper "self hitting" pedals are bad for developing foot technique.
 
Go directly to Craigslist. There is no reason ever for a beginner of any age to buy a new kit.

Have fun, don't give up the one.

I have owned three drum sets in my life and never paid for any of the drums. I purchased my cymbals and replaced heads and certain hardware, but never the drums. Anyone who knows a drummer should be able to start sourcing a low-budget trial set.
 
I'm 42 years old. I started with singing and piano as a little kid, added guitar around 16 years old, added bass 3 years ago, now I think it's time for the drums.
I want to learn everything and I suspect I'll absolutely love it.
Sweet! We’ve got a cajon coming for the family to share for Xmas. My son is four; I figure when he’s older we’ll get a kit. Either he will love it and I can mold a drummer in my image, or I can get the kit I’ve always wanted! :D (I did briefly own a minimal kit in college, so much fun. Enjoy!)
A couple years ago I took up percussion. I play congas, cajon and djembe. Love it. The only problem I have is when I learn a song, I am also thinking about the bass, guitar, and mandolin parts, and I can’t play them all at the same time. I really need to get into home recording, but I’m very tech challenged. I did some recording back in the eighties with a Foster four track, but it’s very time consuming.
I’ve found garage band and the similar PC free software to be very easy and intuitive. $100 (or less) for a USB interface is all you need to get started.I hadn’t used mine in years, but broke it back out for the shutdowns.
 
I have owned three drum sets in my life and never paid for any of the drums. I purchased my cymbals and replaced heads and certain hardware, but never the drums. Anyone who knows a drummer should be able to start sourcing a low-budget trial set.

Yep - I owned two drum kits in days of yore. One super budget dumpster find. Cymbals and kick drum pedal were the things that drove me nuts right off the bat. I then sourced a new, intermediate level kit that I played for a few years before switching to guitar. That had better cymbals and a decent kick pedal.

Every now and again, I rent an e-drum kit for a couple of months. Mostly just to fart around but occasionally lay down beats for recording. Not into it enough to justify buying one.
 
Don’t get a big kit; Jaco only needed four drums....
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I've been drumming since I was in third grade or so, (longer than I've been a bassist) and in my many years of experience with acoustic and electronic kits, I'll just say if noise level isn't a huge issue, I'd suggest a real acoustic kit over a "cheap beginner" electronic drum kit. Electronic drums are a complicated product, and the corners they cut to save on costs for their budget offerings is quite apparent when compared to acoustic kits. For instance I can think of some acoustic kits under 1k that can sound better than kits at 3k price tag; with electronic drums that just never seems to be the case for me. A cheap Alesis or Simmons electronic kit will always feel limited and will never compare to a high end roland or yamaha. Plus you have to aim at much smaller surfaces all over the kit which can be more challenging for a beginner, nor do they actually feel like drums. Thus if you went from playing electronic kits to acoustic (for whatever reason) it would feel much more foreign than going from one acoustic kit to the next acoustic kit. As someone who's been drumming for 17 years now, there's just nothing that replaces the feel, sound and the response you get from a real kit. If you can find yourself a used Yamaha Stage Custom or a used Mapex Armory series, you'll be getting one hell of a drum kit that sounds very close to professional level drum kits.
 
Go minimum on the drums, you won't need a floor tom or a second mounted tom. You should be able to get by with one splash/ride cymbal. Double braced hardware is more stable and durable. Also as for me at my age I had to get a drum throne with a backrest (it really helped) ...lastly, you may find as you play longer that there is such a thing as being 'in drummers shape' in other words having endurance. You will see what I mean...Just keep playing.
 
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I'm 42 years old. I started with singing and piano as a little kid, added guitar around 16 years old, added bass 3 years ago, now I think it's time for the drums.
I want to learn everything and I suspect I'll absolutely love it.
Cool, I dont have the room or patience.I had to buy a Machine awhile back to cover for a really poor drummer! More power to you! I didnt have the patience to program the drum machine, so no new set for me! u do You!GL
 
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