Pete the drum teacher’s  

DRUM KIT 

Recommendations

There is a bit of info to get your head around here.  I wrote a heap in my book about this exact part of your ( the parents ) learning journey. I’ll give it to you straight.  Drums can be cheap and nasty which sounds terrible and demotivating to play.  

I’d love for all of my awesome students to have a great sounding drum set they can be proud of. 

There are many kits on the market that are perfect for young/small beginners and vary in price. From as low as $300 “cheap and nasty” up to $1200 for a great complete kit.  Or even as much as a new small car. 

But what is a complete kit?  And Why would anyone see an incomplete kit, I hear you ask. ! 

 Here is what you would expect with a complete kit;

  • Drums 
    • Kick drum
    • Snare Drum
    • Toms ( 1, 2 or 3 ) 
  • Cymbals 
    • Hihat
    • Crash
    • Ride ( maybe ) 
  • Hardware 
    • Cymbal stands 
    • HiHat stand
    • Snare stand
    • Throne ( seat ) 
    • Kick drum peddle 

Sometimes kits come WITHOUT hardware or cymbals or even a snare. But that’s not a big deal as these things are usually bought separately.

Another question to ask is –

Do I go with electric or acoustic?   Electric kits can vary in price from $700 up to $15,000 or even more.  ( Once again, details in my book ) 

While we are asking questions, Here is a couple of important ones…  

What if I ( you ) get a drum kit and they don’t practice or lose interest?  Hmmm – if they don’t have one they cant practice.  And it can be sold just as easily as you buy one. 

I might just get a cheap ( bad sounding ) kit to see how they go.  –  My guess is, ( and experience tells me )  they prob won’t go for very long 🙁

Other things –  Too loud, Take up too much space, I Can’t afford much.  The good news is Knowledge and not a great deal of money can solve these concerns. – I’ll share my knowledge here. 

Put simply,  If you choose to spend less than $500 then you will spend much more time looking for the perfect ( cheap ) kit that might not sound very nice. Cheap kits have cheap drum heads ( the part you hit ) and cheap Cymbals, ( the round metal bits ) sound terrible. Worse than pots and pans. 

Spend $800 or so and it will be far less confusing for you with a better result and better resale value.

 

 

 

 

– ACOUSTIC DRUMS 

LISTED AS BEST VALUE FOR MONEY. NOT CHEAPEST FIRST. 

Quest love Breakbeats.  (Shell Pack Only.)  I Personally have one of these. 

The great thing about this kit is it has a small footprint and comes with Mutes ( makes the toms quieter) 

YAMAHA Junior.  (Shell Pack Only.)  This is a kit that will last the test of time  ( and hold its Value ) 

The 2 above kits are great for young as the Kick drum is small ( 16” )  which means the toms sit lower, but as the kids grow, and they grow fast, The toms can be adjusted. As I said, I’ve got one of these and I use it a fair bit ( I’m just under 6 foot tall ) 

MAPEX 20″ $799 – Large size kick drum (20”)  Full kit, everything included. 

TAMA 18” kick $799 – Medium size kick drum (18”)  Full kit, everything included.  ( Except throne ) 

Shell Pack means – no hardware or no cymbals 

Low price Hardware pack options 

  • Hardware Pack 1  $260 ( Chaos – Australian ) 
    • 1 cymbal stand
    • 1 hihat stand
    • 1 snare stand
    • 1 kickdrum pedal
    • 1 Drum throne
  • Hardware pack 2. $359 Yamaha, Better value ( no throne ) 
    • 2 cymbal stands 
    • 1 hihat stand
    • 1 snare stand
    • 1 kickdrum pedal

Low price Cymbal pack options.

  • Cymbal Pack 1 $258 – ok sounding. 
    • 1 Ride/crash 
    • 1 set Hihats ( top and Bottom.)
  • Cymbal Pack 2 $139 – Cheap Cheap
    • 1 Crash
    • 1 Ride 
    • 1 set Hihats ( top and bottom. )

Want to make the Acoustic drums quieter,?   Get these drum mutes for $25 – great for practicing without making too much sound. 

 

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– ELECTRIC DRUMS.

Electric kits are actually really good these days, they sound almost just like the real deal,  with good headphones, drummers Me included, can play on them for hours without annoying the house or neighbors.

Roland TD1K $799. Great compact kit.  ( Throne NOT included )  ( I teach on one of these at 2 locations ) 

Roland TD1 DMK $999. Mesh Heads ( quite sound ) more realistic feel.  (Kick Peddle and throne NOT included ) 

Alesis pro $799. I’ve never played but has great reviews.  Mesh heads,   ( Throne NOT included )

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I’m here for you,  I want to support this step of the journey. if you need any more clarification or even for me to come shopping with you, I’dhappilyy do this.

My final thought is this- you are spending around $1000 per year on lessons.  Let’s make it count. 🙂

 

PB.

 

 

New Drummer Need Help!!