Drum set used in this video - Ludwig Accent: imp.i114863.net/2rZEVO Almost every conversation I have with drummers about cheap drum kits have a negative slant to them. Why is that? In some ways cheap drum sets are far superior to expensive drum sets. In this video I teamed up with Lauten microphones to talk about the 5 reasons why I think cheap drum sets are BETTER than expensive drum sets. I'm playing on a Ludwig Accent drum set in this video. Really impressed with this thing. I have found myself multiple times losing track of time and just having fun. I plan on leaving it set up in the studio as an option for recording. Leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts on cheap drum kits! ► Start Your FREE StephensDrumShed Drum School Trial Here: bit.ly/2TpkJmJ Subscribe or I will steal your cymbals: bit.ly/2AyH1Fb Mics used in this video: Lauten LA-120: imp.i114863.net/zaYEnM Lauten LA-220: imp.i114863.net/n1YGW7 Lauten LA-320: imp.i114863.net/b3Yxjx
Exactly. The PEOPLE IN THE AUDIENCE don't know OR care if it's a $600 kit or a $6,000 kit. They don't know/care if the shells are 'select hardwood' or 'maple/mahogany/cherry/birch' horizontal-vertical-diagonal shells. They don't know/care if it's triple-flanged or die-cast hoops. They don't know/care it it's rounded-over or 45-degree bearing edges. The don't know/care if it's a wrap finish or a high-gloss lacquer. They don't know/care if the toms use a suspension mount or if mounted directly to the shell. Make sure your drums are in tune and make sure you keep good time for the band - that is all the audience cares about.
@@rickabick1982 Thanks Al!!! And I want to add - have fun!! The audience can tell if your drums are out of tune. The audience (and your band mates) won't enjoy if you can't keep good time. And, if you and your band mates are having fun - the audience will feed off of that and have fun, too.
Not a bad sound for $600 if you want to know. There's not a lot of deep resonance on the floor tom, and that could be the tuning too, but not bad overall.
Expensive, premium drum kits are highly-overrated, and no matter HOW much you spend, if you don't know how to select heads, tune, and utilize proper damping, your drums will sound like crap, no matter what. NONE of the major manufacturers makes BAD drums nowadays. If you are looking to impress your fellow drummers, then by all means, go spend $3-4-5K on a kit! If you are looking for great sound and even looks, you need to spend no more than $1K. Examples: Yamaha Stage Custom, Pearl Decade Maple, Tama Superstar Classic, Ludwig Evolution, Gretsch Catalina Maple, PDP Concept..... ALL of these drums are more than suited for professional use, AND results. Save your money, and put it into better heads, and if you don't already own them, good quality cymbals.
I always say it comes down to TUNING. I used to have a Tama Swingstar kit. It was the cheapest kit they sold and the shells were literally some kind of particle goo pressed in a mould. At one point, my band shared a practice space with another band. Their drummer had an ARTSTAR kit. Top of the line. I was so jealous! ...Until I heard him play it. Then I was baffled. They sounded like he was playing cardboard boxes. Absolutely wretched and flavorless. MY drums sounded GLORIOUS and it immediately dawned on me that the difference was the dude had no idea how to tune his drums and also had removed all the bottom heads. Apparently I had an ear for tuning my drums musically. Nobody ever taught me, it just occurred to me that the top and bottom heads worked together to essentially create a "chord" and so I tuned them so that the tone of the top and bottom heads resonated to create a fuller sound. I spent a LOT of time dialing in that resonance to get the exact range of tones I wanted to hear. It actually hadn't dawned on me how great my kit sounded until that moment when I heard a direct comparison with a much "better" kit live in the same room. Everyone else in the room was saying the same thing, so it wasn't just me. To this day I wonder what that Artstar kit would've sounded like if I had tuned it.
Bought a used Pearl Export kit for $65. Changed out heads, fixed a few hardware pieces, tuned it up and it sounds great. I think it's probably an early 2000's kit and I think they were decent enough for what they were. Spent the money on the cymbals.
Yes! I just bought a used Pearl Export Pro from 1992 that I'm currently using for live gigs, put new heads on it top and bottom, bought used, vintage zildjian cymbals and it sounds fantastic!!!
Making the most out of cheap gear really sets a new perspective for the musician! If you really put your mind to it, you can make cheap gear sound phenomenal!
For sure you can. The more you know... I have around 10grand into my home studio which seems like a lot but were talking 13 guitars, drums, mixers interface, mics, cables, amps, pedals, etc. You could definitely do it for around 3 or 4 grand as I have a lot of stuff I only use for specific things that dont get used very often and arent really neccessary.
@@doknox agreed. Right now I'm in for about 3 grand, which includes an acoustic and electric guitar, a Fender JBass, Rumble 100 amp and a Fender Frontman 15B amp, Alesis Recital Grand electronic Piano, Pearl Roadshow drum kit, with a couple of upgrades cymbals, a banjo (that I'm STILL trying to figure out). My laptop with recording and editing software. I still need some mics, cables and such. Currently shopping for a mixer. This doesn't include the acoustic piano in my living room. A decent setup can definitely be had without breaking the bank.
This is true. I paid my dues owning cheap guitars in my teenage years. Once my ears developed and started getting my chops together, I realized that this is a game of inches and learned to get the best of the gear I owned at the time. The biggest epiphany for me was the huge jump in quality going from beginner gear to intermediate gear. The beginner gear available now is light years ahead of what I had access to in the early 90s
When I was reviewing drums for MD Magazine some 10-12 years ago, I did all price points. I STILL have the Yamaha Gigmaker kit, with basswood/poplar shells. With good, first quality heads, tuned properly, it sounds SO killer that I've taken it on gigs, and had engineers raving about it! I've also recorded with it. Same results. The bottom line is this: Take just about ANY budget kit from a major manufacturer, mount GOOD heads, and tune them properly, and they WILL sound good, maybe even great! The REAL beauty of budget kits is that you can have nice-sounding drums without digging too deep in your wallet. And SOME budget kits are so good that it's baffling. The Yamaha Stage Custom comes to mind. BTW- that floor tom thing: this happens mainly with lighter-weight drums. I use the Pearl floor tom tips. I figured this out when doing a review for the Ludwig Accent kit. Great video!!! 🤘
This video came at a perfect time! I just got a Ludwig Accent kit today. Rebuilding my life after not being able to play for over a decade. It's very encouraging to see this!
can definitely confirm. my kit is a pdp mainstage which i got for like $200 about 5 years ago, and after some tinkering it sounds like an absolute beast, it’s tight and punchy as hell which matches perfectly with the style of rock music i play
You need quality tools to be a pro. You don’t see any pro in an arena / amphitheater setting using crap like PDP or that kind of shit. This guy is playing in his living room , and can’t be taken seriously.
@@John-zt6yw when did he ever claim to be a pro? This whole video is mostly for beginner/intermediate drummers. Also are you a pro? Or do you just like to shit on people for no reason?
@@John-zt6ywua-cam.com/video/af5a1IL7osE/v-deo.html here’s a video of me playing a show with that beginners kit. so, gonna need you to eat those words my friend 🖕
Great video! Makes a huge difference when you put good heads on them, and know what you're doing with the tuning! I actually gigged with a $300 kit I got off of eBay for 11 years...by accident. Back in the day (late 80's-early 90's) I had a massive, step-below-top-of-the-line Tama kit that a former associate of mine absconded with (bastard stole it and moved to Detroit), which is why, many years later, I started playing at home with the cheap kit. I won't mention the brand, because I went to them directly with a hardware issue (broken tom mount, no local dealers or ebay sellers of hardware replacements) and they blew me off. "We just got back from NAMM and we're too busy." So I removed the logo head and badges and beat the living mess out of those drums until I couldn't any more, then upgraded. I would never, ever promote that brand. They do not deserve it. I made the drums sound good, and got many compliments on the sound...good heads, my tuning.
I still own my Yamaha Stage Customs from 1994. I've done hundreds of gigs on those drums and they still look great. I'm a middle aged drummer and I support this message.
Stage customs sound way too good for their price. Just got a new SC Bop kit and I can't believe how good they are. The $5 k I spent on Ayotte Customs make absolutely no sense other than pride of ownership. I like the sound as much as Ayottes only slightly different bcuz birch sounds different than sugar maple. Ayottes will stay in round better due to re-rings but that's it really. SC are way lighter to carry too. Huge bonus!!! Sonor AQX Bop kills too even tho poplar is the tonewood used. I rented a kit for a gig and they are unbelievable sounding too. I discovered poplar does not suck on that day. I also discovered Sonor makes a better bd hoop than Yammy at that price range. My SC hoops are all wonky( flared out like trumpet bell) and out of round. My music store refused to replace em but oh well. Tension rods on the BD are screwed in at an extreme angle due to misshapen hoops. Will eventually order black Keller maple hoops to replace them bcuz my kit is Raven Black.
@@musicalala Yeah the challenge for custom shops that build by hand is to get drums as perfectly round as mass produced drums. Namely japanese manufacturers Yamaha and Pearl have vaccum/heat sealing systems that take any piece of wood at nearly any ply and perfectly coat it with the right amount of glue and get it perfectly mated with any other piece of wood. You can't screw it up. If you use lots of thinner plies of wood then the character of the overall drum gets 'averaged out' as the bond between the layers is so strong that it forms basically a solid shell with fewer imperfections than any solid single piece of wood. It might loose 'character' but what you gain is incredible consistency in the density and shape of the drum that custom hand made drums basically can never live up to. It's akin to computer programmed drums being 'better' than any human playing drums while also being cheaper. 90% of what a custom hand made drumset offers over something mass-produced is simply higher-end looks as a human will always be able to look at a piece of wood and aesthetically plan out how to best paint it to bring out it's grain than a machine....at least for now.
@@BrandoDrum Yes ,I agree re: everything you said and especially re: finishing. The Ayottes had the most beautiful finishing work . I was really interested in vaughncraft solid shells to build up myself but then I started seeing examples of terrible filling jobs and quality issues that I balked at buying them. Been very happy with my Keller maple builds however. May go stave route for my end game bop kit down the line but I'd buy prefab as I don't have the skill to build them from scratch.
My kit’s a Gretsch Energy which I got 6 years ago for Christmas. With some tuning and nice drum heads, the kit sounds great. At the end of the day, an inexpensive drum kit gets the job done, it’s all about the tuning, heads, and having good cymbals.
I have a Gretsch energy too! I love it. I got some snares from a pawn shop and even won an expensive snare. The pawn shop are decent ones that I got for each under $100 and I won't an expensive maple snare so I have very different sounds snare wise to experiment with. If you add experimenting with heads for your Tom's and kick that is fantastic! They came with pretty bad cymbals which i knew and saved up $ to replace. But now they come with a Paiste cymbal cut I've heard which aren't bad at all. And as far as gigging until you get gigs that pay you money to put back in to your buy a drum fund, who cares? If you think it sounds good enough go for it. When you don't have to worry about money or your gigs start getting more professional, worry at that point. And even then the used market is out there and the same rules of what heads you use and how you tune it making a difference still apply
My first kit was in 1965 which I bought new by mail order from a department store catalog similar to Sears. It was complete no-name garbage with shells made of cheap Japanese plywood but I was a complete noobie with very little money and absolutely no financial support from my parents. These drums had to prove themselves to me and to my parents. They also had to be self-supporting. Every little bit of money I earned with them went back into upgrading them. In the second year, I had new heads, Zildjian cymbals and a mixture of brand name hardware. They actually sounded good at the end when I sold them for more than I paid for them - excluding the cymbals, which I still have. Since then, I've owned a bunch of different sizes, brands and models of actual name-brand drum kits. It was all trial-and-error with mixing and matching all the bits and pieces. Now, I actually own a fantastic budget kit with top-of-the-line hardware, heads and cymbals. I play softer and more musically now and wonder how I ever made it through the first year as a garage band, drum kit beater with no skills. In the second year, my dad got to see me play in a tuxedo at a five-star resort with a small jazz group and acoustic instruments. The credit for this goes to my first professional jazz drum instructor who drilled rudiments and low volume into me. For some reason, I was always at the right place, at the right time to recognize opportunity. Yes, I still practice everyday and I'm 73 years old. I love my drum kit more now than I did as an adolescent in the middle of the British Invasion.
I had a Tama Rockstar kit that I absolutely loved. It sounded soooo sweet and looked great in its dark, natural, lacquered finish. The whole kit had an amazing punch with a tonal warmth that made me grin every time I played. Gave it away lol but that's its own story. Yeah, some inexpensive drums are really just perfect.
I love that face you made when you hit your sticks. I was in a church leadership team meeting recently and someone was saying that no one in the congregation notices when we on the worship team mess up. My friend leaned over and said I am the exception. I tend to laugh when I mess up, but it's either that or tense up. I don't care if people realize I mess up as long as I can recover my part.
I bought a SPL (Sound Percussion Labs) Unity Birch 5pc Drum Set used in excellent condition for about $225 on Guitar Center for Christmas of last year. Now it's officially a 6pc! I made those drums sound much beautiful when I've upgraded. It sounds way much better than any other Drum Kit I wanted before I even bought my drums & I'm loving it.
This is great! I have a Mapex Meridian kit, that I paid $400 for about 15 years ago, and it still sounds great. I’ve told many younger drummers to concentrate on the snare drum and cymbals.
Love this! I’m a career drummer - the drums I currently use for ALL my gigs, including small group, big band, and loud rock band are Ludwig Breakbeats. With good heads, and mic’d up, they sound amazing. I’ve tried my other kits with my bands and everyone agrees the Breakbeats sound better. Inexpensive AND lightweight!
ive always loved intermediate kits. they end up sounding so good i really cant see the need to ever get a 'pro' kit. my current kit is a PDP Concept Maple and I have no intention of replacing it ever. it sounds incredible, has really solid hardware and an amazing blonde wood finish. I couldnt ask for more in a kit.
That kit sounds really good. It is amazing how rugged and durable those entry-level kits are. My first kit was a 1984 5 pc Maxwin by Pearl. It was white and when I first got it I had no drum throne or cymbals. I used a kitchen chair for a while and had cardboard cutouts as cymbals until Christmas when I received a set of 14 in hats and a 20 in Ride/Crash. I loved that kit and played it throughout high school, college, and my 20s. It held up for 2 decades and still sounded great when I sold it. The kit I have now sounds great and It was very reasonably priced when I got it. The PDP Double Drive was less than 1K and has an amazingly rich and full sound. Heads make a big difference and knowing how to tune them can also. Great video Stephen!
Nice. I recently traded in My Ludwig CMs for a Gretsch Brooklyn kit, but they're going to take about 6mths to come in so in the mean time I'm using the solid blue version of this exact kit! I put coated focus X w/ power dot on the tom batters and a super kick 3 for the Bass and they do sound pretty darn good for sure.
Great video, I believe this assessment is completely accurate to mid-value drum kits. Still playing my Ludwig breakbeats, on the stock heads for practice after like three years… maybe I have been pretty easy on them in comparison to how hard I’ve seen other drummers hit their drum heads, I retune them when I need to and they still sound great 👍 I only replaced the snare wires with a wider set and the batter head of the 16” kick. Thumpy and versatile for its size
I started on, and gigged with, PDP for years (CX, Concept Maple, and New Yorker) with Evans heads, and was impressed with the sound and durability of the kits. I still have the Concept and New Yorker (traded the CX for the Concept) and use them on occasion. I only bought USA DW kits (one Collector's series and one Performance series) because I wanted them, not out of necessity of replacing the PDP. The PDP hardware is fantastic as well
I bought a Pearl Forum 8 kit few years ago (college student no money), piano black & black hardware for $400. Was told they weren't good sounding, but the guy had cheap Evans G2 coated heads on all the toms. 7 years later, I have Remo pinstripe's/ Ebony ambassador's on all toms, Powerstroke 3 bass head and a Tama bell brass snare which greatly improved the sound. My goal was to have a massive 1980s looking kit since I play trash & heavy metal and I knew good heads made all the difference. I bought another tom arm/ mount so the 14" floor tom now sits on the rack (prefer to have four on top). It actually surprised me how good they sounded after tuning them for hours, I love the kit and will keep it for a very long time. Great video!
I have a 5 piece Tama Imperialstar - cost $600.00 at Sweetwater. Maple shells, came with a maple snare and meinel cymbals. They sounded good out of the box. I highly recommend them. I immediately changed the heads (Remo coated ambassadors, pin stripe on kick), and they sound amazing (I spent the entire first year of the lockdown learning to record drums in my studio), and I'm very pleased with how they sound in my recordings. I have since changed out the snare to a 6.5X14 Black Beauty (NOT cheap), and upgraded the cymbals to the Zildjial Custom Dark cymbal pack + and second crash and a splash. They sound TOTALLY pro in my productions. I'm almost second guessing getting my drum kit (Ludwig Classic Maple red sparkle, similar to my first kit in the 70s), but that's for nostalgic reasons, I don't expect them to sound any better.
Way back in 1969 my band got signed to a production contract at Muscle Shoals Sound. Skynyrd was also signed and we both were dropped 2 years later.. I was surprised to see Roger Hawkins drum kit was a Mercury, a pawn shop brand.
My friend bought his son this same kit for Christmas a few years back. I helped him assemble it. I put on better heads and tuned it up so it’d be all ready Christmas morning. I was so blown away how great it sounded!! Entry level kits have really come far in the recent years! I owned a Ludwig breakbeats kit for a few years, and again was so surprised how good a poplar wood drum set could sound. I do love professional kits, but it really is truly about sound! If it’s $50, or $5000 if you’re happy with what you’re getting that’s all that matters
I just got this exact kit used. I traded it for a couple hundred dollars worth of work. I'm astonished by how good it sounds. Even with the original beat up heads, properly tuned, it sounds great. Super punchy with just the right amount of resonance. The toms by themselves don't sound amazing, but once you have cymbals and/or other instruments over them, they strike a perfect balance. My only complaint is that the clamps are pretty bad, and were stripped out, requiring me to re-tap them and use Loctite. Easy enough of a job with the right tools, and perhaps it was caused by previous user error. But for the price, I'm not complaining. With new quality heads, this thing could be an excellent kit for gigs and even some basic recording.
As an owner of a Ludwig Element Evolution I can’t agree more about the quality of beginner starter kits these days. Replaced stock heads with UV2 batter and Reso7 on bottom. Tuned up these things sound amazing! Have upgraded some of the hardware over time, added vibramounts for the toms and these things sing! Stock ZBT cymbals left me wanting upgrades, but easily added over time! Plus I was able to add a 13” rack and 14” floor Tom to the kit. Awesome first kit!
I own a yamaha recording custom, it's the only drumkit I have, had it for almost 20 years, never felt like I needed another drumset. It still sounds great, recently put single ply evens on the entire kit (except the bass), sounds amazing when gigging. I doubt I'll ever buy another drumset. It is still perfect to me. I also play in a ska band, this music is more 80's style. So I had a drumhead printed in Italy (only 50 euro's printing cost), so we got this 80's style logo, teal color, and then putting it on a vintage 80's/90's recording custom, white lacker, it's a satisfying sight.
Great video! stupidly impressed with the kit. Great bang for the buck. I had a 1971 Ludwig 7 pcs set of classics with a super sensitive snare, 24" kick, and I miss them tremendously! But these are really surprising! Love the vid.....
I have a 2006 accent kit I bought two years ago for $100. The chrome plating on the zinc lugs has mostly come off. The wrap has sun damage so it's different colors. The steel rims are rusty. I've refinished the snare so far because it makes me feel better after choosing the wrong heads for it. The bearing edges were a little beat up and not parallel. This is what you can expect out of the cheap kit. The upside is that I feel great using the cheap shells to experiment in refinishing drums.
Back in 76 I asked Little Milton's drummer why he was playing a cheap set and he told me , I'm not taking my good kit on the road , they were underneath the bus no cases . But he had good heads and cymbals. I was 14 and have played just about any kit there is. Right now I'm playing a SPL kit that was given to me by a pastor of a church after I fixed up his Yamahas for him. A 12, 15 floor and 20 bass.I had a cb 700 8&10 on a stand from way back another friend gave me. I have a supraphonic 61/2 x 14 ( 72 ) and cymbals 14 , 1955. 16 K , 2000. 16 Kashian made for slingerland late 60s-early 70s. And a 20 zarko ride made in Italy. The money is in the snare and cymbals and this 6 PC kit sounds great. I actually toured with one of the 1st accent kits , same cymbals for a few years . Not a thing wrong with them other than the wrap is thin so don't leave them in the hot sun. Other than that , they sounded good. It's not the drum , it's the drummer
I bought a Ludwig Element Evolution 6 piece kit a couple of years ago, which wasn't exactly cheap but... I love it. I tried different heads and finally tried the evans hydraulic oil heads and bam! Perfect sounding drums!!!
The "cheap" drum sets today are miles better than my first kit. Back in the late 80s, I bought a used kit from a drum shop sharing space with a store selling satellite dishes. The kit was a wreck. It's a great time to be a drummer.
I have a 1980s Ludwig Rocker set that sounds absolutely amazing. Keep the wood and hardware in good shape, and swap out the heads occasionally once they get used, and it sounds great! It's the only kit I've played (personally) that I think sounds solid enough to be used at any gig or show, and handles all styles of music beautifully. It's a great "all-rounder" drumset. Spend the bucks on your cymbals and drumheads honestly. Yes, if you want a specific sound for a specific style of music and have the dollars to spend on it, you may want a nicer set that fits your needs. Bur really, a set that doesn't break the bank and can play all styles relatively well (so you're not swapping sets for every gig you play) makes your drumming life so much simpler.
I’m playing a show next week, bringing my “beginner/intermediate” Pearl Export to play on. At this show, there will be some music folks, including people with charted hits. I highly doubt any of them will complain about the kit not being “professional grade”. I’m also hoping to bring cheap Paiste PST 7s there - to further prove a point that you don’t need premium gear to do even high profile gigs. I agree that you don’t want brittle toys, ie drums, cymbals, heads that will actually break if you hit them. Learn to tune well, learn to hit well (centre vs edge, tip, shoulder, shaft, bounce or slice vs strike through), that matters more than the gear, that’s my view.
Just or of curiosity, why would Paiste PST 7s be consisted cheap? I am using a set of them at the moment and find them to be really quite good... far from being pedestrian. Granted one man's meat is another man's poison.
@@Neal_Schier I meant “cheap” as I priced lower than a lot of “professional” cymbals including Paiste 2002s. Agree that the PST7s sounds absolutely fine.
Talk about Made in Japan kits, I have an Apollo kit (Kick snare and tom) that my step dad gave to me. He played on it when he was 12 int he 60s . It's fun and doesn't sound too bad. Probably need a new head on the kick.
That's just how I started out... Hammering it out on the first kit that cost me all of 150$ in 2000... It was a crappy MIJ Slingerland knockoff. I ended up scoring a Paiste Ludwig standard 18" crash ride in that deal that was worth pretty much the whole kit... So good in fact it's still rocking on my kit to this day. I swapped the heads because the crappy blown heads were nasty. Then I started getting good cymbals... after I got myself a nice set of hats I felt I had to get a good snare. I ended up going to a small music shop here and he had a Ludwig Maple Classic snare that was a leftover from a guy who bought two kits to make a double set.. The price was good and I got a trade in for the tin can it replaced. Later on I got into the vintage vibe when I got my '60 Pioneer. I still have that old MIJ drum set... don't have space to set it up and being in the city it's tough but I want to make space for it in the shed and get some silent heads or just pack them full of whatever... My bandmate has horses, maybe hay will do it... Just to make them dead so I can bash around in the shed without getting the cops 'round here!!
I gig on a $400 Sonor Safari kit (the low end Select Hardwood shells) I picked up used a few years ago. I play mostly small venues, so I wanted some smaller shells, and I wanted something that wouldn't destroy me financially if it got a little beat up from road wear. I also wanted to sound great. With Evans EC2 batters and EC Resos and an Emad and some good tuning, the 10-14-16kick kit sounds like a 12-16-20kick, but with lower volume and taking up less space. The toms legit sing, and the kick is punchy. Under the mics, with little gentle EQ, and the addition of some admittedly expensive but absolutely fantastic Sabian FRX cymbals, I have a kit that sounds insanely good, and that I would chose over many much more expensive kits for the world I work in. In the studio and for my "home kit," I'd definitely appreciate a high-end kit... But for a working drummer, this kit is a dream. Inexpensive does not always mean bad!!!
Many years ago I bought a vistalite set, which was, and according to the seller in the drumshop, from the same manufacturer that Ludwig got them. Good skins, and it was gold
I had a pearl forum I used for everything. 12, 13, 16, 22 and a 13 snare. Extreme metal, country, classic rock, new rock, all of it. Every band I've played with said that my cheap forum was the best kit they've heard
Completely agree Stephen! Technology eventually trickles down for us peasants! I have a higher end Ludwig kit that I keep in the studio and a Rocker kit that I gig with. Not worried about some boob,(bass player) knocking something over and gashing my black galaxy sparkle. My only piece of advice is don't forget to have extra hardware when you gig. The lower end hardware will fail at some point and having some replacements in your bag will definitely put your mind at ease! Another outstanding video as well! That studio is incredible by the way! Keep up the great work and God Bless!
What I discovered with my Pearl VBL low-mid range it (about 2010) is that what's cheap are the factory skins. Back then they had a killer mid-entry level hardware kit (930?) for super cheap (not so cheap now). It was almost like a loss leader. What I learned from UA-camrs like you and RdavidR is that set up overcomes all and great drummers can make anything sound awesome. I am not a great drummer but I got amazing used vintage Zildjian cymbals for cheap and put some proper heads on this kit and it records amazing (even better with a real drummer drumming)
I had a Tama Imperialstar done 100 shows with it in 8 Years. Sounded great. Hardware I'm still using. I traded up for a yamaha SC birch, but that Imperialstar sounded like a 1600 kit.
Back in 1986 I had a Pearl GLX power tom maple kit with piano black interior. It was top of their line. Now I have a 2012 Gretsch Catalina Maple 7 piece intermediate kit and it actually sounds way better than the old Pearl kit!
That same looking kit bkue sparkle inspired me to learn the drums back in 1973ish.. The Partridge Family Show had Chris on that kit. Gorgeous drumsets in your crib damn! You da man.
I bought a used no name 60s Japanese set for $100. Upgraded the heads with coated Remo.....it came with a Ludwig highhat with 14" Zildgens, came with a Ludwig throne, speed king pedal, 18" Zildgen ride added a 15", 16",17" Zildigen crash and 20" Zildgen ride. I'm a bass player and use it in stuidio....Every drummer who plays it loves it sounds great recorded. Its always the player not the instrument, just as it is with guitars.
My first kit was a Mapex V series from around 2005. Even compared to today, this kit was one hell of a bang for buck. Still use it today as my practice kit, there is nothing wrong with it (maybe apart from the toms not having suspension mount but... eh...)
Keith Moons Classic Red Sparkle Premiere setup consisted of two 22 in.Bass Drums, three 14 in. mounted toms, two 16in. floor toms and 14 in. Ludwig '400' snare is the prettiest drum kit ever imop My favorite. so nice.
I did that with a First Act kit I bought, paid 125.00 . My first ever kit at age 60 decided to learn again after 40 plus year hiatus, ,put Evans G2 heads and Remo bottoms on all but the kick. 20 inch kick ,put a Remo bahia head on it. Spent majority of 400.00 improvements on the added meinl cymbal.s. Kit sounds really good
I played on a Pearl Forum from 2001 until THIS YEAR, the last 10 of those years with pretty steady gigging. They lived in my car for about 3 years in college, survived multiple tours down the east coast, and outlasted every piece of hardware they came with. Cheap drums made me the drummer I am now and I wouldn't have it any other way. They're still going strong btw. They'll be my weekly practice rig from now on. A comfortable retirement.
Great video! Good heads really make the difference. I know most people bash cheep kits. And yes some of them are "CHEEP"! Lol. I was given a First Act kit a few yrs back. Its a cool kit. 18" bass 10" snare and rack tom a 12"rack 14" floor. I put some Evens heads on it and, we actually played out a few shows with it.( w/o the 10" tom). It actually sounds pretty good. And it was a lot of fun to play. It started as a joke that actually worked. Lol
I have a 1972 three ply of plywood with reinforcement rings. In 2007, I was recording my second record and the engineer told me he preferred my cheap blue sparkle snare over the $1000 Tama snare drums I used earlier recordings.
I bought a used DDrum D2 set for my wife, upgraded the Batter Heads to Evans and a couple of the Resonant heads as well.. but I noticed that the Floor tom is not perfectly round, one area is in by 3 to 4mm so the head has a slight wave close to the edge... I am pretty sure it needs to be tighten I just do not know how much... I do not play drums, but I was hoping that she could learn to play so I can practice my guitar with a real person instead of a backing track. What are you thoughts on the set (including the floor tom)?
This kit looks like my starter kit of Blue Sparkle by ZimGar in 1964. I did have only Zildjian cymbals; Ride, Crash & HiHat. As for the kit; Bass, Snare,Tom & floor Tom. Just the basics..
When I wanted to get into drums in high school my parents offered to split the cost as a Christmas gift. Choice was either an entry level Yamaha kit - or a used / vintage kit with beefier hardware. That beefy kit is apparently a Trax kit from the 80's. Every time it gets new heads it brings it right back to life. Sadly, being in an apartment for the past decade+ It's covered up in my Dad's basement. But one of these days whenever we can afford a house - it'll be revived with new heads, probably a few additional cymbals, and a snare (I bet the daylights out of the current one before I knew how to not play like animal :P)
Pro tips: #1) Get a set of larger rubber “feet” instead of the “booties”. They are very much like putting your floor tom on a carpet. #2) For lugs that want to back out, tap the first few threads LIGHTLY with a hammer and keep trying it out until they grip properly. If you overdo it, use a small file or sandpaper and keep checking. Usually just a few light taps will do the job. ❤️✌️
Bought my Tama Imperialstar back in 2009. Cost me around 1,000$ CAD for the whole kit without cymbals. Still using it today and I even added more toms to it. Sounds great!
Great video. I have a Gretsch Catalina Birch set. I have pondered purchasing a high end set, but thinking that later I may regret it as the sound would not be that much better. Your video is very helpful to me in making that decision
A buddy of mine uses a Yamaha Stage Custom on gigs, and when I went to see him recently (with no major tweaks on gates/fx/compression) it sounded GREAT! That will be my next gig kit. $500.
My first drum set was also a Ludwig Rocker. I still have it and it is my main set. I have replaced some of the hardware and mounts, but I bought this in about '90 or '91. What is this called now?
During the early stages of the pandemic, when I realized that I would be spending a lot of time at home, I resumed drumming after a 35-year hiatus. I wasn't sure that I would stick with it, so I chose not to spend a lot of money on a kit. I bought a five-piece Ashthorpe set for $400 and augmented it with decent but not top of the line Zildjian and Sabian cymbals. Total cost was about $750. Over the past three years, I have replaced the snare with a Ludwig and swapped out most of the heads, but I am perfectly satisfied with the rest of the kit. At 69, I have no illusions about playing live, so the Ashthorpe toms are just fine for my modest aspirations.
Still playing an old Premier Olympic kit from the early 90s. Swapped out the batter heads, tuned it right and it sounds great for what I need. Spent a bit on getting myself a nice snare and a decent set of cymbals, IMHO that's where the biggest level up in your sound comes from so that's where to spend your money.
Sold drums for years at a major retailer that wasn't GC... we always recommended the better lower-line kits (with a pro snare, pro cymbals, good heads, and TUNING) for anyone with budget limitations. And, as we all know, in the studio and mic'd up live, drums get democratized very quickly. Acoustically, in a room when you're playing alone is when the differences really become clear. But we record and play live more than anything else, so...
John Wooten!? I played SO many of his solos when I was in high school! He was definitely an early inspiration for me! Also yes, cheap kits are wonderful - especially those Ludwig ones. That's the same kit I recommend to all of my students. Then, I recommend they do what I imagine all of us did: start upgrading a piece at a time, until the only thing left is the shells. By the time I got my Pearl Masters shell pack (well after college), I had accumulated better hardware and cymbals - even a nicer snare drum. Excellent video, man!
@@StephenTaylorDrums I literally struggled deciding between him and going to UNT. In state tuition ended up winning that argument. I was like, "Well, if it's good enough for John Wooten, it's good enough for me!" Lol, no regrets though!
Are rouge drum sets good. I am new into acoustic drums. I am currently looking to see if simmons sd1250 or acoustic would be good for a townhouse and playing in small churches.
Hey Teach, that’s the exact same kit that Liza bought me last Christmas (black color). 🤩 Mine DOES NOT sound like that. Lol. Great opportunity for me to put your Drum Camp’s Tuning Session to good use! Also, super stoked knowing I played a @rdavidr piece! 😎🤙🏼🥁 Great video!!
I needed to see this. I just started to learn drums, and all I have right now is a practice pad. I'm saving up money to buy a drumset. This looks much more affordable for me. Thanks for the video. I'll keep this drumset in mind for purchasing once I've saved up enough money. A more reachable goal, for sure.
Don't forget to look on your local classifieds (Facebook marketplace, etc.). You can pick up a kit like this for around $250-350 easy. May be a few years old but most are in good shape.
Inspired by rdavidr’s videos I purchased a used kit just like this for £60, sold the snare for £25, refinished the drums and put some decent heads on it and have used it lots for gigging. When I’m playing sweaty humid basement hardcore/metalcore shows and supplying my shells as backline for 3-4 different drummers to use, I always pick that cheap kit because I literally don’t care if it gets destroyed, and it still sounds better than most house kits. I would not feel so relaxed letting drummers beat the hell out my SJC Custom kit in the same way… Obviously the more expensive kit is significantly better sounding and easier to tune, and records much better, but I still would prefer to use my cheap kit as a rough and ready gigging kit.
I still have my Ludwig accent power tone from 2008 made in 2005 with remo clear pinstripes on all of them and thay sound big it’s black.no pillows inside the bass drum
I'm just learning, but I really like my Pearl Roadshow New Fusion kit. $499 on Amazon a couple of years ago, I think its $649 now. The only thing I really don't like are the cymbals, and I'm working to add and upgrade there.
Have the exact same problem with a Ludwig breakbeats snare, even the bottom lugs back out 🤷🏼♂️ not a major problem as I only use the snare for practice and use another for gigs.
In some ways I agree that replacing the heads and doing other simple things can make a cheaper kit sound a lot better, but man my dad gave me his dw collectors kit, it cost him almost 5 thousand dollars and he replaced the snare with a mapex black panther, it was easily the best sounding kit I ever played on, it sounded a lot like a mix of John Bonham and Kashikura Takashi from the band toe, as in you could play harder rock songs or intricate jazz-ish stuff depending on how you tuned them. eventually i had to give the drums back to my dad since he wanted to play drums again and its not like i could say no, but man that kit was fucking awesome, everyone should have the chance to play with high quality stuff regardless of price, it wont make you a better player but it just feels different, it's hard to explain until you actually play for yourself
I started on asstd. size coffee cans and a hatbox for a kick drum that I actually kicked, lol. Then I graduated to a Muppets set when I was 10, finally settling on a yard sale set of mismatched Slingerlands, so this kit you profiled seems like a 10/10 to me.
I got a brand new pearl export exx kit about 4 years ago and grant it it somewhat on the expensive side ($800), its still a cheaper kit and i replaced the heads, ended up replacing my old cheap sabian sbr cymbals for some zildjian and it sounds in credible
Great Vid! I got excited just watching the unboxing 😂 Unless you’re buying one of the old, really cheaply made Chinese kits from the 90s/2000’s then most entry kits nowadays are more than worthy of gigging and recording. Ive setup a few starter kits for some local music groups or friends and first thing i always tell them is get some decent batter heads and put your money in cymbals. I’m willing to bet that most people would never be able to tell the difference between a £350 kit and a £2000 kit on a recording or live when its in the mix. All hail the cheap kit!
Ive always said the mapex m and pro series are excellent kis. In a music setting no one can tell what kit you're playing unless they look. It's all flash and status, like having a Rolex, just for the name.
Years ago, I recorded a ep with my band... I used a cb percussion kit lol....new heads, decent cymbals...after compression and eq, you couldn't tell...my friends asked, "Man, the drums sound huge, what did you record with!?".... you wouldn't believe me if I told you ;)
I've had 2 DW Collectors, Pearl Z Custom's, Ludwig Classic Oak and currently a Sonor Beech SQ2 kit. Right before the Sonor's I had a $700 Yamaha Stage Custom. The Yamy's with good heads sounded almost as good for a 10th the cost of the SQ2's. The Yamaha snare was crap though. I gig weekly and used all those kits.
@Stephen Taylor you should watch more videos of your Bro RDAVIDR, he shows one which you just reverse a leg from your floor tom, try it or ask him out to be sure you understand clearly what I mean. Not my first language, so I don't know if I got well understood. Good video, thanks for your time !
I still have my Gretsch Renegade kit I got when I first started playing drums 7 years ago. Evans heads all around and a good tune and I love the way they sound. All your money needs to go to your cymbals and hardware. As long as it's a real drum brand, cheap kits get er done
I've a Pearl Export kit for about 22 years now which isn't much more expensive than this Ludwig kit and it has treated me well and they can sound great as well. I would suggest putting any extra money into your cymbals 'cause they can make a huge difference
Been gigging off and on for the last 20 years with a set of Rockers from 1988. They are great sounding drums. The only thing I don’t like is the 22” bass drum has 8 lugs. Like I said they sound great with good heads.
Agree on the lugs. I didn't mention that but should have...sometimes they compromise on how many lugs are on the drum and that can make tuning a pain for some drums.
Thank you very much for doing a video like this. I have always been a fan of the Catalina line by Gretch. Cheap drums are really are only as good as the tuning and the drummer.
There’s one point about cheaper kits that’s just as good as it is bad: they’re typically pretty lightweight. This makes them less of a hassle to lug around but also allows the Kick/Floor Tom to creep away over time
Was in a band with a guy who had a set of Rockers and they absolutely killed it! Don't know if it was his tuning or heads or what. I never knew the rockers were a so called budget set for years cause those ones he had we one of the best sounding kits I ever heard
One drummer I met bought a 7 piece Gretsch Catalina and pares the kit down to 3, 4, or 5 pieces depending on his gig. I personally want a Broadkaster because I have played the same Mapex Mars for 30 years and the lugs are literally popping off. I thought about buying a Catalina, but I figure I'm old, employed, and can afford the nicer hardware and at my level of experience I can actually make a difference with the better hardware. I agree on the good heads and good technique being most of a drummer's sound, though. And if you are starting out you might as well learn on the cheap stuff.
I had a Catalina for years that I took to gigs. Same deal...lots of toms and changed the setup accordingly. If you've got the money, get what you want. An upgrade in hardware will last you a lifetime.
Drum set used in this video - Ludwig Accent: imp.i114863.net/2rZEVO
Almost every conversation I have with drummers about cheap drum kits have a negative slant to them. Why is that? In some ways cheap drum sets are far superior to expensive drum sets.
In this video I teamed up with Lauten microphones to talk about the 5 reasons why I think cheap drum sets are BETTER than expensive drum sets.
I'm playing on a Ludwig Accent drum set in this video. Really impressed with this thing. I have found myself multiple times losing track of time and just having fun. I plan on leaving it set up in the studio as an option for recording.
Leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts on cheap drum kits!
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Mics used in this video:
Lauten LA-120: imp.i114863.net/zaYEnM
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Exactly. The PEOPLE IN THE AUDIENCE don't know OR care if it's a $600 kit or a $6,000 kit. They don't know/care if the shells are 'select hardwood' or 'maple/mahogany/cherry/birch' horizontal-vertical-diagonal shells. They don't know/care if it's triple-flanged or die-cast hoops. They don't know/care it it's rounded-over or 45-degree bearing edges. The don't know/care if it's a wrap finish or a high-gloss lacquer. They don't know/care if the toms use a suspension mount or if mounted directly to the shell. Make sure your drums are in tune and make sure you keep good time for the band - that is all the audience cares about.
@@jamesf.ryaniii7918 AMEN REVEREND the 3rd !
@@rickabick1982 Thanks Al!!! And I want to add - have fun!! The audience can tell if your drums are out of tune. The audience (and your band mates) won't enjoy if you can't keep good time. And, if you and your band mates are having fun - the audience will feed off of that and have fun, too.
Not a bad sound for $600 if you want to know. There's not a lot of deep resonance on the floor tom, and that could be the tuning too, but not bad overall.
Expensive, premium drum kits are highly-overrated, and no matter HOW much you spend, if you don't know how to select heads, tune, and utilize proper damping, your drums will sound like crap, no matter what.
NONE of the major manufacturers makes BAD drums nowadays. If you are looking to impress your fellow drummers, then by all means, go spend $3-4-5K on a kit! If you are looking for great sound and even looks, you need to spend no more than $1K. Examples: Yamaha Stage Custom, Pearl Decade Maple, Tama Superstar Classic, Ludwig Evolution, Gretsch Catalina Maple, PDP Concept..... ALL of these drums are more than suited for professional use, AND results. Save your money, and put it into better heads, and if you don't already own them, good quality cymbals.
I always say it comes down to TUNING. I used to have a Tama Swingstar kit. It was the cheapest kit they sold and the shells were literally some kind of particle goo pressed in a mould. At one point, my band shared a practice space with another band. Their drummer had an ARTSTAR kit. Top of the line. I was so jealous! ...Until I heard him play it. Then I was baffled. They sounded like he was playing cardboard boxes. Absolutely wretched and flavorless. MY drums sounded GLORIOUS and it immediately dawned on me that the difference was the dude had no idea how to tune his drums and also had removed all the bottom heads. Apparently I had an ear for tuning my drums musically. Nobody ever taught me, it just occurred to me that the top and bottom heads worked together to essentially create a "chord" and so I tuned them so that the tone of the top and bottom heads resonated to create a fuller sound. I spent a LOT of time dialing in that resonance to get the exact range of tones I wanted to hear. It actually hadn't dawned on me how great my kit sounded until that moment when I heard a direct comparison with a much "better" kit live in the same room. Everyone else in the room was saying the same thing, so it wasn't just me. To this day I wonder what that Artstar kit would've sounded like if I had tuned it.
You really nailed it! Buying the cheaper shells and then putting the real money in heads and and cymbals nets you a fantastic kit!
Bought a used Pearl Export kit for $65. Changed out heads, fixed a few hardware pieces, tuned it up and it sounds great. I think it's probably an early 2000's kit and I think they were decent enough for what they were. Spent the money on the cymbals.
Yes! I just bought a used Pearl Export Pro from 1992 that I'm currently using for live gigs, put new heads on it top and bottom, bought used, vintage zildjian cymbals and it sounds fantastic!!!
Exactly!
FR I literally just bought some cheap Sabina cymbals of eBay and it sounds soooo much better yet to update the heads tho
Yup this is the truth
Making the most out of cheap gear really sets a new perspective for the musician! If you really put your mind to it, you can make cheap gear sound phenomenal!
Totally agree. All in how you look at it
Yes bit ironically unexperiemced players will have a hard time tweaking and customizing gear.
For sure you can. The more you know... I have around 10grand into my home studio which seems like a lot but were talking 13 guitars, drums, mixers interface, mics, cables, amps, pedals, etc. You could definitely do it for around 3 or 4 grand as I have a lot of stuff I only use for specific things that dont get used very often and arent really neccessary.
@@doknox agreed. Right now I'm in for about 3 grand, which includes an acoustic and electric guitar, a Fender JBass, Rumble 100 amp and a Fender Frontman 15B amp, Alesis Recital Grand electronic Piano, Pearl Roadshow drum kit, with a couple of upgrades cymbals, a banjo (that I'm STILL trying to figure out). My laptop with recording and editing software. I still need some mics, cables and such. Currently shopping for a mixer. This doesn't include the acoustic piano in my living room. A decent setup can definitely be had without breaking the bank.
This is true. I paid my dues owning cheap guitars in my teenage years. Once my ears developed and started getting my chops together, I realized that this is a game of inches and learned to get the best of the gear I owned at the time. The biggest epiphany for me was the huge jump in quality going from beginner gear to intermediate gear. The beginner gear available now is light years ahead of what I had access to in the early 90s
When I was reviewing drums for MD Magazine some 10-12 years ago, I did all price points. I STILL have the Yamaha Gigmaker kit, with basswood/poplar shells. With good, first quality heads, tuned properly, it sounds SO killer that I've taken it on gigs, and had engineers raving about it! I've also recorded with it. Same results.
The bottom line is this: Take just about ANY budget kit from a major manufacturer, mount GOOD heads, and tune them properly, and they WILL sound good, maybe even great!
The REAL beauty of budget kits is that you can have nice-sounding drums without digging too deep in your wallet. And SOME budget kits are so good that it's baffling. The Yamaha Stage Custom comes to mind.
BTW- that floor tom thing: this happens mainly with lighter-weight drums. I use the Pearl floor tom tips. I figured this out when doing a review for the Ludwig Accent kit.
Great video!!! 🤘
This video came at a perfect time! I just got a Ludwig Accent kit today. Rebuilding my life after not being able to play for over a decade. It's very encouraging to see this!
can definitely confirm. my kit is a pdp mainstage which i got for like $200 about 5 years ago, and after some tinkering it sounds like an absolute beast, it’s tight and punchy as hell which matches perfectly with the style of rock music i play
This kit was the same...rack toms were super punchy sounding! I was really enjoying playing it
And you’re still in the garage , right?
You need quality tools to be a pro. You don’t see any pro in an arena / amphitheater setting using crap like PDP or that kind of shit. This guy is playing in his living room , and can’t be taken seriously.
@@John-zt6yw when did he ever claim to be a pro? This whole video is mostly for beginner/intermediate drummers. Also are you a pro? Or do you just like to shit on people for no reason?
@@John-zt6ywua-cam.com/video/af5a1IL7osE/v-deo.html here’s a video of me playing a show with that beginners kit. so, gonna need you to eat those words my friend 🖕
Great video! Makes a huge difference when you put good heads on them, and know what you're doing with the tuning! I actually gigged with a $300 kit I got off of eBay for 11 years...by accident. Back in the day (late 80's-early 90's) I had a massive, step-below-top-of-the-line Tama kit that a former associate of mine absconded with (bastard stole it and moved to Detroit), which is why, many years later, I started playing at home with the cheap kit. I won't mention the brand, because I went to them directly with a hardware issue (broken tom mount, no local dealers or ebay sellers of hardware replacements) and they blew me off. "We just got back from NAMM and we're too busy." So I removed the logo head and badges and beat the living mess out of those drums until I couldn't any more, then upgraded. I would never, ever promote that brand. They do not deserve it. I made the drums sound good, and got many compliments on the sound...good heads, my tuning.
I still own my Yamaha Stage Customs from 1994. I've done hundreds of gigs on those drums and they still look great. I'm a middle aged drummer and I support this message.
I've played many a Stage Custom in club settings that sound great. I plan on keeping this kit set up at the studio. It sounds fantastic.
stage customs are professional sounding drums
Stage customs sound way too good for their price. Just got a new SC Bop kit and I can't believe how good they are. The $5 k I spent on Ayotte Customs make absolutely no sense other than pride of ownership. I like the sound as much as Ayottes only slightly different bcuz birch sounds different than sugar maple. Ayottes will stay in round better due to re-rings but that's it really. SC are way lighter to carry too. Huge bonus!!! Sonor AQX Bop kills too even tho poplar is the tonewood used. I rented a kit for a gig and they are unbelievable sounding too. I discovered poplar does not suck on that day. I also discovered Sonor makes a better bd hoop than Yammy at that price range. My SC hoops are all wonky( flared out like trumpet bell) and out of round. My music store refused to replace em but oh well. Tension rods on the BD are screwed in at an extreme angle due to misshapen hoops. Will eventually order black Keller maple hoops to replace them bcuz my kit is Raven Black.
@@musicalala Yeah the challenge for custom shops that build by hand is to get drums as perfectly round as mass produced drums. Namely japanese manufacturers Yamaha and Pearl have vaccum/heat sealing systems that take any piece of wood at nearly any ply and perfectly coat it with the right amount of glue and get it perfectly mated with any other piece of wood. You can't screw it up. If you use lots of thinner plies of wood then the character of the overall drum gets 'averaged out' as the bond between the layers is so strong that it forms basically a solid shell with fewer imperfections than any solid single piece of wood. It might loose 'character' but what you gain is incredible consistency in the density and shape of the drum that custom hand made drums basically can never live up to. It's akin to computer programmed drums being 'better' than any human playing drums while also being cheaper. 90% of what a custom hand made drumset offers over something mass-produced is simply higher-end looks as a human will always be able to look at a piece of wood and aesthetically plan out how to best paint it to bring out it's grain than a machine....at least for now.
@@BrandoDrum Yes ,I agree re: everything you said and especially re: finishing. The Ayottes had the most beautiful finishing work . I was really interested in vaughncraft solid shells to build up myself but then I started seeing examples of terrible filling jobs and quality issues that I balked at buying them. Been very happy with my Keller maple builds however. May go stave route for my end game bop kit down the line but I'd buy prefab as I don't have the skill to build them from scratch.
My kit’s a Gretsch Energy which I got 6 years ago for Christmas. With some tuning and nice drum heads, the kit sounds great. At the end of the day, an inexpensive drum kit gets the job done, it’s all about the tuning, heads, and having good cymbals.
Had a gretsch Catalina I loved for years
Are you taking it out for gigs?
@@JoeMo2000 Yes, actually
@brandonmclendon5368 Great. Post the "live" recordings. Let's get this out there for everyone. Pics also so we can show everyone your honesty.
I have a Gretsch energy too! I love it. I got some snares from a pawn shop and even won an expensive snare. The pawn shop are decent ones that I got for each under $100 and I won't an expensive maple snare so I have very different sounds snare wise to experiment with. If you add experimenting with heads for your Tom's and kick that is fantastic!
They came with pretty bad cymbals which i knew and saved up $ to replace. But now they come with a Paiste cymbal cut I've heard which aren't bad at all.
And as far as gigging until you get gigs that pay you money to put back in to your buy a drum fund, who cares? If you think it sounds good enough go for it. When you don't have to worry about money or your gigs start getting more professional, worry at that point. And even then the used market is out there and the same rules of what heads you use and how you tune it making a difference still apply
My first kit was in 1965 which I bought new by mail order from a department store catalog similar to Sears. It was complete no-name garbage with shells made of cheap Japanese plywood but I was a complete noobie with very little money and absolutely no financial support from my parents. These drums had to prove themselves to me and to my parents. They also had to be self-supporting. Every little bit of money I earned with them went back into upgrading them. In the second year, I had new heads, Zildjian cymbals and a mixture of brand name hardware. They actually sounded good at the end when I sold them for more than I paid for them - excluding the cymbals, which I still have.
Since then, I've owned a bunch of different sizes, brands and models of actual name-brand drum kits. It was all trial-and-error with mixing and matching all the bits and pieces. Now, I actually own a fantastic budget kit with top-of-the-line hardware, heads and cymbals.
I play softer and more musically now and wonder how I ever made it through the first year as a garage band, drum kit beater with no skills. In the second year, my dad got to see me play in a tuxedo at a five-star resort with a small jazz group and acoustic instruments. The credit for this goes to my first professional jazz drum instructor who drilled rudiments and low volume into me. For some reason, I was always at the right place, at the right time to recognize opportunity.
Yes, I still practice everyday and I'm 73 years old. I love my drum kit more now than I did as an adolescent in the middle of the British Invasion.
I had a Tama Rockstar kit that I absolutely loved. It sounded soooo sweet and looked great in its dark, natural, lacquered finish. The whole kit had an amazing punch with a tonal warmth that made me grin every time I played. Gave it away lol but that's its own story. Yeah, some inexpensive drums are really just perfect.
I love that face you made when you hit your sticks. I was in a church leadership team meeting recently and someone was saying that no one in the congregation notices when we on the worship team mess up. My friend leaned over and said I am the exception. I tend to laugh when I mess up, but it's either that or tense up. I don't care if people realize I mess up as long as I can recover my part.
I bought a SPL (Sound Percussion Labs) Unity Birch 5pc Drum Set used in excellent condition for about $225 on Guitar Center for Christmas of last year. Now it's officially a 6pc! I made those drums sound much beautiful when I've upgraded. It sounds way much better than any other Drum Kit I wanted before I even bought my drums & I'm loving it.
Love to hear that!
This is great! I have a Mapex Meridian kit, that I paid $400 for about 15 years ago, and it still sounds great. I’ve told many younger drummers to concentrate on the snare drum and cymbals.
Love this! I’m a career drummer - the drums I currently use for ALL my gigs, including small group, big band, and loud rock band are Ludwig Breakbeats. With good heads, and mic’d up, they sound amazing. I’ve tried my other kits with my bands and everyone agrees the Breakbeats sound better. Inexpensive AND lightweight!
I'd compare that to my little Sonor Safari (the old Select Hardwood model). I use them gigging with my country/rock band, and they sound fantastic!
@@drumjedi5301 I've seen guys gigging around with those too - they sound great!
@@paulgriffingatorgrooves for the working drummer who has solid tuning skills, those two little rascals can't be beat. 👍
@DrumJedi I also use a sonor safari for small venues or short gigs (1 hr). Set up takes maybe 10 to 15 minutes. Easy money!
@@danielortega3647 For sure!
ive always loved intermediate kits. they end up sounding so good i really cant see the need to ever get a 'pro' kit.
my current kit is a PDP Concept Maple and I have no intention of replacing it ever. it sounds incredible, has really solid hardware and an amazing blonde wood finish. I couldnt ask for more in a kit.
That kit sounds really good. It is amazing how rugged and durable those entry-level kits are. My first kit was a 1984 5 pc Maxwin by Pearl. It was white and when I first got it I had no drum throne or cymbals. I used a kitchen chair for a while and had cardboard cutouts as cymbals until Christmas when I received a set of 14 in hats and a 20 in Ride/Crash. I loved that kit and played it throughout high school, college, and my 20s. It held up for 2 decades and still sounded great when I sold it. The kit I have now sounds great and It was very reasonably priced when I got it. The PDP Double Drive was less than 1K and has an amazingly rich and full sound. Heads make a big difference and knowing how to tune them can also. Great video Stephen!
Nice. I recently traded in My Ludwig CMs for a Gretsch Brooklyn kit, but they're going to take about 6mths to come in so in the mean time I'm using the solid blue version of this exact kit! I put coated focus X w/ power dot on the tom batters and a super kick 3 for the Bass and they do sound pretty darn good for sure.
I've always said it's the tuning and the heads that really make the biggest difference on how good a drum set sounds, and of course the player!
Great video, I believe this assessment is completely accurate to mid-value drum kits. Still playing my Ludwig breakbeats, on the stock heads for practice after like three years… maybe I have been pretty easy on them in comparison to how hard I’ve seen other drummers hit their drum heads, I retune them when I need to and they still sound great 👍 I only replaced the snare wires with a wider set and the batter head of the 16” kick. Thumpy and versatile for its size
People need to stop sleeping on those break beat kits. They're killer
I started on, and gigged with, PDP for years (CX, Concept Maple, and New Yorker) with Evans heads, and was impressed with the sound and durability of the kits. I still have the Concept and New Yorker (traded the CX for the Concept) and use them on occasion. I only bought USA DW kits (one Collector's series and one Performance series) because I wanted them, not out of necessity of replacing the PDP. The PDP hardware is fantastic as well
Concept maple sound really good.
I bought a Pearl Forum 8 kit few years ago (college student no money), piano black & black hardware for $400. Was told they weren't good sounding, but the guy had cheap Evans G2 coated heads on all the toms. 7 years later, I have Remo pinstripe's/ Ebony ambassador's on all toms, Powerstroke 3 bass head and a Tama bell brass snare which greatly improved the sound. My goal was to have a massive 1980s looking kit since I play trash & heavy metal and I knew good heads made all the difference. I bought another tom arm/ mount so the 14" floor tom now sits on the rack (prefer to have four on top). It actually surprised me how good they sounded after tuning them for hours, I love the kit and will keep it for a very long time.
Great video!
I had a Ludwig Accent kit with an 18" kick, 10" & 12" rack toms, and 14" floor. I loved them and they sounded great!!
I have a 5 piece Tama Imperialstar - cost $600.00 at Sweetwater. Maple shells, came with a maple snare and meinel cymbals. They sounded good out of the box. I highly recommend them.
I immediately changed the heads (Remo coated ambassadors, pin stripe on kick), and they sound amazing (I spent the entire first year of the lockdown learning to record drums in my studio), and I'm very pleased with how they sound in my recordings.
I have since changed out the snare to a 6.5X14 Black Beauty (NOT cheap), and upgraded the cymbals to the Zildjial Custom Dark cymbal pack + and second crash and a splash. They sound TOTALLY pro in my productions. I'm almost second guessing getting my drum kit (Ludwig Classic Maple red sparkle, similar to my first kit in the 70s), but that's for nostalgic reasons, I don't expect them to sound any better.
Way back in 1969 my band got signed to a production contract at Muscle Shoals Sound. Skynyrd was also signed and we both were dropped 2 years later.. I was surprised to see Roger Hawkins drum kit was a Mercury, a pawn shop brand.
My friend bought his son this same kit for Christmas a few years back. I helped him assemble it. I put on better heads and tuned it up so it’d be all ready Christmas morning. I was so blown away how great it sounded!! Entry level kits have really come far in the recent years! I owned a Ludwig breakbeats kit for a few years, and again was so surprised how good a poplar wood drum set could sound. I do love professional kits, but it really is truly about sound! If it’s $50, or $5000 if you’re happy with what you’re getting that’s all that matters
I just got this exact kit used. I traded it for a couple hundred dollars worth of work. I'm astonished by how good it sounds. Even with the original beat up heads, properly tuned, it sounds great. Super punchy with just the right amount of resonance. The toms by themselves don't sound amazing, but once you have cymbals and/or other instruments over them, they strike a perfect balance.
My only complaint is that the clamps are pretty bad, and were stripped out, requiring me to re-tap them and use Loctite. Easy enough of a job with the right tools, and perhaps it was caused by previous user error. But for the price, I'm not complaining. With new quality heads, this thing could be an excellent kit for gigs and even some basic recording.
As an owner of a Ludwig Element Evolution I can’t agree more about the quality of beginner starter kits these days. Replaced stock heads with UV2 batter and Reso7 on bottom. Tuned up these things sound amazing! Have upgraded some of the hardware over time, added vibramounts for the toms and these things sing! Stock ZBT cymbals left me wanting upgrades, but easily added over time! Plus I was able to add a 13” rack and 14” floor Tom to the kit. Awesome first kit!
I own a yamaha recording custom, it's the only drumkit I have, had it for almost 20 years, never felt like I needed another drumset. It still sounds great, recently put single ply evens on the entire kit (except the bass), sounds amazing when gigging.
I doubt I'll ever buy another drumset. It is still perfect to me.
I also play in a ska band, this music is more 80's style. So I had a drumhead printed in Italy (only 50 euro's printing cost), so we got this 80's style logo, teal color, and then putting it on a vintage 80's/90's recording custom, white lacker, it's a satisfying sight.
Great video! stupidly impressed with the kit. Great bang for the buck. I had a 1971 Ludwig 7 pcs set of classics with a super sensitive snare, 24" kick, and I miss them tremendously! But these are really surprising! Love the vid.....
I have a 2006 accent kit I bought two years ago for $100. The chrome plating on the zinc lugs has mostly come off. The wrap has sun damage so it's different colors. The steel rims are rusty. I've refinished the snare so far because it makes me feel better after choosing the wrong heads for it. The bearing edges were a little beat up and not parallel. This is what you can expect out of the cheap kit. The upside is that I feel great using the cheap shells to experiment in refinishing drums.
Back in 76 I asked Little Milton's drummer why he was playing a cheap set and he told me , I'm not taking my good kit on the road , they were underneath the bus no cases . But he had good heads and cymbals. I was 14 and have played just about any kit there is. Right now I'm playing a SPL kit that was given to me by a pastor of a church after I fixed up his Yamahas for him. A 12, 15 floor and 20 bass.I had a cb 700 8&10 on a stand from way back another friend gave me. I have a supraphonic 61/2 x 14 ( 72 ) and cymbals 14 , 1955. 16 K , 2000. 16 Kashian made for slingerland late 60s-early 70s. And a 20 zarko ride made in Italy. The money is in the snare and cymbals and this 6 PC kit sounds great. I actually toured with one of the 1st accent kits , same cymbals for a few years . Not a thing wrong with them other than the wrap is thin so don't leave them in the hot sun. Other than that , they sounded good. It's not the drum , it's the drummer
I bought a Ludwig Element Evolution 6 piece kit a couple of years ago, which wasn't exactly cheap but... I love it. I tried different heads and finally tried the evans hydraulic oil heads and bam! Perfect sounding drums!!!
I started with an old Rogers kit and upgraded with Aquarian heads, zildjian cymbals, and Iron Cobra pedals. Quality sound.
The "cheap" drum sets today are miles better than my first kit. Back in the late 80s, I bought a used kit from a drum shop sharing space with a store selling satellite dishes. The kit was a wreck. It's a great time to be a drummer.
I had a Yamaha YD kit that I practiced and gigged on for 14 years. Put Evans Heads on them and they sounded Amazing, held up nicely.
I have a 1980s Ludwig Rocker set that sounds absolutely amazing. Keep the wood and hardware in good shape, and swap out the heads occasionally once they get used, and it sounds great! It's the only kit I've played (personally) that I think sounds solid enough to be used at any gig or show, and handles all styles of music beautifully. It's a great "all-rounder" drumset. Spend the bucks on your cymbals and drumheads honestly.
Yes, if you want a specific sound for a specific style of music and have the dollars to spend on it, you may want a nicer set that fits your needs. Bur really, a set that doesn't break the bank and can play all styles relatively well (so you're not swapping sets for every gig you play) makes your drumming life so much simpler.
I’m playing a show next week, bringing my “beginner/intermediate” Pearl Export to play on. At this show, there will be some music folks, including people with charted hits. I highly doubt any of them will complain about the kit not being “professional grade”. I’m also hoping to bring cheap Paiste PST 7s there - to further prove a point that you don’t need premium gear to do even high profile gigs. I agree that you don’t want brittle toys, ie drums, cymbals, heads that will actually break if you hit them.
Learn to tune well, learn to hit well (centre vs edge, tip, shoulder, shaft, bounce or slice vs strike through), that matters more than the gear, that’s my view.
100%. If it sounds good, no one cares what it is
Just or of curiosity, why would Paiste PST 7s be consisted cheap? I am using a set of them at the moment and find them to be really quite good... far from being pedestrian.
Granted one man's meat is another man's poison.
@@Neal_Schier I meant “cheap” as I priced lower than a lot of “professional” cymbals including Paiste 2002s. Agree that the PST7s sounds absolutely fine.
Talk about Made in Japan kits, I have an Apollo kit (Kick snare and tom) that my step dad gave to me. He played on it when he was 12 int he 60s
. It's fun and doesn't sound too bad. Probably need a new head on the kick.
That's just how I started out... Hammering it out on the first kit that cost me all of 150$ in 2000... It was a crappy MIJ Slingerland knockoff. I ended up scoring a Paiste Ludwig standard 18" crash ride in that deal that was worth pretty much the whole kit... So good in fact it's still rocking on my kit to this day. I swapped the heads because the crappy blown heads were nasty. Then I started getting good cymbals... after I got myself a nice set of hats I felt I had to get a good snare. I ended up going to a small music shop here and he had a Ludwig Maple Classic snare that was a leftover from a guy who bought two kits to make a double set.. The price was good and I got a trade in for the tin can it replaced. Later on I got into the vintage vibe when I got my '60 Pioneer. I still have that old MIJ drum set... don't have space to set it up and being in the city it's tough but I want to make space for it in the shed and get some silent heads or just pack them full of whatever... My bandmate has horses, maybe hay will do it... Just to make them dead so I can bash around in the shed without getting the cops 'round here!!
I gig on a $400 Sonor Safari kit (the low end Select Hardwood shells) I picked up used a few years ago. I play mostly small venues, so I wanted some smaller shells, and I wanted something that wouldn't destroy me financially if it got a little beat up from road wear. I also wanted to sound great. With Evans EC2 batters and EC Resos and an Emad and some good tuning, the 10-14-16kick kit sounds like a 12-16-20kick, but with lower volume and taking up less space. The toms legit sing, and the kick is punchy. Under the mics, with little gentle EQ, and the addition of some admittedly expensive but absolutely fantastic Sabian FRX cymbals, I have a kit that sounds insanely good, and that I would chose over many much more expensive kits for the world I work in.
In the studio and for my "home kit," I'd definitely appreciate a high-end kit... But for a working drummer, this kit is a dream. Inexpensive does not always mean bad!!!
PDP Concept Maple Classic. Was the display model and I love this. PDP 700 hardware. Excellent and light.
Many years ago I bought a vistalite set, which was, and according to the seller in the drumshop, from the same manufacturer that Ludwig got them.
Good skins, and it was gold
I had a pearl forum I used for everything. 12, 13, 16, 22 and a 13 snare. Extreme metal, country, classic rock, new rock, all of it. Every band I've played with said that my cheap forum was the best kit they've heard
Completely agree Stephen! Technology eventually trickles down for us peasants! I have a higher end Ludwig kit that I keep in the studio and a Rocker kit that I gig with. Not worried about some boob,(bass player) knocking something over and gashing my black galaxy sparkle. My only piece of advice is don't forget to have extra hardware when you gig. The lower end hardware will fail at some point and having some replacements in your bag will definitely put your mind at ease! Another outstanding video as well! That studio is incredible by the way! Keep up the great work and God Bless!
Us guitarists are even worse. Setting beers down next to your kit.
What I discovered with my Pearl VBL low-mid range it (about 2010) is that what's cheap are the factory skins. Back then they had a killer mid-entry level hardware kit (930?) for super cheap (not so cheap now). It was almost like a loss leader.
What I learned from UA-camrs like you and RdavidR is that set up overcomes all and great drummers can make anything sound awesome. I am not a great drummer but I got amazing used vintage Zildjian cymbals for cheap and put some proper heads on this kit and it records amazing (even better with a real drummer drumming)
I had a Tama Imperialstar done 100 shows with it in 8 Years. Sounded great. Hardware I'm still using. I traded up for a yamaha SC birch, but that Imperialstar sounded like a 1600 kit.
Back in 1986 I had a Pearl GLX power tom maple kit with piano black interior. It was top of their line. Now I have a 2012 Gretsch Catalina Maple 7 piece intermediate kit and it actually sounds way better than the old Pearl kit!
That same looking kit bkue sparkle inspired me to learn the drums back in 1973ish.. The Partridge Family Show had Chris on that kit. Gorgeous drumsets in your crib damn! You da man.
I bought a used no name 60s Japanese set for $100. Upgraded the heads with coated Remo.....it came with a Ludwig highhat with 14" Zildgens, came with a Ludwig throne, speed king pedal, 18" Zildgen ride added a 15", 16",17" Zildigen crash and 20" Zildgen ride. I'm a bass player and use it in stuidio....Every drummer who plays it loves it sounds great recorded. Its always the player not the instrument, just as it is with guitars.
My first kit was a Mapex V series from around 2005. Even compared to today, this kit was one hell of a bang for buck. Still use it today as my practice kit, there is nothing wrong with it (maybe apart from the toms not having suspension mount but... eh...)
Keith Moons Classic Red Sparkle Premiere setup consisted of two 22 in.Bass Drums, three 14 in. mounted toms, two 16in. floor toms and 14 in. Ludwig '400' snare is the prettiest drum kit ever imop My favorite. so nice.
I did that with a First Act kit I bought, paid 125.00 . My first ever kit at age 60 decided to learn again after 40 plus year hiatus, ,put Evans G2 heads and Remo bottoms on all but the kick. 20 inch kick ,put a Remo bahia head on it. Spent majority of 400.00 improvements on the added meinl cymbal.s. Kit sounds really good
Nice sound! Make a project with rdavidr to reuse the hardware and replace shells with Kellers and see if it makes a difference!!
I played on a Pearl Forum from 2001 until THIS YEAR, the last 10 of those years with pretty steady gigging. They lived in my car for about 3 years in college, survived multiple tours down the east coast, and outlasted every piece of hardware they came with. Cheap drums made me the drummer I am now and I wouldn't have it any other way.
They're still going strong btw. They'll be my weekly practice rig from now on. A comfortable retirement.
Great video! Good heads really make the difference. I know most people bash cheep kits. And yes some of them are "CHEEP"! Lol. I was given a First Act kit a few yrs back. Its a cool kit. 18" bass 10" snare and rack tom a 12"rack 14" floor. I put some Evens heads on it and, we actually played out a few shows with it.( w/o the 10" tom). It actually sounds pretty good. And it was a lot of fun to play. It started as a joke that actually worked. Lol
I have a 1972 three ply of plywood with reinforcement rings. In 2007, I was recording my second record and the engineer told me he preferred my cheap blue sparkle snare over the $1000 Tama snare drums I used earlier recordings.
I bought a used DDrum D2 set for my wife, upgraded the Batter Heads to Evans and a couple of the Resonant heads as well.. but I noticed that the Floor tom is not perfectly round, one area is in by 3 to 4mm so the head has a slight wave close to the edge... I am pretty sure it needs to be tighten I just do not know how much... I do not play drums, but I was hoping that she could learn to play so I can practice my guitar with a real person instead of a backing track. What are you thoughts on the set (including the floor tom)?
This kit looks like my starter kit of Blue Sparkle by ZimGar in 1964. I did have only Zildjian cymbals; Ride, Crash & HiHat. As for the kit; Bass, Snare,Tom & floor Tom. Just the basics..
When I wanted to get into drums in high school my parents offered to split the cost as a Christmas gift. Choice was either an entry level Yamaha kit - or a used / vintage kit with beefier hardware. That beefy kit is apparently a Trax kit from the 80's. Every time it gets new heads it brings it right back to life.
Sadly, being in an apartment for the past decade+ It's covered up in my Dad's basement. But one of these days whenever we can afford a house - it'll be revived with new heads, probably a few additional cymbals, and a snare (I bet the daylights out of the current one before I knew how to not play like animal :P)
Pro tips: #1) Get a set of larger rubber “feet” instead of the “booties”. They are very much like putting your floor tom on a carpet.
#2) For lugs that want to back out, tap the first few threads LIGHTLY with a hammer and keep trying it out until they grip properly. If you overdo it, use a small file or sandpaper and keep checking. Usually just a few light taps will do the job.
❤️✌️
Bought my Tama Imperialstar back in 2009. Cost me around 1,000$ CAD for the whole kit without cymbals. Still using it today and I even added more toms to it. Sounds great!
Great video. I have a Gretsch Catalina Birch set. I have pondered purchasing a high end set, but thinking that later I may regret it as the sound would not be that much better. Your video is very helpful to me in making that decision
A buddy of mine uses a Yamaha Stage Custom on gigs, and when I went to see him recently (with no major tweaks on gates/fx/compression) it sounded GREAT! That will be my next gig kit. $500.
My first drum set was also a Ludwig Rocker. I still have it and it is my main set. I have replaced some of the hardware and mounts, but I bought this in about '90 or '91. What is this called now?
During the early stages of the pandemic, when I realized that I would be spending a lot of time at home, I resumed drumming after a 35-year hiatus. I wasn't sure that I would stick with it, so I chose not to spend a lot of money on a kit. I bought a five-piece Ashthorpe set for $400 and augmented it with decent but not top of the line Zildjian and Sabian cymbals. Total cost was about $750. Over the past three years, I have replaced the snare with a Ludwig and swapped out most of the heads, but I am perfectly satisfied with the rest of the kit. At 69, I have no illusions about playing live, so the Ashthorpe toms are just fine for my modest aspirations.
Still playing an old Premier Olympic kit from the early 90s. Swapped out the batter heads, tuned it right and it sounds great for what I need. Spent a bit on getting myself a nice snare and a decent set of cymbals, IMHO that's where the biggest level up in your sound comes from so that's where to spend your money.
I have a Frankenkit with a mixture of Sound Percussion, Olympic, and Ludwig entry level drums with Meinl Brass cymbals.
Sold drums for years at a major retailer that wasn't GC... we always recommended the better lower-line kits (with a pro snare, pro cymbals, good heads, and TUNING) for anyone with budget limitations. And, as we all know, in the studio and mic'd up live, drums get democratized very quickly. Acoustically, in a room when you're playing alone is when the differences really become clear. But we record and play live more than anything else, so...
John Wooten!? I played SO many of his solos when I was in high school! He was definitely an early inspiration for me!
Also yes, cheap kits are wonderful - especially those Ludwig ones. That's the same kit I recommend to all of my students. Then, I recommend they do what I imagine all of us did: start upgrading a piece at a time, until the only thing left is the shells. By the time I got my Pearl Masters shell pack (well after college), I had accumulated better hardware and cymbals - even a nicer snare drum. Excellent video, man!
He's such a great guy. Honored to have been able to study under him
@@StephenTaylorDrums I literally struggled deciding between him and going to UNT. In state tuition ended up winning that argument. I was like, "Well, if it's good enough for John Wooten, it's good enough for me!" Lol, no regrets though!
get a ludwig red sparkle backbeat kit there cheap and they sound amazing
I have an older accent kit myself in that exact finish, and it sounds AMAZING. it's still the kit i use the most to this day.
New to Drumming, my Q' is
why a 'Port' hole?
is it just for Mic purposes?
how is the sound different?
Are rouge drum sets good. I am new into acoustic drums. I am currently looking to see if simmons sd1250 or acoustic would be good for a townhouse and playing in small churches.
Hey Teach, that’s the exact same kit that Liza bought me last Christmas (black color). 🤩 Mine DOES NOT sound like that. Lol. Great opportunity for me to put your Drum Camp’s Tuning Session to good use! Also, super stoked knowing I played a @rdavidr piece! 😎🤙🏼🥁 Great video!!
Time and patience and it'll sound like this one for sure
I needed to see this. I just started to learn drums, and all I have right now is a practice pad. I'm saving up money to buy a drumset. This looks much more affordable for me. Thanks for the video. I'll keep this drumset in mind for purchasing once I've saved up enough money. A more reachable goal, for sure.
Don't forget to look on your local classifieds (Facebook marketplace, etc.). You can pick up a kit like this for around $250-350 easy. May be a few years old but most are in good shape.
Inspired by rdavidr’s videos I purchased a used kit just like this for £60, sold the snare for £25, refinished the drums and put some decent heads on it and have used it lots for gigging.
When I’m playing sweaty humid basement hardcore/metalcore shows and supplying my shells as backline for 3-4 different drummers to use, I always pick that cheap kit because I literally don’t care if it gets destroyed, and it still sounds better than most house kits. I would not feel so relaxed letting drummers beat the hell out my SJC Custom kit in the same way… Obviously the more expensive kit is significantly better sounding and easier to tune, and records much better, but I still would prefer to use my cheap kit as a rough and ready gigging kit.
I still have my Ludwig accent power tone from 2008 made in 2005 with remo clear pinstripes on all of them and thay sound big it’s black.no pillows inside the bass drum
I'm just learning, but I really like my Pearl Roadshow New Fusion kit. $499 on Amazon a couple of years ago, I think its $649 now. The only thing I really don't like are the cymbals, and I'm working to add and upgrade there.
Have the exact same problem with a Ludwig breakbeats snare, even the bottom lugs back out 🤷🏼♂️ not a major problem as I only use the snare for practice and use another for gigs.
Non permanent loctite will fix that
In some ways I agree that replacing the heads and doing other simple things can make a cheaper kit sound a lot better, but man my dad gave me his dw collectors kit, it cost him almost 5 thousand dollars and he replaced the snare with a mapex black panther, it was easily the best sounding kit I ever played on, it sounded a lot like a mix of John Bonham and Kashikura Takashi from the band toe, as in you could play harder rock songs or intricate jazz-ish stuff depending on how you tuned them.
eventually i had to give the drums back to my dad since he wanted to play drums again and its not like i could say no, but man that kit was fucking awesome, everyone should have the chance to play with high quality stuff regardless of price, it wont make you a better player but it just feels different, it's hard to explain until you actually play for yourself
I started on asstd. size coffee cans and a hatbox for a kick drum that I actually kicked, lol. Then I graduated to a Muppets set when I was 10, finally settling on a yard sale set of mismatched Slingerlands, so this kit you profiled seems like a 10/10 to me.
I got a brand new pearl export exx kit about 4 years ago and grant it it somewhat on the expensive side ($800), its still a cheaper kit and i replaced the heads, ended up replacing my old cheap sabian sbr cymbals for some zildjian and it sounds in credible
Great Vid! I got excited just watching the unboxing 😂
Unless you’re buying one of the old, really cheaply made Chinese kits from the 90s/2000’s then most entry kits nowadays are more than worthy of gigging and recording. Ive setup a few starter kits for some local music groups or friends and first thing i always tell them is get some decent batter heads and put your money in cymbals. I’m willing to bet that most people would never be able to tell the difference between a £350 kit and a £2000 kit on a recording or live when its in the mix. All hail the cheap kit!
Ive always said the mapex m and pro series are excellent kis. In a music setting no one can tell what kit you're playing unless they look. It's all flash and status, like having a Rolex, just for the name.
Years ago, I recorded a ep with my band... I used a cb percussion kit lol....new heads, decent cymbals...after compression and eq, you couldn't tell...my friends asked, "Man, the drums sound huge, what did you record with!?".... you wouldn't believe me if I told you ;)
I've had 2 DW Collectors, Pearl Z Custom's, Ludwig Classic Oak and currently a Sonor Beech SQ2 kit. Right before the Sonor's I had a $700 Yamaha Stage Custom. The Yamy's with good heads sounded almost as good for a 10th the cost of the SQ2's. The Yamaha snare was crap though. I gig weekly and used all those kits.
@Stephen Taylor you should watch more videos of your Bro RDAVIDR, he shows one which you just reverse a leg from your floor tom, try it or ask him out to be sure you understand clearly what I mean. Not my first language, so I don't know if I got well understood. Good video, thanks for your time !
I still have my Gretsch Renegade kit I got when I first started playing drums 7 years ago. Evans heads all around and a good tune and I love the way they sound. All your money needs to go to your cymbals and hardware. As long as it's a real drum brand, cheap kits get er done
"Cheap kit"
In Mexico most gigging drummers use those as their main.
Damn, Stephen's HQ look amazing.
I've a Pearl Export kit for about 22 years now which isn't much more expensive than this Ludwig kit and it has treated me well and they can sound great as well. I would suggest putting any extra money into your cymbals 'cause they can make a huge difference
Exports were around 800$
Been gigging off and on for the last 20 years with a set of Rockers from 1988. They are great sounding drums. The only thing I don’t like is the 22” bass drum has 8 lugs. Like I said they sound great with good heads.
Agree on the lugs. I didn't mention that but should have...sometimes they compromise on how many lugs are on the drum and that can make tuning a pain for some drums.
Thank you very much for doing a video like this. I have always been a fan of the Catalina line by Gretch. Cheap drums are really are only as good as the tuning and the drummer.
True, but good drums tune up much easier. I've owned both and don't want to go back to the days of trying to get decent sounds out of Pearl Exports.
There’s one point about cheaper kits that’s just as good as it is bad: they’re typically pretty lightweight. This makes them less of a hassle to lug around but also allows the Kick/Floor Tom to creep away over time
Did you change any of the resonant drum heads, or did you keep the ones that came with the kit?
Quick Question. What were the Batter-Heads Replaced with to make them sound better?
Was in a band with a guy who had a set of Rockers and they absolutely killed it! Don't know if it was his tuning or heads or what. I never knew the rockers were a so called budget set for years cause those ones he had we one of the best sounding kits I ever heard
One drummer I met bought a 7 piece Gretsch Catalina and pares the kit down to 3, 4, or 5 pieces depending on his gig. I personally want a Broadkaster because I have played the same Mapex Mars for 30 years and the lugs are literally popping off. I thought about buying a Catalina, but I figure I'm old, employed, and can afford the nicer hardware and at my level of experience I can actually make a difference with the better hardware. I agree on the good heads and good technique being most of a drummer's sound, though. And if you are starting out you might as well learn on the cheap stuff.
Also super jealous you can grow hair, you bastard. I thought you shaved your head because you couldn't grow! lol.
I had a Catalina for years that I took to gigs. Same deal...lots of toms and changed the setup accordingly. If you've got the money, get what you want. An upgrade in hardware will last you a lifetime.
What model is the kick drum mic? Great job!!❤