HMSDrumKing Posted July 28, 2001 Share Posted July 28, 2001 Hi everyone, I really love this forum, I have enjoyed reading all the posts. I am turning 14 in a week, and have been playing drums for 4 years. I already have a set, a junky 5-piece Peace beginner kit that I got about 2 years ago. Lately it has started to fall apart, screws falling out, hardware collapsing, etc, so I think I need to be getting a new drum set. I really do love drumming, I spend more time playing than I do on the computer, watching tv, eating, all the other things kids my age like to do. But the problem is I will most likely only be playing for about 5 more years, until I go away to college. The reason I'll stop before college is pretty much that I doubt I could make it as a musician, I don't think I have the talent, plus dorms are WAY too small for a set. What do you think would be a low cost, second drumset, that would last me for the 5 years until I go to college? I am on a fairly low budget, maybe up to $1500 (including hardware, I already have cymbals that would work until I replenish my money supply). I would be using the set to play with the school jazz band, so it has to be made out of a better wood than my current plywood. I have heard that mahogony is good for a second kit, but I'm not really sure. I have done quite a bit of research on the subject, but still can't come to a conclusion. One thing I do know for sure though is that it would be a heck of a lot cheaper to buy through a mail order catalog, so I'm pretty sure that is what I'll do unless somebody has a better idea. Any insight would be appreciated, thank you guys very much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djarrett Posted July 28, 2001 Share Posted July 28, 2001 HMS: Wow, where do I start. First of all ... GIVE YOURSELF MORE CREDIT THAN THAT!!! You obviously are playing for some reason ... perhaps it is that internal longing that is drawing you to be a drummer. If you have that ... then it is what is supposed to be! Either folks have it ... or they do not. Perhaps you just love expressing yourself musically. Many folks have things they want to say, but they do not know how to express this much passion in words. Music is thier communication tool to the world. It communicates your passion for life! If you are 14 ... you need to find a good teacher and mentor. Start taking lessons. Find a garage band to join. Who knows, ... perhaps you will become a music major in college, and then ... yes, ... you will need a set at college!!!! As far as a set goes. In the world of quality sets, including cymbals and hardware, $1500 is just *not* a lot of money. For this reason, I suggest that you look for a good quality used drumset. You should be able to get into a higher end line of drums with cymbals for around what you have to spend. When you find something ... DO NOT BUY IT RIGHT AWAY!!! Remember ... there are literally thousands of used drumsets for sell at any given moment. When you find something that holds interest, come back here and ask about it. We will all try to pitch in and give you advice to help make your purchase less risky! With some supervision from a wise parent, I would also suggest that you search on Ebay for something. You can find many a deal there. Let us know how it goes, and remember ... *YOU* are the magic in *YOU*. Love life and love drumming ... and remember ... chose drums, not drugs! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/wink.gif DJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felix stein Posted July 28, 2001 Share Posted July 28, 2001 And even if you don't make a great living playing drums- I'm sure you could have a lot of fun...and that is priceless. felix's band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1642605905 Posted July 28, 2001 Share Posted July 28, 2001 Your typical response to the question "What drum set to buy"Will be as varied as your own indecision!Go to your local dealer and check'em out! Look at things like strength,adjustability,and tone.Remember if the kit sounds good with factory heads on it,it is probably a decent kit! ian* ian* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaddabout Posted July 28, 2001 Share Posted July 28, 2001 Indeed. Go and play some kits. Better yet, let the salesman play and stand back a distance to see what they sound like to the audience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HMSDrumKing Posted July 28, 2001 Author Share Posted July 28, 2001 To djarrett: Yes, music is my communication to the world. It is much easier for me to express what I feel about something through drumming than to say it in words. Currently, I am taking lessons from a guy who's teaches band at an elementry school and gigs and records on weekends. He is quite talented (at least that is what I think), but he does mainly jazz and latin. As for being in a garage band, I don't think that'll happen anytime soon. My parents wouldn't put up with having to drive me around town with a drum set in the back, and definately wouldn't have a band come to our house. In know that $1500 isn't a lot, and I have been checking the paper every Sunday for any used sets. I did find something that interested me once, the ad said it was a 6 pc Tama with gibralter hardware and zildjian cymbals for around $1300. It also said that the set had only been used for about a year, but I figured there had to be something wrong with a tama set w/ hardware and cymbals for only 1300. I have also tried looking on Ebay, but only once or twice. To felix stein: Yes, I am in drumming for the fun of it, because it makes me happy and it is what I love to do. That is priceless, and I wouldn't give it up for anything. To ian* and Gaddabout I have gone many times to some local drum shops to look around at some of the nicer sets, and to hear what they sound like, but the problem with that is that none of the drum shops around here have anything above beginner quality! The only place I know of that has some better kits is Guitar Center, but they are all stacked up and the people there won't put them together for me to see how they sound unless I am actually going to buy something. Thanks everyone for the input, wow, I really didn't expect this much of a response in such a short amount of time! Thanks so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaddabout Posted July 28, 2001 Share Posted July 28, 2001 The only place I know of that has some better kits is Guitar Center, but they are all stacked up and the people there won't put them together for me to see how they sound unless I am actually going to buy something. Ooooo, this should be a good lesson in capitalism. Go down to Guitar Center and tell them to set up some drum sets in your price range. Play them and see if you can determine what you like. If they decline to set them up, or if they inquire how serious you are about buying them, tell them where to stick it and come back and post the results here. If you have any difficulty, I will join you in a boycott of ALL Guitar Centers, a place to which I blindly hand over hundreds of dollars each month, until they offer you the service you deserve as a CUSTOMER. I don't know why kind of big chain music store doesn't have high end kits set up on the floor. That's sort of frustrating by itself, and probably something you should bring attention to the manager. Regardless, you should do this. My guess, if they have any incentive to make money, they will hop on one foot and bark like a dog for you, regardless of your apparent financial status. A helpful tip might be to take a parent, guardian or some adult with you, but try it alone first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidereal Posted July 28, 2001 Share Posted July 28, 2001 Boy.... I know you're asking about how to get a new kit, but I can't ignore your original post. DJ's right, just play, don't worry about stopping in 5 years. You're 14, your entire universe will change in that amount of time, so you don't know what will happen. Keep a positive frame of mind. Take lessons, practice, play along with recordings, get together with some other musicians and enjoy it! Much of what goes into drumming is having the will to do it and finding ways to do it. I was faced with a similar decicion when I went to college, whether I had to sacrifice drumming in order to get a proper career going. So what I decided was that I'd go to college but not stop playing. I found ways to make it happen. When living in dorms, I begged and pleaded the resident advisor to let me play on weekends until she finally allowed it. I got a house with some fellow students and I set up the drums in the living room. It payed off. Eventually I got into a regularly gigging cover band, and get this... I was able to quit my stupid movie theatre job and just play and go to school because I was making much better cash through the cover gig. So drumming was actually paying my way through college! I went to class, studied, and played gigs at night. In the end, I graduated with a degree in journalism. (I now make my living, a fairly decent one, both through freelance writing and freelance drumming. It can work!) OK, enough of my Chris Farley motivational speaking. But it makes me sad when young people feel they have to sacrifice their gift in order meet the demands of society. I sense possibly some parental influnce going on here, but I may be wrong. Anyway, that dangling carrot of "making it" can be paralyzing. Try not to think of it in that way. If you find you're falling in love with it, don't give it up. Just find a way. Now.... back to the topic. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif Just for the record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve LeBlanc Posted July 28, 2001 Share Posted July 28, 2001 IMO, you're way too young to be thinking ahead...worry about RIGHT NOW...not the past, not the future...you have no idea how much you will change in a few years...you don't have to believe me but it's true http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/wink.gif Buy the drumset you want now...do what you want now...worry about tomorrow, well tomorrow. http://www.youtube.com/notesleb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModernDrummer Posted July 29, 2001 Share Posted July 29, 2001 HMS - Hmmm, you know, I do know of another guy that stuck with his drumming even into college (Berkley, as a matter of fact), and I'll be darned if he didn't find it interesting. He started associating with some other drummer dudes at the college, you know just messin' with stuff. Playin' with different time signatures, throwin' ideas back and forth for riffs. Just casual stuff. I'm told he learned quite a bit there, and really enhanced not only his interest in drums, but his musical abilities as well. 'Course, that was many years ago. I suppose NOTHING like that could possibly happen again... http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/wink.gif And you know, later on in his life, someone else DID think he was a pretty good drummer. And he played kind of simple riffs really (for his drumming skills) on "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Open Arms". And when Steve Smith played with Journey, they were the biggest band in the world. Might be something to think about... As far as drums, lots of great kits, lots of great choices. But keep in mind, it NOT the DRUMS, it's the DRUMMER. Buddy Rich could take (and HAS done so) a snare drum and mesmerize an audience. It didn't matter what he played ON. It mattered that he PLAYED. Keep pounding. J.B. This message has been edited by ModernDrummer on 07-29-2001 at 12:42 PM If you always do what you've always done, you'll always have what you've always had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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