Shopping for your first Drum Kit can be a daunting
prospect. So to make this choice easier, here are some things to consider first of all.
- Is there actually space for a kit ? ( Protective mating
is a good idea, as the drum pedals can really eat carpet )
- Will the volume effect your family or neighbours ?
This well worth checking out Ahead of time. A good idea would
to rent or Loan a kit for a weekend or even a month.
- What purpose do the drums need to fulfil ? (Just having a
bash, Garage Band, Home recording, etc etc)
- Do you need carry cases or bags ?, will a bass drum case (with drum
inside) fit in your car or van? ( as mine won't.. ;)
- What extra's do you need, Sticks, Stool, Cymbals, Cymbal Stands, Cow bell,
Tambourine, Carry Cases, Drum Bag's, Better
skins, Tuner, Music stand, Cymbal Cleaner, Drum Cover, Practice
pad's etc etc
What's the best brand to buy ?
Personally, If a salesman considers one
brand to be the overall BEST, their most likely just pushing their product onto you.
Today's manufactures all produce
a wide range of kits from a wide variety of entry level solutions right through to professional
ranges, which in most cases have fantastic quality / price ratio's.
Professional equipment is obviously the most expensive and consists of the best construction techniques,
materials / woods, finishes and hardware innovations at the time of construction.
Ironically though, with today's recording equipment and live
performance equipment especially, the need for such Hi Quality gear is rapidly
becoming debatable. Pretty much any experienced sound engineer with a
handful of decent microphones can pull a great sound out of just about
anything !.
So the question is not, "what's the best brand",
but "what brand and entry point will best suit my needs"
?
Some of the more common issues and
talking points about drums are these.
- First things First, When buying a KIT, don't assume extras are
included in the price, always ask !.. You'll need at least a pair
of Hi Hat cymbals, some sticks and a Stool, to be
started.
- Examine the Quality of the included Hardware, I.e. Tom holders,
Stands (double braced?), Bass Drum Pedal and Hi Hat Stand.. These are the real wear
points and they really get a pounding from you
and from lugging your gear from venue to venue, or practice to
practice. Personally, I think it's worth spending a little
extra for better quality hardware.
- Shell construction, are the drums made from ply wood (what depth
?) or are they solid ?, Generally, drums made from harder
solid woods, or thicker ply's produce the better quality of sound
(completely subjective). Drum diameters and depths define the
pitch characteristics of each drum. In general, the smaller
the drum diameter the higher the pitch.
- Free floating Tom Holders ?, In recent years a great deal of noise
has been made about Rim mounting tom systems, which simply means
that your toms don't have special inbuilt mounts that penetrate the
drum shell (picture bellow right), the idea being that if you attach the Tom to it's stand
via the Rim, you get a better quality sound, as the drum shell has
less holes / stress points in it, which could, effect the
sound. These drums are normally easier to tune also.
(pictured bellow left)
- Do you need to perform completely acoustically ?, if the answer is
yes, then it's probably worth spending a little more on a medium / higher
quality kit, since your audience is actually hearing your real live
drum sound
- Planning on only playing through P.A. systems ?, Well you can get
away with a lot these days, most low to mid range / semi pro kits
are more than ample, although it's well worth investing in a hi quality
snare drum none the less, and a good set of hi hats cymbals and
ride.
These are just pointers, I can't
recommend you buy a particular brand as
ultimately it's Your ears and Budget that you have satisfy, not mine.
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