View Full Version : Cheap drum kits.
I am thinking of getting a drum kit for my recording purposes of stuff I am going to record over the summer holidays. I would like to know what the cheapest drum kit I can buy is. It requires: bass drum, snare drum, hi hat, one or two other cymbals, and 1 or two toms (prefrably rack toms to save on space).
EDIT: I also need to find a very cheap double pedal or some kind of alternative like 2 single pedals. Which would be the cheapest? (btw yes I can already double pedal).
crazyjake19
03-03-2007, 09:57 AM
If you can afford it, I would go with a Yamaha electronic drumset, but I think the cheapest is about $800. I love using mine for recording, it's so much easier to plug it into my mixer than to set up mics and stands and what not.
As far as cheap kits, I would go with a Ludwig Accent 5-pc kit for about $360, or a Pulse 5-pc kit for $300. They're not the greatest, but they're the cheapest I know of.
As far as a double-pedal, the cheapest I know of is the Pulse Pro double kick pedal for $100 from Musicians Friend. I have the $30 single kick pedal, and it's very good quality.
crazyjake19
03-03-2007, 10:00 AM
Another idea would be to buy all of the drums seperately, possibly used. For $300-400, you probably won't get a good drumset with all that you want, so if you buy each seperately, you can get a better selection of what sound you want. I recently bought a pair of Zildjian Scimitar 14" hi-hats and a nice Gibraltar hi-hat stand at a local Guitar Center for $45. So shop around used and see what you can find.
Bonham#1!
03-03-2007, 10:24 AM
Tbh If your going for wuite cheap go CB drums maybe new heads and stuff, then buy like a sabian B8 or B8pro cymbal pack. Dixon double pedals are good for the price and so are some gibraltar i think, but having played both, I like dixon. So it wont be of the best quality, but itll bbe cheap and not to bad.
Edit: Just looking at the price for CB Drums, theyre 400 american on music123 so if the accent prices crazy jake gave are accurate, go for that.
I don't want a good drum kit. I just want something to drum with that extremely cheap. I can sort out sound later on.
Bonham#1!
03-03-2007, 10:28 AM
Well do what either of us said, there affordable. Or try and buy used.
The cheapest I have found for England stuff is £169 for a 5 piece kit and £30 for a double pedal on ebay.
Little Android Man
03-03-2007, 10:37 AM
well if you are recording, going cheap is going to ruin the sound quality.
Yeah I'm not big on caring about sound quality, and I am more looking for a sound like Bill Ward's on the first Black Sabbath album and that was done with a bad drum kit and heads that had not been changed in 2 years.
Mirror.Circuit
03-03-2007, 10:57 AM
look around for a decent used kit.
you can probably find something better than that 169 one for the same price if it's used.
White Riot!
03-03-2007, 10:57 AM
Yeah I'm not big on caring about sound quality, and I am more looking for a sound like Bill Ward's on the first Black Sabbath album and that was done with a bad drum kit and heads that had not been changed in 2 years.
Thats the tuning.
dont waste your money.
Go to drum cartage people , tell them the sounds you want and they will provide you with a kit that will sound the way you want
Hmmm good idea but yeah I still only want a cheap-*** kit, if need be I know a guy who would lend me his pearls but I dont care about durmm sound quality.
White Riot!
03-03-2007, 11:19 AM
just borrow.
Bonham#1!
03-03-2007, 11:24 AM
I agree if the qualitys ok and you can borrow do it. Your also not going to get Bills exact sound.
Well I still need something to practice one.
http://www.soundcontrol.co.uk/mod_1/pages/mod_1.12/pages/mod_1.12.1/pages/mod_1.12.1.1/pages/index.php?sku=1.1.13.2.2-190-18
This any good to practice on?
Bonham#1!
03-03-2007, 11:46 AM
You may aswell buy a practise pad kit. I think DW make em. Cheaper, more portable, and probably cant sound any worse:)
Mirror.Circuit
03-03-2007, 11:46 AM
it's going to suck,but you cna use anything to practice on.
borrow the pearls for the recording,though.
I got a used pearl export kit for real cheap
I don't play drums much and I don't know how to tune but they get the job done if we need to jam at my house
What about something electric like this: http://www.soundcontrol.co.uk/mod_1/pages/mod_1.12/pages/mod_1.12.1/pages/mod_1.12.1.1/pages/index.php?sku=1.1.13.3.2-200-13
its more suited because I can turn it down and seeing as it has midi it will be good because I have midi sounds which sound good for drums and also it will give me more variety which i need.
crazyjake19
03-03-2007, 12:43 PM
I would be careful about buying electronic drums from lesser brand names. I've never heard of Legacy, so they may be good, maybe not. The cheapest electronic kit I would recommend would be the Alesis kit from Musicians Friend (I think) for about $500. I would be very careful buying anything cheaper.
Generally, the less you spend on acoustic drums, the lower the sound quality. The less you spend on electronic drums, the lower the overall quality and less options you have.
Hmm but it has midi and I have good midi drum stuff. Don't you think it would be very good then? I suppose I only care about how easy the bass drum pedal is and if it doesn't lag and u hit a drum and five seconds later it makes the sound.
ludvista29
03-03-2007, 12:58 PM
IMO get a yamaha rydeen, or a decent yamaha electric kit
How much are they in England?
crazyjake19
03-03-2007, 01:21 PM
IMO get a yamaha rydeen, or a decent yamaha electric kit
I second this! I have the Yamaha DTXPLORER electric kit, which was $800 American. You could probably get the next model up for not much more. It also has a midi port that you can use.
(I'm not sure what $800 American would be in England...)
But really my budget is £200 ($400)
crazyjake19
03-03-2007, 01:25 PM
If the converter I used is correct, $800 American would be about 410 in England. The $500 Alesis would be about 256 in England I think, but I'm not sure if it has MIDI.
Either way, the Yamaha is definitely worth the extra money, and I would highly recommend it.
crazyjake19
03-03-2007, 01:26 PM
But really my budget is £200 ($400)
I wouldn't buy anything cheaper than the Alesis, which seems to be just out of your price range. Either save the extra money and get the Alesis, or look for a used Yamaha maybe.
Hmm I think I will look into the alesis anyway and maybe save up for that. I will have a look. Does it have the capabilitis for a double pedal? I will probably have a lot of money because I am saving up and a)its my birthday in June when I will have the room for all of this equipment, b) I am getting my sisters room so I am getting a mixer, mircophones, drums etc to record with coz its bigger than mine, c) it is my gcse year and my parents said they would give me £100 for each A* I get. That should boost me up to the £376 I want to spend on equipment.
EDIT: I just checked for the alesis and in England it is £319 which is quite a lot out of my range.
Banshee
03-03-2007, 01:58 PM
How many A*'s you planning on gettin?!
As I said I am already saving and it is my birthday at that time. That adds up to more money towards it.
Zildjian
03-03-2007, 02:08 PM
i wouldent go cheaper then alesis. and even thouse are crap
just keep saving man
Brokensticks
03-03-2007, 02:12 PM
If you're not serious about playing and it's just for recording. Borrow the pearls. No use shelling out houndreds of dollars for something not worth your while.
crazyjake19
03-03-2007, 02:12 PM
i wouldent go cheaper then alesis. and even thouse are crap
just keep saving man
Yeah, I would have to agree. If you're really serious about doing some nice recordings, save until you can afford the Yamaha. It's definitely worth the extra money. In the meantime, you can use a drum software program like Acoustica Beatcraft or something.
Zildjian
03-03-2007, 02:18 PM
^thats an even better idea.
Well I want to get serious so some elctric drums would be good. Or should I get real drums? I want to start learning so electric or normal is the problem. And I do not want to save up loads for something I am a beginner at.
crazyjake19
03-03-2007, 04:17 PM
I think you would become a much better drummer from starting on an electric kit. I played on an acoustic kit for about one year, but it barely fit in my room, and I couldn't always practice because of noise issues. In the first 3 months after I got my electric kit, I became ten times better than I was from playing acoustic drums. Probably because I could practice so much more. Now I can play drums at 6:30 in the morning or 11:30 at night if I want to, and nobody else can hear me. Many electric drumsets, such as the Yamaha ones, have features such as groove check, and built in metronomes to practice with, plus you can plug in headphones and an MP3 player and play along to songs.
Also, with an electric kit, you can save presets for different kits. For instance, you can have one preset so that the kit is set up normal (bass, snare, 2 toms, floor tom, crash, ride, hihats), and then you could change to a different set with different reverbs or effects and with different instruments such as cowbell or tambourine, just by hitting one button.
crazyjake19
03-03-2007, 04:19 PM
One good electric kit is all you would ever need, whereas if you bought an acoustic kit, you would probably want to upgrade and buy new parts or even a new drum set eventually. So the total costs of acoustics may, in the long run, be more expensive than an electric kit.
Also, if you plan to gig at all, with an electric kit, all you have to do is fold in the legs and put it in your car. You can't do that with an acoustic kit.
Hmm yes so I will start with whatever good electric kit I can find at the time when I have the money from my budget and use that.
MatthewMeredith
03-03-2007, 07:51 PM
DON'T GET ELECTRIC!
Long and McQuade just got two new top of the line Yammie electric kits for instructors and they suck balls. They're the DT Express IV or something, but they sound absolutely terrible. The triggers are really sketchy too. You'll get random super loud hits when you don't want them and some end up really quiet. It's ridiculous
Zildjian
03-03-2007, 08:01 PM
DON'T GET ELECTRIC!
Long and McQuade just got two new top of the line Yammie electric kits for instructors and they suck balls. They're the DT Express IV or something, but they sound absolutely terrible. The triggers are really sketchy too. You'll get random super loud hits when you don't want them and some end up really quiet. It's ridiculous
he probably has his pad sensitivity to where it will trigger when you even blow air on it. But in all honestly yamaha electric kits are awful. Roland is the only way to go. But they are really expensive, i dont even think 1 pad is in TS's budget :)
crazyjake19
03-03-2007, 08:23 PM
he probably has his pad sensitivity to where it will trigger when you even blow air on it. But in all honestly yamaha electric kits are awful. Roland is the only way to go. But they are really expensive, i dont even think 1 pad is in TS's budget :)
I disagree. If you were going to gig or tour professionally or semi-pro, you would definitely want a Roland kit. But since your just learning how to play, the Yamaha will be excellent for you and will be more than enough.
crazyjake19
03-03-2007, 08:24 PM
since your just learning how to play
I didn't mean you, Zildjian. I was talking about Flie.
Hmm why is the cheap one i said bad then if I am just starting and do not care about sound quality?
Corkofski
03-04-2007, 07:57 AM
it'll fall apart in a year....
What about a cheap regular drum kit, say £129.
Zildjian
03-04-2007, 08:52 AM
go used if thats all you want to spend
and be aware that you will have to re set up the kit every time you play because it will probably fall apart
Hmm ok well my budget it is really £200 but I want to go new. Can you give me a recommendation.
crazyjake19
03-04-2007, 10:17 AM
You won't find an electric kit worth buying for that much. You'll have to go with an acoustic kit. I would suggest the Ludwig Accent 5-pc or the Pulse 5-pc if you have to go cheaper.
But with an acoustic, you're gonna need some mics (and fairly good ones), as well as cords, stands, a mixer with several inputs (and phantom power so you can use condenser mics). And you can't use MIDI, so if you want to change something, you'll have to re-record it.
I still suggest saving the money for a nice electric kit. It will be well worth it in the long run.
Yeah but you know I will have to see what I prefer.
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