Buying a drum set

[MonsieurFish]

Hello CP,

I have been thinking of buying myself a drum set lately. For about the last 6 months, I've been renting a beginner set from Long and Mcquade for 25$/month (steal of a deal if you want to try and get into the drums), and I think I may want to buy a set. I can buy those, however, I do believe they are fairly low quality, and would rather buy some second hand ones off of kijiji that are maybe a bit better quality.

My budget is 300$ (I know i won't get very high quality drums for this), however I would like to upgrade the quality as much as I can compared to the ones I'm playing now.

Right now, I'm renting these drums from Long and Mcquade, and can pay about 330$ if i decide to buy them: http://www.long-mcquade.com/products/185/

On Kijiji, here are a few that have caught my eye, however I don't know enough about drum sets to know whether or not these are good deals.

http://calgary.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-s...AdIdZ181452382

(the following only has two tom's which I do not like..., but looking for opinions on it anyways)

http://calgary.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-s...AdIdZ184320310

http://calgary.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-s...AdIdZ183805613

http://calgary.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-s...AdIdZ182689813

http://calgary.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-s...AdIdZ178082542

Anyways... could anyone give me any input on what to look for when buying a drum set, and whether any of those fit the bill. What brands are good? What's a good cheap set?

Thanks

[Phanuthier]

Buy used, but get good hardware. Used good hardware is much better then new crappy hardware. Also get a setup that allows you to add stuff easily too, rather than having a billion stands or arms.

[Traditional_Ale]

IMO, buy a high end kick drum and snare to start with. Blow the whole 300 on the kick if you want and wait for payday. Then blow the 300 on the snare. Hopefully the snare comes with good hardware. If not, get some. Wait for payday, get a good Hi-Hat stand (again, hardware) and then get whatever the hell kind of hi-hats you want.

From there, as opposed to mounting the toms on the kick drum, get a folding/collapsable rack from which you can use good hardware to mount whatever toms and cymbals you can scrounge up.

The moral of the story is:

If you are serious about being a drummer and plan on keeping the kit, then start with good hardware, and do not compromise quality in the kick and the snare. With good hardware you are set to aquire higher end cymbals and toms much more easily and integrate them imeadiately.

If you still are weaker (read: suck), however, keep on practicing on the rental kit. Save more money.

[Phanuthier]

I found it tough to buy each individual part, I think its better to buy a set then each individual tom. But ya, definately... good hardware. Even if you are a casual drummer, you don't want flakey hardware.

[Traditional_Ale]

^ If he's serious and wants a "real kit" quick, its the best way imo to go piece by piece.

[MonsieurFish]

Thanks, and as much as I would like a high quality kit, there are a few reasons I think it's not the best option for me right now.

First of all, i don't have enough money to spend on a real nice kit. Secondly, odds are, I'm going to be moving out of my place as soon as I'm done university, and I'm not sure if I'll even be able to play the drums once I'm moved out... depending on whether I live in an apartment or whatever. Also, drums aren't my primary instrument, just something to play around with and get good at as a bit of a side project, so I just want as good as a cheap kit as you can get. In the future if I decide that I want to take it more seriously, and can see myself being able to play them for a long time, then I think I'll invest in a nicer kit.

[Bibtin Tex]

Like the others said, make sure you get something with decent hardware. You should also think about replacing the heads on the drums, which will probably cost about $100. I'd wait to try the old heads out, since you might like them.

[Phanuthier]

Good used hardware doesn't have to be expensive. Plus, its re-sale value will be a lot higher than if you have new but crappy hardware.

I think Trad_Ale is probably more of a hard-core drummer than I am, so he probably has better stuff.