< How to Buy a Drumset >
Which Drumset Should I Get?
A little story: When I was twelve or thirteen, I got my first drumset. I had been taking lessons for a few years and was ready to play. My folks took me downtown Chicago to one of the three major drum shops. My teacher was a good friend of the owner, who was also a good drummer. The drums were made by Camco, a relatively unknown company at that time. The cymbals took two hours to match, by the owner of the store. For a kid, this was a lot of work to buy a drumset. When I finally sold this set, it had become a collectors item. Of course, when I got it, nobody knew what kind it was, and I was constantly ridiculed by my fellow drummers in school. I still use the cymbals because they sound so good. Some of the hardware is still in use because it was well constructed. This equipment lasted over 25 years and is still going strong. The resale value has actually gone up! Drums can be an investment, if you know what to buy.
Should I buy used or new equipment?
This is a tough question to answer. Used can be a great value, although older equipment can fail and be more difficult to find parts for. New is tempting because the look of the set, along with parts and service potential. Unlike cars, drums are not sold with warrantees. There really isn't a lot that can go wrong, but things happen, especially on the road!
Should I buy an entire drumset or get parts by the piece?
You can go either way, although you'll probably get a better deal buying as many parts at once rather than a-la-cart. There can be a sense of priority to buying drums. A drum instructor may recommend a snare drum as a good first drum, followed by the toms, bass drum, hi-hat, ride and crash in that order. The reasoning has to do with musical styles and technique of learning. Many used sets throw in a lot of extra stands and cymbals that could add up to big $$ new.
How much should I spend?
That is the question. You can spend anywhere from $100 to $10,000 for a set of drums. Like any product, you get what you pay for. Cheap materials fall apart. Expensive materials may be more than you need. The use of the drums is the key to answering how much to spend. Questions to ask yourself, and help answer your needs include: What kind of music are you going to play? Do you need heavy duty construction, or lightweight design. Is your drumset going to stay in your basement, travel locally, nationally or internationally? Do you need cases? Do you know about tuning and construction? Do you have friends that can help fix or repair your equipment?
The most important question to ask yourself is: Do you know how to play the instrument?
If not, are you willing to learn?
In fact, everyone can use help throughout their career. Even the most impressive professional players attend clinics, take lessons from masters, or go through new books, tapes and videos. The biggest mistake you will ever make, is to assume that playing the drumset is easy and simple. Yes, simple rock and roll is not that hard, especially if you've been listening to it on the radio for years. But, there is a big difference between experienced, professional and versatile players that make a living playing drums. Versatility, or know how to play many kinds of styles and be in many kinds of situations is the best skill of all. Versatile players are usually open minded to other styles and forms of music, such as classical, jazz, and music from around the world. The more you learn about the huge variety of music, the easier it is to buy equipment to fit your needs. A lot of non-western drumset playing is based on imitating congas and percussion. It is important, therefore to know what you're trying to imitate. If you know how to play congas, you might be able to imitate them on the drumset better.
Buying a drumset can be both a challenge and a fun experience. There are many things to know when buying a drumset, and what follows are some tips that can be applied to any kind of drumset including used and new equipment.
What kind of drumset should I get?
There are many sizes of drumsets. A 4 piece set includes a snare, a mounted tom (usually over the bass drum), a low tom (on the floor), and a bass drum. A five piece set would add one more tom mounted on the base drum.
What drum companies are good?
There are many companies that make drumsets. Past and present drum companies include YAMAHA, Ludwig, DW, Gretsch, Rogers, Slingerland, Sonor, Ayotte, Sunlite, Peace, Pearl, Camco, Tama, and CB-700. Be warned that many American companies have been bought out by other companies-especially abroad, including some of the above. Some American companies make some components here, and others abroad. Most important is the style of management to keep an eye on. Europe continues to make high quality products, generally at a higher price. Asian companies can be less expensive, sometimes better for entry level players. Look for consistency, and variety of products including entry, intermediate and professional quality.
What are the components of a drumset?
There are three basic components to a drumset, and they are I.) The shells, II.) the hardware, and III.) the cymbals.
I.) The shells.
A) Drum shell sizes and shapes.
1) The snare drum The snare drum is a 13-15" diameter metal drum with a snare mechanism (a moving part-subject to problems). Popular snares are generally 14". The shell can be anywhere from 5-8" deep. Deep snares are loud and lower in pitch. Regular snares can be higher in pitch. Piccolo snares are very small and can have a very high cutting pitch.
2) The tom-toms. Toms are anywhere from 8-20" in diameter. They can be a standard or power depth. Power toms are deeper for deeper tone in rock and popular styles. Jazz players prefer standard shells, although styles a combined in the last few decades, and sizes have become less separated.
3) The Bass-Drum. The bass drum or "kick" drum is what you play your foot with. Bass drums can be anywhere from 18-28" deep. The most common size for rock is 22" and 20" for jazz. The depth varies quite a bit depending on the type of music to be played.
B) Shell materials. The shells of a drumset can be made of a variety of materials, including wood, metal, fiberglass or composite materials.
1) Wood. Wood drums are the most common, and can be divided into expensive types of wood including birch, maple and mahogany, and cheaper types of wood such as simple plywood. Maple is probably the most sought after wood shell, and has a lighter color with an easy to see grain. Birch shells are a little darker, although many shells are painted or stained and can hide the original grain. Cheap plywood shells can be found in many entry level sets. It can sound just fine for beginners. Keep in mind, tuning the drum can make any drum sound better, and a great maple shell drum can sound bad if not properly tuned. The amount of wood sheets that are wrapped together is referred to as the "ply". Typically, shells can have anywhere from 3-12 ply of wood pieces. All types of wood can be intermixed to create different types of sounds. Thicker shells can be louder and bassier, while thinner shells can have more resonance and tonal qualities.
2) Metal. Metal shells, or sometimes referred to as chrome shells, can be made of a wide variety of metal types. Cheap metal snares can bend easily, and heavy duty metal drums can be very heavy and strong. There is a good amount of pressure holding drumheads on the shell, and thin materials can bend and warp. Brass snares have a great sound and can look good. A few drum companies have experimented with metal shell tom-toms for loud rock drumsets, and they do have a "heavy metal" look.
3) Fiberglass. Fiberglass shells, such as the early Zyklos, or Ludwig Vistalite models drumsets are a very loud, like metal shells, because there is no absorption of the sound. The sound reflects out of the drum very easily. Fiberglass can break if dropped and has a history of cracking.
4) Composite materials. Composite materials are materials made of more than one kind of wood, but rather than sandwiching the boards together ("7 ply, 9 ply") the material is blended together. This is usually a cheaper process, but the sound is generally not a super high quality type. There are great sounding composite shell drums, that use space age processes. If your playing popular music, you may be going for more of a deep thud kind of tone, rather than a tonal sound (like a specific note). In this case, composite shells can be great and inexpensive. Remo has experimented successfully with composite shells for all kinds of drums including toms and hand drums.
II.) The hardware. Hardware is probably the most constantly innovative part of the drumsets. Shells have pretty much stayed the same in construction since their inception. In fact, many drummers prefer older shells for good sound. On the other hand, hardware, or all of the metal stands, fixtures, and pedals, are constantly changing to the needs of drummers, depending on the demands of professionals or students. If you are a student, you probably don't need state of the art touring hardware that weighs a ton, and will hold up the Golden Gate Bridge. If you're a touring professional drummer you probably don't want thin metal that is likely to fall apart at the first cymbal crash. Many companies have spent considerable time and money trying to come up with ways to satisfy both markets. There are three kinds of hardware, light weight, medium weight and heavy weight. When in doubt, you probably should go for medium weight, because it is built to satisfy professional and student markets. Heavyweight hardware is great if you really want things to be stable and withstand an earthquake. There is considerable vibration from drumming. Popular rock drummers might consider getting rather sturdy hardware. Lightweight hardware can be ideal for jazz players and light hitting drummers. Gibralter is a company that specializes in hardware.
A.) Stands. Stands can be divided into straight and boom types, or a rack system.
1) Straight stands. Straight stands are the simplest kind of stand, because they simply raise the cymbal up and tilt it. You can get away with simple stands (especially the ride stand), because some cymbals can be low to the drummer.
2) Boom stands. The more cymbals you have, though, the more positioning becomes important. To get a lot of cymbals to fit into a set up requires booms, or extensions from the base of the stands. The cymbals can be positioned in many ways to accommodate many different styles. You can sometimes refit a straight stand into a boom, and vice versa. Yamaha makes a great stand that is actually both.
The bases for stands can have single or double type bracing. Double is a little stronger, but not always necessary. Boom stands require greater diameter bases to be able to counterbalance the cymbal weight.
3) The rack system. The rack is a series of tube like together in a frame to hold drums, and cymbals. It can be very lightweight, or very heavy. The rack is a relatively new idea, does strengthen most set-ups, especially if you have many cymbals and accessories. If you have a roadie, a rack can be an easy way to guarantee a consistent set-up. Racks can actually take up less floor space than stands.
B) Pedals. The are two kinds of pedals: the bass drum (kick) pedal and the hi-hat pedal. Pedals are the only moving parts of a drumset. They account for all of your foot technique. You should get the best constructed pedals you can afford. Cheap pedals fail and can be slow. This can affect your development as a drummer, and cause real problems on the bandstand. Some companies specialize in pedals like Drum-Workshop (D.W.). Double bass pedals can control two bass drums or two mallets on one bass drum. This is great for very fast playing, because you can generally play faster with two limbs than one. Double bass pedals are usually made of higher quality materials and can some times be bought as single pedals first.
The more adjustments on a pedal, the better for control, although more things can go wrong. Sometimes, professionals prefer simple pedals because their easier to fix. You might even consider a back-up pedal (especially the bass drum). Lightweight hi-hat pedals can be a little unstable for rock player. Wide bases on hi-hat pedals are generally a better idea. The last thing you want is a hi-hat rocking back and forth.
III.) Cymbals. There are many cymbal companies from around the world. Cymbals can account for as much as half the price of a drumset. Zildjian is the most known cymbal manufacturer in the world. The company has been around for hundreds of years-older than the U.S. itself. Secret formulas of metal alloys have been kept for all of that time. Other companies include: Sabian, Paiste, Camber, UFIP, Meinl, Bosphorus, Tosco, Istanbul, and a host of others. Some specialty companies make gong like sounds. There are many different kinds of cymbals made by any one cymbal company. Cymbals range from high end, very expensive types that have extremely specific sounds to medium and low end general use kinds. Generally, the larger the cymbal, the more expensive it is. There are thin, medium thin, and heavy kinds of cymbals. The thinnest cymbals have the quickest decay of sound, while the thicker types sustain the longest, and usually have deeper sounds.
Most companies have entry, intermediate and professional level cymbals. High quality cymbals can be very expensive. Not all entry level cymbals sound the same. Try and check out ALL cymbals before buying if possible. EVERY CYMBAL IS DIFFERENT!!! Most importantly, getting a full set of cheap cymbals is better that ONE expensive one, when you are starting. You need to learn HOW to play the drums, before worrying about what they sound like!
A.) Cymbal care.
Thinner cymbals are a little more fragile, and can crack easily if played improperly. Any cymbal can crack if struck too hard, or if the cymbal is too tight on the stand. An "L" shaped stroke on the cymbal during crashing, can get a better sound, and be much safer. Most professional drummers, especially drummers with classical backgrounds have cymbals that are very old. A cymbal can last more than a lifetime with care. It is possible to cut out edge cracks if your careful, although the crack can resume if it isn't a clean cut. Cracks in the center of a cymbal, commonly near the bell, are tougher to fix. There have been experiments with silver solder, but it is difficult to guarantee the crack will hold.
B.) Cymbal Cleaning.
Most drummers don't clean there cymbals, out of laziness and because the sound can be darker as the cymbal gets dirtier.
C.) Sizes of cymbals.
1.) The ride cymbal. The ride cymbal is the largest cymbal. Its size ranges from 18-24", and is responsible for the constant pulse type playing in rock or the common "ding-ding-ga-ding" in jazz.
2.) The crash cymbal. Crash cymbals can be found as small as 6" (splash) to 18" (crash ride). The most common crash is a 16". Thinner crashes are more recommended for most playing, except very hard players. Two crashes are common usually including a 16 and 18".
3.) The Hi-Hats. Hi-hat cymbals are the two cymbals facing each other on the hi-hat stand (with the foot pedal). Hi-hats can be anywhere from 13-16" with the 14" the most common size. A lot of rock uses hi-hats not only for the "sock" sound of clapping the two cymbals together, but also for the stick sound on the closed hi-hats. Most drummers look for a loud and crisp hi-hat sound. Cheap hi-hats can work quite well if you're mostly going to use them closed.
So what should I do first?
Take your time in getting a drumset. Don't buy on impulse. Ask as many people around you about musical equipment in general. Talk to music teachers, especially drum instructors. Information is your best weapon when making a decision about buying gear. Don't be intimidated by salespeople. Many, salespeople are more concerned with make a quick buck, than getting the proper equipment for the right person and situation. Many salespeople are not that good of musicians, and have very limited experience in music either artistically or professionally. Drum shops that specialize in drum equipment are a better bet for quality purchases that will last a long time. The only reason why you should ever sell a drumset is if you want to get a different or better one. If you learn how to play well, you will probably keep your drumset for the rest of your life, and maybe beyond.
Email: edrums@aol.com
The Drum Exchange
4501 Interlake Ave N #7,
Seattle, WA 98103. (CLICK: Map)
Tel. (206) 545-3564TOLL FREE: (866) 545-3564
Ed Hartman
Email: edrums@aol.com
(c) 2001 Ed Hartman. All rights reserved.