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Ready to drop some real cash, drum recommendations?


vangkm

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Planning on moving up from a PDP Fusion Birch set to something nicer but I need some input. What lines/brands should I look for? What are good prices (used preferably)?

I'm looking at:

Peavey Radial Pro 1000
DW Collectors
Tama Starclassic
SJC Drums
Truth...

Brand isn't as important to me as sound. We're a 4 piece rock/prog/metal band. I plan on spending around $1K-$2K on just shells. We're looking for a deep and punchy bass drum sound.

I'm also curious about Saluda cymbals as well.

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Id go with anything that has a 22x17-18 kick. While I dont have direct experience, I am told that Oak shells are terriffic for metal and rock where low, punchy sound is desired. I am hoping to have oak for my next kit, and there are a few big names that make them. If I remember right, thinner shells are desired for deeper sound too, so if you get some really thin
Cant say anything about Saluda. What kind of cymbal sound are you after? I have had great luck with A Customs, and AAX cymbals for metal/rock applications if you want a shorter, but bright sound to cut over the low end of the drums and guitars without tons of mics.

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Quote Originally Posted by Merlin Coryell View Post
Id go with anything that has a 22x17-18 kick. While I dont have direct experience, I am told that Oak shells are terriffic for metal and rock where low, punchy sound is desired. I am hoping to have oak for my next kit, and there are a few big names that make them. If I remember right, thinner shells are desired for deeper sound too, so if you get some really thin
Cant say anything about Saluda. What kind of cymbal sound are you after? I have had great luck with A Customs, and AAX cymbals for metal/rock applications if you want a shorter, but bright sound to cut over the low end of the drums and guitars without tons of mics.
Thanks, I'll look into Oak drums. For cymbal sounds I really want to experiment as I have no idea what I'm looking for since I haven't tried much at all and have very limited experience.
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Quote Originally Posted by vangkm View Post
Thanks, I'll look into Oak drums. For cymbal sounds I really want to experiment as I have no idea what I'm looking for since I haven't tried much at all and have very limited experience.
I reccommend the same approach to the drums too. Experiment and play around on as many as you can. And pay attention to the tuning/head combos. A trip to a GC can be misleading if you dont watch out for this, as a cheap Pacific with well tuned Evans or Remos might sound better than a DW or Tama with factory heads that the kids have bashed out of tune.

Id take others who know what you are after in sound, and have them listen from various spots in the room if possible.
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Quote Originally Posted by vangkm View Post
Peavey Radial Pro 1000
DW Collectors
Tama Starclassic
SJC Drums
Truth....
Truth are just Keller shells and are HORRIBLY over-priced, as a head's up. I'd also say check out the Tama Starclassic Bubinga (punchy rock sound) and Yamaha Oak Custom drums.

You can't go wrong with DW if you can afford them (they're all really nice), and Pearl Reference Series are top o' the line beauties, too.

If I had $1-2k to toss at shells, I'd end up with one of the Starclassic lines, myself. That's still in my dream spectrum, though I've really fallen in love with much of what Yamaha offers.
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Quote Originally Posted by vangkm View Post
Peavey Radial Pro 1000
DW Collectors
Tama Starclassic
SJC Drums
Truth....
Truth are just Keller shells and are HORRIBLY over-priced, as a head's up. I'd also say check out the Tama Starclassic Bubinga (punchy rock sound) and Yamaha Oak Custom drums.

You can't go wrong with DW if you can afford them (they're all really nice), and Pearl Reference Series are top o' the line beauties, too.

If I had $1-2k to toss at shells, I'd end up with one of the Starclassic lines, myself. That's still in my dream spectrum, though I've really fallen in love with much of what Yamaha offers.
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Just for perspective, for the drum lines you are talking about, $1k up to even $1.5k isn't really much of a budget, especially if you're buying individual drums vs. a shell-pack (which is usually the case for higher-end drums).

Consider your kick drum alone will likely run in the $500-600 range alone, minimum...

Unless you're planning on playing a 3 or 4 piece, you will likely need to up your budget.

Yes, there are quality kits available in the general range ou mentioned, but from going through the exact same exercise myself numerous times...closer to, and over $2k is usually what I'd net out at for a 1up/2down kit.

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Thanks for the head's up on Truth. I want to grab them used so I can be patient and wait for a good deal to come along. We're not in a hurry to upgrade so we can afford to wait a bit. I'm just curious as to what brands/models I should keep a lookout for used.

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Just for perspective, for the drum lines you are talking about, $1k up to even $1.5k isn't really much of a budget, especially if you're buying individual drums vs. a shell-pack (which is usually the case for higher-end drums).

Consider your kick drum alone will likely run in the $500-600 range alone, minimum...

Unless you're planning on playing a 3 or 4 piece, you will likely need to up your budget.

Yes, there are quality kits available in the general range ou mentioned, but from going through the exact same exercise myself numerous times...closer to, and over $2k is usually what I'd net out at for a 1up/2down kit.

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Another one to consider for rock/metal is the Mapex Saturn. I was considering getting this, but I didn't have the $ so I went with a PDP platinum kit for about $600, which is a decent value in my opinion, especially for my 1st drum kit. The Saturn sounded really good though and isn't very expensive new or used (compared to the brands you listed). Guitar Center's used gear section is pretty good from personal experience. You can get the email addresses for the people at the GC that carry the item on the site and you can get extra pictures, have them answer questions and haggle on pricing. I got a pretty decent deal on my snare drum by doing this, and the product was in really good shape for being "used". You can also return it right away at any guitar center if you don't like the item. You just eat the shipping cost, which is fairly low for a kit (they quoted me at $35 when I was looking to get a full shell pack).

For cymbals, I have and really like Paiste Signatures and Paiste Dark Energy cymbals. I hit a bunch of other stuff, but it didn't appeal to me the same way.

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Quote Originally Posted by Consume View Post
Or you can build your own kit with parts from a place like Drum Supply House in Tennessee or Precision Drum in New York.
And I would say, again, up the budget...

Got depressed when I priced it a kit that would be exactly what I wanted, in exactly the config/dimensions and features I wanted, and realized I was around $1900 for three toms and a kick, without a matching snare, rather than the $1-1.2k I initially budgeted for a 5 piece.
That sent me in another direction, and I'm more than happy with what I got, but hokee smokes did that turn a lightbulb on for me...
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Same old line, but new reason. Go used.
For what you are doing a 5 piece is not enough. Boring actually. Progressive? Metal? With a 5 piece? Sure it COULD be done, but why bother when you have money to spend? Any of the big names used will give you lots more bang for your bucks. Stay away from concert tom sets. Look at the kit in my avatar. 4 bass, 20 toms, 17 cymbals. Money in, about $2500.

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Something else to think about: How about just replacing the kick with a dw Collector's Series VLX kick? They could probably finish one to closely match the rest of your kit. Talk about OOOMPH! That would probably run you around $1200 or thereabouts.

Just an idea.

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Quote Originally Posted by rdrummer322 View Post
Same old line, but new reason. Go used.
For what you are doing a 5 piece is not enough. Boring actually. Progressive? Metal? With a 5 piece? Sure it COULD be done, but why bother when you have money to spend? Any of the big names used will give you lots more bang for your bucks. Stay away from concert tom sets. Look at the kit in my avatar. 4 bass, 20 toms, 17 cymbals. Money in, about $2500.
Don't want to waste 2 hours setting up just the drums. Going minimal and might even go just 1 mounted tom and 1 floor. Also like that minimalist look much better as well.

Quote Originally Posted by the DW View Post
Something else to think about: How about just replacing the kick with a dw Collector's Series VLX kick? They could probably finish one to closely match the rest of your kit. Talk about OOOMPH! That would probably run you around $1200 or thereabouts.

Just an idea.
IDK about dropping that much cash on just a bass drum...

I'm definitely buying used...I only buy new if I absolutely have to.

I like the sound of the Sonor Ascent toms but the kick doesn't have the sound I want in the vids. Checked out a few Yamaha Oak Custom demos and they sound great but are hard to find used and they're still very pricey used, same with the Tama bubingas. The Mapex Saturn drums look/sound promising though. All the vids I've seen of the Peavey Radial Pros have been so-so but I'm assuming it has a lot to do with the sound quality of the recording device rather than the drums themselves.

What's the primary difference between the Saturn line models?
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I own DW, i love them, sound amazing and record really well


i also played a gig about a month ago where i was in the opening act. The headliner let me play his kit, a TAMA B/B, it sounded fantastic,the kick was amazing.


Keep in mind, once you get to the pro level it really is personal preference. That being said one thing that you may or may not care about is resale value, american made drums hold their value better than anything else with very few exceptions.

Also note that Christmas time is when most people are spending money on others, and pro level kits are not a common gift, it is a great time to score a deal wink.gif

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