Members racoustic Posted June 9, 2014 Members Share Posted June 9, 2014 Hi folks,I am looking for a kit between $500-$1000 and am open to buying used. I currently don't own a kit but have played in the past and would consider myself beginner to semi-pro player. I am looking for a standard 5 piece kit with 3 or 4 cymbals. I started looking at Craigslist and a couple that caught my eye are a PDP FS Series kit and Pearl Session Custom. Inclusive of cymbals both these kits are coming at around $650 and $1150 respectively. Are these good prices. The Pearl kit being a 100% maple kit - is that typically a better choice? What other kits do you recommend? I am unsure of how long I will play the kit (with other priorities coming up in future) so not keen on investing a lot of money beyond 1K but hesitant to buy something really cheap (sound quality and/or build) that I may not be able resell if needed. Any reviews/experience with the Pearl Session Customs (which are discontinued now). Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cdawg Posted June 9, 2014 Members Share Posted June 9, 2014 post some craigs links, man. we'll check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FitchFY Posted June 10, 2014 Members Share Posted June 10, 2014 "Beginner to semi-pro" is quite a big stretch, man - which one is it? I'm guessing you're closer to beginner than semi-pro based on the questions. The Pearl Session Custom drums were REALLY nice -- my good friend still has his. The bass drum is just a delicious sound, and if you can catch one at that price, I'd strongly recommend looking into it. If it comes with hardware and decent cymbals, I'd absolutely be looking into it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cdawg Posted June 10, 2014 Members Share Posted June 10, 2014 that pearl kit will absolutely hold its value, so you could probably get your money back from it if you look to dump it in a couple of years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members race81 Posted June 11, 2014 Members Share Posted June 11, 2014 being you say you might not keep them long...resale would be a concern. the session series are good pieces. You can make almost any kit sound very good with decent heads. If you buy anything used, and pay too much and then try to resell a few years down the road, you probably wont get close to what you got in them back. You could buy a decent electronic kit for $1000, keep it a few years and then resell....might be easier to move. Used quality gear I fugure is worth 50% of retail if your lucky....good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members racoustic Posted June 23, 2014 Author Members Share Posted June 23, 2014 I am a proud owner of a Pearl Session Custom Series as of yesterday The beauty is a 2006 kit in excellent condition. The owner said the kit hasn't been used in 6 years (almost the life of the kit) and was stored as his son left town. The toms sound horrible (original Pearl Protone heads) so I ordered a set of Remo pinstripes and waiting for them to arrive. I am really hoping that makes the kit sound really nice! Otherwise I feel like I took a bit of risk. Configuration: 2006 (Green Burst) 100% maple shells Fusion toms 10, 12, 14 FT Bass 22x18 DW snare 22" Zildjian custom ping ride 18" Zildjian Custom Crash 18" K Custom Fast Crash DW5000 pedals DW 9000 Airlift Throne However, I must say, while checking out kits at a local store I fell in love with a Tama Silverstar Limited Edition. The toms sounded so deep and powerful/punchy that I almost bought it. My only issue was it was a shellpack for $600 and I was trying to stay around $1000 budget so left very little room for throne, cymbals, hardware etc. If I don't really like the maple sound of my pearl kit, I may even see if the GC store is willing to trade. I am so excited as this is truly the first kit I will own. I have always practiced where I took lessons and on borrowed/rented kits for years. Yay!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FitchFY Posted June 23, 2014 Members Share Posted June 23, 2014 Congrats on your new toys! That's a great drum set, and Pinstripes sound good on pretty much any drums. Really mess around with tuning, as well, and learn where the drums are most responsive. I have the fusion sizes on a Yamaha SC kit and those things sound nice and big and round despite their size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted June 23, 2014 Members Share Posted June 23, 2014 Use Photobucket. The editor is really simple. Just change the big dimension. paste the IMG code into your post, done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cdawg Posted June 23, 2014 Members Share Posted June 23, 2014 nice purchase. despite the other kit, i'd hang on to these if i were you. changing heads is the cheapest way to get different sounds.pinstripes have always been easy to tune, for me. they seem to really only have one sweet spot, imo. check out those online tuning sessions and you'll be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members racoustic Posted August 20, 2014 Author Members Share Posted August 20, 2014 Hi all, Just to update (and brag a bit lol), I am absolutely loving this kit. The cymbals are fantastic too (A Custom and K Zildjians) I messed around with the setup and replaced all heads with Remo (ambassador for the snare, pinstripes for the toms, and Power Stroke for the bass drum; and learned to tune them myself : courtesy - YouTube). I even bought an extra splash cymbal (got a cheap used Sabian B8 Pro for 25 bucks) and wallah! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cdawg Posted August 21, 2014 Members Share Posted August 21, 2014 good choices, man. a's and k's are t!ts. thanks for stoppin' back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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