Members jaxn slim Posted March 30, 2009 Members Share Posted March 30, 2009 I scored a cheap kit a few months back on craigslist for dirt cheap. It's a CB 5-piece, and the heads are nearly shot. It came with some low-end Zildjians, so I jumped on it. I'm really just a guitarist and wanted to have a house kit for my drummer friends to jam on when they are over. But I am starting to learn to play myself and plan on using the kit to record in the future. Could new heads bring new life to a cheap set? Is it even worth it? If so, what do you recommend? Or would it be better to just sell it and get a better set? Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JBrig Posted March 30, 2009 Members Share Posted March 30, 2009 Always worth it. You will get 100 suggestions of what heads to use. I personally like Evans EC2's clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members xtranoise Posted March 30, 2009 Members Share Posted March 30, 2009 Until recently I was playing a cheapo set we had bought for my son at a garage sale. I put Evans EC2 clear on the batter side and G1 Clear on the bottom and it made a world of difference in the sound. Putting an EMAD2 on the kick also was a vast improvement. They will still be cheap drums, but better sounding ones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members drumtechdad Posted March 30, 2009 Members Share Posted March 30, 2009 I scored a cheap kit a few months back on craigslist for dirt cheap. It's a CB 5-piece, and the heads are nearly shot. It came with some low-end Zildjians, so I jumped on it. I'm really just a guitarist and wanted to have a house kit for my drummer friends to jam on when they are over. But I am starting to learn to play myself and plan on using the kit to record in the future. Could new heads bring new life to a cheap set? Is it even worth it? If so, what do you recommend? Or would it be better to just sell it and get a better set? Thanks in advance. It's axiomatic that good heads and good tuning can make even a crappy kit sound decent, so: yes. Whether it's worth it is your judgment call. It's going to run you around $150 and up to get a full set of heads for a five piece. Do not skimp on reso heads. Replace those, too. But--it's worth noting that most kits come with crappy heads, at least until you start spending serious money. So even if you got a better kit--either used or new--the chances are pretty good you'd have to shell out for new heads for it anyway. So, bottom line: you've got drums, now go get some heads. With a kit like that and your purposes I'd be looking at pinstripes or Evans EC2s for the tom batters, clear Ambassadors or Evans G1s for the tom resos, a coated Ambassador for the snare batter, a hazy snare-side Ambassador for the snare, and a couple of PS3s perhaps for the bass drum. With prepacks you can get away for around $150 and the kit will sound pretty good, assuming you learn to tune. There are a lot of head options available, and you're about to hear them all recommended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Walt Disney Posted March 30, 2009 Members Share Posted March 30, 2009 Is it worth it to put new strings on a cheap old guitar? Yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members D Carroll Posted March 30, 2009 Members Share Posted March 30, 2009 Yes. Look into Attack heads if you don't want to spend a fortune. I used to have a cb set, and I rocked attack 2-pl thin coated on top, one ply thin clear on bottom, with a remo powersonic kick head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jaxn slim Posted March 30, 2009 Author Members Share Posted March 30, 2009 Is it worth it to put new strings on a cheap old guitar? Yes. I wasn't sure if the same logic applied. My gut said yes, but I'm a drum n00b. So I thought I'd check. Thanks for the tips guys. I'll definitely do some reading on tuning and look into some options for heads. Please keep the input coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members D Carroll Posted March 30, 2009 Members Share Posted March 30, 2009 {censored}, your in Nashville, go to Forks. I think I know what set you got too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members captainobvious Posted March 30, 2009 Members Share Posted March 30, 2009 Noone asked, and since I'm a noob just tell me to stfu if I'm off here but...Shouldn't he make sure the bearing edges are good before even bothering to spend the dough on nice new heads? If they are screwed, its gonna sound like ass no matter what you put on there, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members D Carroll Posted March 30, 2009 Members Share Posted March 30, 2009 Noone asked, and since I'm a noob just tell me to stfu if I'm off here but...Shouldn't he make sure the bearing edges are good before even bothering to spend the dough on nice new heads? If they are screwed, its gonna sound like ass no matter what you put on there, right? Most of the time, you can fix a berring edge easy enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jaxn slim Posted March 30, 2009 Author Members Share Posted March 30, 2009 Noone asked, and since I'm a noob just tell me to stfu if I'm off here but...Shouldn't he make sure the bearing edges are good before even bothering to spend the dough on nice new heads? If they are screwed, its gonna sound like ass no matter what you put on there, right? Bearing edges? New term to me. Hmmm... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members D Carroll Posted March 30, 2009 Members Share Posted March 30, 2009 Bearing edges? New term to me. Hmmm... The edges of the drum. Te spot the drum sits on. The thing to do would be to de-head the kit, place the drums on a flat surface, and see if it sits right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jaxn slim Posted March 30, 2009 Author Members Share Posted March 30, 2009 The edges of the drum. Te spot the drum sits on. The thing to do would be to de-head the kit, place the drums on a flat surface, and see if it sits right. Ok. Will do. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ulank Posted March 30, 2009 Members Share Posted March 30, 2009 If you haven't tuned a kit before though, don't get frustrated if they don't sound great right away. New heads will definitly sound better, but you can still tune new heads to sound like {censored}! Trust me! Look for the drum tuning bible on line and go into it with patience....you will need it! And, if you're willing to pay for it, some drum shops will rehead and tune up your kit for you. While you will still have to maintain the tuning over time, at the very least, this will get you in a good spot to start so you can enjoy your new toy to the max! Have fun, congrats, good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BeakerArk Posted March 30, 2009 Members Share Posted March 30, 2009 If you haven't tuned a kit before though, don't get frustrated if they don't sound great right away. . . . Look for the drum tuning bible on line and go into it with patience....you will need it! +1. . .i recommend the tunin' bible for anyone, even those w/ years of experience. Never hurts to have a refresher course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members manoeuver Posted March 30, 2009 Members Share Posted March 30, 2009 the gatzen videos are a better place to start than the tuning bible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zildjian@consol Posted March 30, 2009 Members Share Posted March 30, 2009 Always worth it. You will get 100 suggestions of what heads to use. I personally like Evans EC2's clear. + 100% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Walt Disney Posted March 30, 2009 Members Share Posted March 30, 2009 And lets not forget Wikipedia's Drum Tuning wiki. It's laid out in such basic form that it makes you want to experiment with the simple laws of drum tuning until you have a good grip on it. The drum tuning bible can be daunting and discouraging at first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members drumtechdad Posted March 30, 2009 Members Share Posted March 30, 2009 the gatzen videos are a better place to start than the tuning bible. Now yer talkin'. These aren't the last word and there are things experienced drummers will disagree with, but for n00bs these are ideal. So what if Gatzen's a weirdo? Tuning toms Tuning snares Tuning bass drums Why reso heads matter Snare buzz and how to reduce it, and Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sharnrock Posted March 30, 2009 Members Share Posted March 30, 2009 Cheaper kits usually end up sounding more boingy. Sort of like smacking 2 of those office water jug things together. To get rid of some of that sound thicker head will help (on the batter side). I'd go for a 2 ply head with even some built in muffling. Then the better the tuning the less boing you're going to get also. As far as tuning goes. It's most important to get the head in tune with itself. As long as the head is intune with itself, it's going to sound good. If the reso and batter are tuned different, it'll still sound good, but 1 way or the other might sound better to you. After watching about 20 videos on tuning drums, I've come to the conclusion there really is no right way to tune a drum. Well, other than tightning the lugs in a star pattern and getting the head as even as possible. But other than that there is no right/wrong way to do it. New heads on drums makes a much, much, bigger deal than new strings on a guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cale76 Posted March 31, 2009 Members Share Posted March 31, 2009 Good heads and good tuning can make a cheap set sound exponentially better, you won't regret putting on new heads, and its much cheaper than buying a new kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stark Posted March 31, 2009 Members Share Posted March 31, 2009 I have a piece of {censored} bass drum that used to sound like a trash can; I put on a EMAD2 (with the muffling ring) and a EQ3 before my show on friday, tuned it to the best of my ability, and got SEVERAL compliments on how good it sounded. Heads matter WAAAAAY more than drums, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members twosticks Posted March 31, 2009 Members Share Posted March 31, 2009 It's axiomatic that good heads and good tuning can make even a crappy kit sound decent, so: yes. Whether it's worth it is your judgment call. It's going to run you around $150 and up to get a full set of heads for a five piece. Do not skimp on reso heads. Replace those, too. But--it's worth noting that most kits come with crappy heads, at least until you start spending serious money. So even if you got a better kit--either used or new--the chances are pretty good you'd have to shell out for new heads for it anyway. So, bottom line: you've got drums, now go get some heads. With a kit like that and your purposes I'd be looking at pinstripes or Evans EC2s for the tom batters, clear Ambassadors or Evans G1s for the tom resos, a coated Ambassador for the snare batter, a hazy snare-side Ambassador for the snare, and a couple of PS3s perhaps for the bass drum. With prepacks you can get away for around $150 and the kit will sound pretty good, assuming you learn to tune. There are a lot of head options available, and you're about to hear them all recommended. Very Sage advice! I had a Maxwin by Pearl set. Same as a CB kit. I only replaced the top (batter) heads. Made a world of difference and yes did breathe new life into an old cheap set. We even used them making a few demos in the day. Actually with the Pinstripe heads and less overtones and rings a cheap set has, made it more controlled for recording. Nice for demos and such and might make a nice gig kit. (using it in trashy bars where crap gets spilled on it.) Now if you have a pro grade studio and mics, the cheap set with new heads will have it's limits. But for a good practice set and maybe a few demos, new heads will make it very nice for the price! Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wiresix Posted March 31, 2009 Members Share Posted March 31, 2009 I just watched the Bob Gatzen "tuning tips" videos. I must say that they are done very well. a lot of the things he went over took me years to figure out. I also learned a few things, and I've been playing for a while now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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