Members nymike Posted June 5, 2005 Members Posted June 5, 2005 Hey gang, its been 15 years since I last played drums and have the opportunity to get a low cost set to record. The music I do these days is like Trip Hop/Acid Jazz/Downtempo electronic...err stuff. I would be recording with 2-3 mics for a lo-fi roomy sound.I am not too concerned with brand name, I just want to get a reasonably well built kit for what little I have to spend...like $500. I began finding such sets (complete with cymbals) but read mostly unfavorable reviews about them in terms of quality. I found a place (elevation-music.com) that sells sets from Taye and Argent. They make some bold claims about the quality of the sets so I fired off an emai with a few quaestions. My question to the drum community here is:1. Anyone have good experiences with these brands at all? 2. Anyone reccomend a set up for $500 that has exceeded expectations? 3. Slight OT, What are the sonic differences between a 20", 22" and 24" bass drum? TIA!
Members Old Steve Posted June 6, 2005 Members Posted June 6, 2005 I've heard good things about Taye and I've never heard of Argent. Good heads and good tuning can make a so-so kit sound pretty good, and I've heard that Taye is better than so-so...so they should work fine. The problem is that drum tuning is a skill that takes time and skill to learn. If you're not a drummer, find one to help you. To me, the biggest obstacle you'll encounter is with cymbals. Cheap cymbals generally don't sound good, and there's not much you can do to "tune" them to make them sound better. As for kick drum sizes, 20" kicks are generally "punchier" than bigger heads, but don't have as much low end. 24" kicks have more depth and low end, but are more difficult to control because they have more overtones. 22" kicks are very popular because they are a good comprimise between the two extremes.
Members rumblebelly Posted June 6, 2005 Members Posted June 6, 2005 Yeah, $500 bucks won't get you far for even used gear. You can get a good shells and hardware for $500 but cymbals...sheesh, you'll wanna spend an additional $200-400 bucks for just hats and and a ride. The type of music you wanna play will probably require decent cymbals. Try shopping around in pawn shops, classifieds.... Maybe you'll get lucky and find a junky that needs cash fast.
Members drummin_dude Posted June 7, 2005 Members Posted June 7, 2005 I use a Taye RockPro kit....sounds great and customer service is second to none. I would highly recomend a Taye kit....never heard of Argent either??
Members drummin_dude Posted June 7, 2005 Members Posted June 7, 2005 Oh yeah....I got the 5 piece RockPro and all hardware (snare, pedal, hi-hat stand, 2 cymbal stands) for $500 canadian.
Members seahawk Posted June 8, 2005 Members Posted June 8, 2005 thr taye's are good drums the Argents?. Hmm don't really know enough to comment..good or bad......just make certain your tuned properly and that you have decent batter AND reso heads on all your drums.If your miking?. make sure your mics are placed right and that they are are of good quality and lastly,have decent hardware and most of all have quality cymbals!!!!..they DO make a difference.
Members Locky Posted March 11, 2006 Members Posted March 11, 2006 yea i work in the drum department of a huge music store.and taye is definitly a killer drum kit.lo quality and hi.
Members Drummer Mike Posted March 12, 2006 Members Posted March 12, 2006 I would also recommend finding a used Tama Rockstar for about $300. That may include stands -- you never know. Take your other $200 and start buying used, high quality cymbals. You may only be able to afford hihats and a crash or ride at first. Add on as you have more money. Don't buy cheap cymbals unless you get them used at a very low price. You won't like them for very long.
Members essential noize Posted March 17, 2006 Members Posted March 17, 2006 Originally posted by Locky yea i work in the drum department of a huge music store.and taye is definitly a killer drum kit.lo quality and hi. so you work in the drum department ina store huh? got a question just for you!!! what do you think about the GRETSCH blackhawk SX set? just wondering. kinda would like to know how good my set is if i should upgrade or something. i probly won't upgrade to something expensive probly get another gretsch blackhawk, custom with cymbals and heads and drum sizes, and then connect that to my old set for 4 toms 2 basses 5 cymbals or so 2 hi hats and stuff. thanks l8tr
Members Locky Posted March 17, 2006 Members Posted March 17, 2006 Originally posted by essential noize so you work in the drum department ina store huh?got a question just for you!!!what do you think about the GRETSCH blackhawk SX set?just wondering.kinda would like to know how good my set is if i should upgrade or something. i probly won't upgrade to something expensive probly get another gretsch blackhawk, custom with cymbals and heads and drum sizes, and then connect that to my old set for 4 toms 2 basses 5 cymbals or so 2 hi hats and stuff. thanks l8tr we actually don't distribute gretsch drums. but from what i've heard and expeirenced they are decent drums for the money. i wouldn't pic it over my maple kit but if i was on a budget then i'd consider them. but i'd also look into taye.
Members Chunkaway Posted March 18, 2006 Members Posted March 18, 2006 3. Slight OT, What are the sonic differences between a 20", 22" and 24" bass drum? TIA! Generally speaking, the smaller the kick, the punchier the sound with some low end frequencies. The bigger the kick the boomier the sound with slightly more low end frequencies. You get the point with the 24 and so on. (A variety of factors can affect the sonic characteristics of the drum though. Depth, wood, heads, etc..) I have found that as you get into bigger sized kicks, you generally get less articulation and more tone, if that makes any sense.
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