shopping for drums.advice?

[sunkjob]

sup guys

im thinking of buying a kit.this my 1st time.
is there anyway i can customise it eg. handpick each and every drum and cymbal and see how they fit with each other,and have a custom setting? cos this is what i really hope to do.
are there any outlets in s'pore which cater to this sort of thing?

or as a 1st time buyer, should i juz get one of those pre-set beginner kits that they have on display,which i dont really like cos its too generic.

brands dont really matter to me, as long as they have quality and sound good.
budget is under 800bucks

 

[xtanha1rrmx]

Hi,
I'm pretty new to drums (less than 1 month), but I've done a lot of research myself so here goes.

1. Customization - drums almost always come together, at most maybe switch the color of the whole set (but definitely not picking each part separately. Cymbals can be bought individually, although you might save some money if you buy a whole pack of same series.

2. Check out Swee Lee and other shops, especially in Bras Basah complex.

3. Brand names really do provide better quality stuff, don't go with 'nameless' druims. With 800 bucks, you're probably looking at entry-level kits. I suggest second hand, new drums can already exceed 800 (without cymbals).

4. Check around on the buy/sell section, I've recently seen low-end Pearl/Tamas for around $400, cymbals range widely, you could buy 3 for maybe $200, but expect to pay much more for better ones.

5. Sound - a large part of sound comes from drum heads and tuning. Sound is preference too, what others like/recommend may not be what you like. Generally, more expensive ones do sound better though.

6. Personal experience - I recently bought a Ludwig Accent Combo (entry-level kit) for about $6xx, spent another $6xx on Sabian AA hi-hats and ride, and Vault crash (good cymbals). It will help if you can stretch your budget, 800 to 1000/1200 will allow you to get better cymbals.

 

[bluelime]

Customing can be a hassle. Have to match colors and stuff.
Brands worth taking a look are. Tama, Pearl, Ludwig, Mapex, DW,Yamaha. hahas i dun really remember much.
Please add on if anyone feels like it.
I have a tama stagestar to let off *hint*

 

[xtanha1rrmx]

Yup those are the main brands, although for entry level sets you will probably be looking at Tama Swing/Stage/Rock (old), Imperial/Superstars (new), Pearl RTs/Forums/Exports, Ludwig Accent, Mapex Q/QR/M, Yamaha Stage Custom etc. They are most $800 to close to $2000 new though...
Also, I have a set of Sabian solar cymbals (cheap) to let off *hint*

 

[Magnimas]

and not to forget the gretsch blackhawk too, which is also in the under-$1000 range i think?..

 

[johannlow]

Customized drums IMO for $800 is almost impossible. As said, $800 at most can get u a very basic entry kit excluding cymbals (as a whole set, not handpicked toms/snare/). How good it will sound, depends very much on the tuning. I have heard basic kits which sound very good. I have seen quite decent deals in the classified sections, u might just wanna check out there every now and then if u are not in a hurry.

My idea of customized drums is where u can customize every tom, kick drum, snare to ur likings in terms of dimensions. finishing etc. For brands like DW, Ayotte, Brady, their snare alone can buy a whole drum set. For e.g., a Ayotte Customized snare costs $2000+++, a customized DW kit will easily costs over $10k and much more, a Brady snare costs ard $2k.

Good cymbals dun come cheap too, with $800 u can hardly get 2 Zildjians K Customs cymbals. Unless u are looking other brands like Istanbul Mehmet or Bosphorous which btw are good cymbals too IMO.

HTH.

 

[retardedrummer]

yea totally agree with johan. $800 can get u a BRAND NEW sabian crash and a splash. haha. not customise man.....
Customise will be around 5k-10k.
Get a secondhand drumset.
It usually comes with remo/evans skins. tune it properly it will be fine.
Then work on the cymbals to get the sound u want...

 

[bluelime]

Wah retardedrummer long time no see!

 

[Dark Heart]

Fellow softies are right, stick with it first and then work hard for better equipment.

 

[johannlow]

I believe many of us here build our 'ideal' drumset over a period of time, unless those who are loaded and can one shot buy everything they wanted (provided they KNOW what they want) for my case, I started out with a second hand Mapex QR series, with Istanbul Mehmet Samatya series cymbals around last year April-June, it was just this year that I happened to get a mid 90s Yamaha (Made in Japan) Stage Customs and before this I was slowly upgrading my cymbals as well. Then I began to add a platform for my drums as well as Clearsonic Sorber panels to dampen my room.

Anyway, my point is, if there is a constraint in ur budget, start with what u can afford, a basic kit or u can look out for 2nd hand drumsets (which is very worth the money, of cos depending on the price and condition). I recommend u to look for Nigel Gan of Drumsresources, I got my drumkits, Clearsonic Sorber panels and Istanbul Mehmet cymbals from him, excellent service and he will help u in every way he can. If I am not wrong, he does have a few 2nd hand drumsets at his shop now.

 

[retardedrummer]

take advice from johanlow. hahaha. he basically sums it up. well done bro

Bluelime:hahaha! i know right.. i dont post much now adays

 

[sunkjob]

wow i dint expect to get this much of a response. thx lots guys!
@johan : wheres drumresources?