More Information on Drum Kits, Drums and Cymbals

The most commonly asked question of a drum salesman is "What second-hand drum kits have you got?, I don't want to spend a lot, we don’t know if he’ll carry on with it". Believe me this accounts for most of my enquiries, certainly phone enquiries. Unless you strike incredibly lucky with a second hand kit you will almost certainly end up with a load of useless junk.

If you are looking for a beginners kit go for a new set up. You will get everything you need from £249. This will include the kit, cymbals and a stool. You should add to this, for reasons of sanity, a set of practice pads and drum lessons. Please do not skip the drum lessons. This is the one thing that will ensure continued interest. They should cost you approximately £23 an hour on a one to one basis, or have a look at our online drum lessons. If you can’t find a teacher phone your local Musician’s Union, they should be able to help.

What is a Drum Kit and what makes A Good One?

A drum kit is really a collection of different percussion instruments put into a handy, playing format, developed over the last 85 years. It would typically consist of bass drum, floor tom, hanging toms, snare drum, hihat cymbals, crash cymbal and a ride cymbal.

All these items would be supported and mounted with hardware. This would include cymbal stands, hihat stand, snare drum stand, tom mounts and a bass drum pedal. As this is supposed to be a brief introduction to drums I will summarise qualities to look for as follows.

• Most drums consist of a shell with 2 heads and 2 tuning rims. Look out for the spec on the shells. What is it made of? Is it a good quality timber laminate? What are the rims and tension boxes like, are they substantial? 
• The snare drum is the most important drum in the kit and potentially the most expensive. This can be made of wood, steel, bronze or brass and comes in varying depths though normally in a 14” diameter. All these materials give uniquely different sound qualities. Check out as many different specs as you can. This is the engine room of the kit and the band.

Make sure the Hardware is Substantial

Single-braced is a single piece of metal construction on the legs and double braced is two pieces together for added strength. I personally prefer light hardware but again have a good look round at what’s available. The bass drum pedal should feel light and positive. It’s worth spending a bit more on this item.

Buying A Drum Kit For the Smaller Person (5-8 years old)

The young drummer’s kit is a scaled down version of a full sized kit. It is difficult to generalise the physical size of an 8 year old so please email us if you have any doubt about the size required. Most young children are able to play the drums with sticks on full scale kits but are unable to reach the pedals and for this reason the kit is much lower down.

The kit consists of a bass drum operated by the bass drum pedal, a pair of foot operated hi hat cymbals, 2 tom toms mounted on the bass drum, a floor tom tom and cymbals. These can be a crash and a ride cymbal or a single crash ride. All beginners kits come complete with a stool and drum sticks.

Cymbals

We stock a large range of cymbals mainly from two makers, Zildjian and Stagg. Zildjian are considered to be the primary brand of cymbals producing a wide range of cymbals from the less expensive pressed type to the top end hand cast models. Cymbals play a vital role in the sound of your set up and choosing which to buy is not easy. Zildjian offer the two main types of cymbal which are sheet or pressed bronze and cast bronze. The pressed models from Zildjian are the ZBT,ZXT and ZHT ranges. These series of cymbals are available in every size from the 8" splash to the 20" ride.

With the range of sheet bronze cymbals available in box sets they are a great affordable way to get started. The box sets from Zildjian will usually come with the 14" hi-hats 16" crash and 20" ride. The pressed cymbal range starts with prices of around £40 for splashes £80 for crashes and £220 for box sets. The cast range from Zildjian is the top end pro range with various series offering players every sound style for jazz through to blues rock and metal.

The range of series are A, A Custom, K, K Custom, Z3, Armand and FX. Each series offers every size and thickness making easy to get the exact sound and volume you require. The cast range prices start around £100 for splashes £200 for crashes and £750 for box sets. The cast series cymbals are created using the same formulas that Zildjian have used since the 1600s. The process is complicated and very time consuming hence the big price difference between the two types.

Stagg cymbals make an excellent alternative to Zildjian as they offer a vast range of cast cymbals at a very affordable price. The range from Stagg includes the Myra, SH, DH, Furia and black metal.The most popular range we sell is the SH or single hammered. This range is vast and covers all sizes from 6" to extra large 22" rides. The SH range can cover every price with splashes around £29 and crashes around £59. The DH or double hammered offer a slightly more modern sound with a cymbal to match all musical types. If heavy rock or metal is your thing then the Myra series is the cymbal to choose. These great cast cymbals offer thicker crashes that are loud and aggressive and are ideal when you need to cut through a wall of noise.

The black metal series covers the fx side of things with bells, chinas etc. With prices for bells starting around £30 they are a great addition to your kit without breaking the bank. The overall quality of Stagg cymbals are great and I would recommend a trip to the store to try them out. These cymbals need to played to appreciate just what an amazing sound you can get for money.