Buying Your First Drum Set

What Drum Equipment Should I Buy?

Buying drum equipment these days can be rather overwhelming, especially if you are making the investment for the first time. Much like buying a car, there are so many options to consider these days. Do you go with the leather, or pleather seats? Is the sports package worth it? Toyota or Honda? Drums can sometimes present similar questions as the drum industry does provide us with seemingly unlimited options. Although it is rather amazing to have so many options for drums these days, it can make picking out a drum set for the first time seem impossible. As a private drum teacher, part of my job is explaining the drum buying process to my students and their parents. Over the years, many of the same questions come up, such as: 

• “How many drums do I need?”

• “What brand of drums are the best?”

• “Should I buy a cymbal starter pack, or purchases cymbals individually?”

• “Should we get a used kit or new?”

• “What brands are worth considering?”

Although these questions can be somewhat challenging to answer as everyone has different music preferences, playing experience, and budget, my goal for writing this post is to not tell you exactly what to purchase, but to breakdown some common drum gear terminology so that you will be able to decide which piece of gear is best suited for you or your student’s needs.  

Drum Set Components

The drum set is comprised of three main components; drums, cymbals, and hardware. A standard drum set is typically comprised of 4 to 5 pieces, which in drum slang simply means 4 to 5 drums. For example, if you have a 3-piece drum set, you would have only 3 drums total.  If you have a 10-piece drum set, you would have 10 drums total. Make sense? Cymbals and hardware are not included in this number, as it is much easier to think of them both in separate categories. We will get to those momentarily. When purchasing a drum set, you almost always want to buy a set with a minimum of 4 or 5 pieces. This will give you all the sound sources you need to make a lot of music right away. You can always add or subtract drums later if you desire to do so. We will first begin discussing the category of drums before moving into cymbals and hardware. 

The first drum we will discuss is the bass drum. This dig drum sits horizontally on the floor, and is played with your foot by the use of a pedal. The next drum is the snare drum, which makes the a ‘crack’ or ‘snap’ type sound. These two instruments together create the foundation of any drum beat in most modern day music. Think the “boom-bap, boom-bap” beat you hear at the beginning of the notorious Michael Jackson song “Billie Jean.” After that, you bring in the tom-toms, or toms for short. For reference, think “Sing Sing Sing” by Gene Krupa, or the infamous drum solo on “In the Air Tonight” by Phil Collins. Toms will make up the next two or three pieces of the drum set. Lets now take a closer look at the specs of each drum component. 

Bass Drum

Bass drums come in a variety of sizes ranging from 16” in diameter, all the way up to 26” in diameter. The diameter of a drum will determine the pitch, volume, and timbre of your drum. Traditionally, the most common sizes of bass drums that you will encounter when browsing the internet or drum catalogs are 20” or 22”. You can’t go wrong with either size, however in my opinion, a 20” bass drums will be the most versatile, and the best bang for your buck. A 20” bass drum can be used in almost any genre of music. Whether you play rock, pop, punk, metal, or even jazz, a 20” bass drum will suffice. Additionally, with a smaller bass drum, you will have a much easier time transporting it, as well as building the rest of the drum set comfortably. Honestly, this bass drum size is ideal for any age, skill level, or musical preference.  

Snare Drum

Like the bass drum, snare drums also come in a variety of different sizes, as well as different drum shell materials. Snare drums typically are made out of either wood or metal, and range anywhere from 10” to 14” in diameter. If you are looking to buy your first drum set, a wood or metal snare drum with a 14” diameter, and either a 5 or 5.5” depth will be perfect. Most drum manufacturers make this part super easy for us, and will typically include a snare drum in either configuration with your set. I would strongly consider getting a drum set that comes already equipped with a snare drum, unless you are going for something very specific sonically. If you did want to look for a snare drum a la cart, there are a variety of affordable options out there such as the Yamaha Tour Custom, Yamaha Recording Custom, Ludwig Supraphonic, Ludwig Acrolite, Gretsch USA Chrome over Brass, and Tama S.L.P. line. 

Tom Toms

Once your bass drum size and snare drum are selected, it is time to move onto toms. Although you may have seen pictures of some famous drummers with gigantic drum sets, realistically you don’t need a million drums. If your drum set has 2 or 3 toms, you will be able to make any musical situation work just fine. Toms also come in a variety of different configurations. Generally, standard drum sets come generally in one of following tom configurations. “One-Up, One Down” or “Two Up, One Down.” In drum slang, this means your drum kit will either have one smaller tom and one larger tom, or one small, medium, and large tom. Honestly, you cant go wrong with either configuration. Traditionally, drum sets will come equipped with a 12” and 14”,  10” 12” 14”, or 10” 12” 16” tom set up. (All of these numbers are referring to the dimensions of the drums.) The most versatile tom configuration is either the 12” and 14” or 10” 12” 14” set up. You can pretty much will do anything you need wither either of those two set ups, which is why they are great places to start. Also note you can add on additional toms later if you eventually want to have a larger set up. When setting up your drum set, traditionally your smaller toms are placed above your bass drum. The smaller tom(s) are typically mounted off of the bass drum, whereas the larger tom, also known as the the floor tom, is generally set up off to the right of the bass drum (players point of view) on legs.

Drum Brands

As far as deciding which drum set manufacture is right for you, it is best to stick with any of the major drum brands for the best sound quality, stability, durability, and reliability. In my experience, you are far less likely to experience gear malfunction when you purchase a drum set produced by a major manufacture. This would include brands such as Yamaha, Gretsch, Tama, Pearl, DW, PDP, Mapex, or Ludwig. Each drum brand produces drums in a variety of different tiers, which ensures that you find an instrument that works within your price range. I would steer clear of off-brand drum sets if you can afford to do so, as many of those drums are made from very cheap materials. They will eventually fall apart, and you will have to start over. Many stores and online music gear retailers will allow you to finance a drum set at little to no interest, which makes purchasing a set much more tolerable. Some of my students have had great success with kits such as the Yamaha Stage Custom, Gretsch Catalina Club, Tama S.L.P. and DW Frequent Flyer.

As far as which brand to go with, again that will be very personal. I personally love Gretsch drums. Many of my favorite drummers throughout history have played or currently play Gretsch drums. These drums have a very specific sound that I find very pleasing for my personal drumming style. However, I also love Yamaha drums as they have amazing hardware, and they always sound fantastic. I would recommend that you listen to a variety of different drum brands to see if you have a specific preference in sound, however you can not go wrong with any of the major manufacturers listed above. 

Cymbals

Once you have your drum shells selected, its time to move onto cymbals. Cymbals are the shimmery metal pie plate-looking discs that hover above the drums set. Similarly to drums, cymbals also come in a variety of different shapes, sizes, and sounds. Cymbals can take you down a very deep rabbit whole as well, so best to stick to the essentials at first! Standard cymbal set ups will consists of a pair of hi hat cymbals, one or two crash cymbals, and a ride cymbal. Hi Hats (two cymbals stacked together, and are generally played with right hand and left foot) and the ride cymbal are generally used to accompany drum beats. Crashes cymbals  are used for dynamic effect and accents. Cymbals can be purchased individually, however if you are first starting out and do not have an extensive knowledge of cymbals, purchasing cymbals in a pre-configured pack is a great way to go. 

Generally with a cymbal pack, you will want to look for something that includes a pair of either 13” or 14” hi hats, a 16” or 18” crash cymbal, and a 20” ride. That will be the best bang for your buck, and get you or your student up and running. Pretty much all of the major cymbal manufactures out there such as Zildjian, Sabian, Meinl, and Paiste offer affordable cymbal packs in those configurations. A frequent question that often arrises when it comes to buying cymbals is “when should we upgrade cymbals?” Again, that is a very personal thing, however, a good rule of thumb is to play what ever cymbals you have until your ear develops a specific cymbal sound taste. We will dive into this concept at a later time, so for now, just consider getting a cymbal pack that you can afford. That will get you up and running immediately.

Hardware

Hopefully you now have a better understanding of what you should be looking for when shopping for a drum set. However, you wont be able to set up and play your drums until you have some good stands, or hardware. Drum hardware is used to set up both drums and cymbals alike, so it is important to get hardware that is both functional, yet sturdy in order to prevent your precious drums from falling over. Again, there a ton of options out there to choose from, but again it is generally easiest to purchase your stands in preconfigured hardware pack to make sure you are getting everything you need in one swoop.

In your set up, you will need a hi hat stand, two or three cymbal stands, a snare drum stand, and a bass drum pedal. As for cymbal stands, there are two designs you will encounter: straight and boom stands. Boom stands have an extendable arm at the top of the stand, which will allow you to get more reach when setting up your cymbals. Straight stands do the same thing, they just lack the extendable arm. Honestly, they make no difference at this stage of the game. As for the snare drum stand, they are essentially one-size-fits-all type of stands. You do not need anything fancy, just something to hold your snare drum in place. I personally love the Yamaha Single Braced snare stand. It is fairly light in weight, affordable, and extremely reliable. When it comes to hi hat stands, you really just need something that gets the job done and is easy to play. I have had great experience with the DW Drum Workshop 7000 and the Yamaha HS740. As for bass drum pedals, again you don’t need a million dollar pedal. Honestly, I prefer the feel of the more affordable pedals out there such as the Yamaha 7210, the DW 6000, and the Tama Classic Single Pedal. If you want to get a little more fancy, you could also check out the DW 5000, Tama Iron Cobra, or the Yamaha 8500.      

Additionally, you will need something called a tom tom mount in order to float all of your toms, and floor tom legs in order to stand your larger tom up. Almost every drum set will come with these two pieces included, as each brand of drums have their own system of mounting their drums. Most bass drums today are typically drilled for a tom mount, which means the tom mount will fit into the top of your bass drum. This will allow for the toms to be to conveniently placed without the need for additional brackets or attachments. If your bass drum is not drilled for a tom mount (what is known as a virgin bass drum in the drum industry) you will need tom arm attachments, like the DW L-Arm Clamp, in order to suspended the toms off your cymbal stands. Either option will be just fine, although having the bass drum outfitted with a tom mount is much more convenient. 

Lastly, you will need a drum throne so that you do not have to stand while playing. Most hardware packs unfortunately will not include a throne, so its best to look for one individually. There are lots of great options made my DW, Tama, Yamaha, Gibraltar. My favorite are made by a company called Pork Pie. Yamaha also has a bass drum pedal/throne bundle deal which is super helpful! Be sure to make a checklist when looking through hardware packs in order to avoid having to make additional purchases. I will link below to a few hardware packages that I recommend. 

New vs Used

Often students and parents alike ask whether its better to buy drum sets new or used. This is another really tough question because again, there are so many options available. Personally, I have primarily bought drums that are new. For me, I enjoy the idea of buying a brand new drum set because I get to be the first one to develop a bond with the instrument. However, just because it is new doesn’t make it better. I have had new drum sets which I have had to send back due to some manufacturer errors. My drum teacher once told me that sometimes going the used route is better because all of the components of the drums have settled in. As long as the drums you are buying have been well kept, taken care of and are not falling apart, the used drum market is a great way to go! It will also save you some money in the long run. Using sites like reverb.com or going to your local drum store with a good used selection is a great way to go if you are considering that route.      

 Conclusion

My hope is that you now have a much better understanding of all the components of a drum set, and what kinds of things you should be considering when shopping for one. There is a lot more than can be learned when it comes to drum gear, however the information here should provide you with at least the fundamentals needed in oder to make your first drum set purchase. All of the drum sets, snare drums, hardware packs, and cymbal packs that are linked above are all things I personally recommend. I tried to add things that were in a variety of price ranges so you can choose the right equipment for your budget. If you still have further questions, or want some recommendations regarding what gear you should by, please feel free to contact me. I am always happy to discuss drum gear!