Buying used drums, any tips?

[ubooze]

I used to play percussion, but not full out drum sets. I had a drumset but sold due to a lack on interest. Now, I want to play again?

Whats a decent set to look at? My Olympics by Premier weren't anything fabulous. I want something that'll last and may hold a decent resale value. New drums are out of the question, I cannot afford anything with the prices that new drums run at.

Second term business, what are good new cymbals? I hope to play mostly rock, but some other stuff as well. I was extremely disappointed with the Zildjian ZBT set I had..... just didn't sound good. I hear Sabians are nice. Any input?

Third term of business, it all needs to go on a rack, Gibraltar or course. Should that be bought new or old. And does DW still sell some of the finest pedals out their, or does something else outperform them?

Thank you, and adios.

[gamarada717]

All righty. I'm a percussion freak and usually spend around 4 hours at least a day playing or reading up on info about it, so I can help ya.

First off, please don't limit yourself to used sets. I know it may be expensive, but see if there is a guitar center or other local music store nearby, and just look at some tamas or pearls. New drums are awfully fun

I would reccomend going with pearl drums, due to their solid construction, great sound, and a good reputation. Stay away from union and all of that other bad stuff, you want to make sure that it's a well known company. Tama, pacific, pearl, yamaha, premier, so on.

When looking at used drums, if you can inspect them yourself, it would be wonderful. Go and take a look at the shells. If it's a laquer finish, you must check very closely for chips and nicks on the finish, because it lowers the quality of the drum (and resale). If it is a wrap, scrapes and stuff like that will not effect the shell itself (unless it's hella deep). Also make sure that the shell is not warped in any way. You need to make sure that the hoops are not bent, because it's a pain to bend em back. Check the hardware on the snare drum to make sure there is no damage, check your mounting system (for the toms), and check the bass drum spurs.

Pedal wise, you have a lot of options. I curently have a DW 7000 single pedal, and I love it. DW makes very nice pedals but they are a tad overpriced. Pearl and Tama make nice pedals as well. Stick with a single pedal because double is too hard for a begginer.

Cymbal wise, it's all about what sound you like. You will want to try these out, and make sure that it's what you're looking for. A pack is a good way to start. I started with sabian b8 pros and still have them. Although the ride is not my taste, the hi hats and crash are very nice for the price. Look at zildjian zxt's, also. A friend of mine used paistes and loves them. Once again, it is all about what you like. Make sure that you don't get crappy pearl cymbals or something like that. Stay away from them, because they are too thin and can crack.

When you get your drums, most likely you will need to change heads. You've got remo, evans, aquarian, and attack to choose from. I recomend the remo ambassadors or evans genera 2's. Clear heads are more suited towards rock, while coated heads (the white ones) have a warmer sound, and bring out tone more. The bottem heads (or resonant heads) probably won't need changing. You will need stands for your snare, hi hat, and cymbals. Double braced stands will only be needed if you are mounting more than one thing on a stand, and even then they are not that much of an improvement.

About the rack. It's pointless. Unless you plan on buying TONS of drums and cymbals, there is really no point to it. A rack is probably one of the last things that you will ever buy for your set. Plus, without buying a rack, that's more money set aside for the drums!

Let me know if you have any questions, I'll be glad to answer. AIM is gamarada717. I'll see if I can take some pictures of my set, even though I'm loaning some stuff to friends.

[Muzikman]

Couldn't have said it better myself.