How to Buy the Perfect Drum Set

Buying a drum set is like buying a car: there are a ton of options and features, everything from the high performance models built for beauty and speed to old clunkers that passed their prime a long time ago and need constant repair. Where do you even start? Should you buy new or used? From a store or on craigslist? How much do you really need to spend? There is no one-size-fits-all answer to those questions. But here are some things to think about as you consider how to buy the perfect drum set.

What is a Complete Drum Set?

A complete drum set should have:

• Bass drum and foot pedal
• Snare drum and stand
• Mounted Tom toms (1 or 2)
• Floor tom (with legs or mounted)
• Hihat and stand
• Ride cymbal and stand
• Crash cymbal and stand
• Drum throne
• At least 1 drum key (the seat)

When you look at pictures of drum sets online from websites like sweetwater.com or guitarcenter.com they will usually show you a picture of an entire drum set including all of the parts I listed above. But, when you read the description, you might see the words “cymbals and hardware not included” or possibly just “shell pack only.” A lot of time, nicer drums are sold by themselves; this is called a shell pack.

There is no company that makes every part of a drum set. Drums, cymbals, hardware, drum heads and sticks, each of these items are made by different companies, and are typically sold separately.

Sometimes drum companies will bundle their drums with cheaper cymbals and hardware so they can be advertised as a complete set. But be careful when buying a bundled deal with “everything included.” Usually the drums will be nice, but the cymbals will be very low quality.

Buying as a shell pack and only purchasing drums is a good way to get higher quality drums… and the same is often true for individually purchased cymbals and hardware as well. When you buy things individually, you get better quality.

All of that being said, beginners buying their first drum set are usually better-off buying a bundled package with drums/cymbals/hardware because they are cheaper, come with everything to get you started, and require much less decision-making. When purchasing a bundle, look for one that has quality drums, and plan to upgrade the cymbals, drum heads, sticks and possibly some pieces of hardware over the next few years.

Key Points:

• Buy a complete set if you’re a beginner; upgrade over time.
• Shell packs offer better quality but require more decisions.

Number of Pieces

You will see drum sets for sale listed in “pieces.” Pieces refers to how many drums you are purchasing, and does not include cymbals or hardware. Most common are 4-piece and 5-piece drum sets, but you may come across a 6 or 7-piece or more.

Different styles of music have different styles of drum sets. Jazz drummers tend to keep things small with what is sometimes called a cocktail or club set. These are usually only 4 pieces and the drums are smaller in size. Rock and metal drummers usually have a “the bigger the better” mentality, and will typically use larger drums and more drums.

Regardless of the style of music you like and want to play, starting out it is most common to purchase a 5-piece. Again, pieces only include the drums, this number does not include any cymbals or hardware. The first two pieces are always the bass drum and the snare drum. Any number above those first two drums are usually now many tom toms the drum set has. For example, a 5-piece has a bass drum, snare drum, and 3 tom toms.

Key Points:

• “Pieces” refer to drums only, not cymbals or hardware.
• 4-piece and 5-piece sets are most common.
• It’s common for beginners to start out with a 5-piece set including: bass drum, snare drum, and three toms.

Drum Shell Sizes

This is the fun part! Drums come in all sorts of shapes sizes and colors. When buying the drum set of your dreams, or just one to get you started, you should consider who is playing the drums and what situation the drums will be used. If the answer to who is “my child” and the situation is “in our basement”, then the thing that matters most is functionality and playability for your child’s size.

Rock/standard sized kits

Larger drum sizes, and are made for adult-size bodies and heavier rock and metal styles.

• bass drum – 22′′ x 14′′
• mountedtoms–12′′x8′′and13′′x9′′
• floortom–16′′x16′′
• snare–14′′x6′′

Jazz/fusion sized kits

Smaller drum sizes and better-suited for lighter playing styles, and smaller drummers. **This is the one I recommend starting with for kids around 8 years old!**

• bass drum – 20′′ x 14′′
• mounted toms – 10′′ x 8′′ and 12′′ x 10′′
• floortom–14′′x16′′
• snare – 14′′ x 5.5′′ Starting with a smaller kit is better for a young beginner because they are easier to set up and play for younger players 8 and over.

Junior sized kits

If your child is even younger than 8, or on the smaller side height-wise, then you may consider a junior kit such as the Ludwig Junior. In that kit specifically the drum sizes are:

• bass drum – 16′′ x 10′′
• mounted toms–8′′x5′′and10′′x5′′
• floor tom–13′′x10′′
• snare–12′′x4′′

I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the sound of these tiny drum sets, and as long as you get it from a reputable drum company like Ludwig, they will also be good quality. However, they are usually sold as a bundle with the cheapest, ugliest sounding cymbals. Be ready to upgrade cymbals soon.

Key Points

• Match drum size to player’s size and style.
• Rock kits are larger, jazz kits are smaller, junior kits are for children younger than 8.

Cymbals and Cymbal Packs

You’ve decided on how many pieces you want in your drum set, and either that set comes in a bundle with cheap cymbals that you want to upgrade, or you bought a shell pack that didn’t come with cymbals at all… so where do you start with cymbals?

A complete drum set should have at least one of the each of the following:

• Hi Hats (2 cymbals, 13” or 14”)
• Ride Cymbal (20” or 22”)
• Crash Cymbal (16”or 18”)

You can always add more cymbals, and there are other styles of cymbals and sound making pieces of all sorts that you can add to a drum set, but these three are a bare minimum for getting started.

Again, you have the option to buy each cymbal separately, or buy a cymbal pack that includes all of these cymbal types, and sometimes other styles of cymbals like a splash or Chinese cymbal. Cymbal packs are usually slightly lesser quality but do go up to about mid-grade quality cymbals, and will save you money when purchasing all of the cymbals at once. Buying individually, there are tons of options from a ride cymbal that costs around $100 like a Zildjian i series, or up to a $600+ Zildjian Constantinople ride and higher. You get what you pay for in sound and quality.

Key Points

• Essential cymbals: Hi-Hats, Ride, Crash.
• Consider buying individually for better quality.
• Cymbal packs offer convenience but often lower quality.

How much do you really need to spend?

Regardless of your personal budget, the sweet spot price range for beginner drum sets is usually the same: $600-$1000 if buying new and $450-$800 if buying used.

Any lower than $600 for new or $450 for used and you’re likely to get something that feels more like a toy than an actual musical instrument. Or it’s so old or such poor quality it will need constant repairs to keep it functional and sounding decent.

Recommended Beginner Kits

It is always best to stick with a reputable name brand when buying a drum set for a couple reasons. Mostly importantly: the quality of the shells and assembly hardware like tension rods and wing nuts, ease of finding parts and pieces when something does break, and resale value. Back to my buying a drum set is like buying a car analogy: Once you drive a new drum set off the lot, it immediately goes down in resale value. If you buy something that is cheap, it drops very quickly. If you buy something nicer, and are good about maintenance, then your resale value stays pretty good over many years of use.

Here are some sets that are worth checking out and comparing:

• Pearl Roadshow
• Pearl Export
• Ludwig Accent Series
• Yamaha Stage Custom
• Tama Imperialstar
• PDP Center Stage
• PCP Concept
• Mapex Armory

Stay away from:

• First Act
• Excel
• CB Percussion
• Groove Percussion
• Any company that only sells very low priced drum sets, and doesn’t make a profession quality set.
• Any company that also sells toys.
• Used drum sets that have cracked cymbals, stands/drums that are missing screws and tension rods. (Old drum heads can be changed, but cracked cymbals and hardware that has stripped screws can’t be fixed.)
• Buying a new drum set on Amazon.com. (When you buy from a music store or even a music website like Sweetwater.com, you get much better customer service, and help if something is wrong or damaged. They know their products, and they are usually musicians themselves and know what a student will need as they grow and develop as little musicians. Amazon is convenient, but you’re on your own once you make a purchase.)

Ask for Help

One final piece of advice, and this one is probably the most important of all: ask your drum teacher for advice/help finding the perfect kit! Sometimes they have leads on people selling kits, or deals in the area. At the very least, they can look at a used drum set and tell you if the price is fair. It’s worth the time to send your teacher a message before dropping hundreds of dollars on an instrument. The right instrument in the hands of a student can become a tool that helps them learn, gain confidence, and can push them to the next level of performance and mastery.