Drumquest2
Senior Member
Which kits are considered mid level, which are considered high level? Not only in terms of price but, as important, in terms of sound.
Players' opinions, please.
Players' opinions, please.
Last edited:
Which kits are considered mid level, which are considered high level? Not only in terms of price but, as important, in terms of sound.
Players' opinions, please.
When the band starts up, the sonic difference, from the audiences POV, between well tuned mid level kits and well tuned high end kits is hardly noticeable.
I would put the Starclassic Birch (aka. Performer) below the maples. Not to say Maple is better than Birch, but Tama did some minor things to make the kit a bit cheaper to build. 8 lug bass drums on Birch vs. 10 lug on the Maple. Virgin bass on the Maple and tom mount on the bass for Birch. Metal badges on the Birch vs decal under lacquer on the Maple. Its little things like this that differentiate them. So The Starclassic Birch in the intro kit to the Starclassic line. Its above the Rockstar, Swingstar and Imperialstar lines, so I would put it in the middle of Tama's overall line of drums.
I would put the Starclassic Birch (aka. Performer) below the maples. Not to say Maple is better than Birch, but Tama did some minor things to make the kit a bit cheaper to build. 8 lug bass drums on Birch vs. 10 lug on the Maple. Virgin bass on the Maple and tom mount on the bass for Birch. Metal badges on the Birch vs decal under lacquer on the Maple. Its little things like this that differentiate them. So The Starclassic Birch in the intro kit to the Starclassic line. Its above the Rockstar, Swingstar and Imperialstar lines, so I would put it in the middle of Tama's overall line of drums.
At a certain price point,most mass produced drums,made by a major manufacturer,are very similar in sound and build quality.Goos bearing edges,tuning and heads make most of the difference.You can get a 60's MIJ cheapo impost kit to sound great in a studio,or live .The player also matters to a large degree.There's a a couple of vids on youtube,that clearly illustrate this.
One has Benny Greb,playing a Sponge Bob Square Pants toy drum set,and sounding great.Another is of Mike Johnston playing a cheapo import kit at a Sam Ash store,and not only does it sound good,but he was loving it.
The main differences are in better build quality,materials,QC,finish,and hardware quality like mounts,lugs rims ect.Better kits also come with top of the line heads,cheaper ones with cheaper heads,and that cost can mount up,when selling hundreds of drum sets.
Steve B
tamadrm;1284271 At a certain price point said:Very well put! I'd add 'that most all mid range kits sound well' For high end, it can also then be stated that it hinges on where it is made, if they are hand made, and the manufacturing process/quality at that point. There is a reason there are $1500 and $5500 4 piece shell kits. ;-)
There's actually a number of DW guys using the PDP Concept kit as well.I'll add that just about every Mapex endorser plays Saturns and DW has endorsers playing the Performance series.... so I would consider them high end pro level kits. I would also put the Renowns in that category because of the quality you are getting.
That's definitely USA pricing - you lucky b&^%$*&^s!! & way under most other "rock" instrument pricing. For sure, a million miles under acoustic instrument pricing.I look at it like this. In terms of pricing categories we have
Entry Level $100-$500
Mid level $400-$1000
High end $1000 and up.
This corresponds to the other common rock instrument's pricing.
I look at it like this. In terms of pricing categories we have
Entry Level $100-$500
Mid level $400-$1000
High end $1000 and up.
The OP wasnt asking what a "pro" kit is, but what are mid level and high level kits. Low level kits are usually in the sub $1000 price range ( assuming a standard 5 piece kit). Mid level kits are in the $1000-3000 range and high level kits are $3000 and up.