How do people get such big kits?

I've been told I can play drums really well by quite a few people, despite the fact I've only been playing for about half a year. I'm only looking for an upgrade as the songs I try to learn have parts I can't do with my drums, I'm mainly just looking for a China and/or extra ride and 1 tom. Then that would have me sorted for a long while.

Honestly, I dont think you're grasping all of this.

A China or another voice, is the last thing you need. Even if you can't afford heads, which you need mostly, just play! You obviously have access to the internet, use that to your advantage and just learn!

And people telling you that you're good, doesn't mean much, wait for an experienced drummer to compliment you; that'll mean something.
 
Honestly, I dont think you're grasping all of this.

A China or another voice, is the last thing you need. Even if you can't afford heads, which you need mostly, just play! You obviously have access to the internet, use that to your advantage and just learn!

And people telling you that you're good, doesn't mean much, wait for an experienced drummer to compliment you; that'll mean something.

I do use the internet to learn, I'm just saying that most of the songs I cover or try to cover will have that extra ride that's flat and gives a quickish hi-hat type sound, I don't know how to explain it.
 
When I was 15 I used to cut lawns for drum money while my friends were cutting lawns for dope money!
There is always a way to get gear.
 
When I was 15 I used to cut lawns for drum money while my friends were cutting lawns for dope money!
There is always a way to get gear.

Most the people in my family can't get jobs where we live, my sister's only just got a job, my mum is looking for one, one of my brothers has been looking for about a year, it's incredibly difficult to get a job where I live.
 
just play!

Hear, hear!!

Best free advice you're ever gonna get young man. Until you can figure out a way to pay for your upgrades, what you have is all you've got and you're better served dropping the excuses, knuckling down and improving your skills. You can't build your kit at present, but you can build your playing foundation that will last you a lifetime.

At 15, you have years to build your monster kit.


And people telling you that you're good, doesn't mean much, wait for an experienced drummer to compliment you; that'll mean something.

True that. Perspective is everything. My 4 year old tells me I'm the best drummer in the world. However my mother, due to being married to my old man for all these years, only thinks I'm the second best. ;-)
 
Here I am playing my first kit and lovin it. (black and white pic)
The other pics are of my Pearl Rhythm Traveler and My Tama Stagestar.
I still play and love these kits.
I take pride in the fact that I can make any drum or cymbal sound good.
That is what a drummer does. He makes rhythm!
 

Attachments

  • 18939_102854483076531_100000559383408_77093_3864789_n.jpg
    18939_102854483076531_100000559383408_77093_3864789_n.jpg
    21.2 KB · Views: 263
  • 0509001333a.jpg
    0509001333a.jpg
    55.5 KB · Views: 266
  • IMG_2407.jpg
    IMG_2407.jpg
    73.6 KB · Views: 263
Last edited:
True that. Perspective is everything. My 4 year old tells me I'm the best drummer in the world. However my mother, due to being married to my old man for all these years, only thinks I'm the second best. ;-)

I'll be quite happy to be only the second best drummer in the world, if such a position would actually exist. ;-))
 
Buddy Rich was once asked why he didn't play larger kits.
His answer was, "I haven't yet learned how to play the one that I have"
 
I play a four piece with ride, 1 crash, splash and hihats. I still feel like I don't have enough money to upgrade.
 
I really don't know how people can afford all these kits, I haven't upgraded my kit at all since I got it, except from some new pedals I got for my birthday, I just can't afford it, I'm 15 and really want to upgrade my kit with mainly new cymbals, buy they're so expensive. I can't get the money together and I don't know any ways to get cymbals and stands any cheaper, if anyone knows of a way to get cymbals cheaper or something I could do at age 15, excluding a job, I live too far away from anywhere I can go, all the pubs near me only take 16+

Stop whinin' ;)

Really, at your age, be glad with what you have, and learn how to play what you have. That's what I did when I was your age (actually, I was already gigging at your age, but that's another story). You're not going to get gigs to help pay for more gear if you can't play, so face up to it and learn how to play better. Remember Jacob Armen, Tony Royster Jr., and even Buddy rich? They were all child performers and for their age, they could really play. If you can compare to those guys at that age, then you should have nothing to worry about. Until then, get your talent together and play as much as you can. It's not about the gear. It's about what you can do with the gear you have. Alot of my early gigs involved a bass/snare/cymbal and a hi-hat. Consequently, some of Elvis Presley's biggest hits were played on a suitcase or something decidedly non-drums. So try not to be so down about not having stuff. It's about being a musician and making what you have work for you.

In a way, you're probably lucky that your parents aren't just supplying you with what you need. My parents didn't just get me whatever I wanted - I had to work for it in talent or in sacrificing something else before they'd help me get another cymbal or a new snare drum.
 
Everyone has to work for the things that they really want. I was much younger than you when I worked at my father's corner grocery store and made whopping $1.00 USD for every three hours I worked. I saved and bought this kit, less these cymbals, when I was 14 years old. First kit I ever owned and I still have it forty five years later. If you're in the right climate belt, there's also shoveling snow, trust me it's good exercise.

DSC_0216-1-2.jpg


Dennis
 
Everyone has to work for the things that they really want. I was much younger than you when I worked at my father's corner grocery store and made whopping $1.00 USD for every three hours I worked. I saved and bought this kit, less these cymbals, when I was 14 years old. First kit I ever owned and I still have it forty five years later. If you're in the right climate belt, there's also shoveling snow, trust me it's good exercise.

DSC_0216-1-2.jpg


Dennis
That is really cool to have your very first kit, that you even bought yourself. Very cool!
 
I played the same crappy entry level kit from the time I was 12 to 27, buying only heads, sticks and a crash cymbal here or there only when I broke one and absolutely needed a replacement. And even then I replaced it with the cheap stuff. My hardware was rusted and worn and the drums were beat up from being thrown around for 15 years.

It wasn't until my late twenties when I really decided to manage money well enough to actually save for a new kit, hardware and cymbals.

That said, playing really is the more important thing. And if there is a piece of gear that you just have to have, try mowing lawns. That's what I did until I was old enough to get a part time job. Also, If you manage to get a job while living with your parents, that's all gravy money. You can spend it all on gear if you want.
 
Last edited:
Awesome tom arms sticks. Nothing else to contribute other than play what you have until you can get more. Even though you don't need more. Learn to play the songs you like on your kit. Then, when you do eventually get more gear, you will be able to play on any backline kit around. Good luck.
 
I really don't know how people can afford all these kits, I haven't upgraded my kit at all since I got it, except from some new pedals I got for my birthday, I just can't afford it, I'm 15 and really want to upgrade my kit with mainly new cymbals, buy they're so expensive. I can't get the money together and I don't know any ways to get cymbals and stands any cheaper, if anyone knows of a way to get cymbals cheaper or something I could do at age 15, excluding a job, I live too far away from anywhere I can go, all the pubs near me only take 16+

finding a job when you're underage can be hard, but start now and keep at it. hell, just start mowing lawns, pulling weeds, trimming hedges and trees, clearing trash/debris/junk from plots of property (when requested-lol), gather aluminum cans and scrap and taking it to the scrapyard, copper scrap pays too. i did a lot of stuff like that from 13-16. i set a goal to get a new snare and some cymbals (start off by assessing how much you need to make for what you want to buy). so i did some odd jobs and worked my ass off. i got close to my objective, then sold off the gear i was going to replace/sell: my paiste 802 hats, crash and ride, some old camber cymbals that were about to be thrown into the garbage by this guy down the street, a music stand, and my old particle board cheapie snare. then used that money to get a used tama 12x3 piccolo snare, a new gretsch full range 14x5 maple snare, a 16'' A custom fast crash, 20'' K ride, a set of hats (K top/A mastersound bottom), and a 10'' A splash. my mom was incredibly overprotective (and wealthy, not boasting, just painting the picture), so i had to SNEAK out to do those jobs, she always said she wanted a boy with work ethic, but she never meant it, at least when it came to doing man's work. she always wanted to buy everything for me, but it was always conditional, buying my love, using money to influence me, to keep me dependent on her so she wouldn't "lose" me. working for my own money was my way of rebelling, and when she told me i was doing the work of "poor white trash and illegal riffraff" i said, "if hard work and honest pay are trashy, then i never want to be sophisticated..." lol. bottom line, if you want it, you'll get it, and it's the most rewarding when you attain it yourself. when snobby rich kids say, "my mom/dad bought me a new *whatever*" you can say, "yeah it must be hard work having everything handed to you" lol
 
Last edited:
my first kit was made out of some paint buckets... i used to sit on the patio jamming
i probably sound worse now than i did then
 
I really don't know how people can afford all these kits, I haven't upgraded my kit at all since I got it, except from some new pedals I got for my birthday, I just can't afford it, I'm 15 and really want to upgrade my kit with mainly new cymbals, buy they're so expensive. I can't get the money together and I don't know any ways to get cymbals and stands any cheaper, if anyone knows of a way to get cymbals cheaper or something I could do at age 15, excluding a job, I live too far away from anywhere I can go, all the pubs near me only take 16+

Where there is a will, there is a way.

Mike

http://www.mikemccraw.com
http://www.dominoretroplate.com
http://www.patentcoachmike.com
http://www.youtube.com/drummermikemccraw
http://www.myspace.com/drummermikemccraw
http://www.linkedin.com/in/mikemccraw
http://twitter.com/mikemccraw
http://www.skillpages.com/mike.mccraw
 
My kit is just 5 piece with 3 cymbals.
Your still ok!! Just don't forget that it's about the sound in the end! When you're listening
to music, I don't you're hearing the size of the kit really, except when the drummer does
a big descending fill on 10 different sounding toms :).
But rather try to learn to get out all you can on your 5 piece now you have the time!!

You know, many guys in their 30s or 40s can afford a big kit, but they don't have much
time to practice!!! So you have something that's much more worth than 10 toms actually!

By the way: I teach and play professionally, and at the moment I only own a snare drum
and an 18" bass drum!! I'm waiting for my new kit to come, but that will "only" be a 5 piece,
too! So you're not alone ;).
 
Back
Top