Help a clueless Dad

chuckles

Junior Member
Yes, yet another "What Drum Set Should I Buy" thread, but you know....I'm different than all the others :).

My son, is 11 and has been taking lessons for 3 years. Let's see if I can find my last, less than enlightening, forum post....ah yes http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59048 which was about how to get my son started and what equipment made sense at that time. What we ended up getting was a used piece of junk with a pretty good crash (Ziljan Custum A) for $150. We've added stuff to it over time, a ride, new hi-hat cymbals and stands, bass drum pedal. He is now "graduating" to middle school and we have a tradition of using this milestone as an opportunity to reward our kids with an instrument upgrade. His older brother got a new guitar (Agile 3100 for those interested) and now I'm trying to figure out a drum kit to get for the drummer. He practices almost every day, partially because it's a chore he has to do, but he does also enjoy it. When you are that age and there isn't much payoff with a band or something, it can be grind sometimes. Next year he should be in the Jazz Band and I'm hoping he gets the positive feedback there to reinvigorate him. His teacher is a little worried he'll be bored, but we'll see. Anyways, onto the question:

What should I get him? My price range is basically up to about $1000. I showed him some brochures (Tama, Pearl, Mapex, Yamaha, Crush, Gretch) to see if anything caught his eye. In that price range it seemed only the Crush's really appealed to him much. I was hoping the Yamaha Stage Customs would as they seem like a really great bang for your buck choice. We don't have a local store with many options. I exchanged emails with donn bennett drum studio and they suggested Mapex MyDentity....they didn't have a ton of experience with the Crush sets. So, Crush good? Looking at the pictures the tom mounts look a little odd, do they have to mount onto stands? Is that common? Seems the quality of the stand would be pretty important (and I might need another stand, we only have the one crash and a ride that wouldn't really work).

I know a lot of you will say "buy used". But I have no idea what is good and what isn't, or if it is good then is the condition ok, etc. Pretty leary of that.

Thoughts?

Here is the latest video I took of him (been a while I see). He wasn't happy with the performance and wasn't in a great mood.... I need to get another one up. His grandparents like to see them.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTuo9Vgb2BU&list=UUY_wSuWFqNLhKyLGWqpb86Q&index=1
 
You might want to see if Mapex still has the Meridian Maple kits. You're lucky that there are a lot of good options in the sub-$1000 range. The Crush kits look pretty good as well. You can look for videos on YouTube. There's a gold mine out there. Good luck and congrats to the new Buddy Rich.
 
Crush makes great drums, I have friends that bought some and love them, I have two Crush snares and love them as well, build quality is top notch.
 
I would think in terms of resale if you ever had to. My son plays but I know he might change his mind.

I would go with the Gretsch, Yamaha or Tamas in that order for resale reasons. You cant go wrong with a Gretsch Catalina kit. Yamaha Stage customs too. They will sound great, last and sell all day if need be.
 
Hi Chuck,
I was in a similar position 7 months ago. We were getting my son a kit for his 11th birthday. I had a list of a few sets. I didn't actually get any of these because the Sonor we had on order was going to take 3 months. They're in stock now, but while waiting I found an amazing deal on a pro level kit (I'm stupid when it comes to musical instruments).
All of these are super nice sets at good listed prices. Also, they all have a 20" bass drum which is nice. Especially for a kid since the rack toms can be a little lower.
The Crush ash drums seem nice, and my son loved how they looked too. Crush had some issues with the rack tom mounts on the older ones but changed the design on the new ones. They wouldn't be my first choice simply due to their price. I think the Sonor's are the prettiest, and while they are more $ than the Crush drums, that's with hardware.
Good luck. Would love to know what you wind up with.

edit: Thinking about this more, you said you had a nice crash. Are you planning to get a new ride and hi-hat set too. If so, I'd budget $250-300 for used cymbals on e-bay, and then buy less pricey drums. 20:20 hind sight now is that a bop kit and cool cymbals would have been perfect for my son. What we have is overkill.
Also, I noticed today that musicians friend keeps sending me catalogs with a 15% off coupon on the back. I'd request a catalog. You'll get 15% off their price for a set, and I think those prices are the same as the ones below.

5 piece kits:
http://www.justdrumsonline.com/p-86...her-shell-pack-comes-with-a-40-gift-card.aspx
http://www.justdrumsonline.com/p-6696-crush-chameleon-ash-c2a508-5pc-shell-pack.aspx
http://www.justdrumsonline.com/p-86...e-two-drum-set-comes-with-a-60-gift-card.aspx
4 piece kit:
http://www.justdrumsonline.com/p-84...-20-shell-pack-comes-with-a-40-gift-card.aspx
 
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A vote for Tama Silverstars. Hardware-wise and solidity-wise they are an upgrade from Catalina Club. That said, the Cats are very light, so if this is an issue then Cats are a good choice.

Both are great value IMHO, i.e. good sound for very little outlay.

Davo
 
Don't even think about buying new, unless you have a bunch of money you don't care about. A few years back I was in the same position as you. Just take a little time to educate yourself about the different drum lines, and start working craigslist. I spent some time at the local music store and on the internet, and bought my son a lightly used Sonor kit 6 years ago. I just sold it last week for more than what I paid for it. There are tons of drumsets out there that get used for a few weeks, and then just sit.

My son is 15 now, and in a successful band gigging all over the metro atlanta area on a beautiful Tama Rockstar kit with Sabian cymbals that we paid peanuts for. The previous owner played it for about a month--then it sat in a bedroom all by itself and collected dust.

This site is great for info. I'm using the proceeds form the Sonor kit sale to piece together a kit based around the Sonor Safari shell pack (purchased on advice from here--thanks guys!) for when his band plays smaller places.
 
Chuckles, First off, you're a great Dad, getting your kids interested in music is awesome!

Where are you located?

I can appreciate that this may impact your buying decisions. It is true that buying used can get you some great bargains, however, (and I say with this with the utmost respect for you) if you're not familiar with drum brands, and some of the problems that can occur buying second hand from ebay, it may be worth buying from stores, so you'll have some coverage in terms of warranty etc.

Additionally, does this new school have any affiliations with local music stores, or music teachers who may be able to assist with advice and buying hints?

All the best
 
In that price range it seemed only the Crush's really appealed to him much. I was hoping the Yamaha Stage Customs would as they seem like a really great bang for your buck choice.

Oh just get him his dream kit then! Don't buy him dad's choice! If you buy him his dream kit you won't even have to think about resale value.

(wrote a Stage Customs owner)
 
Thanks for the all the replies, sorry I haven't kept up with the responses.

I live in Wenatchee, WA. We have a couple music stores, but they really don't carry much. They can order stuff, of course, but it's not like my son can go in, "oooh and ahhh" over the new sets and pick one out. Seattle is the closest place with choices (guitar center and Donn Bennett Drum Studio). We typically buy our music gear online.

Like I said, the used thing is of limited appeal due to my inability to judge condition or quality.

I'm very aware of my propensity to "buy him what Dad thinks he should get", but in this case I've been a little surprised by his lack of enthusiasm. He just doesn't seem to have that GAS gene going quite yet. I think a big part of it is that playing the drums is to this point a solitary exercise for him. It's not performance at all.

His old kit came with a nice crash. We supplemented with decent, but bottom-ish line ride and hi-hats. We did upgrade the stands and bass drum pedal. I don't plan on buying new cymbals at the moment...those get nutso expensive...until he can really comment on what he likes sound-wise.

I think I need to get him to a store to see if we can get him jazzed up about a set.
 
Cymbals do get pricey, but other than the bass and snamre, you have to listen to them a lot more than anything else. I got my son New Beat hats, an HH Sound Control Crash, and a Paiste 602 ride for under $380 total. E-bay...

I know you want to get him the graduation gift, but think that if he doesn't have GAS, you should let him play his current set for a while longer. Give him a set of cool sticks, an IOU for the new shell pack when he wants it, and take him to dinner and a movie with one or two of his buddies. Kids that don't care about the material side of musical pursuits are a gift!
 
I'm with TWerner - if he is not excited about getting a kit right now, I don't think I would get one for him. It could make him feel like he's being pushed.

I know you have reasons that you think he's not excited about it, but I would still not push the issue. That's just me. You obviously know him better than us!

Good luck!
 
A third vote for not pushing it. Maybe it's just not going to be a long term thing for him.

If he would have asked for a different kit, it'd be another story. But there might be other things he'd like to explore, instead of, or in addition to drums.
 
I tapped around on a mydentity kit a little while back,and I came away impressed with the sound and quality,the fact that there are a lot of size and finish options is cool too.

I saw a couple of crush kits,an upper level acrylic with a hammered steel snare ,great looking kit and appeared to be built well,I saw one of the ash kits in black and it looked pretty good also.
 
I would look for a lightly used set of Yamaha Stage Customs. The current version with the 100% birch shells. A couple of reasons. They offer excellent value in a quality made kit. A used kit will be even less expensive, but the Yamaha quality is there. The shells are 100% birch, vs some kits that offer some hybrid of mystery woods. I would rather see a young drummer go with a set that has a bass drum tom mount, since its much easier to set up vs a kit that has a virgin bass drum and stand mounted toms. If he starts to jam with friends and the kit needs to be moved about, he will thank you. The Yamahas have a bass drum tom mount. It seems like the Crush kit does not. If you buy a used set of Yamahas and things don't work out, you can probably sell them for the price you bought them for. On the other hand, if things do work out, the Stages are good enough for him to play them for quite a long time.

If you're not sure how to identify the current Stage Customs vs older versions, familiarize yourself with the badge and that will help you ID them.
 
My post stating that buying new is a waste of money was too strongly worded, but I was just trying to make the point that, with musical instruments, they take an initial depreciation, but then they remain stable in value as long as the condition is good. I'm a guitarist myself, and it is not at all unusual for me to sell a guitar for the same or even more money than what I paid many years after the initial purchase. With my son's first drum set, I learned enough to buy something decent, and I did in fact sell that for slightly more than what I paid 6 years later. I should also state that I have the advantage of living in a huge metropolitan area where c-list provides an endless supply of quality instruments purchased with good intentions, but have been forgotten and are sitting unused somewhere in the house.

Regarding your son's interest level, it may be helpful to try and arrange to have him start rehearsing with friends and playing in public, or even making some youtube videos for friends and family, before getting a new kit. When my son was in 8th grade (13?), I arranged with some other parents to get kids together to try to form a band. He found that more interesting than playing with me. Now he is 15, and in a very successful band with other 15-year-old boys gigging all around metro Atlanta. In addition, his interest level has skyrocketed, as he has discovered perhaps the ultimate motivating factor for teen boys--he meets a lot of girls being in a successful band!!
 
Gretsch Catalina ... it is a cute kit and he is only 11, so I think it would be ideal. If he wanted to turn himself into a metalhead later, then he can buy his own. :)
 
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