The First Kit You Got

Advice for beginners: If you think you'll stick with drums, get a second half midrange kit, not a entry level kit from an unknown brand, you won't regret it.
 
Advice for beginners: If you think you'll stick with drums, get a second half midrange kit, not a entry level kit from an unknown brand, you won't regret it.

I couldn't agree more, even if you don't think you will stick with it, you will have an easier time selling a brand name used kit.
 
Thanks for the great question and the cool stories guys!
I've got to say that God must REALLY like me! Here's my story....

Mine was a 1964-65 Ludwig silver sparkle 4 piece!
I sold it in 1977 to "upgrade" to a newer bigger kit. I always knew who had it. Through the years my collection grew to around 50 drums in the house!
I asked him for the first call if he were to ever sell it. Then on my 40th birthday (10 yrs ago) my friends and spouse bought it and sent it half the way across the country as a surprise BDay gift! It was in the same condition as when I sold them... and STILL had the original kick drum heads!
I still have it and she SINGS!!
LOVE VINTAGE LUDS!
Keep rockin it all!
Gary
The bottom pic is around 1970 and the top is about 45 years later... ?
 

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Thanks for the great question and the cool stories guys!
I've got to say that God must REALLY like me! Here's my story....

Mine was a 1964-65 Ludwig silver sparkle 4 piece!
I sold it in 1977 to "upgrade" to a newer bigger kit. I always knew who had it. Through the years my collection grew to around 50 drums in the house!
I asked him for the first call if he were to ever sell it. Then on my 40th birthday (10 yrs ago) my friends and spouse bought it and sent it half the way across the country as a surprise BDay gift! It was in the same condition as when I sold them... and STILL had the original kick drum heads!
I still have it and she SINGS!!
LOVE VINTAGE LUDS!
Keep rockin it all!
Gary

That's a great story. I wish I knew who kept my old stuff - there's alot of drums I wished I never let go! Congrats on getting those back ;)
 
I didn't get it all at once but here is how the first kit got pieced together. I put legs on my
first drum (10x14 field drum) and that became the floor tom. My folks got me a used 8x26
marching bass drum for my bass drum. I built a working pedal for it using a rubber ball as
the beater. I had a ludwig 5x14 pioneer snare. I built a hihat and made aluminum foil cymbals
so I could see the movement even though there was no sound. My "ride" cymbal was a very
old 18" cymbal removed from a pipe organ. We had very little money in those days and to have this was a big deal. By 1961 I had a real bass drum pedal and a working hihat with real cymbals and had found the "one inch area" on the pipe organ cymbal that sounded the best.
It took until 1965 to piece by piece change out the set to get it all matching, blue-silver-blue duco with 2 floor toms!! That set was traded in 1966 for a super classic in pearl.
 
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Mine was a Sunlite, entry level, bought from the famous Strings N' Things store in Memphis, Tenn. Made in Taiwan. The drums were okay, disappearing spurs and tom mounts. Metal bass drum hoops. And simple black wrap finish. The hardware on the other hand, was horrible! It was very thin and lightweight like sixties hardware, but in the nineties. The cymbal stand had no real tilters, just sheet metal bent and held with a tint wing nut. The plastic wing nut/sleeves on top never screwed on right anyways. The spring in the high hat broke while playing it, and the cymbal tilter screw kept falling out so I ditched it. The kick pedal had no bottom plate or metal rods to keep it in place. Just a single metal strip held by another single tiny metal wing nut. same with the high hat. And the beater holder moved around side to side because it had no screw to hold it in place! The snare stand was metal strips held by a single tiny screw that stripped and never stayed put anyways. I replaced everything piece by piece, ending with a nice Gibralter bass pedal. All the cymbals were pressed brass Camber, which I still have somewhere..

I sold it for $100 to my pastor's son who gave it to a needy friend who wanted to learn to play.

Look at those skinny stands! How they ever held up a cymbal i'll never know!
 

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I had a loner set for the first two years. It came with some lessons.

That was 1974, the drums were Rogers 1967 Holidays in Sparkling Blue Pearl, 20-12-14 with a matching Luxor snare drum. Zildjian new beats, and an old K stamp 18 that had about a 3 inch lathing crack right in the center.



I bought my first set five years later in Nov. 1979, they were Rogers.
1977 Rogers Silver Metallic 24,13,14,15,18 with COB Dyna-Sonic snare drum, Paiste 2002 cymbals (hats, crash, ride), hardware, fibre cases.


Today.......................

24, 13, 16, 18. I still have that same COB Dyna-Sonic. Paiste 2002 cymbals ( a couple years ago), DW 9000 hardware, Tama Pedals. H&B Enduro Cases with bags.


2895115470028342110S600x600Q85.jpg
 
Mine was a mighty Linko 5 piece with Linko hi-hat and cymbal- monster kit!!
 

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Mine was a mighty Linko 5 piece with Linko hi-hat and cymbal- monster kit!!
Wow, Todd - tom angles, haha!! But at least that was a kit. I had to do without a kit for the first 2 years (that is, up to now - made me focus on pads - which wasn't detrimental though).

My first kit... is my only/current kit... and I'm sure it will remain my only kit for quite a while.
It's a 4-piece Sonor Delite (in tiger finish) I bought a few weeks ago. I hadn't settled on something specific but then found that shell kit offered at a nice price so I went for it.
Shell sizes are 22(x17.5) / 10(x8) / 12(x9) / 14(x14). More pics on this kit in the "Your Gear" thread:
http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=94036

Snare is still a cheapo and modified tom though. Cymbals are mixed brands (Meinl Byzance Dry Ride 20'', no name hihats, DIY'ed cymbals/reduced in size, a bunch of DIY bells).
 

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My First kit(which is also my current kit) is a Mapex M Series Kit in the standard (12,13,16) configuration. I bought it used and it also came with Zildjian ZBTs though I've upgraded the Ride and hats.

My first brand new kit also.....Mapex M Pro in Honey Amber...I loved that kit.
First EVER kit, a battered old part Premier with what can only be described as dustbin lids as cymbals. I loved that kit also.

Currently on E-Drums.....upper range Alesis (DM8 Pro).....for all their advantages, the ease of which it is to practice, carry them around, set them up, the sound which is excellent, the ability to switch between different styles of kit at the turn of a button....hell I have to admit I would still rather have a beautiful acoustic kit with all thos glistening cymbals around it...

Sighhhh
 
this was my brothers kit but he stopped playing and I took over at around age 5 in 1979

this pic was taken around '79 I guess

the yellow drums are 1965 Slingerland
the red drums Stewart
the snare drum is Slingerland no idea what year ...probably 70s

I still have the kick toms and stands

no idea what happened to the cymbals
they were all 1960s Zildjian ...would love to still have them

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I was too young, and it was too long ago to remember.

All I know was that it was Slingerland or Ludwig, courtesy of my parents (thanks mom and dad - ha ha).

The first kit I bought for myself was Yamaha.
 
Wow, Todd - tom angles, haha!! But at least that was a kit. I had to do without a kit for the first 2 years (that is, up to now - made me focus on pads - which wasn't detrimental though).

My first kit... is my only/current kit... and I'm sure it will remain my only kit for quite a while.
It's a 4-piece Sonor Delite (in tiger finish) I bought a few weeks ago. I hadn't settled on something specific but then found that shell kit offered at a nice price so I went for it.
Shell sizes are 22(x17.5) / 10(x8) / 12(x9) / 14(x14). More pics on this kit in the "Your Gear" thread:
http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=94036

Snare is still a cheapo and modified tom though. Cymbals are mixed brands (Meinl Byzance Dry Ride 20'', no name hihats, DIY'ed cymbals/reduced in size, a bunch of DIY bells).
I'd be more than happy to call that my first kit! : )
 
Sonor 3001, great starter kit and wish I never sold it. Obviously not as nice as my current Saturn but would make a great secondsry kit. Loved the white sparkle wrap it really looked great in person.

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My first kit was a 1964 Trixon Telstar 4 piece like the one pictured below. That kit is long gone so i don't have my own pics.
 

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Slingerlands....................they were a 1958 model I believe...............I got them in 1964.

Bass, snare and one floor tom................wow !
 
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