I've started this thread for people are wanting to buy any instrument, music hardware, or audio thingys... and don't know what to get exactly.



If anyone with pertenant knowledge could chip in, I'd be very grateful:

I want to buy a drum kit. ... but I don't know what.
I owned a kit a few years ago, but then sold it to go travelling. I've only played for 3 years, & know enough to know that I don't know much about drumming.

Now my bedroom is alot smaller & have decided to buy something small & possibly portable... So that means either an electronic drum kit, (do they sound any good? what make's the best? should I buy second hand?) or a portable accoustic drum kit...either Trapps of Flats... (are there any other types? Do they sound like a proper drum kit?)

So,... yeah,.... if there are any drummers on the forum, or band members with drum knowledge, please ... throw some advice my way before I make a mistake buying something that I'll want to sell within a year or two.

Cheers.

welcome to my world.

as far as a drum kit goes, i always recommend buying a proper one if you possibly can. the sound is better, there's more room for customisation (loosening heads, altering cymbal positions, removing toms, adding different pedals etc), which allows you to have exactly the drum kit you want to play and alter everything exactly to your preference. also, no matter how good electric drum kits are, they can never recreate the sound of real drums or the feel of playing them. if you're really good on an electric kit, it doesn't mean you'll be good on actual drums - the cymbal pads don't move when you hit them, youre not actually moving anything with the hi-hat pedal or hitting a real bass drum. electric drum pads are essentially practice pads and thus give your sticks more bounce when you hit them, as oppose to absorbing some of the impact as real drums do. the other thing is that electric drum kits are incredibly expensive - some as much as £2,000 - and for that money you could buy a top-of-the-range kit from tama or dw. the electric kit you'll get for your money will be standard, the real kit you'd get for the same would be elite.

however, there are situations where electric kits are preferable. if you live (or are moving to) somewhere where the noise from real drums will cause a problem - you're living very close to other people who will get annoyed for example - then an electric kit is a better idea because you can play them anytime you want. the sound from you hitting the pads is much less than the sound of you hitting real drums.

trapps and flats i'm not very familiar with, i played on a set of trapps once but it was a while ago and i can't really remember much about them.

basically the choice comes down to your living situation. electric kits are hugely expensive but better for lessening noise, real kits are the best to play but cause a lot of noise.

hope that's in any way helpful.

Cheers Luke.
That's pretty much decided in my head then, that I shouldn't go for electric.
I live in a semi-detatched house & my room is on the no-neighbour side.... I don't think i need worry about disturbing anyone... particularly as I've aready decided to only play weekdays betweeen 10am and 6pm... (I don't think anyone can complain about that)

I need to find a shop in london that has a portable drum kit... If I find one, and play it & am not too impressed with the sound.... then I'll consider a proper drumkit.
... it'd have to be a small bass though.... There's already too much furniture in my tiny room. (Trying to fit it all in was like a giant game of tetris!)

Anone else out there who has played traps?

I tried out a small regular drum kit in a shop the other week. .... I say 'small', I think it was slightly larger than child-size.
It's hard to gauge what it sounds like though in a small room full of drums.

yeah that's a good overall policy on playing. i generally do it whenever both my parents are out of the house. i have my kit in our loft conversion so there's not too much sound.

keep me posted on what you're looking at getting, i can adivse you on good kits. this is one of my very few areas of expertise.

Mmmm, one day I will have my Lars Ulrich TAMA Starclassic... one day

That's my drummer's one. It sounds good

I've always wanted a drum kit but never got one because I simply have nowhere to put it, both in terms of the space required and the annoying everyone else factor. I'd never be able to tolerate a small drum kit either, for me it would have to be a full sized affair or not at all. One thing I would definitely not go without is a double bass pedal, or two bass drums.

Now this is a drum kit:





Don't think it'd fit in your bedroom though...

So are these:





Granted, they're both retired, now. Can't wait to hear the new one in action...

Is that Neil Peart from Rush?

I was watching a video of him earlier. Bloody good drummer, although I still think Mr Portnoy is better.

Is it just the perspective or is his bass drum absolutely tiny?

It is indeed Neil Peart. And, yes, his bass drum does look rather small... You may be right, though; it could be the perspective.

I do quite like Portnoy -- his solos are powerful enough to break ribs even at the back of the arena -- but I prefer Peart. Portnoy is definitely his heir, but, in my opinion, not yet his equal, as he has yet to master precise, intricate fills. He excels at the heavy bits, but isn't quite as creative with the accents.

That said, Mike Clark could wipe the floor with either of them.

dave weckl and tony royster jr are the best drummers alive.

Does anybody know the name of the late 80's era drummer whose extensive drumkit arrangement included snare drums mounted above and behind him? He was reasonably impressive to watch.

All I can remember is that he was American, and that he also happened to release a cover version of Del Shannon's 'Runaway', the promo video of which featured clay-mation dinosaurs dancing with him in a car scrapyard.

Sorry that didn't add anything useful to the thread, but it's bugged me for years.

Would it be this chap...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Cardenas


Wife Of Rolex

Hell YES!

I knew it was right the minute I saw the name, thanks Kelly!

Strangely, although he was principally a drummer, I'd always assumed he was a solo artist - I never knew he was in a band called Renegade*. Heheheh. Renegade. Heheh. Simple things...


*eta: and they released an album entitled 'Nuns On Wheels' ?!?! That's made my day, that has...

I think this one might beat Neal Pert's

It's a drum thread, so I thought I'd post a pic of what I would buy had I an unlimited supply of cash:

I always fancied a Blade.

I still have my budget level saxophone, but I'd really like to buy a newer, better instrument. I remember seeing a rather sexy one for sale on eBay a couple of years back, in lobster red, with snazzy gold filligree designs on it. Surplus stock item, brand new.....it were gawwwgeous. At £1200 (new price) I couldn't exactly stretch to it at the time. It ultimately sold for £525, which was still a bit out of my range.

I miss playing the sax. Anybody happen to know any decent outlets worth checking out (other than eBay, which, may well probably be the best bet)...?

S'alright. Only took about 10 minutes to track him down. I take it this was the video you were taking about too...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLDY-7TUogk


Wife Of Rolex

I can't help it; every time I listen Tull, I want to buy a flute.

Here's my dream instrument...

The John Myung RBX 6JM Signature Bass

You can't play your sax because of your neighbours, right? Why not hire out a storage space in one of those Big Yellow store places and play it there? You're meant to be able to use them for anything.


Wife Of Rolex

Oh yes. Made my afternoon/evening, that has. Classic 80's Cheeeeeeese.

Many thanks for the find - I knew he had a Hispanic name, but I'd totally forgotten it.



I know what you mean - and I feel extra compelled to do so, since Ian Anderson shares my birthday.




Correct.

I've already had one complaint from Old Fogies Anonymous via the Council. But that was for 'DIY noise'. And on a Sunday too, heaven forfend. At Christmas. I'm such a naughty.

I might go and hide under a bridge in the fens to practice.















Practice playing sax I mean, not 'being a naughty'.

On a somewhat related note, why are drummers so divisive? Many, if not most, discussions of percussionists and their solos seem to end in "STFU and die, biatch! Slipknot rulz!" or some such thing...

Same thing with guitar solos. It's all "Yngwie sucks!" "No, you suck!" "Dude, how could you guys forget about Michael Angelo Batio? His guitar's got four f'ing necks, man!" "So does your mom!"

Why can't they all just get along?

Yay! Some basses. And that's a nice bass indeed.

I wouldn't mind a Pedulla Rapture; but it'll be heaps to get one. Partially because they sound great and because Chris Wolstenholme plays one.


And this is my bass...with it's shite amp.

I don't know either. Personally I find it hard to pick a favourite drummer because they have different styles which all suit their own bands and different moods. Danny Carey of Tool might not be as flashy and over the top as the likes of Portnoy and Peart but I'd still rather listen to him play. For a completely different style Tomas Haake of Meshuggah is incredible, completely weird time signatures all over the place.

Take New Millennium Cyanide Christ for example, he plays a different time sig with his feet as he does with his hands, his hands are going at 4/4 but his feet do 5 lots of 23/16 followed by a 13/16.

What a brilliant name.

I'm excited 'cause I pick up my bass today... It's just had some EMG Active pick-ups installed and I'm also picking up my brand new Warwick 350 Combo... :-)

I'm looking for a new keyboard at the moment since mine is a giant pile of poo. I can't get any decent recordings out of it since even the piano tone doesn't sound like a bleedin' piano.

Something around £100, and with more than four octaves () is all I'm looking for really. There are lots fitting that description but if anyone has any specific recommendations/warnings I'm all... eyes.

I got a 60's reissue strat but I know what I'd buy if I had the moola...

3 letters... P...R...S

I quite like the bass Vortex from Dimmu Borgir uses:



I want one of these now:

BC Rich. Great body shapes on most of their guitars. I always liked this one:

I wouldn't mind an old-fashioned Rickenbacker bass guitar.

The violin one?

Fancy.

I'm on the hunt for a new amp. The one I have now is terrible...not enough power.

Nah, that was a Höfner, what Macca played.

I mean that huge thing with the double truss rods and the low, growling, punchy sound, like what Chris Squier favours.

Mmmmmm, I love guitar porn.

I could use a sax, or preferably a decent clarinet.[/Bilk]

Yeah, that's the one!

Ahhh!! 4003.



I'd like one of these:

That's nearly a bat logo there.

Robin, fetch the BatAxe.

I got a new geetar the other week. Full acoustic. There weren't many in the shop, because everyone wants semi-acoustic nowadays. But my new geetar is beautiful, sounds like heaven. Tanglewood T1000 series I think. I dunno, I'm not an expert, I just know if it sounds good or not, which is really all I care about. I did have to play the damn thing for about an hour before I could decide whether I preferred it to the other choice, but dammit, the resonance is so heavenly I just want to cry. Action is soooooooo much better than my old one too.

I already have a violin, viola, mandolin, semi-acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, kazoo (that doesn't really count).

I want a banjo now. And a steel guitar just for the hell of it. And maybe some nice gigging mics... I notice most people tend to use tom mics, Shure SM-58s. Any suggestions?

Holy solo, Batman!


Holo.

i've been eyeing this one:
sweet!
yes i am a clarinet loving geek.

Well, I wanted to test out one of those portable drum kits before buying, but nowhere in london that stocks them will set them up to try out.

... So today I've decided to just buy one anyway.
To hell with regular bulky drums. I'm gonna get a kit like this:

I've read some good reviews about it, & that's good enough for an ameteur drummer like me.

Less is more.

Look at the hives. I want a new acousitc, maybe in the 700 to 1000 pound range. Alas I have no money.

Macca did have a Rickenbacker too. You can see it on the film of them doing Hello Goodbye. I'd love one.

It really isn't at all. But more is no help if you're trying to fit it in your bedroom.

How does the bass drum work on that compact kit? Does it just use a standard pedal? I couldn't be doing without a double pedal.

Wahey! Finally getting an effect pedal to fiddle with.

I'll have distortion finally!

I'm on hiatus with my band though...ughhh.

Yes, but, the point was that Rickenbacker wasn't responsible for that distinctive viola-shaped axe.

Points mean prizes. What did you win?

I'm saving my points up toward the 5" black-and-white portable television.