How to Buy a Drum Set
Intermediate percussion skills should be well in hand before making an $800 to $1200 minimum investment in the equipment noted below.
- Difficulty:
- Easy
Instructions
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Component Parts of a Drum Set
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1
Bass Drum: This instrument uses one head to be struck. The open side of the bass drum allows the user to place a "sound absorption" blanket to kill lengthy resonation.
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2
Support Rods: Four of these metal rods keep the drum in place as it is hit by the mallet head on the end of the foot pedal.
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3
Foot Pedal: This attaches to the floor side of the head-rim to allow the foot maximum flexibility of tempo and dynamics of soft and loud.
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4
Snare Drum: This circular shell is 5 1/2" deep and 14" in diameter. It fits on a stand and sits between the knees of the seated player. It is encased by 2 skin or plastic heads secured by clamps and screw-bolt devices called "lugs". The top head is struck with the drum sticks or brushes. The bottom head has a 1 1/2" wide collection of adjustable parallel metal wires. These are the "snares" and can be loosened or tightened by a threaded bolt device called a "strainer". These snares vibrate sympathetically when the top head is struck. They can be disabled using a "trigger switch" located on the side of the snare shell.
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5
Sticks: Two round sticks 12 - 14" in length each with a small and a large end. The "tip" is the small end. The "butt" is the large end. The tip is used to produce sound more often than the butt.
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6
Brushes: Six to eight inches of "fan-shaped" wires extend from the end of a storage tube. These produce a very light weight sound when used on the snare drum or the cymbal.
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7
Adjustable stool: The drummer uses this for seating comfort and height adjustment. It's often called a "throne".
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8
Ride Cymbal: This can be as large as 19" in diameter and $260 in cost.
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9
Crash Cymbal: This can be a 10" diameter cymbal and $160 in cost.
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10
High Hat Cymbal: A floor-stand holds two horizontal cymbals that are brought together using a foot pedal.
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11
Cymbal Stands: Most stands rest on the floor.
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12
Toms: These are like a drum without snares. A floor tom can be 14" in diameter and 14" deep. Two smaller toms are often attached to the top of the hoop-rim of the bass drum.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Work closely with a percussion teacher or an advanced student when making a purchase.
Profit from the specialized experience of a few good musicians.
Ask the first-chair drummer at a nearby college or university.
Train your ears to hear what excellent drummers do to achieve superb results.
Avoid getting carried away by visions of "soloistic flight."
A fancy demonstration of percussion skill by a salesperson should not be the main reason for making a purchase.
Glitter, lacquer and external finish are the least important factors when purchasing a drum set.
Learn to listen well to the sounds that are produced.
You'll pay high prices if you decide to purchase "premium" equipment.
$5700 was the total that one online company asked for a full set.
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Comments
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drumyjammer
Jun 03, 2009
A bad driver driving a Ferrari will not use the car to its potential. However, a bad driver trying to learn using an ordinary family car will the lust of learning. -
sarasacha
Sep 20, 2008
Sorry for the abrupt above comment but... I've witnessed novice drummers learn drumming on a DW set and even an Ayotte Drumsmith kit and they sure beat the hell out of me in my early years... -
sarasacha
Sep 20, 2008
Good drummers make a bad set of drums sound good, Good quality drums make a bad drummer sound good... -
sarasacha
Sep 20, 2008
Good drummers make a bad set of drums sound good, Good quality drums make a bad drummer sound good... -
TorchLady
Jun 30, 2008
Great article with a lot of good information-thanks