Drums Buyers Guide

The range of drum kits available today is as diverse as music can be. For every different kind of music, from hard rock to jazz, from indie to country, there will be a drum kit that is perfectly suited to your chosen style of music. A customised set-up of drums, cymbals and pedals, heads and sticks, tailored to your particular needs will bring the sounds and expression needed to make your drumming the most efficient possible.

For anyone thinking of buying a drum kit, the choice is huge. Buying the kit that will best suit your needs is not as easy as it sounds, whether you are an accomplished drummer, or are buying your first kit. Before you buy, ask yourself the following questions:

What kind of music am I going to play?
Where am I going to play?
How much space do I have for the kit?
Am I playing for fun, or professionally?

Once you have the answers to these questions, then you should have a better idea of what kind of kit is going to suit your needs.

For the beginner who is buying his first kit, your best bet would be to buy an affordable and reliable basic kit. An appropriate kit would be made up of the following: three or four toms including bass drum, (12”, 13”, 16”, 22”), a Snare Drum & accessories. The accessories consist of a hi-hat, two cymbals, normally a crash and a ride, and the necessary hardware. This will provide you with everything you need not only to practice, but also to improve your skills, whether you are playing on your own, or with a band.

A good, basic drum set-up should keep you busy for a considerable amount of time, and if chosen well, will last for many years. Bear in mind that you may need to change the drum heads from time to time, and that as you improve, you may wish to replace the bass drum pedal and cymbals to enhance your technique and overall performance.

Many drum kits are available as complete sets, including everything you need to start drumming straight away. These generally represent good value for money, and are as the individual items are selected for you, remove much of the hassle of deciding which component parts to buy.

Accomplished drummers, who demand more from their equipment, will almost certainly go for a professional, or custom drum kit. These are available in many different configurations to match your drumming abilities and preferences, and you can select the component parts of your kit separately, enabling you to put together your perfect set-up. Generally, the bass drum and toms will be from the same range, although there are usually many different diameters and depths available, so that you can personalise your kit. By simply changing the standard snare drum, selecting some specialised cymbals and adding professional hardware, the perfect kit quite easily becomes reality.

A snare drum is one of the most essential elements of a drum kit, and its sound is the most distinctive element of the entire kit. Its dimensions and composition greatly influence its sound, and there are many different options available. In general, snare drums are either made of wood or metal. Wooden snares for example, might be made from oak, maple, cherry or birch, whilst metal snares might be made from brass, steel or aluminium. These two kinds of material create a notable difference in the sound. A snare drum made of metal has a higher and more cutting tone, with noticeably higher natural harmonics, while a wooden snare drum will have a thicker and warmer tone.

The other important factor is the drum depth: very deep (8.5”, 7.5”), deep (6.5”), classic (5.5”), thin (4.5”-4”) or piccolo, very thin and dry (3.5”). The deeper the snare drum is, the louder and lower the sound it produces will be. In the same way, a piccolo snare drum, with a tight skin will sound drier, more cutting and discrete among the other instruments.

Cymbals may look like a straightforward purchase, but unfortunately, the choice of different models is enormous, due to numerous factors, such as shape, diameter and thickness.

Besides crash and ride cymbals, and the hi-hats, which in general, are standard issue with every drum-kit, you can add any number of crashes, splashes, and Chinese cymbals to bring diversity to your drumming. A bigger and thicker cymbal will reward you with increased volume and greater sustain. Also, not only is the inverse true, but a thin cymbal with a small diameter, is more likely to break easily. Therefore, it would not be a good idea to play heavy rock on a kit originally chosen as a jazz kit.

Most of the time cymbal makers create specific ranges of cymbals, which are designed for certain kinds of music, for example a heavy rock crash is used for loud and powerful 'heavy metal' music. Conversely, an extra thin crash is geared more towards jazz music, in which the “ping” of the cymbal must be heard distinctly from the cymbal sound itself. However, this is just a guide. Because we are talking about music here, and its endless possibilities for experimentation, it is great to mix different kinds of cymbal..

The wide variety of pedals available may well be a surprise to the beginner, but don't worry. A solid and reliable pedal can be picked up quite cheaply, and easily, which will allow you to play the basics with ease. Once again, as you improve, and develop your technique, you can customise your kit by adding specialist pedals.

Pedals are usually driven by single or double chains, although some have replaced the chain with a nylon strap. Although modern drummers rarely use nylon strap pedals, being preferred mainly by nostalgic musicians, they do give a noticeable suppleness and ease to the kick. For most drummers today, a good quality chain driven pedal, with a well-tied spring does the job perfectly. Using a double chain instead of a single chain increases the robustness and strength of the pedal, which can be important based on the style of music and the particular drummer's style. Chain drive pedals also offer improved speed and accuracy.

The sound the pedal produces depends on the kind of beater used. Most of the time, the beaters found on the market are made of felt, plastic or wood. As you would expect, a felt beater tends to be softer, which creates a warmer sound, plastic is more precise, and wood creates a more clicky and powerful sound. It is worth considering that using a wooden beater increases the risk of breaking your bass drum head.

Nowadays more and more drummers are using double pedals. These are much more convenient as they do away with the need to have two bass drums tuned exactly the same way, and are now highly precise and reliable.

The sound that your drums produce will be influenced almost as much by the drum heads, as by the actual drums themselves. Obviously, for the advanced drummer, the tonal response of the heads is important, as is the durability! However, if you are a beginner, you shouldn't worry too much about this at the moment. This will become more of a factor as your playing improves, and you begin to look for ways to personalise your sound.

There are various types available, including single-ply, double-ply, coated and oiled. The main difference between single or double-ply skins is that single heads have better harmonics, but at the same time will lose some of their tonality quicker and are less durable. Double-ply heads are lower pitched, with moderate attack and response characteristics - ideal for creating a deeper, fatter, controlled drum sound in a variety of studio and live drumming situations.

Most toms can be either single or double headed, depending on each individual drummer's preferences, and single headed toms are also known as power toms.

In general, it would be fair to say that no matter what kind of stand you are looking to buy, whether it is a cymbal stand, snare drum stand or even a drum throne, the more robust and stable it is, the better it is. So, the best advice would be for you to buy the most heavy-duty and well-balanced stands that you can afford. Hopefully this should help you to avoid mid-gig problems of cymbals or toms falling over!

Finding a good set of drumsticks can be a dilemma for some drummers, but is nonetheless very important, as using the right pair is key not only to your drumming, but also for the health of your hands and arms! There are three major factors to consider when selecting a drumstick: firstly, which wood it is made from, for example hickory, maple or oak; secondly, what sort of tip it has, if any; and thirdly, the overall size of the drumstick (length & diameter). The wood type is the key element to a drumstick's response and durability. Hickory is the most popular wood used for making drumsticks. It is denser, heavier and more rigid than maple. Hickory can also absorb a great amount of shock, which reduces hand and wrist fatigue. Dark, or brown hickory, is found closer to the trees centre and is slightly denser and heavier than white hickory. Maple is a much lighter and less dense wood than hickory, and can provide the feel of a big stick without the extra weight of a hickory stick. Maple sticks are primarily used for light, fast playing in low volume situations. Oak is the heaviest and most resistant wood, giving you more power and helping the drumstick to last longer. However it is more tiring for the drummer who is definitely going to feel the heaviness of the stick, as well as increased vibrations through the stick. The tip is the main factor that affects the overall sound that the stick will make on drums and cymbals, of which there are three principal forms: Acorn tips: produce a full, fat sound and are very responsive. Oval tips: produce a broad, mid range sound due to tip length. Nylon tips: produce a brighter sound than wood tip models and offers increase durability. The length affects the balance and fulcrum point of all drumsticks. Longer sticks offer greater reach and leverage, while shorter sticks are lighter and easier to control. The thickness affects the durability and overall weight of the stick, as well as the “feel” of the stick in the hand. Thicker sticks are heavier and more durable, while thinner models offer a lighter, more sensitive feel.