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dorfmeister wrote:I've got a bass drum, floor tom, and rack tom that are all late 60's/early 70's (no way to date exactly from the serial #) Ludwig Standards. I am going to buy DW 5000 hardware and then just get a fairly cheap set of Wuhan cymbals for now ($200 for a 20" ride, 14" hi-hat, and 16" crash.). The Wuhans are supposed to be pretty much the best for the money for so goddamned cheap. Later I will get some better cymbals. I'll also buy a Ludwig Acrolite snare for less than $100 shipped from Music Go Round.

That is the solution to this question that I have arrived at.

the bastard ludwig set should do you fine if you tune the heads up. If you have a few more bucks to kick in for cymbals you can usually find old Zildjians on eBay and craigslist for not a whole lot of money. Depending on what shape they're in they'll last as long as, or outlast, the wuhans. If they're in decent shape and you take care of them they'll retain their value, too. I play mostly old zildjians. it's a bit of a crapshoot buying them online, but new beat hi hats are a pretty good way to go. I'd go with Zildjians, Zlidjian Avedis, A's, A customs, or K's if you can find them. Z customs and Z3s are pretty good too. I'd stay away from the Armands, Planet Z's, and their entry level stuff. Good luck!

sevenSHARPnine wrote:

Caesar wrote:I'm a guitarist who loves playing the drums.

Rule 1: Buy used - drums lose half their value the minute they're purchased. Then half of that if they're used.
Rule 2: Cymbals are like guitar pedals. They're the "effects". Cheap ones are unsatisfying.
Rule 3: Even mediocre shells can be improved with a fresh set of good heads.

This is all really true. Definitely good guidelines to go by.

Good stuff,
I am looking for a kit for my 5 year old son for his birthday and this will be my guideline,
He has wanted to play drums since birth from what I can tell.

We had a loaner kit for a while it was pulse drums but with an upgraded snare and good cymbols, sounded great.
I am looking for a smaller sized kit that he could still grow into, would a catalina be right?

I love the catalinas.

I also love our old yamaha set w/ acrolite snare. I got my acrolite for $60, couldn't be a better deal.

As for cymbals, I normally get em from musicgoround so I can test em a little bit first. Paiste seems to make up most of the set there, I do like the zildjian A customs a lot though.

hardware and cymbala should arrive tomorrow....drums hopefully this weekend.

Got hardware and cymbals....wuhans seem way better than you'd expect for $166 for 20" ride, 16" crash, and 14" hats. 80 copper 20 tin like higher priced cymbals.....seem way better than the cheap 92/8 or 90/10 stuff put out by the big manufacturers at very low prices.

My best friend drums, he uses a Sonor kit. I wanna get into drumming later, plan on getting a four piece set. He has a 6 piece kit right now with like 10 cymbals, freaking nuts. What I have learned from him:
Decents shells and good heads make em awesome.
Its a pain in the ass, but tuning drums is worth it
Wuhan (or wutang as I call em) cymbals aren't all bad. Some are cheap pieces of crap, but they have some good ones. I think they had a ride or something that was really good for like 50 bucks
Buy used when you can! He bought all of his stuff new, and his drum set cost him about 3 grand. If he wanted to sell it, he could get just over a grand for his stuff. Crazy depreciation

dorfmeister wrote:My plan is to put together a frankenkit in stages - snare, stand, throne I later bass drum, hihat, hardware....then two toms, ride, apprpriate remaining hardware....don,'t really care if finishes or brands match up....just that it be good quality, good sounding, and relatively inexpensive- bang for the buck is the theme.

Music-Go-Round is your best friend.

I did the same thing. It's only tough to get bass drums/toms alone. Often their sold in sets. The rest of that stuff you can find at great prices used, individually.

Before I got my custom drumset build, i had a pearl forum kit. It's a good set and I still use it from time to time. If you could get a Vision VX or something used you should consider buying it. The visions come with a pretty good sensitone snare and the hardware isn't bad. I have full trust in my Gibraltar Hardware and I also have a Gibraltar Intruder Direct Drive pedal- you can get these used pretty cheap and they are very awesome!
But as mentioned previously in this thread: you have to be like a hunter. hunt for good deals on e(vil)bay, craigslist or in your local stores. You can get used cymbals pretty cheaply if they have a few stickmarks on them, that won't change the sound.
Start small and expand.

For example, if you needed a really nice 15" AAX Chinese cymbal, you couple hit up the b/s/t forum one this site

Caesar wrote:For example, if you needed a really nice 15" AAX Chinese cymbal, you couple hit up the b/s/t forum one this site

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Schlatte wrote:

Caesar wrote:For example, if you needed a really nice 15" AAX Chinese cymbal, you couple hit up the b/s/t forum one this site

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I'm boxing your's up tonight. :P

Caesar wrote:I'm boxing your's up tonight. :P

Bought myself a Ludwig Supraphonic 5 x 14. The most recorded drum in history! Sounds great.

My rig at present.



The old Ludwig Standards I need to recondition.