While the electric guitar may get most of the attention, there’s no denying that drums are something special in rock music. Their driving beat can make or break a good song, and nothing gets a crowd going wild like an over-the-top drum solo.
But getting started on the drums can be a bit intimidating, much more so than simply going out and buying your first acoustic guitar. Even basic drum kit packages can overwhelm you with their multiple options and combinations of cymbals, drums, and accessories.
No matter what your musical goals are, we’ll get into all these issues here in our buying guide so you can find the right first drum set for you.
Do you want acoustic warmth or electric convenience?
Let’s face it, drums are loud. Fortunately for parents of noisy teenagers and drummers living in apartment complexes, electronic drum kits like this Roland TD-02K 5-Piece Electronic V-Drums Kit have really improved in recent years. Also, you can often find them at prices lower than traditional drums. Instead of using traditional drums, electronic sets feature pressure-sensitive pads that trigger various sampled drum sounds from their respective drums or cymbals.
Electric drum sets are easy to work with. You just need to plug their outputs into an amp or headphones to be as loud or quiet as you need to be. Good electronic drum sets are sometimes used in professional studios and in concerts, and they are without a doubt easier to mix and record than acoustic drums, which require multiple microphones.
However, most everyone agrees that there is no replacing the natural acoustic resonance of a fine wood drum set. There are ways to quiet down your acoustic drums too. You can put dampeners on your drumheads, use lighter brushes instead of sticks, and most importantly learn to use a subtle and light touch.
Because acoustic drum sets offer much more variety and nuance, we’ll spend the remainder of this piece on them, but don’t dismiss electronic drums if they will fit your needs.
Four-piece, five-piece, or more?
Drum sets vary widely in size. Some jazz and rockabilly players use only a hi-hat, snare, and maybe a bass drum, while arena rock musicians may have two bass drums, six toms, a dozen cymbals, and a Chinese gong. Regardless, when we talk about a complete drum set, we’re talking about how many drums (not cymbals) are in a set.
All drum sets need a bass drum on the floor, and a single snare drum that sits at your lap. Beyond these two basics, you need “tom tom” (or just “tom”) drums to introduce some variety in your playing. Not sure what a tom is? Listen to the opening of the classic “Wipeout.”
When you see a nice “four-piece” drum set like the Tama Imperialstar 5-piece Complete Kit with 18″ Bass Drum, you’ll know that it has a bass drum, snare drum, floor tom, and a tom-tom. If you get a five-piece drum set, it’ll have three toms, a six-piece will have four toms, and so on. The four or five-piece kit is the most common, and either is fine for a beginner drum set.
Ride or crash, you need cymbals
It’s not all about the drums, though. Your set needs cymbals, too. Some sets come with cymbals, while others like the aforementioned Tama do not. Even if you purchase a drum set with cymbals included, you may want to upgrade eventually.
At a minimum, you’ll need two hi-hat cymbals, a ride cymbal, and a crash cymbal. Hi-hat cymbals sit sandwiched together on a stand almost like a clamshell, and you can open or close it with a foot pedal. Ride cymbals have a bright chiming sound, while onomatopoeic crash cymbals do just that—crash! Less essential cymbals like mini “splashes” or clangy “china style” models give you lots of potential to expand your sound.
If you’re looking to improve your drum set with nice cymbals, you can’t go wrong with Zildjian, a company that goes way back to 17th century Turkey. Their four-piece set gives you all the essential basics, or you can add an extra crash cymbal with their five-piece kit.
Don’t forget about hardware
Of course, you’ll need stands for all your cymbals as well as other essential hardware bits. They include a hi-hat stand and pedals, drumsticks, cymbal stands, drum throne, snare stand, and bass drum kick pedal.
Those massive, high-end heavy metal drum sets with twin bass kick drums are completely unnecessary, too. Just get a double bass drum pedal. If you’re looking for how you can get started, this Dixon hardware pack gives you great potential to upgrade your existing drum and cymbal setup.
Are you looking for more drums and pieces to choose from? At Adorama, we carry a wide variety of acoustic drum sets, electronic drums, and all the parts you could need.
Feature image via Canva
