D.W.A.

Well....its been since 97' since ive purchased a drum kit. Premier genistas. Its been a long run.....but the time to buy a new kit is way overdue. So...ive got 1700 bucks....and im going insane trying to decide what to buy. Everything ''looks'' very good nowadays....but id like some suggestions. I almost bought the pdp LXE....but ive read nothing but mixed reviews. Throw me some some suggestions.

Matthias

Mapex ProM Series, or Saturn, or even Orion!

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DavidPartay

Mapex or Gretsch. Can't go wrong either way on your budget .

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DRUMVARNA

Mapex is OK,but Gretsch sucks man!!
for this money , Yamaha is a good choice,Recording custom maybe!!

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morgenthaler

What's wrong with your Genistas?!
One of my all time favorite drumsets!
If I were You I'd by new skins and possibly a new snare or cymbals to fit on my Genistas.
They are just so wonderful drums.

Thoughts?!

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Jeppe Morgenthaler
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C.J.

I've said it many times and I'll say it again Gretsch make great shells but the hardware is just a load of junk. If you gig a lot the hardware will be out of service in not time.

I agree with Jeppe - Genistas are great drums. There are now collector items along with Signia and Marquis kits. I would keep my hand on those if I had them. You are going to be downgrading buying a Mapex Pro-M or another semi-pro kit. If it was me I'd just use the money to refurbish (if necessary) or expand the Genistas (hardware cymbales etc.)

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stiflerstang

In my personal opinion i would look into a sonor delite kit....i know they are expensive, but if you get an older one, you can get a brand new (2005-2006 kit) kit for 1500-1700...that's me personally! I have a Metallic Marine Sonor Delite kit and i love it, it's unbelievable!! The sound it produces is incredible! But it also depends where your playing if your gonna gig at small bars or restaurants. The complaint i have which is not a complaint really is that the sonor kits are very loud and project a lot. When i gig out in a small bar, i have a four piece Basix Bernard Purdie kit...and that little kit sounds amazing too!!

Good luck with the purchasing!!

Cheers

Matthias

Yamaha are good studio drums, Mapex are easy to tune. A friend of mine who is a successful drummer and gets lost of studio session jobs, and "drum-tuning"-jobs always recommends Mapex drums (the upper level kits of course), and Remo Emperor (coated) heads.

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D. Slam

D.W.A.,

Check these guys out. http://www.ddrum.com/home.htm

I bought a kit from them about a year ago and I love it. They are really into the "virgin" bass drum thing, plus they make some outrageous sizes. I got my kit with a 20X20 kick drum. I threw the Evans Emad head system on it and it sounds killer! Very nice drums. I got a seven piece maple kit for under a grand. It take a bit longer to setup because there is no tom holder on the the kick but the sound these drums produce more than makes up for the extra time setting up.

You're really not going to go wrong with any of the major drum companies by way of the drums themselves. I'd look more into the hardware and the convenience of design it has. For instance, I really like Tama's clamp and memory-lock system. Mapex had this problem where I could not get the toms that mounted on the bass drum low enough because the hardware was made in such a way that pieces would hit. Assuming mapex hasn't fixed the problem (and they may very well have), if you like your toms to sit on the lower side, then this isn't the set to buy. I tend to like hardware with the 'L' shaped tom holders so Yamaha and Pearl doesn't do it for me in that department, Though I'm sure their drums and hardware are second to nobody. It's all a matter of preferrence. But again I would say really look into hardware design and the options it offers.

I'm sure that color options are important to you so you might want to take note of your options there also... I have two Premier kits and I love them. My beef with them though has always been their lack of color options.

Another thing to focus on is the snare drum. does it produce a good sound. I have my own test method for the snare drum. I tighten the heads and snares to a reasonable degree and then barely tap the top drum head with the stick. If you can still hear the snares rather than just a high pitched tom sound, then this is the mark of a responsive snare drum.

One last thing, I'd suggest looking into shells without reinforced hoops as they tend to cut resonance and make the drum a bit harder to tune. Drums (toms) minus the hoops tend to resinate more. Some players don't like this, but my pholosophy is it's better and easier to have it, not want it and get rid of it, than it is to not have it, want it and try to create it. Keep it simple, don't try and look at everything out there. There are just too many manufactures and you'll just become overwhelmed. Try and narrow your choices down quickly.

Anyway, I hope these tips help in your quest. And believe me with all the stuff that's out there, it can really be just that.

Happy hunting, my brothuh.

D.

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D.W.A.

Dont get me wrong....i have no complaints with my premiers whatsoever soundwise. Its just that all the parts are starting to strip out (kick legs,tom holder etc.)...and theres no replacing them....unless i rigg something up. Any thoughts on the dw pacifics?......i was looking into the LXE series.

Matthias

That's true unfortunately. I know this problem with my Mapex kit, especially since I own a 22x20 bass drum and therefore don't need my small toms to be too much higher than the bass drum.

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Sillyman

Pearl Vision Series man. 100% Maple or 100% Birch!! Masters Series???? Hey the quality and sound surpasses anything on the market!!!!!

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D.W.A.

what do you guys think of these...

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/prod...Pack?sku=490463

D. Slam

The more important question is, what do YOU think of them?!

African bubinga a is very exotic and expensive wood. Being that these are from ddrum, I have no doubt they sound killer. Again, Notice the "virgin kick drum. If you don't mind the little extra setup time then you'll likely wind up with a great set of drums. Personally I'm not that fond of the finish, but that's just me. You won't go wrong with a set of ddrums though, I can promise you that.

D.

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