[drummerjosh1984]

It is all a matter of personal preference really, cause everyone learns differently. But I would say get a 4 piece set. Less is more to me when starting. Really beef up your hands, rudiments etc. Get some speed going, then worry about the rest of the set. I played for 2 years before I realized I should have worried about my hand speed and accuracy more. So the more pieces are really going to just distract you starting off. Move up the a larger set later if that is what you want. Teach yourself the basics, and then get an instructor for the tough stuff. Instructor are great at the advanced stuff, and make it easier to learn them. If you aren't worried about the cost of an instructor, by all means get one now. I just couldn't afford lessons plus the set when i started.