[GloriousPeanut]

I'm going to start this off by saying I am *NOT* a drummer, and I probably never will be with my two left feet... playing a guitar and hitting the occasional foot pedal is about all I can handle.

I'm currently planning to shop for a kit for my home studio/practice space, but I have no idea what to buy. I've budgeted about $1000 total (full kit + heads + cymbals), with a bit of wiggle room (but not much). The kit in question would pull double-duty as a recording kit/practice kit, but would not likely leave my room so looks are not an issue at all. I have a band, we play rock... punk... stuff, but I talked to the drummer already and he really doesn't care, in his words "I'll play whatever."

As a guitarist, I know that some pieces of gear are better suited for certain applications than others, and that you don't always have to pay $1,000+ for a guitar to get good tone. I know LITERALLY NOTHING about drums, aside from the fact that I'm partial to "Tama" kits because the drummer in my favorite rock band plays one (a really dumb reason, I know ). So I guess what I'd like to know about is how size, shell material, and head type affect tone, projection, etc. so I can figure out for myself what type of kit that I want, and possibly get a better deal by buying it used, one piece at a time. I only care about how it sounds in the hands of a decent rock drummer, and staying at or under my budget... if I end up with an orange snare and a transparent kick drum I could really care less.

I'm looking for some general advice, online resources, or even just links that explain the basic technical principles of drumming and drum sets. I appreciate any help you can give me, like I said I am a total noob. Thanks for your time!

[Tainojim]

Have you checked EBay or Craigslist yet?

You may find an intermediate level drum kit for that price.

[Pyrochazm]

I second Taino. You could probably find something pretty decent used for that price, but new a decent shell/hardware pack would be close to 1k by its self, not including cymbals or a throne.

Heres some ideas though.
Shop Acoustic Drums, Acoustic Drum Sets, Complete Drum Sets | Musician's Friend
The cymbals that come with theese sound horrible to my ears, but they would get you started, and not all of them come with all the hardware you need, so read close.

[skinslapper]

Secondhand is definitely the way to go. If you like rock I'd recommend maple wood shells, any of the big companies (Pearl, tama, sonor, mapex, pdp) will make a reliable addition to your practice space.

If you've got a decent pa you should also consider an electric kit with acoustic cymbals. That way you dont have to worry about heads, tuning, annoying anyone in the wee hours and a good brand (roland, yamaha, alesis) will probably sound better than what you end up without an experienced drum tuner.

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