First Drum Kit advice please......

Crasher · #1 (**permalink**) 05-29-2010, 09:57 AM

Hello all. First time poster here. I'm soon going to buy my first drum kit as well as being a beginning drummer. I've been around music my whole life and have fooled around with guitar, keyboard but have finally pursued my love for drums. I have read tons of material and visited some drum shops but none of them can compete with online prices. Here are the kits I'm having trouble deciding on:

1. Mapex fusionese 5pc 100% birch shells $399.99 I can add SP hardware pack for $100 then some starter cymbals.

2. Tama Imperialstar 5pc 100% poplar, Tama Hardware pack, Meinl cymbals (terrible) all for $699.

So, my main question is do you guys think the birch Mapex will give me a better sound than the Tama poplar? I will be playing Rock music primarily and just love to play, not looking to get gigs or anything like that...at least not for a long time.

Any opinions/advice would be greatly appreciated!

**dtxtremeiiispecial** · #2 (**permalink**) 05-29-2010, 08:00 PM

You are looking at two starter level kits as possibilities for your first drumset. Many believe that a better alternative is to buy a mid-level kit, used if necessary, for your first set. Such a mid-level kit will last longer than a starter kit and sound better with the proper tuning.

If you could get a used mid-level kit from Yamaha, Tama, Gretsch, Pearl, or Sonor, say, for the same price as the TAMA Imperialstar, you'd be in better shape. That, of course, takes some shopping around, but if you found such a set it would be worth it. You want to inspect and play the kit of course.

But if it's either the fusionese or the Imperialstar, I recommend you go play before you buy. Your ear is not the same as anyone else's, and only you can decide which sounds better. It's best to play them yourself and also have someone else play while you listen. Also, if you think those Meinl cymbals with the Imperialstar are terrible, you haven't listened to some of the other cymbals that come with starter kits. And if you buy cymbals for the fusionese, how good do you think those will sound given what you plan to spend for them? You can luck out and get decent cymbals on used kits sometimes.

Jessetortorella · #3 (**permalink**) 05-30-2010, 02:24 AM

Neither, if I were you i would find some worn down set, Your starter set is your crap set. Dont waste alot of money on a set thatll youll eventually destroy from all the beginning training (begginers play really loud and hard).

slingerland · #4 (**permalink**) 05-30-2010, 04:35 AM

You should look into americanmusicalsupply.com they have some pretty good deals they have a yamaha tour custom and they throw in a rack for a good price. You could then shop around for
cymbals on e-bay. If your not playing any gigs you don't have to get hi quality cymbals until your
ready.Yamaha makes excellent drums check it out. GOOD LUCK

Crasher · #5 (**permalink**) 05-30-2010, 09:58 AM

I have been cruising around craigslist for my area. Nothing great yet. As far as the entry level kit, I didn't think that going with Mapex which is 100% birch was so bad. I've played Mapex, Tama and Yamaha before and liked them all. The Yamaha Tour mentioned wasn't on the site suggested below. So my question is, if the Mapex kit has 100% birch shells what other features of this kit suggest I should find a mid-level used kit? I've seen maple shells are quite expensive but I thought birch was pretty well respected.

**dtxtremeiiispecial** · #6 (**permalink**) 05-30-2010, 09:09 PM

I am not familiar with the Mapex fusionese, and I do not find it on the Mapex website. Both of these make me suspect that it is an entry-level or discontinued kit that is not "solid," but I don't really know.

Birch is a respected wood, but until I learn more about the set, I am suspicious. Sometimes cheaper maple kits are not North American maple, but rather a kind of Asian maple, for example. It's a lower quality wood. You may be right, it may be great wood, but I don't know that. Let me look around and see what I can find on the Mapex fusionese.

**dtxtremeiiispecial** · #7 (**permalink**) 05-30-2010, 09:24 PM

OK, it looks like the set you're talking about is the Mapex Meridian Birch fusionease. I think the Meridian Birch has good birch shells. The ads I see say that the $399 price is for the shell pack -- no hardware included. Yeah, I have no problem at all with those shells, or with Mapex.
That might be a good set.

You still want to play them to know that you want birch and like their sound.

xxvenom13xx · #8 (**permalink**) 05-30-2010, 09:25 PM

I'm not familiar with Mapex either; however, I am fluent in DW and PDP-an.
A great kit to start out with(that is DEFINITELY in your price range) is either the:
1) PDP Z5 5-Piece Shell Pack- $249.99 (or with cymbals it's $349.99)
2) PDP M5 5-Piece Fusion Shell Pack- $629.99

Or my friends, who are BIG fans of Tama, recommend:
1) Tama Stagestar 5-Piece with Cymbals- $499.99
2) Tama Imperialstar 5-Piece with Cymbals- $699.99

Happy finding(:

**Tainojim** · #9 (**permalink**) 05-31-2010, 11:31 AM

I'm with Mr. Slingerland on this one. We both have been playing drums for a real long time.

So listen to the pros.

**dtxtremeiiispecial** · #10 (**permalink**) 05-31-2010, 12:13 PM

Mr. Slingerland misspoke -- it's a Yamaha Stage Custom that is available on the American Musical Supply site with a free rack.

They also show a couple different Pearl Vision sets -- birch shells -- that might be worth a look.

Just a thought -- have you listened to birch vs. maple? Birch is coming on strong, but there are a lot more maple kits out there. (I love maple.)