Cheap is best!!!!

nigelfrazer · #1 (**permalink**) 08-22-2011, 04:42 AM

Thought that would get your attention! haha!

I had a jam on the weekend with my buddy & used my cheap and nasty Ashton TPR-522 that I bought for $200, throw it in my van & abuse for jams. It was hilarious to find that the horrible brass hi-hat actually found it's place in the world, being played with a brush in a quiet Joe Jackson track, we pissed ourselves laughing! Couldn't believe it! Honestly it sounded really good with a nice quite hiss and just enough sustain to be just what the song needed! HAha, unbelievable. And even the hideous bass pedal was remarkably OK, the best bit was the thump from the 22" bass, it was really very good considering how crappy these kits are assumed to be! Blew me away. Even the snare had it's place with a really nice ring when played slightly off centre. Not for every situation but on Sunday it worked & worked well. Unbelievable!

My usual hi-hats are Paiste 14" 2000 Sound Reflection (this is my fave soooooo booootiful) Zildjian 13" Re-Mix, also very very nice & a pair of Stagg 14" SH medium rock, great when played really loud. My kits are Mapex Mars-Pro oldie but goody, and my Ludwig Duo-Modular so I do have a good standard of gear to compare it to.

What I am trying to say is that it just shows with a bit of tuning and in certain situations even the cheapest, nastiest kit has it's place. After spending quite a bit on my other kits it was a real eye opener.

**Tainojim** · #2 (**permalink**) 08-25-2011, 01:49 PM

A good drummer can make any drum kit sound good.

nigelfrazer · #3 (**permalink**) 08-26-2011, 05:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tainojim

A good drummer can make any drum kit sound good.

Hi Tainojim, I totally agree, a good drummer can make plastic buckets & tin cans sound fantastic, the funny thing here though is that I'm not really that great a drummer and it took me by surprise how reasonable a sound my mediocre skills managed to massage out of this budget kit.

Thanks for your post, much appreciated and love your 500 Nations profile.

slingerland59 · #4 (**permalink**) 08-28-2011, 09:37 AM

My favourite hihats at the moment are no name trashy ones. I have three sets -- old NewBeats, a newer Sabian set and these no name ones that were thrown in for free when I bought a used Tama Imperialstar kit. I have been looking for that trashy sound for years. You can't put a price on getting the particular sound you like -- it's just way better when that price is free!

nigelfrazer · #5 (**permalink**) 08-30-2011, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slingerland59

My favourite hihats at the moment are no name trashy ones. I have three sets -- old NewBeats, a newer Sabian set and these no name ones that were thrown in for free when I bought a used Tama Imperialstar kit. I have been looking for that trashy sound for years. You can't put a price on getting the particular sound you like -- it's just way better when that price is free!

I'll change my post to "Cheap and Trashy is best!!!!" very interesting, thanks for the post. I'm learning that drumming is so much about personal taste with so many different drummers prefering different sounds, though I suppose that's music in general really, but drums seem to be even more so with the wide range of sound variations a drumset offers.