up until recently i had a dw kit which cost me over ?2500. the problem was my hardware was abit crap and so was my cymbals. i got back ?1500 and got a second hand yamaha maple custom kit for ?700, with this kit iv purchased a new pearl eliminator double pedal, a zildjian sweet ride and a zildjian 19" projection crash.

what in your view is more important, good drums with second rate harware/cymbals or average drums with or good hardware/cymbals?

I think that you should have a nice balance between the two. Good drums with bad pedals, and cymbal stands that fall, or are stripped isn't good. I started off with a bad kit, and got some decent hardware first, before I upgraded my set. Now, I just need some new cymbals.

But I definitely think that it's better to have a somewhat balance between the two, and not have one waayy better than the other.

yeah. there has to be a balance. and then upgrade as necceasary or ready for. i started with cheap kit-cheap cymbals. got better cymbals. upgraded the kit. now im looking into a 1off custom kit with custom cymbals. gona be worth it though.








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Get KRUNK...Its A Death Metal Thing.

well i have a swing star which is tama with zhts and sic hard ware nice heads and a sw 700 pedal and i prefer it over lots ofstuff i was getting a dw but realized to expensive and i can get a cheaper set that sounds great so the yamaha was a good decision just get good cymbals a custom as or paiste are pretty good

I think that as long as you have decent heads on your drums,you dont need to have the most expensive kit. Also i think its wise to invest in the best cymbals you can afford.Hardware should also be the best you can afford as cheaper ones tend to break when gigging alot. But if you have the nack of losing(getting nicked by scumbags) them,buy cheaper ones.

it doesnt matter how inexpensive or low quality somethng is. but if stands are held together with duct tape and falling over and drums have dead shells that get no tone or cymbals are cracked and sound bad, thats what you gotta worry about. if you're whole kit only costs like 500 bucks but holds up and you like the sound and dont have to worry about stuff breaking then thats a ood solid kit.

Remember...cymbals are cymbals. You can't tune them. If a Cymbal sounds bad, you can't fix it. But any drum set (for the most part) can be made to sound good with a good pair of heads and good tuning. Just get a balance between the two.

For what it's worth- I recently won a grammy for work I did on Ike Turner's album. I used Taye Tour Pro drums. Not exactly the top of the line kit from them- an under-$1000 USD (US Dollars) kit.

Get reliable stuff that is not falling apart. How much you spent on your rig does not necessarily make it sound great or get you great gigs. It's all in how you use it. I've walked into studios with a $10,000 DW kit that sounds like crap. Yesterday I did a demo session with a cheap no-name kit that was tuned up nice and sounded killer. (it's what was there)

I don't like to use a very expensive kit when I play out- as much setup and breakdown as I do, stuff tends to get thrashed. At 2am, I am more concerned with getting home and asleep than I am with being mecticulous with inanimate objects.








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13612
www.billraydrums.com
www.myspace.com/billraydrums

I have a silly $350 starter kit (Ashton), and average Paiste 202 cymbal set (which sounds great, even though it's cheap - well except for the ride [it's too loud, and too ringy]), and a Ufip crash... I used an old hi-hat upside down and it sounds like a cheap china... My pedals are BASIX brand and were the cheapest thing in the store.

I still manage to make my drums sounds pretty okay, and I'm happy

THAT'S THE POINT BABY!

I have an entry level CB Percussion 5-piece kit. I originally bought the thing at a yard sale for $130. That was 6 years ago. Now the total cost of fixing it up to sound the way I like has reached $1046. I'm a firm believer that if you're on a budget like me, you don't have to have the nicest, most expensive kit on the market. It's really the drummer who makes the drums sound musical. I've played on Tama, Pearl, Sonor, Yamaha, and even a Peavy. I've also played on entry level kits like Mark II, CB, and Astro. But recently I had the pleasure of playing a PDP kit and I was impressed. I'm going to save up and eventually get a PDP set. But for now, I'm good with what I have.








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I'm part of the brotherhood of like-minded individuals who like to bang on things.

shitty drums won't sound great but won't kill your sound. shitty cymbals, on the other hand, will just make everything sound like ass.

given the choice between on or the other (and assuming that nothing is actually falling apart), i'd choose good hardware.

If I had to choose.... I would definitely choose top-notch cymbals/hardware over shells. As a few here have stated, a lower quality shell's sound can be greatly improved with good heads and good tuning, but trash can lids for cymbals sound like.... well, trash can lids (and TOTALLY KILLS your sound). Poor hardware leads to more live/stage mishaps rather than affecting sound quality, but solid hardware gives you pretty good piece of mind when it counts. This is probably the reason I keep buying cymbals/hardware and have been completely ignoring the fact that I desperately need new shells








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Stand back! I have a COWBELL... and I am not afraid to use it.........
Saluda Cymbals - B20 never sounded so good...

yeah....it definetly needs to be balanced. a mid-line pearl/tama with zildjian custom a cymbals is better than a top of the line pearl/tama with shredded cymbals.








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-Tama Swingstars - Soon upgrading to a Mapex Pro M 6 piece
-Sabian Metal X and AA cymbals
-Remo Heads