Grizz Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 I have an 8 yr old son who wants to learn to play the drums. Any drummers want to tell me what I need to get him for a starter set? I was told that this set was a good set to start with. http://www.drumcentral.com/drum_sets_02.htm Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midnight Judges Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 For an eight-year-old that set looks pretty sweet! Most sets don't come with cymbals, just the stands. Seems like a pretty good deal to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsOrlando Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 Looks like a good starter kit, I wouldn't spend more than 500 beans til you find out whether he likes it or not. If he sticks with it, you'll be buying a new kit in a year or so but thats a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baculus Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 Yeah, that looks like a pretty good start for your youngster. I would also recommend purchasing him a metronome, practice pad, and a music stand, in addition to perhaps enrolling him in lessons to learn some basic rudiments. (His teacher should be able to suggest some books he can buy, such as Strick Control, etc.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d0ublestr0ker0ll Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 I'm a drummer and I used to sell drums... TKO Percussion set for an 8 year old is decent. Just realize that if he ends up liking to play the drums, you'll have to buy a new set within the next 3 or 4 years. Or you'll have to make repairs on the TKO, which is like taking training wheels to the bike shop. Prepare down the road to spend a lot of money on drums until he gets a job and starts earning his stuff. Dunno your budget, but through my teens I burned most of my money on my kit. A huge thing here is finding out what comes with the kit. Does it come with a bass drum pedal? If it does, the thing will probably start falling apart a few months in to it. Also, the drumheads are going to be from the factory, and even an 8 year old will dent them in no time. Drumheads are the single most important thing in getting a good sound out of drums. If you have an average set and really good drumheads that are tuned well, the set will sound $600 better than it really is. The cymbals that come with the kit are going to be disgraceful. I recommend you go with a Sabian B8 beginners pack of cymbals. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Sabian-B8-Performance-Cymbal-Prepack?sku=443878 They're the cheapest out of any of the company's beginner cymbals, and they are formidable sounding so your son doesn't have a distaste for cymbals and never wants to play. Cymbals also break, especially the ones that would come with the TKO set. These will too after a year or two, but that's the story with drums. Most high maintainence instrument by far, everything is always breaking, if he likes them I hope you're prepared to be a regular at the music shop. :laugh: TKO actually makes nice hardware (the chrome stands that hold cymbals & drums up). So if the hardware comes with this kit, you'll be set in that area. Good luck and tell him to listen to Zeppelin! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgun88 Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 I'm a drummer, also. If you are willing to spend 500, then you should get him a Pearl set. They have beginner sets that have awesome sound. how much are you willing to spend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d0ublestr0ker0ll Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 I'm a drummer, also. If you are willing to spend 500, then you should get him a Pearl set. They have beginner sets that have awesome sound. how much are you willing to spend? Pearl drum sets start at around $600 for the Pearl Forum. Which isn't a leap and bound above a TKO kit. TKO kits use basswood which you'd find in other novice kits like CB and Westbury, if tuned well with the right heads, they will actually sound pretty darn good. Good enough for an 8 year old for sure. If you're talking about Pearl Exports I believe they start at $750 for a 5-piece. But you're spot on about the sound. I was satisfied with my Pearl Export for over 7 years, although I would frequently take it all apart, clean and maintain it. That momma would sing for a kit that cheap. Although I would use my basswood CB kick drum instead of the Pearl I had. It was just more thunderous and satisfying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgun88 Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 Pearl drum sets start at around $600 for the Pearl Forum. Which isn't a leap and bound above a TKO kit. TKO kits use basswood which you'd find in other novice kits like CB and Westbury, if tuned well with the right heads, they will actually sound pretty darn good. Good enough for an 8 year old for sure. If you're talking about Pearl Exports I believe they start at $750 for a 5-piece. But you're spot on about the sound. I was satisfied with my Pearl Export for over 7 years, although I would frequently take it all apart, clean and maintain it. That momma would sing for a kit that cheap. Although I would use my basswood CB kick drum instead of the Pearl I had. It was just more thunderous and satisfying. Personally, I've never owned a pearl, but my buddy had an (Export I believe it was) and it was on the money. The sound was awesome. Not sure what kinda heads he had. Prolly weather kings. Anyway, right now I have a Pacific PDP MX kit. I love it. I dont really care for the snare, but the toms pop beautifully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonOfWashington Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 They need to invent Drum Hero..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midnight Judges Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 They need to invent Drum Hero..... That's a great idea! Holy cow I'm surprised they don't have it already. "Whole lot of Love" by Led Zeppelin would be great, especially the solo part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d0ublestr0ker0ll Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 Personally, I've never owned a pearl, but my buddy had an (Export I believe it was) and it was on the money. The sound was awesome. Not sure what kinda heads he had. Prolly weather kings. Anyway, right now I have a Pacific PDP MX kit. I love it. I dont really care for the snare, but the toms pop beautifully. DW makes Pacific drums. They're so high on themselves making 4 trillion dollar drum sets under the name "DW Collectors Series" that they have to make their intermediate sets a whole new name. Pacific. I'm not a HUGE fan of DW drums anyway. The kits sound like chords on a stand-up bass. They hum forever and don't have much pop. That isn't to say it isn't beautiful and amazing, there just isn't any flare in them at all. They're like Rolls Royce automobiles. Now Pacific drums? I guess you can say if Rolls Royce cars are DW Collectors, then Rolls Royce jet engines are like Pacific PDP's. A lot of pop, a lot of penetrability, loud. They cut through music real nice. They also have a really outstanding sound to them. I don't really care for the bass drum though. The (theoretical) rule of thumb is, the higher in price the drums are - the better the sound of the larger drums will be. The bass never did it for me when I played on a Pacific PDP for a few months. But since it wasn't my kit, I wasn't able to adjust it as I wanted. So I won't rush to judgment. My kit right now is a Tama Starclassic Performer in amber laquer. It's a high-quality set, so there isn't much to complain about. I really enjoy playing on her. The bass drum is deep (18 inches) so it isn't as sharp as I'd like it. Planning on selling the kit one day so I can trade the birch version I have right now for a maple set. Bought it because birch is quieter (for neighborhood purposes). But now I need my maple or even an oak set. Oak is the biggest secret in drum woods. It sounds great, and it's louder than anything else out there. Good for Go-Go, rock, metal...anything loud as hell. Gotta try it out first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizz Posted June 14, 2007 Author Share Posted June 14, 2007 Thanks for all the advice. I think I am willing to spend around $500. I just want to make sure he likes it and and will stick with it. If he does, I want the set to be good enough to last a few years before he needs to upgrade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeKings Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 actually there will be "rock band" coming out this fall just like guitar hero. has drums, guitar, mic, bass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjfootballer Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 That's about the type of set I started with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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