I'm a parent -- not a drummer. But my son's now a professional drummer in Nashville and we've been customers of DCP since Shane opened the shop (and my son was in elementary school). DCP was more than a place to spend money. It's a resource. The staff, the knowledge, the opportunities to hear other drummers, workshops, gear up the wazoo. It's a beautiful place. If your child is pretty serious -- get the Gretsch or Ludwig. Bad cymbals suck. IMHO.
My first kit was a Mapex V Series (from 2002, I think), and I LOVED that kit. It was versatile, and with decent heads, good cymbals, and a lot of practice you could make that kit really sing. These kits all sound great (excellent playing in the demos!), but for sentimental reasons, my clear favorite is the Mapex!
One of DCP's best comprehensive videos. Very informative and genuine. I haven't played the drums in at least 5 years. It almost makes me want to buy a set again.
It's been two years since I visited New Hampshire for my birthday. I went to DCP and absolutely loved it. The cymbals I bought there are still going strong today, and it's become a core memory. I hope I can visit again soon!
The fact that you guys do setup and tuning vids for each kit is a madness. Very cool idea. Might have to suggest that at the drum shop I work at in London 👀 Side note: can you guys make a vid on the AQ2 kits please? Cos there are so few AQ2 vids out there and even then it’s generally only for the bop sizes. Would love to hear the studio and stage sizes analysed
Great video on advice for beginning drummers. We changed my son's heads after a year to coated G1 Evans all around - what a change in the sound, then he upgraded to a Black Panther snare. He slowly updated his cymbals and ended up with some nice set of mostly unique prototypes, but great sounding professional level cymbals. And now I get to live my teenage years again, vicariously through my sons' kit....And like I say to parents in music stores where their kids are eyeing up drums - "Drums are just like dessert - there is always room for drums"....
When I was a beginner in the 70s there was a choice of cheap and crappy or prohibitively expensive. So cool that one can get well-made, great sounding kits for such reasonable prices these days.
Yes, The quality of beginning drum kits keeps getting better and better With decent heads they are recordable. I’ve heard cheap kits sound better than expensive drums when tuned well!! Those cheap cymbals were terrible though!!!!
I just bought an electronic kit about 2 months ago and regret it. I had an acoustic kit when I was a teenager and didn’t know if I wanted to get back into it. Now that I know I’m def buying an acoustic
I love you guys! I've been playing professionally since I was 17. Back then, it was a full drumset from the Sears catalog. Blue metalflake, they sounded horrible, but I HAD ME SOME DRUMS!
Well, any of these kits sound and look a hell of a lot better than my first kit which was made by Zim-Gar (?!) back in the 'olden days! I think Ludwig stole the show here in terms of value. Cymbals and hardware were impressive, and I was surprised that they had RIMS on the mounted toms. This was a fabulous video for a beginner. I wish that this existed when I was starting out. Nice job as always guys.
Im a 48 year old long time bass player but due to my band unable to find a decent drummer over the last 2 years, is picking up the sticks & Im starting my first lesson tomorrow! Thanks for the indepth advice! I scooped up the Ludwig model you featured. Sorry, If I had the cash, I would’ve bought from you but had to go with a place that offers monthly installments. Ill not name them out of respect for your business but yeah, I didn’t know what I was looking for until now! Appreciate it!
I have played on and off for over 45 years. Due to problems with my shoulders I tried bass and guitar. I sucked at both. I didn't want to invest a lot of money on a set because I can usually only play for 15-20 minutes. I purchased the Mapex Venus in black and white. My only issue with the set is the quality of the snare hardware and lugs. I have added a double bass pedal, a 2 leg hi hat and a set of Meinll Classics Custom cymbals, and new pinstripe heads. I also have a Wuhan splash and China. All together I have about $2000 invested. I have found this set to be a bargain. I still hate the snare but it is livable.
My personal recommendation is buy a shell pack like the Yamaha SC or Mapex Armory etc and some decent used Cymbals or even one of these kits as a shell pack. I've been playing the sticks since I was 8yrs old. 2 things I learned. A crappy Snare & bad Cymbals are the quickest route for a kid to lose interest in playing drums along with parents ticked off at the din. Stop shouting at your Kid for making a ruckus. It wouldn't sound a like a ruckus if it had good cymbals, heads and a snare 😛 Agree with Shane, if you really want to learn how to play & sound good on a drum set. Go Acoustic Kit ! Nice job as always fellas.
Excellent video for the entry level drum market, this will be the future of the drum industry. So many excellent options for beginners today than in the 60's. Very impressed with the quality and playing. Thanks from Nashville!
Tama sounded good, and the hardware is pretty robust. But cymbals are meh, so if you like Tama spend the money on a used Superstar kit and get separate cymbals
Bought my first acoustic kit, a 5-piece Gretsch Catalina Maple, from DCP! Have since expanded that to a 7- piece. I'm looking forward to visiting the drum Mecca that is DCP in person for the first time when my wife and I make a trip to the northeast to see the fall colors in a little over a month! 🤘🥁😎
I think the Gretsch is the best bang for the buck. Yes, you need to buy a seat (although I didn't and started on a barstool), but at least it has a full set of cymbals that sound.... ok. The Ludwig of course offers even more (even RIMS that allow the toms to resonate freely), but it's pretty much a 1.000 dollars.
When I first started, I just put two milk crates on top of each other & threw a small pillow on top of that. I used that as my drum stool for the first 2 or 3 years. It was at a perfect height for me & was always rock solid as far as not moving around. Plus, it was free🤣
I almost get jealous of new drummers these days that get such great drum set packages to choose from. My first set (about 40 years ago) was a 5 piece "Space Percussion" set....I had no cymbals, the hardware was worthless, and the heads on the set were like Saran Wrap....LOL
As retailer at guitar center, pearl roadshow and Ludwig backstages easily take the cake as far as starter drum sets go, more so the roadshow with the amount of configurations you get
It’s hard to tell the difference in terms of sound. The Ludwig is my top pick but it’s getting close to Pearl Export territory. Being U.K. based I’d probably go left field and get a Natal Arcadia, similar specs and prices to the Mapex. They are all great options for beginners
Band I was joined had Pearl Roadshow in their studio. I'm not gonna say any goody word about cymbals (but I actually used hats as a stack and it was pretty cool). On the other hand I seriously thought for some time that it is Decade series of Pearl, untill I saw the badge. It was set with evans double ply heads and this kit was a killer. We complete them with Paiste PST5 rock set and were very happy
My forst kit was a pearl maxwinn with no snare and a broken zildjoan crashride on stand that fell over every time i hit it. Plus i had no hi hat or snare for 2 yrs then i started swaping other ppl for the kit to be more complete. I had a 13inch sonor tom i taped wires to inside of bottom head to kinda sound snare buzz. It worked first 2 yrs. Till my teacher helped me locate rest items required. These kits are way better than what i started on 31 yrs ago.
Guys, i always go to you, as a drummer and a gear geek. Thanks for these videos. Now, two little things: First, because these drum sets are so similar, i don´t know why you skipped one big difference: the tom mount systems. The Roadshow and Center Stage have the worse: piercing tom arms while the Venus, Energy and StageStar have, well, virgin toms, with the hook arms outside. Is not a huge difference, but is one. And not even mentioning Ludwig. It has an actual suspension system for the toms, and with that in mind i go into my second comment: the evolution kinda belongs up in the ladder, it can actually (specially with his great value rate) fight against the Imperialstar, the SQX, the Rydeen and even the more expensive but still in the category Export. Easily the best of this bunch, considering you´ll have to upgrade these crappy brass cymbals anyways, and you´ll probably will end up getting Zildjan I or B8X´s cymbals anyways. Just that. As usual, thanks. Can i work for you? heheheh
About 1 year ago I bought a Tama Imperial Star. I played on it for about 1 month. I seriously underestimated how damn loud they are so I bought an ekit. At first I hated the ekit. However after some time I really liked it. I often practice late at night. Even though I really don't have close neighbors I still worried about someone hearing me. After months on the ekit I went back to the acoustic set and then hated that lol. I hardly touch the acoustic set anymore but I should probably spend more time on it. Here's my thoughts on the Tama. I think it's a great kit for beginners however I hated the throne. I sat on that for about 3 months on both kits and was miserable. I went out and bought a nice quality throne and it's so much better. I also updated the bass pedal. There wasn't anything necessarily wrong with the one from the kit but I wanted something better. Then I wanted a better hi hat stand just incase I move back and forth between kits (the ekit didn't come with one) so I upgraded that too. Once I get better at playing I'll probably get better used cymbals.
My first kit was a black Groove Percussion 5 piece about 15 years ago which was most comparable to the Roadshow but with a metal snare and the absolute WORST sounding crash-ride and hi hat cymbals I ever heard, I ended up using a 14" Sabian B8 as my ride instead of the included crash ride because of the sound. These kits are are a big step up from my first kit; The Ludwig is definitely my favorite of the bunch and has the least elements needing upgrades. I think the Mapex and Tama are the best of the first 4, but the Gretsch is also really nice and, similarly to what you said in the Catalina Maple video, I think it has the most "mature" vibe here along with the Ludwig; Those along with the Tama Imperialstar and even the Pearl Export would be great for an adult or more serious beginner, or even someone upgrading from a junior kit. I wish the Yamaha Rydeen also had an option for a complete kit because that would be on par with the Gretsch IMO.
I firmly believe the best thing about the kits is the scope you have to build with them, vastly improving your drumming sound, enjoyment and experience, without even having to change the bass and toms. Change the heads, add dampening, get more/better cymbals. At some point get a better snare, better bass pedal and hardware, get better cymbals. Do all that and I'd wager few people will notice or care that the drums are basic models.
Btw, you can tell what the extra $ gets you with the Ludwig in particular. However, it'd be interesting how much you could still save making one of the cheaper kits sound as good.
Having played drums for over 30 years, will add: All of these sets are good for a beginner. However IMHO, the specific sets to not purchase, are the sets with metal hoops on the bass drum - these do NOT stay tuned up and they are a pain to keep the bass pedal attached. It's already a challenge learning how to play - we don't need to include functionality problems to the mix - that will just frustrate the new drummer. Be sure the bass drum hoops are the wooden style. As a side note: the metal hoops on kits from back in the day (ie 1980s) worked just fine. Again, it's just my humble opinion
The Tama kit easily has the best kick drum, and to my ears the second best snare drum. Given you play kick, snare and hihats the most, I'd buy the Tama kit, and upgrade the hi-hats when you get more serious about drumming.
You don't hear anyone refer to the internet as the "web" anymore. My first drum set was a Mica set that sold for about $200. LOL! It worked for me as a 12 yr old learning drums.
I love these demos, may I ask the thickness of the tom/snare hoops as it can be a subtle variance and ultimately a tuning advantage if they are thicker?
I'm a bit bummed you didn't include the Sonor AQX offerings in this, I think it's a better set in comparison to these competitors. Does it come at more than 1000 in the states? Also, the cymbals on the Ludwig are "better" because of the better materials used, but I think the Paiste 101 cymbals are far better sounding (crisper, a little more controlled sustain which helps with dynamics and to not give them away as cheap cymbals in a good mix...) Honestly, I'd be happier with a set of those with an upgraded crash cymbal than with a set of Zildjian i... Heck, I also found some pros (can't remember the names) which have the 101 ride as their main in the Paiste website! That bell is really something...
People new to drums consider a drum kit to be the entirety of the set whereas drums and cymbals are both separate musical instruments. Drum companies make drums and cymbal companies make cymbals. Combining both of these instruments into a drum set happened around 100 years ago
I have a pdp encore it's black and it has good heads and cymbals but my cymbals are not brass (I think)because they have a warm sound and and it's not all shiny and it's not washy I don't know if that came with the drum set or someone got me another selection of cymbals It was a 16 crash/ride and 13 hi-hats
Ludwig for the win, you're going to spend more than that on cymbals and heads anyway with the other kits. Also, the rack tom adjustable ball mounts are a big deal imo. Pearl is just horrible, and the sad part is their high-end kit mounts are not much better. 19:39 was awesome bwahahahahahah I will be up for a visit 8/28-9/95 hope to see a few of the guys. It has been a long time.
used drum is the best solution for beginners, you can find a middle class drum for the price of a new one which is low class. Pearl decade , Tama strclass.performer, Sonor force, Yamaha stage custom is my recommendation, at the same time the best choice for price and quality.
@dragobotica Yeah I totally agree, but unfortunately, unless you actually know what you're buying (which in most cases means you're already in the hobby or been very involved with music) it sounds so much safer when there's the word "new" involved... Sadly, I've seen a couple people quit out of frustration, because of instruments crapping out and hindering performance... Of course If I was starting out now with the 16 years of knowledge I've accumulated, I'd surely be way happier with a beat up but working pro kit/hardware and pro cymbals which have cracked and been repaired properly, than with a new beginner's kit which I can find coming under 1000 today (inflation be damned).
I didn't mean anything bad when I said that a second-hand drum is a good option, while I'm not diminishing the value, safety and warranty of a new drum. mentioning the guarantee, of course, it can also be in the form of a person who has experience when buying a drum to give you advice to look at the condition of the drum so that there are no subsequent, undesirable or frustrations.
