My 13 year-old wants to play the drums

Cafe Society
21

Thanks again for all the responses.

One quick question: For buying drums which do you recommend?

Guitar Center
Sam Ash
Local music store
Other

I should mention a couple of relevant facts. In case it’s not clear yet, I don’t know anything about drums. Also, I don’t expect to have a lot of free time during the next few weeks. It’s not like I’m on summer break from college and hanging out a lot and would love to tour the music stores of the northeast :frowning: . Kind of the opposite. Also, it wouldn’t be the worst thing if I spend a little bit extra in order to get something good quickly.

Thanks again.

22

[QUOTE=Plan B]
Thanks again for all the responses.

One quick question: For buying drums which do you recommend?

Guitar Center
Sam Ash
Local music store
Other

I should mention a couple of relevant facts. In case it’s not clear yet, I don’t know anything about drums. Also, I don’t expect to have a lot of free time during the next few weeks. It’s not like I’m on summer break from college and hanging out a lot and would love to tour the music stores of the northeast :frowning: . Kind of the opposite. Also, it wouldn’t be the worst thing if I spend a little bit extra in order to get something good quickly.

Thanks again.
[/QUOTE]

Well, a good used deal always comes first in this situation. Most stores in the vein of “Sam Ash, Guitar Center” will match prices. The local drum shop might be forced to have a higher profit margin.

The better question to ask would be “My kid wants a drum kit, what is my best and least expensive option?”

The answer to this varies by location, circumstance, etc.

The bottom line is, the best deal and circumstance is dependent on too many variables to be decided by dudes on a message board. Only you know what is available to you locally.

PM or email one of the drummers that have responded to this thread.

We’d love to help you, but you’re on the brink of spending too much money on something that can’t really be resold.

23

Oh, if you’re determined to shop at Sam Ash or Guitar Center, they have sales almost every weekend. If there is no “sale” in place, you can still negotiate a deal. The sales guys get paid based on a percentage above gross profit, talk to a manager if you can’t get the price you want.

You seem reluctant to peruse the used market, or maybe the used kits available don’t appeal to you. Grab the classified section of your local paper that has drum kits in it, go to any place that might have a live drummer, and offer him $20 to give you his opinion about a kit for your 13 YO kid. I can guarantee you that he/she will refuse your money, give you locally relevant advice, point you in the right direction, and possibly save you $200 to $400 bucks. Plus, you might get a bargain, with a higher sale value afterwards, like the one I got.

24

One of my friends back home is the second director and lead trumpet of the city’s band. His 18-mo son already knows how to use the buttons in Daddy’s trumpet to make it make different noises; he’s got about half a dozen drums plus a kid-sized set (think the one the drummer in Katrina and the Waves used).

When they bought him a plastic trumpet in July, the kid was a bit miffed at the buttons not moving; he taught the other kidlets how to blow it right so it made a decent noise and not the horrid PHWEEET some of the grown-ups (afraid to blow hard) were getting.

After a week of fiestas he’d managed to learn several of the rythms commonly used in local fiesta music; he just didn’t keep any of them up for long (where a single song may have the same sequence repeated 100 times, he’d hold up for 4-5 times).

If a kid that size (admittedly dunked into music since before birth) can do that, why are you so surprised that your son has figured out some percussion by himself? Percussion is more complicated than it looks and to get it right a teacher helps immensely - but from what my drummer friends tell me, still a lot easier to self-teach than, say, violin.

25

To mute the cimbals, set them as close as possible. You can mute the horizontal drums a lot by placing a piece of cloth on top; for vertical ones, insert a bundled towel. That’s what my friends do, at least. The kid knows that when there’s sunlight in the room he can play with the cloths off; when there’s no sunlight, he must use the cloth.

It’s a good thing the neighbors downstairs are his paternal grandparents :smiley: His mum says she’s come to greet rainy days, as the kidlet takes “no sunshine in the room” as a sign to use the cloths.

26

The problem is that I just don’t have the time or ability to shop around right now. I don’t want to sound at all arrogant or impolite about this, especially in the context of a thread where so many strangers have been so generous with their time and energy, but…how shall I say it?..money just isn’t a problem right now. I’m not saying I’d be glad to spend $10,000 on something that would fall apart before we get home. But if today I pay $800 for something that’s good enough, and it turns out that if I had shopped around a lot I might have gotten it used for $600, I could live with that.

Thanks again for all the advice.

27

Sister of a drummer here - he, like most Chinese kids, started on the Piano, but various events came together and he switched over to percussion (most of his experience is in the classical instruments–orchestral percussionists are taught everything, but he’s since learned how to play the marimba and is marvelous at it). He’s also in the marching band and he’s going to major in music (education, last I heard) once he goes to college.

You definitely want to invest in at least some rudimentary lessons in the classical music techniques (theory, sightreading, technique) and a practice pad.

At some point you’ll be able to determine whether he’s really into this, or it’s one of those exploratory phases. (A big clue is whether or not he’ll practice without your prompting him to after that initial “wow, this is so awesome” phase has worn off.) Then go ahead and buy him a nice mid-range drum set.

Support his endeavour to pursue his dreams. It’ll save him a few midlife crises down the road. :smiley:

28

I’d say go to the local music store first, since it’s close and they may very well have a used kit just up your alley. bing-bang-boom your search is over.

Another thing about the local place is there might be a drummer/teacher working there that can hook you up with a used kit or make some suggestions. It also might have a networking bulletin board (a real one) with stuff on it.

I’ve bought kits from the local music store, classified ad in the local paper, from mail-order (my electronic kit from sweetwater sound) and from a local chain (Prosound in the Denver/Boulder area). Mail order is my least favorite, since they often break up shipments and sometimes you don’t get what you ask for and have to do the return thing. At least at a music store you walk out with what you saw or any mix-ups can be handled on the spot.

29

***** A good example of how the drum kit is one part of a much wider set of skills: in orchestral pieces such as Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, a kit is added to the standard orchestral percussion. Any percussionist should and will be able to play that part just as they can swap to any other instrument in the section.
[/QUOTE]

Playing in a pit orchestra performing West Side Story is a total Bitch. I didn’t play percussion but did play the reeds, and believe it, the complex rhythms the percussion section had to go through were incredible. Knowing when not to play is just as important as playing. (I would like to know if anybody on this board has sight-read the score perfectely without mistakes.)
The rhythms were more like a telephatic communication between the conductor and the orchestra!

30

[QUOTE=Plan B]
The problem is that I just don’t have the time or ability to shop around right now. I don’t want to sound at all arrogant or impolite about this, especially in the context of a thread where so many strangers have been so generous with their time and energy, but…how shall I say it?..money just isn’t a problem right now. I’m not saying I’d be glad to spend $10,000 on something that would fall apart before we get home. But if today I pay $800 for something that’s good enough, and it turns out that if I had shopped around a lot I might have gotten it used for $600, I could live with that.

Thanks again for all the advice.
[/QUOTE]

In light of this (and the fact that you seem to be in the NYC area), I’m going to second the motion that you buy a couple of lessons first. A half-way decent teacher will be happy to do the heavy lifting for you by gauging your son’s ability and matching him to an appropriate kit.

Or just go with DW drums*, Sabian HH cymbals* and Gibraltar hardware* and quit worrying about it. :slight_smile:

*what I would buy for myself if money was not a consideration.

31

Drum corps is for chumps? Seriously?

Playing in a pit orchestra performing West Side Story is a total Bitch. I didn’t play percussion but did play the reeds, and believe it, the complex rhythms the percussion section had to go through were incredible. Knowing when not to play is just as important as playing. (I would like to know if anybody on this board has sight-read the score perfectely without mistakes.)
The rhythms were more like a telephatic communication between the conductor and the orchestra!
[/QUOTE]

Bwaha – Our community orchestra did that piece! At about the 5th practice wherein the conductor was still yelling “Whistle!” to represent the absent instrument, I surreptitiously pulled out my Emergency Police Whistle (a gift from my MIL because we lived in The Big Evil City) and blew it for all it was worth (in the right spot, mind you) (but not from the right part of the orchestra, since I was playing second violin).

Our conductor 'bout fell off his podium. :stuck_out_tongue:

Good luck supporting your drummer. Those blue foamy earplugs are great.

32

If you are in the NY area, look up “Long Island Drum Center” or just “drum shop” and see if there is one near enough for you to to travel to. I’ve always had better experience (on both coasts) with drum shops rather than chain music stores. They usually have a much better selection, often even having a large selection of used kits. I think, in the long run, you’ll save a lot of time and get a much better deal at one of these places. And, they are very experienced with helping out new drummers, much better than a chain music store, IMO. They can probably even recommend a teacher or two in your area.

Hope this helps and good luck!

33

[QUOTE=Plan B]
The problem is that I just don’t have the time or ability to shop around right now. I don’t want to sound at all arrogant or impolite about this, especially in the context of a thread where so many strangers have been so generous with their time and energy, but…how shall I say it?..money just isn’t a problem right now. I’m not saying I’d be glad to spend $10,000 on something that would fall apart before we get home. But if today I pay $800 for something that’s good enough, and it turns out that if I had shopped around a lot I might have gotten it used for $600, I could live with that.

Thanks again for all the advice.
[/QUOTE]

This changes things. I’m used to giving advice to parents that want to support their kid, but want to get by on the cheap. Financially, you are in a much better position as far as potential loss goes, if you select a higher quality kit with better resale value.

Again, used kits can offer higher quality for lower cash, and often one can resell the same kit for the same or more than they bought it for. New kits OTOH, are different. Entry level used kits are almost worthless, mid-level kits not much better, a slightly higher quality mid-to-high level kit is your best bet if money isn’t the limiting factor.

A Yahama maple custom, or Tama Star Classic comes to mind. Pearl also has a few lines that might fit as well. All are good drums. DW drums are way too expensive (hard to head) and are not the right choice for a beginer drummer. They sound sweet though, but so do Spaun drums (my “if money were no object dream kit”).

I was the Drum Department Manager at Sam Ash when I bought my kit. I would have bought the Tama Star classic Shell kit (no hardware), which I really liked, but I decided that it wasn’t the best choice for my situation. I saved enough money by not buying the Star Classic, to be able to buy all new hardware. Besides, if I was going to be lugging a kit in and out of bars all the time, might as well get one that sounded decent, and I didn’t really mind getting a few scratches on.

My kit ($500 new, just drums) was able to sound pretty damn good when headed correctly and tuned right. Heh, the guy that did sound for the concert that my band blatant name dropping opened for Foghat, said that he was impressed with the tone my kit had. Oh yeah, my kit is a Tama Rockstar, midlevel to be sure, but I get by just fine without it. When and if I get an endorsement, I’ll get a better kit.

Cymbals and hardware can easily double the price of a kit. Buy sturdy harware, and it will last forever. Cymbals can and will be cracked and split by overzealous teen drummers. Again, I say, buy used if you can with cymbals. There is a big difference between crappy cymbals and awesome cymbals, sound and price are almost directly proportional.

It’s good that you want to be informed, and even better that you don’t want to skimp on your kid’s instrument. Before buying the kit, a good practice pad or even decent snare drum would be a good start. We’d love to help you make a great purchase regardless of whether or not your kid decides to continue with drumming.

34

I’m 13, I play the drums, my parents had no qualms about it. However, if he’s adamant about it, you could get him the kit and then some mufflers, if noise is what you’re concerned about. Actually, I would start him off with a snare drum, keep with that for about six months, and then get him the kit. Remember, this is all if you think this is right for him. Good Luck!