Are High-End Drums a Giant Waste of Money?

[michaelocalypse]

His video and conclusion is fair and pretty well balanced. As with anything, it depends on the individual, and what that person can responsibly afford.

I'm not a pro drummer, so my high-end kit is actually an upper-mid level kit. (Some people might contest that because they don't like the name on the badge, but I can log off and listen to the drums instead of the haters.) It has more sentimental value to it than getting my ultimate dream kit with every detail worked out to perfection, so I probably would not trade it in for an upgrade. I did, however, trade in a kit I was perfectly happy with (upper-low level) as part of getting this kit.

I also now have an entry level kit put together from orphan drums on the internet that my friends can come over and learn to play on at any time.

 

[LFR]

I am from the school of....."the only way to know is to buy and try"
I have 8 kits set up at home, least expensive is the Yamaha Stage Custom.
Do they sound good...yes, do they hold their own against the higher end kits...yes
Do I like my higher end kits better....yes.

In short with the Stage Custom you start with good and then go up the ladder.
Then there are other factors, fit, finish, heads, ease of tuning, feel etc.

Eight kits. How many times have you been married

 

[chakosticks]

I've skirted this issue by finding insane deals on high-end drums. Bought a set of 10x13 and 14x16 DW Collectors Toms for $350 in Ultra White Marine from a rental place on Elston in Chicago. Like new, owner said they were just the wrong color. Paired them with a matching 18x22 kick I found for $500 and voila an $850 high end kit.

Same rental place, bought 8x10, 9x12, 11x14 and 13x16 tom plus matching Electric Blue 5x14 snare, pre-Collectors DW, for $450. Owner said the bass drum was destroyed in a car accident, the 13x16 had a small split on the inner ply near a lug that doesn't change the fact that the tom is a massive cannon. Sold the 11x14 for $250 and added matching 18x20 kick from Ebay for another $500, ending up with a $700 5-piece Keller DW kit.

This was all 15 years ago or so, the market isn't quite full of the bargains you could get back then, including things like old Slingerland kits which now seem to go for twice what I paid for mine.

The way I see it, if you're just using a high end kit for home use, you're wasting your time. I'd prefer to go out in front of an audience confident that I'm presenting the best version of my drumming, including a kit that sounds amazing (and heavy duty, fully functioning hardware, no broken tilters or missing felts/sleeves). I'm very careful transporting and setting up the drums so they see no damage other than maybe some sweat droplets here and there. I play with plenty of bands where the drummer uses a total beater kit, almost like a badge of honor, but I'm too old for that kind of poseur crap.

 

[rsmittee]

Another way to look at it is that every decision I make boils down to a simple cost/benefit analysis. Cost is clearly the price of the drums (and potentially opportunity cost since I can't buy all the kits) while the benefit varies wildly for drummers. Benefits of a high-end kit can include looks, sound, hardware, durability, reliability, and if you're like my 5 year old niece "I just want it" is a valid benefit.

If I'm on a budget and gigging in dive bars and coffee shops, then my cost/benefit analysis might come down to sound and durability. Hence, I play Catalina Clubs, Renowns, SC's and an old set of Vistalites, none costing more than 1200. If I'm a pro playing in large venues or recording studios, my analysis would emphasize a different set of benefits, and I might pull the trigger on a 10k set of Noble and Cooley. Point is, whatever decision you make, be sure you understand the benefits and what you're getting with whatever kit you choose. The difference in benefits might not be worth the difference in price. Or you might just want it.

 

[gonzo]

Yes, they discuss it, but also they own plenty of expansive guitars. At some point every pro guitarist has at least owned an original USA Fender or Gibson or both. You cannot claim this about drummers at all. Since even the worst guitarist owns the most expansive guitars and claims it an investment (right so), this is a whole different subject. Now when drummers discuss if they really need good drums, they actually mean it. I know so many drummers who never spent more than a few hundred bucks on their instrument, and who in their life never had the chance to really play a professional instrument. Heck, most music stores even do not offer drums to play anymore. This is a real issue.

I restore drums. Drummers come to me to make their cheap drums sound expansive. Many of my customers see my own drums, play them, love them, but never get anything like that (i would not bother if they got another good instrument instead, but no, they are content with their cheap buy from 20 years ago) with the argument that while sure the drums sound better, the sound can always be fixed in the mix so why bother.

I do this for living, and this is what I hear every nice day. Drummers think they are not responsible for how they sound, so why bother getting good gear. Sure there are others who do care. But the numbers speak for themself. In Germany, every year there are 14k of new drum sets sold, but the fast majority is cheap entry level drums. Only 200-300 drum sets sell for above 2000$, this is where drums used to start as entry level sets, not we have reached this mark as high end price point. Sure there are more expansive drums, but here in germany, literally nobody seems to care. Hope things are different in the USA.

edit: just to give a frame, globally only mere 300k of drum sets sell new every year, in contrast to 50-60mio guitars, roughly 160x more. And it is not that we have 160x more guitar players than drummers, though there definitely are more.

Marion-don’t disagree with what you posted. My comment was based on the statement drummers are the only ones who discuss gear. More discussion I hear and debated about deals is with amps, not guitars.

 

[Houndog]

Marion-don’t disagree with what you posted. My comment was based on the statement drummers are the only ones who discuss gear. More discussion I hear and debated about deals is with amps, not guitars.

Guitar players discuss gear more than anyone I know …..

I attend a drummers hang at the LDS every month and we don’t talk gear this extensively ……

You ever been in a band with 2 guitarists ?
Geez , they will go on forever …

 

[drummer083]

My Pearl wood-fiberglass reissue kit was $1K new, and sound-wise kicked the snot out of my Ludwig Classic Maple or DW Collector's, both of which are now gone.

 

[Houndog]

My Pearl wood-fiberglass reissue kit was $1K new, and sound-wise kicked the snot out of my Ludwig Classic Maple or DW Collector's, both of which are now gone.

I played a mid level new Pearl kit today that blew the socks off my Slingerlands ..

 

[cobaltspike]

After watching a video that was done at NAMM a few years back I'd say a lot of it is hype. They took the same sized toms of all manufacturers, even acrylic and added the same heads and tuning to each one. Then they blindfolded people and had them hit the drums to see if they could tell the difference and overall it was no. And as far as gigging goes I rarely see anyone with a really high end kit in a bar, mostly festivals and large venues where they aren't as prone to getting beat up I guess, but the audience doesn't know the difference so buy what you want, heads and tuning are where it's at and go have fun. If you want to take a 10K kit to the bar to show off be my guest, this must be why I do my own finishes so if something gets damaged I can fix it.

 

[Whitten]

After watching a video that was done at NAMM a few years back I'd say a lot of it is hype. They took the same sized toms of all manufacturers, even acrylic and added the same heads and tuning to each one. Then they blindfolded people and had them hit the drums to see if they could tell the difference and overall it was no.

So all those professionals who play top of the line drums are idiots?
Just because most people can't hear a difference DOESN'T mean there ISN'T a difference.
It just means the difference is lost on less discerning, less experienced people. This is the reverse snobbery I talked about.
Secondly, in this thread people keep coming back to comparing new high-end kits with new mid-priced kits (as Brown does).
I ALWAYS advise people to buy the best quality used kit they can afford.
My affordable kits are both Pork Pie, the cheapest of which was $800 (three toms plus kick).
I would much rather play a hand built kit from a small manufacturer than an $800 mainstream kit from a factory. If you put both together in a studio I guarantee you'd hear a difference.

 

[langmick]

Were high-end drums used on this recording? Granted, 1975, studio tastes at the time, probably high end for the time as well.

But, they get in and get out, they don't get in the way of the important instruments. Those toms sound atrocious, but it doesn't matter, they sound like a drumset in a dance club.

You put a beautiful sounding $1000 12' rack tom on there with so much sustain you or Matt Chamberlain cahn't even look at it, and then the track sounds too good and loses that vibe. Might as well be an Edie Brickel song.

I remember my first foray into a studio in the 80s, I was a naive idiot. A place in Dormont, Air something. TUned my drums up real nice, as it were, they were low-end Pearls, not anything to speak of, just another kit. I thought they sounded ok. Engineer gets there, he's really late, and says can you take the bottom heads off....then he says can you put gaff tape all over the heads.

That was interesting. The guitarist was footing the bill, and he looked at me like I should. So I did, and learned a lesson. Wow, haven't thought about this since then.

 

[drawtheline55]

Eight kits. How many times have you been married

The answer to that question is....Zero !

 

[Vistalite Black]

Now that we’ve gotten to 152 posts, we can look back and appreciate the fact no one defended high-end drums on the basis of re-sale value.

 

[Whitten]

Were high-end drums used on this recording? Granted, 1975, studio tastes at the time, probably high end for the time as well.

What recording?
Yeah, even in 1975 people cared about the quality of gear, usually using the best they could lay their hands on.
Never seen Grateful Dead with all their custom built guitar amps and PA system?

 

[langmick]

Ha, forgot to add it.

I have seen the Dead and I know what they used.

Gaffing up the entire kit doesn't mean it matters that it's high end or not.

 

[langmick]

Or this song.

Vs this one. I guess both sounds are processed, one with gaff tape and one with electronics.

Do high-end kits at some point become a virtue signal, a sign of how awesome someone is?

 

[Tornado]

Or this song.

Vs this one. I guess both sounds are processed, one with gaff tape and one with electronics.

Do high-end kits at some point become a virtue signal, a sign of how awesome someone is?

It doesn't signal any kind of virtue, but it does signal how serious you are. Would you wear a cheap suit to interview at Goldman Sachs? Besides that, you can always make a great kit sound dead with muffling. But what if they decide to go for a different sound on a different take? You going to make cheap drums sound like a high end kit? Nope.

 

[dxtr]

The gap between mid and high end has greatly diminished in the last 20 years especially. like all things, what was considered high end30 years ago is standard now. For me the only really difference I ever found between my high end drums and other kits was tuning range. My very expense drums sounded great in all tunings and with every head. With lower end drums you put them in the sweet spot with the right heads and you'll get a good tone (whatever that actually means).

 

[langmick]

It doesn't signal any kind of virtue, but it does signal how serious you are. Would you wear a cheap suit to interview at Goldman Sachs? Besides that, you can always make a great kit sound dead with muffling. But what if they decide to go for a different sound on a different take? You going to make cheap drums sound like a high end kit? Nope.

I will make cheap drums sound like a high end kit with triggers and samples and processing, which may work for the workflow of the engineer much quicker than trying to figure out why a beautiful work of art Dunnett snare has a grating honk that gaffing can't remove.

So yep.

I understand Milton Sledge used an Acrolite on Garth Brooks' hits. It sounds pretty good.

I like playing good drums, but to over-value them over getting a sound appropriate for the song is a mistake. There is a reason why Don Henley's drums were dead, they get in and get out and don't get in the way of the vocal or guitar.

 

[Whitten]

Do high-end kits at some point become a virtue signal, a sign of how awesome someone is?

No, because if you look at anyone who does something for a living, they are always using the best tools they can afford. The best cameras (photographers), the best knives and pans (chefs), the best running shoes (athletes) etc, etc...