Drum kits (and other instruments)

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SiMCFC

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Hi

After a bit of advice feom any BM musicians... my Lads been having drumming lessons at school for the last Year or so, seems to have stuck with it and really enjoying it so We were thinking maybe now is the time to buy Him a drum kit for at home rather than Him practicing with pans!

I'd rather an electric kit so He can use it with an amp and headphones so We get some peace and quiet! Is there anything in particular to look out for or even any recommended music shops, everything I can find online is just the usual mix of snobbery "don't buy this, buy this instead as it will last 20 Years" at this point He could very well still change His mind, he's only 7!

Fingers crossed there is a resident expert, if He had decided to take up playing guitar I would have had a bit of an idea! Thanks in advance.
 
Great idea to get an electric kit at home, unless you want to spend a fortune they are not as good as a proper kit, but there are some good electronic kits for not too much money, try before you buy, also get a kit that looks good as youngsters like to show off and he might keep playing it, and you can always sell it later if it's not being used. Think of these as the “must-haves” for a first electric drum kit.

Headphone output — play without annoying everybody.

Quiet pads / mesh heads (at least on the snare) — better feel, less noise.

Smallish layout / adjustable hardware — can bring the pads, cymbals, pedals closer so he doesn’t over-stretch.

Simple module / drum brain with built-in sounds and a metronome — don’t need loads of bells and whistles, but a few good basic drum sets, some cymbals, maybe a “play-along” function or aux input so he can play along to music.

Sturdy frame / rack — can handle kids, moves, bumps, etc.

Pedals that actually work (especially hi-hat) — sometimes cheap ones are awkward and hard to press, a working hi-hat is useful :)
 
I’d aim for a kit in a “budget to mid-budget” range — something decent but not over-spend, because he might change, and you’ll want spare stuff.

I’d make sure he can practise with it comfortably — good posture, reaching properly, so it isn’t a struggle.

I’d get headphones that are comfortable, a stool that’s the right height. Those accessories make a big difference.

I’d try in a shop if possible to see how different kits feel, especially latency and how the pads respond.

You might want to get a kit that you can upgrade, add more drum pads or cymbals, the more you want on it though the more expensive it will be!
 
A few good shops that also do refurbished second hand kits and offer good advice, and have kits you can have a look at are ,

Nicko McBrain’s Drum One, Trafford Park, good selection of drum gear, hardware, accessories.

Johnny Roadhouse, Oxford Rd, All Saints, Manchester

Forsyths Music Shop, Deansgate, Manchester.

There are others just Google them, as I said before try before you buy, do a bit of research and ask the guys in the drum shops for advice. You can get second hand kits on Marketplace and eBay etc, try and go for a good make like Roland or Alesis, others like Millennium Rookie are great starter kits as well.
 
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Very envious, I've been trying to get my son interested in any instrument for ages now. To read that your 7 year old has been having drumming lessons at school, so jealous!!. My son is in year 4 and his school does absolutely nothing musical. Or sport tbh. They've even scrapped the pathetic choice of after school clubs they used to do this year.
like with most things he was well into music until he started school, now he is just interested in what the playground pack does, which seems to be nothing.
Anyway, well done and yes definitely get him a kit :)
 
I bought a nice drum kit from a guy a few years back, I think they were ‘pearl’
It was the one instrument I always wanted to play as a kid but there wasn’t room in our house growing up so decided I’d teach myself later on.
I never applied myself so gave the whole kit away to a friend’s son a year or two ago, figured he could do more with it than me
 
I could never understand the attraction of the recorder. If not that, it'd be a violin - my brother came home with both at various times, but until you master the things they make noise even the devil would shrink away from.

A small harmonica or penny whistle should have been on the curriculum instead. Far more pleasant and manageable.
 
I'm only half joking with this but you need to be aware if he keeps it up and joins/starts a band you're screwed!

What's the one bit of kit that's a pain in the arse to move? What cuts into rehearsal time most having to set it up? Which instrument is going to be hardest to mic up and record? Whose instrument needs a bigger car to shift ? So whose house is going to be band HQ and whose house are we always going to be round?

So whatever you do, get him used to playing on whatever kit is available and get him used to saving his pennies to hire proper rehearsal space when he's older.

Failing that, get him a guitar :-)

More seriously, don't spend an arm and a leg at that age and I hope he develops a life long love of whatever instrument(s) he chooses to play.
 
Blue Mist said:
Fuck me.
A drum kit
At school
He's 7.

I was given a poxy recorder. Not one kid in my school ever produced one single tune from them and I can safely say never went on to form any kind of rock band.
Click to expand...

Tell me about it, He came home in first Year of school and said He was going to learn drums and hasn't stopped since... the lessons are a bloody fortune but this is a kid who gets bored of literally everything else He has tried or ever liked within a few Weeks so I'm trying to support Him rather than doing what my Parents did!
 
Thanks for all the advice everyone, very much appreciated, will have a drive out to one of the shops above and see what they have available. Im now shitting Myself that our House could very well never have peace again after threespires comments!
 
SiMCFC said:
Thanks for all the advice everyone, very much appreciated, will have a drive out to one of the shops above and see what they have available. Im now shitting Myself that our House could very well never have peace again after threespires comments!
Click to expand...

Much better a lively house with vibrant young people coming and going.

But I would say that, my son's the guitarist and the drummers dad is 5 years younger than me but now looks 10 years older ;-)

Joking aside, once they'd got to a certain point l was jealous that they used to practice round his much more than ours.
 
SiMCFC said:
Hi

After a bit of advice feom any BM musicians... my Lads been having drumming lessons at school for the last Year or so, seems to have stuck with it and really enjoying it so We were thinking maybe now is the time to buy Him a drum kit for at home rather than Him practicing with pans!

I'd rather an electric kit so He can use it with an amp and headphones so We get some peace and quiet! Is there anything in particular to look out for or even any recommended music shops, everything I can find online is just the usual mix of snobbery "don't buy this, buy this instead as it will last 20 Years" at this point He could very well still change His mind, he's only 7!

Fingers crossed there is a resident expert, if He had decided to take up playing guitar I would have had a bit of an idea! Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Roland V-Drums have a few good kits and I think the one that might suit best is the TD-02K. Have a look at that if you don't manage to get sorted with anything else.
 
Blue Mist said:
Fuck me.
A drum kit
At school
He's 7.

I was given a poxy recorder. Not one kid in my school ever produced one single tune from them and I can safely say never went on to form any kind of rock band.
Click to expand...
Haha, then you had the posh kids that would have a bass or tenor recorder that actually sounded half way decent
 
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