Hey all!
The day comes with some really good news!!! I managed to talk my parents into buying me a new drum kit for my 18th birthday (which is in a couple of months)! It will rock, but now I have to work out which one I want...

It will be a 2nd hand drum kit and should be priced from the AUS$1000-1500 mark... What brands do you recommend, I was initially looking at Pearl Export kits, but now I'm not sure... Is Tama, or Sonor any good???

I want at least a 5pce kit with Zildjian, Sabian, or Paiste crash, ride and hihats. For those of you Aussies here, I have been looking through the Trading Post and have found a few ads that looked interesting. What do you guys think??? (Note: All the prices are in Australian Dollars):

• Drum Kit, Tama 9piece Big 24 kick, 6 rack toms, 18 floor, choice of snares H/d hardware. Zildjian cymbals, $1350 Ph:(03)9534-4011/(0409)536-428.St Kilda  
• Drum Kit, Sonor Phonic 6piece, Beechwood shells. 22, 10, 13, 14, 16 toms, choice of snares & hardware. Zildjian cymbals $1350 Ph:(03)9534-4011/(0409)536-428.St Kilda  
• DRUM KIT, PEARL, 7pce, silver, 14 zildgan hi hats, 16 zildgan crash, 20 zildgan ride, VGCond, $960 (03)97642646 (0427)673852 Scoresby
• DIXON DRUM KIT, 5pce, Zildijian crash cymbol & ride cymbol, c/with double kick, $1,000 (0409)331539 Beaumaris
• DRUM KIT 7PC, pearl double kick pedal, 2x crashes, hi hats, splash & ride, $1650 (0415)846984 (03) 98418474 Doncaster E  

Do any of these sound reasonable? I know some of them are lacking in information... @$%#, I wish I knew more about this stuff...

Thanks,
James

Oh, sorry guys, completely forgot to include the currency conversion.

These are the US prices in order:
-$756
-$756
-$538
-$560
-$924

James

What sort of price do you think they should be Bart? Tomorrow I will give a couple of them a call and find out some more info.

I'm not after a really flash custom kit, just one that sounds good, doesn't break the bank, and will last me a few years (ie. It will still be ok as I get better at playing)

The kit I have at the moment is really crappy. Its a noname brand and sounds very shonky. All the toms ring (the floor tom sounds quite good though) and everytime a drum is hit, the snare rattles like crazy. Plus there are only two cymbals and both sound really bad: the hi hats are so thin that pushing too hard on the peddal could bend them inside out and the crash doesn't sound like a crash at all...

So I am after a kit that will be good enough to say use for gigs...

James

Find out what you could buy these kits for brand new. Add it all up and subtract 70% from the retail cost; that's what they are worth.

People are usually very proud of their gear and will want more for it than it's really worth. Think of it like buying someone's house. They've lived in it for awhile, so it's part of them. To sell it can be a very personal thing; hard to part with. But you have to be mindful of value when you buy. Know that you can buy these items brand new for 50% Off retail. Used gear needs to be considerably less than that ... unless it's vintage or a collectible.

As far as the kits you mentioned, I can't give you a direct answer ... again, because I need more information. When they say Tama, or Pearl, what model of these brands do they have. It's a HUGE difference. When they say Zildjian ... what model? Is it a Scimitar ... which is one step below a trashcan lid ... or is it an A. Zildjian Custom? You need to get more info.

The only kits I would even call on are number 1, 3 and 5.
The Dixon kit is going to be the same quality as what you have now. I can rule out the Sonor Phonic kit because they gave specific info to the model ... Phonic ... which is an Taiwanese entry level kit. You're not moving forward from the kit you now have if you get one of these kits.

So look into 1,3,5 and see what they are. I may rule those out to ... but I can't until I have more info.

Also, make sure that when they say 7 piece ... that they are just talking about the drums. One of the posts made it clear that of that number, a certain amount were toms, etc. This is good. Many times people include the cymbals as part of the piece count ... which is wrong.

Hope this helps.

BTW Bartman, please do your homework, the phonics are german made 80's or early 90's kits with 9 ply beechwood shells, which are similar in density and transmission to birch. I bought a set last year (drums only) for AUS$800 and have never looked back. So james, check out the ww.sonormuseum.com site to identify the drums, and go and play them before you write them off as trash, you might get yourself a bargain. Also look at what they fetch on ebay!

Well, I managed to get hold of the owner of kits 3 and 5 and this is the extra info I got out of them.

No. 3 Pearl 7pce Kit:

• 20 years old
• 2 mounted toms, 1 floor tom, 2 concert toms, plus snare and kick drum
• He didn't know what series the drums are, nor the zildjian cymbals except that the cymbals had Skimmitar Bronze on them.
• He was adament that the cymbals were in perfect condition

No. 5:

• Not a pearl kit like I thought from the ad, but a "thunder" kit
• Has remo skins on all drums
• The pearl double kick pedal is a "P 150"
• One of the crashes and the splash cymbal are Zildjian (did not know what series)
• The other crash is a pearl, and it is an Anvil(??) ride

I will try to get hold of the owner of kits 1 and 2 after work tonight.

James

James,
I live in Adelaide and see some really good deals from time to time in the trader....I suppose melbourne is a little different. But seriously I reckon you need to decide what kit YOU want and then look for it at 30% of new cost. I have always used this philosophy when buying 2nd hand gear and have never been burnt. For example you could get a Premier XPK or ludwig rocker for a bit over $1500 WITH HARD CASES and cymbals. Or a late model export or export select with everything for under $1500. Seriously, don't buy old concert tom sets etc. Work out which drum sizes you want and get the best quality you can afford to avoid having to replace them too soon. And so what if you only get some old AA hats and a Paiste 2000 ride...you can replace cymbals any day with something that you like, that is not the problem. The problem is getting a good quality matched set of drums with the sizes you want, and a good snare drum that will NOT need replacing. For example I bought a ludwig snare (HH bronze) for $400 that is fine. Don't rush into buying cheap stuff, do your homework and don't be afraid to wait for a couple of months for the right deal to come up. And always haggle over the price.
Good luck,
Sam.

yeah ... offer him $300 (US) because that's about what they are worth.

You can buy brand new Pearl Exports here in the US for the amount he wants. Of course that's with no cymbals. But the cymbals he's got ... well ... they sound terrible and aren't worth anything. I'm not meaning to sound harsh. You are asking for advice ... so I'm giving it. The Scimitar (by Zildjian) have got to be the WORST sounding Entry Level cymbals on the market ... if they still make them that is.

You are just going to have to do what you think is best. I would check to see what this same kit costs brand new in Australia. Figure it out, add in the cost of the same cymbals (new) ... get the total ... then knock off 70% and that's the MAXIMUM you should ever pay for them used. That's assuming that they are in excellent shape. You've got to remember that you can buy this stuff brand new, all day long, for 50% off.

An PEARL EX Export like the one you described retails for $1099.00. The cymbals aren't made anymore, to my knowledge, so the only thing comparable would be the Zildjian ZBT4 Pro sets which retail for $371.00. The total would be $1470.00 (plus tax) ... 70% off is $441.00 (US).

Remember, the new Exports are going to be better than the prior year models. The cymbals are also better than the Scimitar models. You could buy a BETTER kit for $735 (US). I think it's well worth the extra $200. I didn't include a drum throne, so the price is a little more than what I quoted.

As far as the bearing edges go ... that's all subjective. Who did the work? How does he know what the bearing edge angle is for the Masterworks, etc.? If it was that easy, don't you think Pearl would go ahead and take the time to cut the edges? I'm not saying cutting the bearing edges wouldn't help the sound, but it doesn't make it worth what he's claiming.

Just remember what you can get it brand new for. Remember that NEW product comes with a warranty.

Don't be hasty. Find a good kit for a good price. Don't be in a rush ... and don't get ripped off.

I'm not saying that this guy couldn't get what he's asking for ... but I personally think it is high and can NOT recommend it. You won't be ripped off at that price (assuming the kit and cymbals are as you said), but I don't think it's an incredible deal ... that's certain.

G'Day guys!

Well, I ended up buying the kit for $800! I am now the proud owner of a pearl export kit!!!

Thanks for you advice, it certainly helped me haggle!!!
James