Pics please. ;)
Originally posted by RAVEN on Sat 02 Sep, 2023
Just imagine a collection of old trashcans! Why don't you have a way to upload pics here??
#5144 Posted Sat 02 Sep, 2023 8:42 am
Driving home today I felt a strange glare upon me and heard country guitar, I thought Lee!
And there you are
Well congrats on your Tama, you now join the illustrious drooling drummer and myself who both bash Tama Swingstars. In fact mine and Kev's are the same colour but similarities end there :)
I bought mine as a can I make a $200 kit sound good challenge some years back. My kit contained 3 toms but no floor tom, a Tama snare which I think came with it originally and some truly horrible cymbals, although 1 of which remains on the kit to this day and is a favourite. Not a bad score for that price and even though ignorant of bearing edges I was lucky that they were all in good shape as was all the lugs etc. Hardware wise it was pretty lacking and I think I only retained a stand that holds my tom and ride at the same time and maybe a crash stand.
I was advised to buy single ply heads for the toms but selections here are not as wide as in other countries so I just bought some Evans heads for the batter side but left the resonant heads original. I don't remember what type they are and they're still on the kit all these years later. That said I do think it's time to change them as I'm starting to struggle to tune them. Tuning drums seems to be a never ending learning experience, just as you think you know what you're doing, you find out you don't.
Things I added to the kit over these years are snares, cymbals and hardware. Most of these items cost more on their own than the kit cost so budgets are not a word that enters this arena. Some things are inescapable to me such as a decent seat to sit on, I bought a Pearl drum throne and I love it as it supports my lower back and is reliable but would kill to gig with as it's heavy to carry. I replaced the snare stand, bought a 2nd hats stand and some cymbal stands along with various pieces and bits to secure cymbals etc. Being a drummer is kind of like hanging out in the bolts and fasteners isle of the hardware.
I bought a decent pearl kick drum pedal but the Tama one that came with the kit would've been just fine to be honest. I'm still not good enough to warrant or to understand what are the benefits of it. I haven't even tried a dual kick pedal although there is one in the house. I have enough trouble with one beater. You'd then need a lever that drops your top hat when you strike it and then grabs it when you pedal so you can play closed hat whilst motoring your double kick pedal thingie.
Cymbals are a personal thing so I'll leave that to you to decide but will share my thoughts. They will cost the most overall even if trying to budget. Good hats and a ride and at least one good crash are a minimum. I change hats and rides for some songs but can mostly get away with the same crashes. I have a few splashes which stay on the kit and I love the sound they make. The hats I have are a 14 " set, a 15" set and a dry style set which are 14". I have 3 rides, none of which have a loud bell sound which is an advantage for me as I'm not accurate enough to play bell patterns. It's funny but the cheaper rides mostly have that loud bell and the more expensive have a more washy sound. I think it was Drew who shared with me once he had a ride that cracked concrete, pretty sure Kev has one too.
Of course the overlooked items are the sticks, rods, brushes and things to dampen the heads. Then there's the inevitable desire to capture the kit and all that goes with that. Microphones and interface with at least 8 pres and ability to expand, not to mention the cables. Pretty soon this little side hobby is making that Les Paul and Marshall stack with an effects board seem more affordable. Hey but years pass by as this happens so who notices?
In the end you'll probably have a budget that would run a large African village for a year. Oh and that's not to mention percussion acquisition syndrome which will inevitably entwine you. Maybe it would be more responsible to just fund the village, then the percussion possibilities would be endless.
And there you are
Well congrats on your Tama, you now join the illustrious drooling drummer and myself who both bash Tama Swingstars. In fact mine and Kev's are the same colour but similarities end there :)
I bought mine as a can I make a $200 kit sound good challenge some years back. My kit contained 3 toms but no floor tom, a Tama snare which I think came with it originally and some truly horrible cymbals, although 1 of which remains on the kit to this day and is a favourite. Not a bad score for that price and even though ignorant of bearing edges I was lucky that they were all in good shape as was all the lugs etc. Hardware wise it was pretty lacking and I think I only retained a stand that holds my tom and ride at the same time and maybe a crash stand.
I was advised to buy single ply heads for the toms but selections here are not as wide as in other countries so I just bought some Evans heads for the batter side but left the resonant heads original. I don't remember what type they are and they're still on the kit all these years later. That said I do think it's time to change them as I'm starting to struggle to tune them. Tuning drums seems to be a never ending learning experience, just as you think you know what you're doing, you find out you don't.
Things I added to the kit over these years are snares, cymbals and hardware. Most of these items cost more on their own than the kit cost so budgets are not a word that enters this arena. Some things are inescapable to me such as a decent seat to sit on, I bought a Pearl drum throne and I love it as it supports my lower back and is reliable but would kill to gig with as it's heavy to carry. I replaced the snare stand, bought a 2nd hats stand and some cymbal stands along with various pieces and bits to secure cymbals etc. Being a drummer is kind of like hanging out in the bolts and fasteners isle of the hardware.
I bought a decent pearl kick drum pedal but the Tama one that came with the kit would've been just fine to be honest. I'm still not good enough to warrant or to understand what are the benefits of it. I haven't even tried a dual kick pedal although there is one in the house. I have enough trouble with one beater. You'd then need a lever that drops your top hat when you strike it and then grabs it when you pedal so you can play closed hat whilst motoring your double kick pedal thingie.
Cymbals are a personal thing so I'll leave that to you to decide but will share my thoughts. They will cost the most overall even if trying to budget. Good hats and a ride and at least one good crash are a minimum. I change hats and rides for some songs but can mostly get away with the same crashes. I have a few splashes which stay on the kit and I love the sound they make. The hats I have are a 14 " set, a 15" set and a dry style set which are 14". I have 3 rides, none of which have a loud bell sound which is an advantage for me as I'm not accurate enough to play bell patterns. It's funny but the cheaper rides mostly have that loud bell and the more expensive have a more washy sound. I think it was Drew who shared with me once he had a ride that cracked concrete, pretty sure Kev has one too.
Of course the overlooked items are the sticks, rods, brushes and things to dampen the heads. Then there's the inevitable desire to capture the kit and all that goes with that. Microphones and interface with at least 8 pres and ability to expand, not to mention the cables. Pretty soon this little side hobby is making that Les Paul and Marshall stack with an effects board seem more affordable. Hey but years pass by as this happens so who notices?
In the end you'll probably have a budget that would run a large African village for a year. Oh and that's not to mention percussion acquisition syndrome which will inevitably entwine you. Maybe it would be more responsible to just fund the village, then the percussion possibilities would be endless.
#5145 Posted Sat 02 Sep, 2023 9:00 am
Just imagine a collection of old trashcans! Why don't you have a way to upload pics here??
Originally posted by MonkeyC on Sat 02 Sep, 2023
Yea Birdy, why don't you?
#5146 Posted Sat 02 Sep, 2023 9:01 am
Oh, you mean like that? :)
And yes, that is my cat, Beetlejuice. He is a professional smartypants/actor/finagler.
#5148 Posted Sat 02 Sep, 2023 9:44 am
Driving home today I felt a strange glare upon me and heard country guitar, I thought Lee!
And there you are
Well congrats on your Tama, you now join the illustrious drooling drummer and myself who both bash Tama Swingstars. In fact mine and Kev's are the same colour but similarities end there :)
I bought mine as a can I make a $200 kit sound good challenge some years back. My kit contained 3 toms but no floor tom, a Tama snare which I think came with it originally and some truly horrible cymbals, although 1 of which remains on the kit to this day and is a favourite. Not a bad score for that price and even though ignorant of bearing edges I was lucky that they were all in good shape as was all the lugs etc. Hardware wise it was pretty lacking and I think I only retained a stand that holds my tom and ride at the same time and maybe a crash stand.
I was advised to buy single ply heads for the toms but selections here are not as wide as in other countries so I just bought some Evans heads for the batter side but left the resonant heads original. I don't remember what type they are and they're still on the kit all these years later. That said I do think it's time to change them as I'm starting to struggle to tune them. Tuning drums seems to be a never ending learning experience, just as you think you know what you're doing, you find out you don't.
Things I added to the kit over these years are snares, cymbals and hardware. Most of these items cost more on their own than the kit cost so budgets are not a word that enters this arena. Some things are inescapable to me such as a decent seat to sit on, I bought a Pearl drum throne and I love it as it supports my lower back and is reliable but would kill to gig with as it's heavy to carry. I replaced the snare stand, bought a 2nd hats stand and some cymbal stands along with various pieces and bits to secure cymbals etc. Being a drummer is kind of like hanging out in the bolts and fasteners isle of the hardware.
I bought a decent pearl kick drum pedal but the Tama one that came with the kit would've been just fine to be honest. I'm still not good enough to warrant or to understand what are the benefits of it. I haven't even tried a dual kick pedal although there is one in the house. I have enough trouble with one beater. You'd then need a lever that drops your top hat when you strike it and then grabs it when you pedal so you can play closed hat whilst motoring your double kick pedal thingie.
Cymbals are a personal thing so I'll leave that to you to decide but will share my thoughts. They will cost the most overall even if trying to budget. Good hats and a ride and at least one good crash are a minimum. I change hats and rides for some songs but can mostly get away with the same crashes. I have a few splashes which stay on the kit and I love the sound they make. The hats I have are a 14 " set, a 15" set and a dry style set which are 14". I have 3 rides, none of which have a loud bell sound which is an advantage for me as I'm not accurate enough to play bell patterns. It's funny but the cheaper rides mostly have that loud bell and the more expensive have a more washy sound. I think it was Drew who shared with me once he had a ride that cracked concrete, pretty sure Kev has one too.
Of course the overlooked items are the sticks, rods, brushes and things to dampen the heads. Then there's the inevitable desire to capture the kit and all that goes with that. Microphones and interface with at least 8 pres and ability to expand, not to mention the cables. Pretty soon this little side hobby is making that Les Paul and Marshall stack with an effects board seem more affordable. Hey but years pass by as this happens so who notices?
In the end you'll probably have a budget that would run a large African village for a year. Oh and that's not to mention percussion acquisition syndrome which will inevitably entwine you. Maybe it would be more responsible to just fund the village, then the percussion possibilities would be endless.
Originally posted by GoodVibes on Sat 02 Sep, 2023
Wow. Thanks Mr. G. Now that's some sharing. Appreciate that. Yes, I can see where this is going already.. the cash I got saved up for WWIII will have to be distributed early!
#5152 Posted Sat 02 Sep, 2023 12:22 pm
Oh, you mean like that? :)
And yes, that is my cat, Beetlejuice. He is a professional smartypants/actor/finagler.
Originally posted by RAVEN on Sat 02 Sep, 2023
Challenge accepted. Stand by!!
#5153 Posted Sat 02 Sep, 2023 12:23 pm
A message posted on Sat 02 Sep, 2023 12:33 pm was deleted by MonkeyC
Finally, I am the proud owner of my first REAL drum kit! It looks like it survived world war I but I love it.
I believe it is a TAMA Rockstar, but who knows. It looks like previous owners missed the skins altogether and just smacked the itsh out of anything they could reach!
My question is to those who have been there and done that. I need to make this thing studio worthy. Mr. GV im looking at you as I know you ventured this path some years back!
Where to start on a budget? What makes a good studio/recording kit?
I'm thinking to replace the skins on snare and kick first. Maybe some nice high hat cymbals and ride? Double kick peddle? ;)