Shopping for your first ‘Full Size’ beginner drum set is exciting, but there are certain things you need to be clear about before buying one. Its also important to keep a tab on the budget, as you will also need to buy few drum accessories which will add to the cost. Skip to the best beginner drum set on Amazon
Best Drum Set (Acoustic & Electronic) Reviews
Here we take a look at some of the bestselling drum sets available on the market. You will also find reviews of the best electronic drum sets. These offer good value for money, are sturdy and deliver amazingly clear sounds. Use these to play beautiful beats and rhythms!
Gammon 5 Piece Drum Set (Best Selling Beginner Drum Set)
Gammon is another brand that makes affordable drum kits for beginners. This one is a Full Size Drum Set that comes with everything. Hi-Hat & Crash Cymbals sticks, stool, stands, everything is included. High Gloss Black Finish – Chain Driven Pedals.
Includes all 5 drums (bass drum, snare drum, floor tom and two mounted toms), cymbals, stands, stool, sticks, hardware, pedals and drum key!
Mendini MDS80 Senior 5-Piece Drum Set Kit with Throne
The Mendini MDS80 is a complete 5-piece drum set from Mendini, suitable for Early and intermediate musicians. Its among the cheapest Starter Kit on the market that offers good value for money.
The kit includes bass drum, tom toms, floor tom, snare drum, ride, crash and cymbal. Also includes a stylish set of wooden drum sticks, drum chain driven pedal and adjustable drum throne.
Mendini 5-Piece by Cecilio Junior Drum Set Kit with Throne
The Mendini MJDS-5-16-Inch 5-Piece Junior Drum Set is a great all-in-one entry-level youth drum set, perfect for the young drummer who wants a more realistic experience but is not yet ready for a full size drum set. Includes bass drum, floor tom, tom with 4 lungs, snare, cymbals, bass drum pedal and crash cymbal. It also include drum sticks, drum key for tuning, easy to read assembly manual, and an adjustable throne.
A great beginner drum set, this set also includes throne and cymbals. The drum set has glossy finish, includes chair, sticks, drum pedals and also cymbals.
Mendini by Cecilio MJDS-1-BR 3-Piece Drum Set
The MJDS-1-BR Mendini 3-piece drum set is great for young beginners, includes wood drum sticks, padded drum throne and 8” cymbal arm. Minimalistic design requires less space to setup.
Pyle-Pro Electronic Table Digital Drum Kit
Pyle-Pro PTED01 Electronic Table Digital Drum Kit offers amazing sound clarity, is designed to sound like real drums. You may use the drum kit to play soft rock, jazz, pop, rock, electronic and even country. Features user friendly top panel center with special LCD screen! Also works on batteries.
Yamaha Drums & Percussion
Yamaha offers a wide selection of drums for the modern drummers, be it for stage or in the studio, be it classic acoustic sets or powerful electronic sets and controllers.
Although Yamaha was founded way back in 1887, the company started manufacturing drums since 1967. Although most of the drums were made in Japan, of late most of their drums are getting manufactured in China (it turns out cheaper for most companies). Yamaha’s expertise with piano lacquering/painting techniques were adapted to the drums in 1978, which took the drum world by storm. Steve Gadd’s Black Piano Lacquered kit would become the most desired and copied in the drum world during the 1980s.
The first UK-made Yamaha drums emerged in 1989, starting with the budget Power V series. Yamaha today has a great range of drums, including electronic drums.
Yamaha Gigmaker 5-Piece Drum Shell Kit
Yamaha Gigmaker 5-Piece Drum Shell Kit is a great beginner (and intermediate level) drum kit, and sounds better than most average beginner’s drum kit. This is a quality Yamaha drum kit (includes the basic parts) that features basswood and poplar shells, Yamaha tom mounts for a great sound, minus the hefty price tag.
- Pros: Great sounds, great looks, fine as a first kit, great value for beginners
- Cons: The picture provided here is with all the extras; actually no hardware or cymbal is provided with this kit. If you want a complete drum set, you will need a Drum Set instead of this SHELL PACK.
This is a great starter/beginner pack. The snare sounds great with the factory heads, the high and medium tom both sound really good. The floor tom is just about okay. The bass drum is okay but can be made to sound better with some tuning. Overall, a good beginner set for beginning drum players and for practicing.
This can be a great gift to your children who are in the school band, these are reasonably priced and don’t make a lot of noise (designed for learning). You may have to buy few parts like the cymbals separately, but it would still turn out cheaper. However, the kit looks great and has a nice sound to it. Remember, Yamaha always makes top-quality musical instruments. In this case, you just have to be aware that you are not getting certain things that need to be bought separately.
Features of the Yamaha Gigmaker 5-Piece Drum Shell Kit:
- 22″x 16″ kick drum, 13″ x 9-1/2″ and 12″x 9″ mounted toms, a 16″ x 16″ floor tom, and 14″ x 5-1/2″ wood snare.
- The Gigmaker kick drum shell is 7 plies of basswood/poplar, and the floor toms, rack toms, and snare drum shells are 6 plies of basswood/poplar.
- Each drum is equipped with triple-flange, 1.6mm steel hoops and pro-quality lugs-eight on the kick and snare, six on the rack and floor toms.
Overall, the Yamaha Gigmaker 5-Piece Drum Shell Kit is a solid, standard 5-piece drum kit, suitable for practice as well as for performance, and should definitely last well beyond a drummer’s ‘beginner phase’.
Buying Links
360 Degree Drum Kit
The 360 Degree Drum Kit may not be ready yet for consumers but its great to see how far a design can be stretched. Such products can definitely be displayed during major events/exhibitions. This unique design is the result of the project AH A MAY where various industries collaborate to create interesting products.
Although the designers claim that this product will allow drummers to let their imaginations run wild and to express themselves in ways that have never been done before, it seems it will require some rework because the drums don’t seem to be at playable angles or heights (or perhaps the drummers will have to get used to playing this monstrous Drum Kit).
Nevertheless, its a unique design; and just see the various kinds of drums that has been used in this 360 Degree Drum Kit.
Checkout the video: RAIJIN (God of the Thunder) as part of the project AH A MAY
This musical instrument surrounds you with a combination of drums, snares, and cymbals; I’m sure experienced drummers would love to lay their hands on this Drum Kit.
Beginners Drums: Buying Guide
There are lots of youngsters, especially boys, who are really fond of drums and would love to own a set. Most parents would ideally prefer them to take up something else like the piano or the guitar, but then the good thing is that at least they are keen to learn music.
So in case your young one is pressurizing you to buy a drum set, here are some things that you need to consider.
Remember, you’ll also need accessories such as a drum throne to play the drums comfortably.
Various Parts of a Beginners Drum Set
First of all, you need to familiarize yourself with the various parts in a drum kit.
Most drum kits consist of: Bass Drum, Hi-Hat, Snare, Various Toms & Cymbals, Pedals, Accessories such as Drum Sticks, Thrones, etc. As you can see, there are various parts, and if you consider the accessories as well, it can all add up.
Construction / Material Used
Most budget drum kits are made of mahogany or basswood whereas the more expensive ones use birch or maple, obviously to produce rich tones.
The stands, on which the various drums and cymbals are placed, is known as hardware. The better quality ones are made of chrome, which can better withstand the heavy beatings of the drums.
Drum Accessories
There are several drum accessories which you can buy to make your playing more enjoyable. A couple of the more important ones include Drum sticks and Drum thrones, for obvious reasons.
You need drum sticks to play the drums, and a drum seat to sit comfortably and play.
If you are buying a complete drum package, very likely you will get these along with the drums.
Keeping a Budget for Beginner Drum Set
The best part about drums is that you need not buy all of them, including the accessories, at one go.
As you become better at playing drums, you can buy additional things as per your convenience and budget.
By all means, you can start with single drum and sticks, and over time you can add other things gradually.
If you want something cost-effective, go in for starter packs and junior drum sets as these are good money savers and lets you perform quality music.
Closing Thoughts
There is no doubt that the Drum is one of the popular music instruments out there, and it is an essential part of any music concert, or even at major sport events. No wonder several school children and youngsters wish to have their own drum kits. Nowadays, you also have the option of going in for digital drums, to save space, and also so that you can practice without disturbing others. Keeping the above factors in mind will definitely help you to buy your first beginner drum set for a reasonable price.
Buying Links
KeytarHQ editorial team includes musicians who write and review products for pianists, keyboardists, guitarists & other musicians. KeytarHQ is the best online resource for information on keyboards, pianos, synths, keytars, guitars and music gear for musicians of all abilities, ages and interests.
Leave a Reply