ninehertz

1. • MORRELL
   • I'm finally going to get some new gear after many years of using absolute crap. Can anyone advise me any good shops/ websites to get stuff??
     Also can anyone recommend any decent stuff? I'm getting new cymbols/ snare/ pedal and favour a heavy/ hard hitting style of drumming so any advice would be appreciated before I spunk all my beer money on this shit.
     Cheers.
   • [12:20 on 10/02/09]
2. • Kev Hit Drum
   • I get most of my stuff from Drumwright who are based just outside of Reading. I have also used in the past Poole Percussion based in er.. Poole and they are also pretty good and knowledgeable. Both have good web shop things. Drumwright has a demo room/bunker where you can beat the crap out of things to your hearts content, although I guess most shops do this. Scheerers in Leeds didn't, but that was years ago. And Scheerers is miles away.
     
     I personally like the Zildjian K cymbals - the ride I had was loud as the end of the world itself. I couldn't afford to replace it though.
     
     
     
     £329.00!
     [Edited by Kev Hit Drum at 13:00 on 10/02/09]
   • [12:50 on 10/02/09]
3. • Podge
   • Wembley drum centre is supposed to be good and its down your way but i've never used it.
     
     big dog hardware seems to be pretty sturdy for the price. i my self love the Premier double braced stuff, its fucking bomb proof and often gets stolen, so i figure everyone else likes it too, not cheap though. i'd deffo go for double braced and if buying second hand, check the threads where it adjusts, i've had a few strip out because they use aluminium instead of steel collars.
     
     drums, i picked mine up from ebay for 100 quids, its got a 24" bass drum and everyone that has played it has loved it. i think 18 bass drums look cute but are no good for what we play. most of the new brand name budget kits will do the job no problem. budget no name stuff tends to be shit. when looking second hand try and check out the bearing edges, if they have been miss treated they could be split or deformed, having said that, one of my toms is split and no one has noticed any difference. my snare cost me £99 new and i love it.
     
     cymbals is a total mine field, both Fred and i have broke AAX Metal, the ones that were specifically designed to be hit super hard. i'm liking the mid range stagg cymbals & tend to find that the cheaper they are, the longer they last & i've never bought the same cymbal twice. suck it and see to be honest. you may be able to pick up something like a hats / ride / crash pack cheaper than separates but they tend to be in sizes too small for me
     
     dont belive the hype, the Iron cobra is an awesome pedal but its highly unlikely you'll notice any difference between that and a pedal half its cost. DW drums and hardware also always wins the awards but its 10 times more expensive.
     
     everything but cymbals i'd look around for second hand, saves you cash or means you can pick up something better. also check out some cases, i picked all mine up second hand off ebay. i don't really see the point of soft cases, if some one throws it out the back of a van or off a stage then a softcase will do nowt, hardcases (the brand, not just in general) only cost a couple of quid more and will save it upto and including from a nuclear blast
   • [13:00 on 10/02/09]
4. • bad admiral
   • my mapex double pedal came in at £99 and is pretty ace.
     
     i've had the same snare since i was 13 and it's a shitter.
     
     cymbals-wise...i like cheap broken used ones as i really like the wobbly wash of sound they give.
     
     I have had a paiste ride which is massive that i nicked off someone (i don't know if you've ever noticed it - it bottom bit has been sprayed red) and that's quality.
   • [13:43 on 10/02/09]
5. • Laddeth
   • I got some stuff from Nottingham Drum Centre and it wasnt to bad a price.
     
     The cheaper Mapex kits are well worth the money, think its the M series.
     
     I concur with building with bits from Ebay though, Stagg stuff isn't usually to bad, I got a decent enough double cymbal stand off the bay. I'm still using second hand stands from the local music shop aswell (held together with gaffa tape though)
     I got my Gretsch Catalina kit including soft cases off ebay for like 150 quid which was a ludicrous price at the time, best bargin I ever got, and it turned out the guy selling lived the other side of Sleaford so I got my Dad to pick it up for me
     
     The only replacements I got was my hi-hat stand which is a DW 5000 one and is the dogs bollocks in my opinion.
     I got that along with a DW5000 double kick aswell from the USA and saved a packet. This was a while ago mind when we were at a better exchange rate, but not at the 2 to 1 it was recently.
     Much prefer it to the Iron Cobra, I like a bit of weight under foot.
     
     For cymbals, I always sing the praises of Meinl as they arn't bank breakingly expensive and there is plenty of choice of all types.
     I know Fred had a crash from them though and had to be slightly "modified" to get the cracks out
     Mine have lasted me a looong time but then I dont play half as much as Fred.
   • [14:20 on 10/02/09]
6. • MORRELL
   • Thanks a lot for goin into so much detail guys. Really helpful.
   • [15:06 on 10/02/09]
7. • slack mammoth
   • Podge says:

     
     big dog hardware seems to be pretty sturdy for the price.
     
     
     If anyone's interested, I think there's a Big Dog bass pedal still at the Unicorn in Camden, previously owned by Morrell.
   • [15:41 on 10/02/09]
8. • WickedWesticle
   • I went straight from my starter kit to DW hardware and it weighs a goddam ton. I'm probably gonna downgrade to something a little lighter soon. The memory locks are nice but when you're kit sharing it's just a pain.
     
     If you're a hard hitter then cymbals will be expensive. I went through 10 cymbals in 2 years - crashes, rides and hi-hats, all of varying quality from the best to the worst. A guy recommend going for thinner cymbals cos they will have more give and be less brittle. My advise would be play with lighter sticks. I'm trying not to go heavier that 5bs now. Also angle your cymbals so you're not smacking them on the edge and angle them so they spin a little when you hit them. That way you wont be hitting the same spot all the time.
     
     Wembley Drums is ok but a little impersonal. My fave shop was London Drum Company in Croydon. There was a guy working there called Andy who was an absolute diamond but I dunno if he still works there or not.
   • [15:53 on 10/02/09]
9. • Kev Hit Drum
   • Get one of these. No idea if they are any good, but who cares. It's a ROCKTAGON.
     
     
   • [16:46 on 10/02/09]
10. • MatthewRedStars
    • Is it gonna take a non-drummer to point out that most decent cymbals come with a 1-year guarantee?
      
      If you crack one within a year... take it back and say 'give me a new one' and they'll give you a new one.
      
      Our Kev does this almost daily. The people in the shop roll their eyes when he walks in.
    • [18:58 on 10/02/09]
11. • Podge
    • if you read the warranty then usually it says that its guaranteed for a year from manufacturing faults and defects, not from some one braying the shit out of them. Kev is very lucky to have an understanding shop.
      
      sabian says
      quote:

      All SABIAN cymbal series are guaranteed against defects in workmanship and materials for a period of 2 years from original date of purchase
    • [19:34 on 10/02/09]
12. • alan
    • Podge says:

      if you read the warranty then usually it says that its guaranteed for a year from manufacturing faults and defects, not from some one braying the shit out of them. Kev is very lucky to have an understanding shop.
      
      sabian says

      quote:

      All SABIAN cymbal series are guaranteed against defects in workmanship and materials for a period of 2 years from original date of purchase
      
      
      "Due to shoddy workmanship, this cymbal has proven to not be indestructible. Thus I would like a refund."
    • [19:39 on 10/02/09]
13. • Podge
    • ok sir, we'll send it back to the distributor who will send it back to the manufacture who will say you were hitting it wrong. this will take 9 months...
      
      gotta love Electro in Doncaster. shittiest shop on the planet till you tell them you are gonna write to the music press
    • [19:41 on 10/02/09]
14. • TomKhuda
    • Car boot sales are always worth a look.
      
      My bass drum is lovely, an old 70's 22" Premier.
      
      £3!!!!
    • [01:49 on 16/02/09]
15. • MORRELL
    • Cheers again for the advice here. Have been battling it out on ebay with varying degrees of success. One thing I'm having trouble with is finding a good snare.
      Can anyone recommend anything decent to look out for.
      Cheers again.
    • [13:55 on 16/02/09]
16. • Laddeth
    • I have a Dixon Piccolo Snare and I love it. It was only cheap aswell.
      If you find a cheap Arbeiter snare, snap their hand off. My one regret is not perservering with it and its strange tuning mechanism.
      Free floating brass snare and I sold it. What a dick.
      At least the shop I sold it to part exchange for the piccolo paid me for it since they knocked the money off the price, then gave me it in cash aswell
    • [00:35 on 17/02/09]
17. • Podge
    • i have a 14 x 5.5 Maple Arbiter in green, i also have a full kit to go with it but i use my other drum kit.
      
      i tend to find that there is so much that you can change on a snare its difficult to say what works and what doesnt
      [Edited by Podge at 08:16 on 17/02/09]
    • [08:15 on 17/02/09]
18. • Tom P
    • Ol' Steve should weigh in on this, he's currently building a frankenstein kit on the cheap and he got an enormous floor tom the other day for hardly owt on ebay.
    • [16:08 on 17/02/09]

Forums - General Chat - Drummers?? Some advice.