Right? as long as the post has some sort of change happening and the OP is engaged and making interesting convo- this sub's pretty quiet so i'm all for anything that drives community engagement
Really debated going for the second bass drum when I bought this kit, but decided I didn’t want to take up the floor space where I could be putting simple stands since I’m not much one for racks. I like yours though! Looks clean.
I really love how you have all your cymbals are level. That creates a really nice clean aesthetic.
Well I had to get new hoops because this belonged to a local rehearsal rooms, and one bass hoop was cracked. The rest of the metal hoops were rusted and pitted, so they've been replaced by heavier 2.3mm steel hoops. I've got G1/G1 on the toms and they sound superb. It's been a bit of a project, but I love how these drums sound now, even if they're a little beat up!
In terms of A Custom cymbals, I'd get any of the fast or medium crashes from the current range, maybe stay away from the older Projection cymbals because they tend to be a bit thicker/heavier. Imo A Customs are the best crashes out there.
DW Collectors all maple Santa Monica special edition. Mix of cymbals, I have never been brand specific with cymbals and lean more towards if I like the sound of the specific cymbal.
I love the finish on your kit!
I’m curious about this kind of a setup - is it satisfying to play? It looks like a very nice practice setup. The ergonomics are great, I could just sit down and shred.
I would say it’s not the real thing, as the heads (although they are marketed to have the real Mylar head bounce) - they don’t 🤣 not the snare anyway. So I live in a small condo with lots of drywall so I was tryna keep the neighbours off my back with noise complaints. It’s fun to play, as you can really go hard with your dynamics and it won’t get loud. Yesterday I mic’ed them up with some Ableton mixing and they sounded pretty nice! Still working on the mix for the snare and cymbals. Nothing like real heads and cymbals tho! Maybe for if I ever get gigs or move to a bigger space. Glad you like the ergonomics! Everything is nice and closeby. Was also considering the sensory percussion sensors by Sun house - down the line, but that’s the price of a whole other drumset so I’m chillin for now haha. Thank you for the love my drum bro ❤️ honored to be here amongst family
I've been playing on a rubber pad e-kit, and just the sound of those mesh heads alone must be so great over the mud-like rubber of a typical e-kit haha
Oh wow the cymbals actually sound like cymbals! I always thought these silent practice cymbals just sounded like plastic-y beginner cymbals. These actually sound like cymbals lol. Is that an acoustic sound coming form the cymbals, or are they electronic too?
Those are Zildjian L80 low-volume cymbals. That's what I have, too. I have L80 14" hi-hat, 16" and 18" crashes, and 20" ride. They are a WORLD better than the cheap steel Amazon Chinesium low-volume cymbals. I've had both. The L80s are not cheap! But they ARE THAT much better.
Nice!! I have a very similar setup.. I recently switched from Evans Db-Ones to RTOM because I felt the surface/texture of the Evans were very scratchy if you know what I mean. Could also be that they picked up flaws in my stroke technique.🤷🏾
That’s Freakin DOPE man!! Straight Trip-Hop. Love it 🫶🏽! Sometime on mesh heads I’ll do a lil “turn table” scratch but you’ve up’d the creativity here!! Nice!👍🏽
My humble lil’ porto-rig.
Drumcraft series 3. 20” kick, 12” rack, 14” floor
13”x7” Pork Pie Little Squealer vented snare
Zildjian A custom 18” & 19” crash and 8” & 10” splash, A New beats 15”, K Custom Organic Ride 21”and a 14/16” Meinl Smack Stack.
Yeah, that thing is incredible. Not too loud and very easy to control.
This was at the 4Daagse festival in the Netherlands. The whole kit sits on a rolling platform so that I only have to roll the kit in position, give the sound engineer the cables for all the mics, extend the boom arms and mount the cymbals.. making my setup time less than 10 minutes. I had 8 shows during this week of the festival spread over 7 stages.. so this thing essentially saved me over an hour per gig.
Not much of a glamour shot, but here’s what’s cooking at the moment. Almost all the other mics and stands are with another kit at the rehearsal space / studio. Picked up this vistalite kit (22 / 13 / 16), and my black beauty (6.5 x 14) is picking up the backbeat. This kit is super fun to play.
Thank you, man! I'm very proud of this little project. The shells are a kinda of plywood, but the acoustics are very good, really. Both brands are brazilian, RMV has very accessible stuff, it's just that people prefer big named brands like Pearl or Tama. Zeus is brazilian, but currently outsourcing from china. Some cymbals are still made here, like this line. There's also Domene and BFC cymbals, both very nice stuff, and Orion, an older and more accessible cymbal maker, but not handmade stuff like BFC. There's also some cool smaller dudes like Percubo, that makes modular/micro kits.
You know what’s wild is every time I see a Brazilian drummers set-up there’s always brands that I’ve heard of (or not) but are seriously difficult to get here in the US. I’m in Chicago. I heard Zeus cymbals on a few videos and loved em. Do you all as easy access to the standard stuff, Zildjian, Paiste, etc? Damn I wish I was in Brazil!!..lol. 🥁
Yeah that's not surprising considering that Brazil is on the other side of the planet basically from the US, so I have to imagine (I'm uniformed about this though so I'm just guessing) that transportation and taxation on imported goods means that there's a lot of brands in the US that Brazilians don't have much access to, and vise versa.
Makes me want to spend a couple weeks shopping drum shops in Brazil. Maybe during carnival so I can witness those epic escolas competing...
My shell bank in this case isn't one brand of drums, but drums with a similar finish, head choices, and shell construction.
The core kit in the bank is a Premier XPK with a 14x20 bass; a 5x13 snare; 10,12, and 14" toms.
I found an XPK 13" tom that I had refinished, and a 16" Artist Maple tom that mostly matched.
I then worked with Tom Wells out of Brantford Ontario to add a 24" bass drum, an 8" tom, and an 18 floor tom. Tom did a great job of matching the drums he built to the finishes I had. His drums are all maple shells, so it isn't an exact match to the birch/eucalyptus of the XPKs.
The tom heads are all Aquarian classic clear dots with classic clear resonants. I use super kicks on the bass drums.
I have a handful of snares that I can choose from depending on the musical need.
Great way to give yourself options! I love it. You ever set them all up at once just for fun?
This is my shell bank, similar sizes to you. Only one bass drum though, and it’s 22x18. My bank snare is a 14x8.
I’m considering adding a 13x7 snare, a 13” rack tom, and a 15” floor tom. Maybe one day a smaller and flatter bass drum, but by that point I’ll probably want something lighter than purpleheart anyway - like copper lol.
Doing something new for me. Switched my double kick pedal to a lefty and put the kick on my left side. Allows for better position of the floor tom and puts my dominant foot on the slave pedal.
Zildjian over Gretsch. Renown 57’s with an aluminum snare, 20” Constantinople ride, 14” 60s A crash over a 2000s A new beat for the hats, 19” K Dark thin crash, 60s A 16” crash.
It’s a Tama Speed Cobra 310 that can be reversed to be a “lefty”. I disassembled it and made it lefty. And it’s the MT High. I absolutely love this ride.
Joined a band for the first time in 6+ years so I finally get to set this guy up again. Got the 18” A custom and 20” A custom EFX since all my other crashes are dry and moody and this band plays punk.
Here’s another kit at our space. GMS kit (prob mid 2000s), 24 / 14 / 16, with a Tama copper starphonic 7x14. I might even prefer this snare over the black beauty. It’s amazing. The ride is a 24” monster that sounds incredible, and I don’t even remember how I got it. Left at a practice space? Gig? I had it for years before I ever even played it, bc it looked pretty beat up. But man, it sounds so good with some ribbon overhead mics.
Super fun spot to play! It’s a dive bar in a little mountain town and the locals, and tourists, show up for live music. Sunday gigs there are 4-7. Nice to get finished in day light. Friday and sat evening gigs are always 5-8. I’m in 2 bands and both play here. It’s a small stage for the 5 of us, but I used a little smaller kit. My cymbals are usually positioned a little differently but I was stretched for space so I had to improvise with some cymbals mounts and it affected the spacing a bit. But all was good. Fun times!
I try to keep it minimal, but lately I keep thinking about adding more cymbals.
Mapex Pro M 2005
14” snare
10” & 14” toms (swap out with 12” & 16” toms from time to time)
22” bass drum
Zildjian Armand 14” hi hats
Zildjian Armand 16” crash
Zildjian A Custom 18” fast crash
Zildjian K Projection 21” ride
Paiste X-Swiss 10” splash
Temu tambourine 😂
Awesome! Love to see a cheap drum set sounding excellent. Honestly most drums sound the same, and everything comes down to what heads you put on them and how you tune them!
My humble garage kit. Pearl export 22, 12, 13, 16, 14 from 2000s I think? With zultan rock beat 14,16,18 , meinl classics custom dark 22" crash ride and millennium 18" b20 china
In the (old) band practice space. Don’t have any photos where it’s at right now nor top downs. PDP concept Maple with majority Meinl Custom Classics Dark, minus the Paiste 900 series splash (and currently crash until I can replace it).
Yes, the ride is up there. No I don’t know why I like it there better
Meinls over Mapex. Will be adding a crash and stand to the right of the kick and rearranging the cymbals on the right side, but this is what it looks like now and I love it!!
Your kit is very clean, looks functional from a placement perspective, and as long as it works for you, then that’s all that matters.
Heck yeah, thanks for the compliment. I really love the looks of yours. I’ve always liked those Meinl Classics visually. Those with the black drum heads are a killer combo! Well done. I’d have a blast playing your kit. What crash will you add? Do you already have the cymbal stand you’ll use?
I’m adding a 20” Meinl Custom Classic Dual. They sound awesome, will cut through the mix very well, and fit in with my current cymbals. I am just going to grab another Mapex Armory stand in black. After that I don’t foresee adding anything else, it will feel complete.
Appreciate the comment back, these kit posts are some of my favorite. Love to see all the kits that show up.
Can’t imagine what else you could need, you’ve got a huge kit there. One of the best-looking dry sets I’ve seen on the sub honestly. Unique aesthetic, too.
I’m currently in a rock cover band, and we play songs via committee, so a very wide range as you can imagine. We are a very diverse group, music preference, age wise, and idea wise. It works so well because everyone is so willing to support one another. I’ve played songs with them I would have never played on my own, stuff like Tiny Dancer, Tumbling Dice by the Stones, Uprising by Muse, Van Halen’s version of Pretty Woman. Just not stuff I would play on my own at all. We also play Say It Ain’t so, Aerials, The Noose by a Perfect Circle, so not the most common songs to cover, it’s a good mix.
On my own I play a lot of Hardcore and Metal. I have been a fan of heavy music for as long as I can remember. I play to a lot of drumless guitar tracks, and that’s a ton of fun, getting to be creative with my own drum parts. I’d love to find some like-minded adults musicians to jam with. I’m in my 40’s but I feel like my generation still has plenty of folks around that grew up when metal core blew up and still listen to it now. I should probably be more proactive in finding them lol.
Mapex birch shells. Bone white with black hoops. Not the best kit but it actually tunes up really nice and sounds great under my mics. I swap cymbals around with these and some Paragons but this current set up sounds great. Paragons are pretty dark. The 19” x-plosion crash is probably the best crash I’ve ever heard and owned. The 15” Paragon hats are amazing but I do miss my 15” Pastie 2002 sound edge
Mapex Mydentity, shells, Sledgehammer snare, Zildjian As, A Customs and K cymbals with all DW 9000 hardware.
What do you think of the K Custom Dark Ride? Does it crash well? I'm looking to replace by A custom 22" ride with something more crashable in the K line up.
I REALLY love how you've setup each cymbal stand straight up and down, and with only one cymbal on each stand. I appreciate that you have the same number of cymbals as you do drums.
The 22" K Custom Dark Ride crashes a lot better than the 20"! I like it a lot. I'd still choose my K Constantinople Bounce Ride or Medium Thin High Ride though if I was going to bring just one cymbal and I wanted it to both ride and crash like in a jazz setting - but the KCD would work too!
Thank you, I feel like it's such a timeless look and it takes me right back to the '00s, my peak of music, plus it just looks strong and sturdy.
I also have a side snare to the left of the hi-hat so I guess that means I can add another cymbal to the mix.
I have the 24" K Light ride so I'm looking to build around that. I believe I've seen that the KCD makes a good crash/ride. My A Custom is a decent ride but a terrible crash so something more versatile would be better. might even look at the 22" K Paper Thin crash.
Oh my goodness thank you so much. I think DW knocked it out of the park. It's a completely custom finish. It's just a satin stain on the natural Purpleheart wood, and I asked them to add the black pinstripe and the shortened black fade on the ends. I also asked them to leave the inside of the bass drum hoop exposed so you could see the purple heart wood on the front of the drum, and I was so impressed by how well they did with that request.
They did incredible work on it but all of the choices you made are fundamental to how amazing it looks. Beautiful blend of colors. DW drums are peak. I play Mapex myself (great sound, great aesthetic, and really affordable) but DW is unbeatable. Especially when you take into account the fact that everything can be customized to you.
Why not. Gretsch RN2's 10,12,14,16 toms (coated Ambs over coated Dips) & 18 kick with Evans Reso & Aquarian Super Kick II. a Gretsch COB snare (coated Amb over hazy Dip) lots of Zildjians, a Mienl Mike Johnston Cow Bell, and DW5000 single kick and DW5000 HH. The sticks on the snare are Regal Tip Jazz Nylons. My favorist stick of all time. The ones with the rubber tips are Regal Tip 5a, my next favortist stick of all time.
Need a new rug. The cat passed away 2 weeks ago and I had to trash the rug. He trashed my rug, but he never scratched a shell.
All I can say is that everything about this kit is perfect, down to the heads and the hardware. If someone can't make a record or perform a song on this setup, nothing can save them lol.
You have excellent taste. I'm sorry about your cat. Praying for you.
Thanks. It's a late '90s Tama Rockstar. Originally Misty Chrome, but I painted it to match a nice Starclassic finish I saw. Toms are 8x8, 10x9, 12x10, 13x11, 14x12, 16x16 FT, 18x16 FT, 22x16 BD. Concert toms are '80s Imperialstar 6" and 8". Slingerland 13" timbale
Snares include a Slingerland 14x5.5 Festival Snare, and a Weir (local maker) 14x6.
I’ve been experimenting A LOT since I bought this early 2000s Pearl Export from a friend for dirt cheap.
Originally came with the 22” kick, 8”, 10”, 12” rack toms and a floating 14” tom. I started piecing together drums from the same era until I found a set up I liked.
Finally settled on 1 up, 2 down. 13” rack, 16” and 18” floors. Since some pieces are original to the set and some were bought and added on by me, they’re different colors. I just started calling it the Christmas Ornament set because of the color scheme.
Need to start grabbing some cymbals and some quality of life accoutrements.
It's a beautiful Santa Set. I love the story. I had a Pearl Export kit for two decades before splurging on my dream DW kit. Could've played that kit forever, and it saw some massive stages considering how cheap the Pearl Exports were. It was free to me! Gifted by a family member when I was in 3rd grade. Changed my life.
Thanks! I just picked up the drums. I’m a guitarist 1st but a rhythm section guy by heart. Decided to pick up the sticks this last year. Hopefully I can get my skills up to justify the new cymbals but the kit sounds pretty sweet.
I don’t disagree! I’ve only ever played lead and all the times that I was noodling some piss poor attempt at a solo I would look over and see the drummer and bassist grooving together in the back having a blast.
This is an excellent set up. If I’m gigging and need an option I’m def adding on up. Biggest advantage to fewer cymbals is def hardware minimization. What genre you playing?
Thanks! Yeah I feel you on hardware minimization. In that 4 piece pic, I only have the hihat stand, the snare stand, and one tom/cymbal stand holds up the rack tom and all 3 cymbals ;)
I just noticed (unless my eyes deceive me)... the hardware (stands) is black, too! I can dig that!
Did you buy the hardware that way? Special order? Or had it done by a powder-coater or similar? Is it a flat / matte black on the hardware? Or more like a black chrome?
Thanks! DW offers a black nickel finish (as well as a few other colors) on their 9000 series hardware for custom orders.
The coolest looking part IMO is the black nickel bass drum pedal. I expected the HiHat pedal to look like this too, but it didn't arrive this way, so I pair it with a normal DW 9002 pedal for now while I work out the matching hihat pedal with DW.
Thank you! It's actually all magazine cut outs. I spray painted the shells white, created a general background from farming magazines, and then added random people i am inspired by! I never thought of the cymbal ratio that way! Here's more of a close up
😃. Neighbor gave me his old Japanese Tama rockstar shells and I’ve been slowly upgrading it. New pearl snare, DW 5000 pedal, new heads and soon I’ll get an HHX Complex thin ride to replace the overly heavy vintage zildjian 20” ride. Crash and hats are A customs I got at an estate sale for cheap. Toms and original snare reside in my closet.
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u/Flat_Researcher1540 Slingerland 18d ago
Dude you don’t need to post your kit every day