Get in the groove, play the drums!
Whether you're a hobbyist, a student, a weekend warrior, or a working pro, there's a drum set that fits your needs. We'll be taking a look at the drums, hardware, and cymbals that make up a drum set, the various kinds of sets available, things to keep in mind when considering your purchase, and detailing important accessories like sticks and drumheads. If you see a drum term that you don't understand, you'll probably find it in our drum set glossary.
If you're a beginner or hobbyist who wants to play in a band or jam with your friends, a 4-piece drum set consisting of a snare drum, bass drum, single mounted tom, and floor tom provides you with all the basic sounds. Ringo Starr made this configuration famous with The Beatles. A 4-piece set takes up a minimum of space, is easily portable, and has a sound well suited to jazz, blues, and rock styles.
If surrounding yourself with drums sounds like fun, then consider a five-piece, six-piece, or larger set, which add additional toms for a wider tonal range. These larger kits are well suited for rock, fusion, contemporary, and country styles. Many drum sets come in two different configurations, Standard or Fusion. The drum diameters distinguish each configuration. Fusion drum sets typically feature 10" and 12" mounted toms, a 14" floor tom (suspended or standing) and usually a 22" bass drum. Standard-sized kits feature 12" and 13" mounted toms, a 16" floor tom, and 22" bass drum. The benefit of the smaller diameters of the Fusion set is their punchy tone and articulate sound. The benefit of the Standard size set is that the larger toms produce more volume and bigger tone. Choosing the best set is a subjective process with benefits to each configuration. The double bass drum set was pioneered by the great jazz players and popularized by rock drummers. The double bass set allows you to play very fast patterns with power and has a striking visual appearance. A complete drum set will usually contain all the hardware you need. If you already have the hardware, buying a shell pack can save you money. A shell pack consists of the drums themselves with no additional hardware except the rims and tom mounts. While there are drum sets that work for a variety of styles, in general it's a good idea to choose a drum set that fits the style of music you play. Is Slipknot's Joey Jordison your drumming idol, or is Steve Gadd more your style? A rule of thumb is that kits with fewer and smaller drums are a good fit for jazz, traditional blues, and other primarily acoustic forms of music, while drum sets with larger drums are better for rock and other more amplified styles.
Another element that you should consider is the kind of wood used in the making of your drums. Many kinds of woods are used for drum building, and all have unique sound qualities. * Maple is the most popular wood used for drum making, with a warm, balanced tone. * Falkata is sometimes substituted for maple, as it costs less yet shares maple's sound qualities and takes finishes well. * Birch is very dense and tough, with a harder and brighter sound than maple or mahogany. Its loud, bright tone makes the wood excellent for recording, as it easily cuts through the mix with its clarity. Birch features enhanced highs and lows with a reduced midrange. * Mahogany has enhanced low end and midrange with reduced highs. The sound is slightly warmer than maple and is said to have a "vintage" character. * Poplar is a low-cost alternative to maple or birch. The sound is similar to birch or mahogany. * Basswood is plentiful and makes a good, less expensive alternative to maple or birch. Basswood has a nice grain that takes lacquer finishes beautifully. * Lauan wood is often referred to as "select hardwood," and can be thought of as a budget version of birch wood. * Oak has a similar sound to maple, with a more porous composition and a powerful, bright sound. Drum shells are made of several plies, or layers of wood. In general, the more plies a drum has, the rounder and fatter the sound. Drums made with fewer plies usually have a brighter, more resonant sound and a lower fundamental note. The angle at which a drum shell's bearing edge is cut makes a difference in the sound quality. A sharper bearing edge angle gives a brighter sound with more cut, while a rounder bearing edge gives a softer, mellower sound. Drums come with a variety of finishes. Covered finishes are an inexpensive alternative consisting of vinyl wraps with a great variety of patterns and looks to choose from. Covered finishes provide great durability and resist scratches and nicks better than a natural finish. Transparent lacquer finishes enhance the woodgrain for a beautiful natural look.
Drums alone do not a drum set make--hardware is another crucial component that makes up a complete kit. Unless you are purchasing a shell pack, a drum set will come with the hardware necessary to assemble and play it. Essential drum hardware includes the bass drum pedal, snare stand, hi-hat stand, and one or more cymbal stands. Keep in mind that though a complete drum set will include enough hardware to get you playing, the hardware that's included varies from set to set. Most drum sets do not include a drum throne. It's not advisable to use anything other than a drum throne to sit on, as thrones allow height adjustment, are compact, disassemble for easy transport, and include padding to make for a comfortable playing experience. Some modern drum sets offer an alternative to mounting drums and cymbals on stands, employing a frame-like structure called a drum rack.
Cymbals are an essential component of any drum set. Most drum sets come without cymbals, so you'll want to find cymbals that fit the music you like to play and the set that you've chosen. Different kinds of cymbals exist to fill various roles within the drum set. The main types of cymbals are ride cymbals, crash cymbals, and hi-hat cymbals. Splash and China cymbals have also become very popular in the last few decades. A wide variety of effects cymbals are available to provide drummers with a multitude of sounds, colors, and shapes to choose from. Cast cymbals are made of individually poured, raw molten metal. The castings are then heated, rolled, shaped, hammered, and lathed. This lengthy process results in cymbals with a full, complex sound that many feel improves with age. Each cast cymbal has a distinct sonic character that is unique. Sheet cymbals are cut from large sheets of metal of uniform thickness and composition. Sheet cymbals have a very uniform sound from cymbal to cymbal within the same model, and are generally less expensive than cast cymbals. Cymbal sounds are a very individual preference. Many jazz players favor darker, more complex cymbal sounds, while rockers generally lean toward a brighter, louder sound that cuts through the mix. While a few traditional cymbal-manufacturing giants continue to dominate the market, there's an expanding universe of options to choose from.
The snare drum's crisp, snappy voice cuts through any mix, keeping the groove moving, adding accents, and interacting with the soloists. This drum's distinctive sound comes from the metal wires, or snares, that are held in place against the thin bottom head of the drum with a device called a strainer that's mounted on the shell. The snares can be released for a high tom or timbale-like sound. Snare drums are traditionally made of either metal or wood. A metal snare, available in steel, brass, aluminum, and other alloys, offers an exceptionally bright, cutting tone, though many drummers prefer the warmer, mellower sound that a wood snare offers. Snare drums are generally 14" in diameter and range in depth from 3-1/2" to 8", however today a huge number of custom snare drums are available. Many drummers like to collect additional snare drums to use in special situations. Piccolo, soprano, and sopranino snare drums are specialty snares that are progressively smaller-sized and higher pitched than a standard snare drum. The popcorn snare is a 6" x 10" specialty snare with popping hi-pitched tone. These specialty snare drums are used by many drummers who play modern electronica styles that require a higher pitched snare sound such as drum 'n bass, trance, and jungle.