Good additions to my drum set?

Question

My birthday is coming up and I want some extra pieces to add more flavor to my drum set. I will be 15 years old, and I've been playing for a solid 4 years.

My kit (gretsch catalina maple) consists of: Bass, Snare, 10,12,14,16 toms.

Cymbals: Zildjian A Customs.. 2 Crashes, Ride, Hats. (I have an extra hand crafted ride, that i rarely use.) I have a wuhan china and an unbranded splash. (I do NOT use these because i don't believe they sound very good.)

Im looking for a a few splashes, maybe a secondary high-hat to be kept open (common among rock drummers). My style is Hard rock, 80's metal, anything really.

I'd love to hear your suggestions. I will vote Best Answer.

Answer 1

sounds like you got a pretty awesome kit in the works! id almost say there is nothing really worth adding on to your kit. ive always been of the opinion "less is more". ive seen some amazing drummers play on a 4 piece kit with 2-3 cymbals, and they make it sounds like a thousand piece kit. i have a 5 piece myself, but usually keep it at 4 pieces. i figure, i still got a loooong way to go before i master 4 pieces. adding another piece wont make me sound any better. if anything, it'll make me sound worse since i havent yet mastered what i have.



but i digress. ill answer your question lol. first of all, wuhan chinas are awesome in my opinion!! yeah they are cheap, but they have the raw, thrashy sound. for the price, they are an amazing cymbal. the splashes... ive never been a fan of wuhan splash. in my opinion, they need to make chinas and nothing more lol. but if youre looking for a new china.... you may like the paiste novo china. its a 22" china (HUGE) but it sounds awesome and it great for any 80s rock and metal. maybe instead of a splash, you could try what i like to do. i dont like splashes, so instead i use a 14" thin crash to get a similar effect. i wouldnt bother with a second hihat. maybe instead just get a double bass pedal and/or a drop clutch. are you heads new? maybe ask for a new set of heads. the evans ec2s are popular right now. you could also outfit your bass drum with a really nice head (usually run around 45-50$ for the higher end ones). a piccolo snare might be a cool addition. i use to use one when i was in a metal band, but in interests of keeping my kit smaller, i sold it. you could get a set of roto toms or octobans if youre into that kind of thing. maybe some new hardware? hardware is expensive but the nice stuff will last you literally a lifetime. a drum rack is great, especially for the size of your kit. already mentioned a double bass pedal. some auxillary pieces are always fun, like wood block or cowbell. but they arent used much in modern music these days. my band covers a few songs with a cowbell in it. so i rigged the cowbell up to the base of my hihat stands so i could play it with a spare bass pedal i had laying around.



and if none of my suggestions sound good, you could always get into recording. ask for a mic set, or a mixer board, or maybe some music software.



good luck!!!

Answer 2

If i had your drum kit and 200$ to improve it, i'd get both a new snare, or new cymbals. The crisis with cymbals is the high-quality ones are SO pricey. So for 200$ you would particularly simplest get 1 new cymbals. 200$ must get you a good snare drum although. Nothing fine or fancy, but absolutely its adequate to get whatever respectable. So youve obtained choices, but not many. I wouldnt hassle getting a further tom... Plus adding toms to a drumset in order that they suit is continually more costly as an add-on. The excellent factor about upgrading cymbals is that you are able to do it separately when you need to. Perhaps in 6 months you could get one more 200$ and upgrade another cymbals. Since zildjian zbt are frequently the entry level cymbals for zildjian. Not very high best. Just right luck!

Answer 3

Here are some things to consider:

-PLAY YOUR WUHAN CHINA! (Those things sound sick but forget Wuhan splashes)

-Look into Paiste 2002 splashes

-Zildjian Zil-Bel, or 2002 Cup Chime, or LP Ice Bell (A bell!! haha)

-Forget the auxiliary hats and get a drop clutch

-Roto-Toms or Octobons?... better yet DW Piccolo Toms!

-LP Micro snare???? haha