my kit is a 5 pc with a hihat and crash.
its all branded "percussion plus"
im gonna be drumming kinda seriously, my mates and i are starting up a hardcore/metal band and i want to know if theres any upgrades i should think of. i dont want to spend a lot (obviously or i would have got a popular brand set)
would it be best to get a double bass/pedal next or a splash and ride?
my hi-hat is pretty cheap, it uses a rod not chain drive and its kinda rattley and you can hear it if theres not much basswork. should i look to get a new one when i improve?
my friend who drums said that putting remos or something would make your drums sound way better.
what should i buy for my kit so i can keep improving?
cheers

double bass and ride for sure

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for metal you almost need a double bass man! get some cheep symbol sets that come with like a crash ride and sometimes a china or something

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Heres a list of things i added on over the years in order:
got a 5 peice kit with hi-hat and crash
ride cymbal
double bass pedal
18" crash
8" splash
18" china and 10" splash
16" crash to replace the one that came with the kit
new hi-hats to replace old ones

and don't buy cheap shit, you'll be glad after a while if you buy stuff that will last. If you dont have the money, dont buy all the top of the line stuff and dont buy all the realy cheap stuff. Its better to buy good stuff over a period of time rather than a bunch of shit all at once. That should be a famous quote right there.

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kinda on the subject...

how can i convince my freind to uprade his damn kit?!
he wants to and always talked about getting some more cymbols and a double bass and shit but he wont get off his ass and do it, its not like money is an issue he has like 5,000+ just sitting in the bank

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If you can drive, randomly pick him up one day and take a ride to the bank then the music store

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defiantly get a double bass (or pedal). And if you dont have a ride you really need to get one. I would forget the splash (if your going to be playing metal). I Wouldnt worry about the hi/hat thing until later on. Then its a good idea to get good drum heads (weather its remo or whatever). It really helps to have good heads. I use Remo Pinstripes.

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Yes, the double pedal is a nice upgrade but i think there is more important things. I would get a ride before the double pedal. I think a double pedal with just a crash and hi-hats would sound a little boring. I would go for more creativity with the hands as i getting a ride before the pedal. Or you can just get them both at the same time witch would be nice. Also, i dont know how long youve been playing for but i learned to use the hi-hat pretty good before i got the double pedal. I think its good to know how to use both the hi-hat open and closed and the double pedal. Its a totaly different thing to get used to. So what im saying is if you go for the double pedal right when you start playing drums, chances are you wont be as good with the hi-hat. Just something to think about...

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get rid of your kit (percussion plus are dog shit) and buy something like a pearl export then get a ride then a double pedal,

trust me, the money you spend will be roucouped to you in having good quality equipment that won't fuck up on you at the worst possible moment.

percussion plus is a real crap kit, ive got a friend with one, but you can make almost anything sound passable with good heads. so get some remo pinstripes for your toms and a powerstroke 3 for your bass drum. you can get away with a middle of the line cymbal set too...i bought a paiste 502 set three years ago and i still use the crash and hi-hat, and they still sound fine mixed in with all the other good ones.

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ok, i defiantely need a ride, like a cheap sabian or zildjian, and when i get a bass im thiking it would be better to get a nice one and have it as my right foot than get another the same (especially if they suck).
i cant get a pearl export cause they cost 3 times what my kit did.
could i make any money selling stuff?
it doesnt really matter that its shit cause so am i ive only been playing for a week

ah only playing for a week, still you should have got a pearl (the price IS worth it)

as for a second bass but getting a good one, BAD idea, the difference in tonal quality etc. between the 2 basses will make any bass drum rolls sound really fucked like this:

boom ba boom ba boom ba boom ba....

you get what I mean?

no?

good!

as for making money selling stuff, sure you just have to find the right sucker, I mean buyer to pay inflated prices for crap (as you can probably tell, I hate Century percussion)

as for a sabian or Zildjarn ride, can't go wrong with either, you might wanna check out some AAMeinl stuff as their rides (even the older ones) are pretty sweet (I have an old AA Meinl ride and it is nice and pingy, with a good bell)

and the 3x price difference between pearl and CP is there for a reason, CP is a good 3 times shitter than pearl (I personally rate it 3*3*3*3 times, or 81 times worse but never mind)

oh and one last things, don't snob Jazz funk etc. cause they are not metal because they teach you alot of good technique you can incorporate into your metal playing (just listen to HellHammer to hear this, fucking wicked Jazz drummer) and before I go, if you are not already, GET LESSONS!!!!!

and I am done.

Ps Century are shit.

well christmas is coming up, maybe it would be good to sell my bass and get a pearl or gretsch along with an axis double. if thats no too expensive mayybe some heads too... or just a ride.
fuck how come drummers get jipped with all the costs. my friends guitars only cost about 400$
ps. what does a splash sound like?

Double pedal or bass not necesary. I'm a strong advocate for one footed drumming, ther are even double beater heel toe pedals which can have the same "space" as double kicker pedals. Pick the weight of your cymbals carefully, like if you want something responcive get lighter ones, etc. Wait until you've played for a longer time before jumping into a band, you need to get your rudimentals right first. Get a teacher. My teacher is a jazz drummer now with background in punk. He's an amazing teacher, eventough he doesn't have a degree, he teaches very well as well as other things such as music ethic and encourages me to work. Get a teacher who you get along with.

A splash sounds like a metalic splash. Teehee.

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Splashes sound realy bright and fast. Good for accents and stuff. Go to sabian.com, they have alot of cymbals recorded on the site so you can hear them.

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ok ill get lessons but we have been planning this band long before most of us played, so the band will go as fast as we want it to. well probly just end up jamming all the time instead of playing much

Er, jamming might not be very good for a starter. You need to get your rudimentals down first silly!

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wat is rudimentals? i did try google no help

http://www.vicfirth.com/education/rudiments.html

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nice cheers

Jamming is good for everyone at any level. Its practice...

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NO.

With jamming you don't get to do the simple stuff as much. One must do simple exersises religiously to get them right first, and with jamming you'd stuff around traight away - nobody wants to play along to your stupid warm ups. There can be problems with metronomes, etc. With practice, you can stop any time you want and go back over something, but with jamming or performance you ignore the mistake and go on like a good performer. Practising alone allows for a lot more freedom.

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sorry, but I disagree, jamming is great!!! no matter how long you have been playing

for the simple following reasons:

*experiance in playing with other band members (this is invaluable in helping you stay in time, the main point of drumming, not rudiments)

* it is fun, the main reason I started drumming was cause it was fun and jamming, especially with my band (we ran through Symphony of destruction as a jam session, such an easy song) just cause it was fun to do, too many drummers forget to have fun when playing.

* it allows you to get creative, some of my most awesome fills have come from jamming, sometimes you think of things that go with the music that you wouldn't normally thin k of, in one song I do this awesome 16th tom run that matches the guitar part and sounds fucking sweet! I never would have some up with that with jamming.

BrokenCrimson, I agree with you but you went a little overboard. That sounds like something my mom would say. Jamming is a great way to learn new stuff and practice what you know already know. I agree with NZ.

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