Hi folks.
My younger son is coming up for 5 and is starting drum lessons tonight. He seems mad keen (but yes, he will do) and he's asked about getting his own drums. I was walking to the canteen at work and see that someone is selling a kids 5 piece kit
the same as this one for £100. It comes with practice pads too and reviews etc. seem universally positive. I was at this stage with our older son (now 8) a couple of years ago and bought him a Mini Squier Strat and he's really loving playing guitar after 2 years... so our younger son sees him and wants to play along with him.
Is it crazy to be looking at buying a kit when he's not had any lessons yet? I don't think we will know if he's going to stick at it until we're maybe 3 months down the line, but this seems to be a good deal and it's local.
The question really is... should I hold off a bit and maybe get him an electronic kit which takes up less room and he can play in headphones... or are they pretty awful and we're better with a "real" kit like this one which we shouldn't lose much money on if he packs it in? I actually think our older son would use it too.
edit: Actually -
I think it's the same as this one... so is probably too big for him as it's full size (I think). I'm going to go and see it anyway, but said to the seller I think it'll be too big.
Any advice on any part of this would be great.
Thanks in advance.
Andy
Comments
Are they any good, nope! But are they super happy thinking they are good, defo!
I've just spoken to the seller and it seems to be a full size kit... but I don't know anything about drum kits in terms of how adjustable they are. I said I think it'll be too big for him, but I'm going to go and see it anyway and see it in person.
https://www.andertons.co.uk/meinl-12-practice-pad-mpp12
Is that just to get used to rhythms and stuff before investing in a kit? I have no idea where to start with drums. If there was a set in the house I know I'd have a great time playing about on them though.
I decided to hold off on the one above just now until we speak to his teacher and see how he gets on. He's asked if he can get his own sticks, so we'll do that this weekend and take it from there. Maybe sit him on a couple of sets and find out some more.
We’re going to see how the first couple of weeks go, but I’m going to keep an eye open for a kit coming up locally.
We have a 4 bed detached in a modern estate so we are pretty close to other houses but not jammed in, but I'm pretty sure the neighbours would hear a real kit if they were outside in their garden for example. Anyway, we are going to look at kits in due course. We're going into Glasgow today so we are going to get him his own stick and a practice pad. It's brilliant, he's so excited.
We're lucky as we now have a sound-proofed space for his kit but most people I know with real kits in the house have an agreed arrangement with neighbours that between the hours of X & Y, the kit can be played.
We went to look at electronic drums yesterday in GG Glasgow (who were great, as always) and I thought I had settled on this kit here... Tourtech 16S as it has a more meaningful bass drum setup than just a pedal and it seems really good value... but it's all rubber pads and no mesh.
This one was the one we went to see Tourtech 12SM which is a bit smaller, has a sort of halfway-house bass drum setup and a mesh snare... I have to say, from a non-drummer perspective, the mesh seems a lot better but the kick drum and overall size / layout and features on the 16S model seem quite a lot better for the small bit of extra outlay. There are full mesh kits for about £100 more, but I think that's too much cash at this stage of things.
Anyway, I'm in a bit of a quandry about which one to get. I think the 16S is the winner, and having "played" it briefly I was quite happy with it, I just wish it had the mesh snare then it would be a no-brainer. But I think overall, it's the best balance of cost vs features. There's no doubt though, if this was a £400 purchase, the full mesh 22M model next to it is the one to go for. If he sticks (pardon the pun) at this, then I would be happy taking him back in a couple of years and shelling out for either a full mesh kit a level or two up from these, or a proper acoustic set.
The 16 says it's expandable... Is it possible to replace the snare with a mesh one later?
Any advice etc. would still be very useful.
Cheers,
Andy
I do not want to change your plans but as a drummer I am conscious that I have had electronic drums but they were not the right thing for me. They might be for your son just as they are for many other drummers.
Not that I am suggesting you copy me but rather to show you that I understand the need to have quiet drums at home - here is a photo of my home kit (I live on a flat with neighbours above and below) stuffed with insulation and carpet on the cymbals. The added fleece is so that I can practice while my wife sleeps, they are now that quiet.
It's the feel of the kit that is the thing I am unsure of, does all that padding not have a really major impact on the feel of playing that kit?
2) electronic drums don't feel the same as regular drums
3) I have an electronic drum kit. three of my 4 kids were interested for about 5 minutes then never touched it again!
You come across as comfortable with the idea of eletronic drums and that is not a bad decision at all. All the best.