MI Pro

Release Date	Out Now
Vendor	JHS, Sutherland, EMD, Korg, Headstock, Yamaha, Music Shipping

SECTOR GUIDE - Drums

Drummers are a misrepresented, often maligned species of musician; often the butt of cruel (all right, funny) one-liners and always the last member of the band to know anything. Among the guitarists and lead singers of this world, drummers don’t always get their props.

So let’s get this straight, drummers are great. The most able can, with the simplest of fills or the changing of a beat, transform an okay song into something incredible, while the most incapable can still convince their bandmates that this time next year, they’ll be millionaires – after all once you’ve got a drummer there’s no stopping you, right?

Additionally, mere heads and cabs, trifling pedals or unwieldy keyboards are beyond the care of our beat-keeping friends. Drummers are the first to set up, and the last to pack up, lumping their kits across the toilet venues of this country with pride, and should be given some sort of award for doing so.

The award the industry has chosen to give them is clear to see. kits are better made, with improved materials and at a lower cost than ever before. For far under that magical £1,000 mark, your average penny-pinching percussionist can pick up not just a solid, well made kit, but a spanking, quality set with class right through it and a major name stamped on the side.

As a result of this, the drum market is buoyant and growing. No doubt thanks to the live music boom that is currently gripping the nation with a kind of religious fervour and has seen new bands of all ages start springing up all over the place, drummers are in high demand, and more and more young bucks and curious old hands are picking up sticks, getting hold of a new kit and getting themselves involved.

Home-grown talent such as phenomenal Arctic Monkeys sticksman Matt Helders is providing endless inspiration, and as long as the demand is there, the big guns in the drumming world are keeping pace admirably.

There is, as ever, a huge amount of new kit to choose from in this area of the industry. At entry level, the likes of Performance Percussion makes getting hold of a well put together first kit a doddle. Its popular PP300 five-piece kit is its best selling in the UK and Ireland since its introduction in 2005, no doubt thanks to the amount that is packed in at an extremely low price point of £319.99.

Bass and snare drums, two mounted rack toms and a floor tom, as well as all the required accessories – often a hefty extra for drummers – including a bass drum pedal, double-braced cymbal stand with adjustable boom arm and a snare drum stand with a quick-release basket are all part of the deal, as well as a drum stool, assembly instructions and a pair of sticks. Pretty much ideal for the first timer, a number of finishes from silver to metallic wine red (depending on taste) are also available, and the kit comes fitted with Remo heads.

Another solid seller for Performance Percussion, a line performing well for JHS at the moment, is the PP800 Slimline, an excellent innovation designed for those who may not have the luxury of space or tolerant neighbours that is required for a full kit, and so need something a little bit less noisy and space-consuming.

A shallow depth yet full 22” diameter bass drum, snare, 12” and 14” rack toms and 16” floor tom make up the kit, which all fits inside a padded carry bag. Cymbals, hi-hat assembly, stands and hardware are stored in another padded case, making the entire kit extremely easy to transport and much less cumbersome than a full size kit. A pair of sticks and drum tuition DVD are also included in the package which is well-suited to home practice or low-level rehearsals.

Sutherland Trading also has a finger in the budget drum market pie with the Dragon brand. The DG54-22 is, for only £249, a kit that will take the punishment of the most eager new drummers. A 22”x14” bass drum supports a 12”x10” and a 13”x11” tom, and a snare, double braced four piece hardware set, 14” hi-hats and 16” crash are all included in the price.

EMD has long been on hand to help out budding musicians whose pockets are perhaps not as deep as most, and is not found lacking in the drum department. Stagg is a brand well known amongst many beginners, and the TIM1SET22BK kit is, for £329, an excellent starting point for drummers searching for a good quality entry-level kit. The five piece set includes a 22”x16” bass drum, 12”x9” and 13”x10” toms, a 16”x16” floor tom, 14” x 5.5” snare, bass drum pedal, duel braced stands for the snare, hi-hat and cymbals. A set of 14” hi-hats are also included, as is a 16” crash, drum stool and pair of sticks.

As one of the biggest names around in the sub £1,000 price bracket, Mapex has a reputation for providing excellent quality, striking kits that are popular across the board. One need only look at its M Birch series for reasons behind the popularity of the brand. Representing outstanding value, these are kits that will take a thrashing over the years and still sound and look great. They have great features, and pack in a staggering amount at what is really a very low price point.

Thin birch shells made from multiple plies are topped off with an eye-catching maple veneer, giving a great tone. The kits are also available in a wide range of finishes to suit everyone from metallers to fashion conscious indie kids.  The Big Rock series, featuring 24”x18” undrilled bass drum, 12”x9” tom, 16”x16” floor tom and a 14”x6.5” snare, colour marched bass drum hoops with claw hooks, double braced Mapex hardware and Remo heads. Featuring Mapex’s ITS system, the rack tom’s mount is secured via lugs rather than being drilled into the bass drum, allowing the tom to vibrate freely, and ensuring the projection and resonance of both the bass drum and the tom is at its best.

Yamaha has made great inroads into the drum market, mainly by putting together the best possible products, not cutting corners on materials and design and packing in a lot of features at a good price. Take the Tour Custom range; the limited edition black with orange ‘rally strip’ kit is a head turner, and has the sound to match the looks. 100 per cent maple drum shells, the bass drum has a seven ply seven millimetre shell with a warm, deep tone.

60 degree R2 bearing edges have a rounder profile, maximising shell to head contact and giving the drums a clear, ringing response. An interesting aspect of Yamaha’s drum production, and one that has not changed since 1967, is its use of the staggered diagonal seam Air Seal System. Each play is cut precisely to length, with a diagonal cut on each end. The seam in the shell is therefore less likely to separate, meaning that there are no gaps that need filling on the bearing edge.

Tama remains a name associated with luxury and expense amongst most drummers, a favourite brand among professionals and one that is lusted over by mere mortals. It does, however, have a couple of kits available for under £1,000: the Superstar Custom ‘Heavy Rock Pop’ kit features Hyper-Drive toms with hybrid shells which have birch outer and basswood inner plies for added depth and resonance, die-cast hoops, the Star Cast mounting system and black nickel parts. The 22”x20” bass drum, 10”x6.5” tom and 15”x14” floor tom are available in a number of stroking finishes. All for £979.

The other kit available to those keen to get their mitts on the Tama brand is the Superstar SK Hyper-Drive six piece kit. Aimed at those who strive for a professional kit but on a budget somewhat short of that, the sound, features and looks of the kit certainly live up to expectations. Including an 18”x22” bass drum, 5.5”x14” snare, 6.5”x10” and 7”x12” rack toms as well as 12”x14” and 14”x16” floor toms, this is an epic kit, and with black hardware and again numerous stylish and durable finishes available, a pretty good bargain at £899.