Drumkit question!

And get a practice pad too.

Ebay's good, I got my nice jazz kit for around $800, I think.

what kind of music do you play? both those kits have really shallow floor toms and (in my opinion) pretty puny-ass rack toms. thunderous rock tones, they won't do.

i haven't been too impressed by any pdp stuff- the hardware is pretty chintzy... and they're mainly banking on the DW lineage/name. they're the epiphone of the drum world. (and maybe you know this but kits are generally not sold new with hardware, or even heads sometimes, though many low-end ones are. and kits NEVER come with cymbals- and if they do you DON'T want to play them).

the main disadvantage of both those kits is going to be weak-ass hardware, and lousy snares. and like previously stated, definitely lack of character.

for 1-2 g's - as a quick google of those kits came back - you could definitely do better, if you get a little creative.

you could get some vintage shells on ebay, round her out with some nice new hardware, couple choice cymbals, and a nice snare - and you'd be way ahead of any off the shelf yamaha kit.

OR you could hit your local craigslist and find some used kits - there are tons of 80s kits, generally - they might be a little tacky (drum rack, iron cobra double-kick, rototoms et al) but you'll definitely get a ton for your money - almost worth it just to start of with some extremely solid hardware - there's always plenty of 80s pearl/tama kits around.

however, if you know nothing about what you want or drum equipment or whatever, by all means get a beginner set that strikes your fancy but spend MUCH less. there's alot of room to upgrade.

A-ron, are you an owner as well?

IME an $800 kit may be twice as good as a $400 kit, but a $1600 kit isn't twice as good as an $800 kit. You get diminishing returns.

Plus there are so many other variables--heads, tuning, muffling (or the lack thereof), room acoustics, mics (if you use them), sticks, and the technique of how you hit them--that go into the sound.

Even a cheapie drumkit can sound decent if fitted with good heads that are tuned and played well. Cymbals, on the other hand, have a definite and fairly fixed character. You can do a lot about cheap drums, but you can't make a subpar cymbal sound good.

Sort of -- I have a somewhat ramshackle 60s Rogers kit - extra holes, non-original hardware, faded wrap (though the fade gives it a pretty cool, unique color). I also have a 60s Gretsch snare - again, non original hardware. But it's more the sound of the old shells that I like, and I got this stuff relatively cheap cause I didn't care about collector's value.

Mad Puffin OTM about cheap drums - as long as they're not shoddily made. I remember reading somewhere about a big Nashville session guy who still plays a Pearl Export kit but just pays a lot of attention to heads and tuning.