Good morning, and thanks a lot for joining me on Midnightdrummer.com today!
The first steps of becoming a drummer aren't easy. There are hundreds of questions and only a few concrete answers to those questions.
In this blog post, I try to answer one of the most frequently asked questions, which is:
How much do drum sets costs?
Of course, this is another question for which there are plenty of answers available, but you will be surprised how cheap and how expensive drum sets can be!
Sounds interesting?
Let's begin!
How much do drum sets cost?
The price of a 5-piece drum set can range between $200,- and $12.000,- and even more. In the following table, you find several drum sets at different price points. Just click the links of a pertaining drum kit for more information:
What does the price of a drum kit depend on?
How much a drum set costs depends on several aspects, which you can see here:
When buying a drum kit, most drummers are looking for a so-called 5-piece drum set, which you can see here:
5-piece drum set with hi-hat, crash- and ride cymbal - Image by AlLes
A 5-piece drum set consists of the following drums:
...which are 5 pieces! 🙂
In addition to a 5-piece drum kit, there are also hi-hat cymbals and hi-hat machine, a crash- and a ride cymbal, the stands and of course tom holders, a drum throne and a bass drum pedal.
These hardware parts of a drum set complete a drum kit.
Each of these components are available in diverse qualities, versions and and therefore price ranges.
That's why there's such a huge price range from $200,- to $12.000,- and more.
How much are drums sets?
How much do junior drum kits cost?
Junior drum kits costs between $100,- and $1.500,-.
What you should watch out for, before buying a “junior drum set” is the size of the drums.
Why?
When your kid is 5,6 or 7 years old, you should consider buying a conventional drum set with a smaller kick drum.
This allows smaller drummers to play on these kits, too.
You can read more about this in my article about the best junior drum sets.
How much is a beginners drum set?
Drum sets for beginners cost between $200,- and $1.500,-.
Very recommendable are so-called “studio” configurations. These drum sets come with a 20" bass drum which allows mounting the tom toms at different heights.
This is ideal for children – starting at age 5 or 6 – for teenagers and for adult drummers also.
If you want to read more about this kind of drums, please read my blog post about the best cheap drum sets for beginners.
How much do drumsets for intermediate players cost?
There are plenty of drum sets for intermediate players available. These can be found in a price range from $500,- to $2.000 or even $3.000,-.
Again, the total price is made up of several aspects, which I have explained in the sections above. Only because a drum set can be found in this price range doesn't make it an intermediate drum set per se!
I would recommend buying a shell set, which only contains the drums. Stands, pedals, drum throne and cymbals can be acquired separately.
This makes total sense, because most intermediate drummers have a good idea of what their sound should be like. Therefore, buying components one by one is a good choice!
How much does a professional drum set cost?
Usually, a professional drum set costs between $2.000,- and $12.000,-. Still, there are a lot of exceptions!
Because….
1st. What does “professional” mean?
In general, “professional” means, that you earn money doing something (e.g., playing drums).
By implication, this doesn't mean that your drum set has to be that expensive – only because you want to earn money making music!
There are hundreds of pro-drummers, who can play unbelievable stuff and sound fantastic!
Thus, there are great drum sets, which don't cost a fortune and still sound amazingly great – professionally so to say!
Still, there are these “professional” drum sets which are made of the best sounding wood, components, and high quality “never-get-damaged” mechanics.
These parts have been built and assembled by the best (drum-) craftsmen on earth, and they are worth every single penny.
Do you need these to become a better drummer?
No.
Will you sound better using these drum sets?
Let's try this analogy to make the point:
Even if you let me drive the fastest racing car on earth, I won't be able to win a competition against an experienced race car pilot driving a slower car.
How much do used drum kits cost?
Researching the market for used drum sets is always a good idea!
There are hundreds of used drum sets available on marketplaces like Reverb.com.
There are many arguments to buy a used drum set which speak for themselves:
Conclusions
There are thousands of drum sets for any budget.
As a beginner, I'd recommend to aim for the cheaper drum sets and improve your equipment when you become an intermediate drummer.
With experience, you can find great used drum sets and components, which allow a low budget entry into the world of high-end drums, cymbals, and hardware.
Please let me know in the comments, if there are any questions left.
Talk soon and enjoy playing drums!
