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What’s the Best Drum Kit for Me?

What’s the Best Drum Kit for Me?

If you’re looking for an acoustic drum kit, whether it’s a complete beginner’s kit, a mini child-friendly kit, or a deluxe shell set, then Bax Music offers an awesome range. In this Buyer’s Guide, we help you find exactly what you need by offering answers to your most frequenty asked drum kit-themed questioned. If you can’t find the answer to your question here, feel free to contact us!

1. I’m a Beginner. What’s the Best Drum Kit for Me?

The most used kind of drum kit is:

The 'fusion'-kit or 'rock/fusion' kit.
This includes a hi-hat, crash cymbal and ride cymbal.
It also needs to include the necessary hardware (stands and pedals).

Tips:

In most cases, you’ll need to buy a set of drum sticks separately. On almost every product page on our site, you’ll see a list of package deals available and some will include a set of sticks.
When browsing our drum kits, the ‘Price Range’ filter found on the left of the page can be set according to your budget.

All Fusion or Rock/Fusion Drum Kits with Hardware
All Drum Sticks

2. Do I Need an Acoustic or Electronic Drum Kit?

It makes sense to start playing on an acoustic drum kit. This is because it’s actually easier to make the transition from an acoustic to an electronic drum kit than the other way around. Also, if you want to play in a band, using an acoustic drum kit will be more convenient in terms of both gear and volume. If you’re worried about annoying the neighbours, then there are various ways to minimise the volume of an acoustic drum kit. So, don’t let a fear of causing noise pollution be your reason for choosing an electronic drum kit.

All Acoustic Drum Kits
All Electronic Drum Kits

3. What’s the Minimum Setup That I’ll Need?

The most common setup includes a bass drum, snare drum, two toms, a floor tom, hi-hat, a crash cymbal, and a ride cymbal. This is the best setup if you’re about to start drum lessons. Usually a drum kit like this will include all the stands you need, as well as a kick pedal and a hi-hat pedal, but you will usually need to buy a set of drum sticks and a drum throne (stool) separately. However, essentially, the most minimal setup you can have is a bass drum, snare drum, and a hi-hat.

If you’re planning to rehearse and play with a band, then we also recommend getting a good cymbal bag and a snare drum bag. Amongst drummers, these are referred to as ‘breakables’ and this is the gear you’re likely to need to take with you to gigs when playing on the house kit or someone else’s kit. By checking out the package deals included on pretty much every product page on our site, you’ll always find some ready-made bundle deals.

Drum Kits with the Most Common Setup, including Cymbals & Hardware
All Drum Sticks
Cymbal Bags
Snare Drum Bags
Drum Thrones

4. How Big Do My Drums Need To Be?

For most beginners, we recommend going for a ‘fusion kit’. The drums of a fusion kit are not too big and not too small so that you can play in any style. A commonly used fusion configuration includes a 20” bass drum, 10” tom, 12” tom, and a 14” or 16” floor tom. Sometimes, you will need to get a set of cymbals and the necessary hardware (so, the stands and pedals) separately, but this will always be made clear on the product page.

Other kinds of kits include the jazz-kit (with smaller drums), and the rock-kit (the biggest). The fusion kit sits somewhere inbetween these two. Please note: These are just names and not strict rules! Don’t be scared of the Jazz-Police if you’re playing rock on a jazz kit! The biggest difference between these kits is the volume. A rock kit, for example, is going to be louder than a jazz kit.

All Fusion Kits with a 20” Bass Drum, 10”+12” Toms, and 14” or 16” Floor Tom
All Fusion Kits
All Jazz Kits
All Rock Kits
All Rock/Fusion Kits

5. What Kind of Drum Kit Should I Get for a Child?

A child-friendly drum kit (for a child of around primary school age) shouldn’t be so big so that they aren’t able to reach the drums and pedals. For small children, we recommend a bass drum with a maximum diameter of 20”. This will also mean that the toms will not be set too high.

The easiest option is a junior/starter kit with an 18” or 20” bass drum, then you know you have the right kit! Usually the toms that come with these kits won’t be set too high up, so that a young drummer is able to reach them. Most of these kits also come including cymbals and hardware (the necessary stands and pedals). With many of these kits, the ride and the crash are often combined in one cymbal.

All Junior/Start Kits with 18” or 20” Bass Drum, Cymbals & Hardware

6. What’s a Shell Set?

A 'shell set' only includes drums. The cymbals, stands, and pedals are not included. This way, you can pick them out yourself. Beginners are better off picking out a complete drum kit that already includes all the necessary stands and pedals (also known as hardware), and cymbals.

Please note:

Sometimes shell sets do not include a snare drum and only come with the bass drum and toms included.
In the images included on shell set product pages, you’ll often see a set of stands and cymbals to illustrate what the shell set will look like as part of a full kit. But in this case, only the shells (drums) are included.

All Complete Drum Kits with Cymbals and Hardware
All Shell Sets

7. What Kind of Wood Should My Drums Be Made of?

For most beginner drummers, this isn’t actually that important. When you’ve been drumming for a while, you’ll start to hear the difference that the wood and other materials can make. Also, there are a lot of factors that influence the sound of a drum kit. For example, the drum heads (skins) and the way in which the drums are tuned.

Popular woods used to make drums include maple, birch, and poplar. Every kind of wood has its own kind of sound. Since drum kits are instruments that are ‘all about the feeling’, if you’re in any doubt, it’s a good idea to go to a shop with a big drum show room and try out a few different kids made of different woods to hear the difference yourself.

Maple Drum Kits
Poplar Drum Kits
Birch Drum Kits

8. I Want to Get Everything! What Should I Invest In?

Beginners are better off going for a complete drum kit. So, a kit that comes complete with cymbals and hardware (the necessary stands and pedals). This is always the cheapest choice and since it’s a ready-made kit, all the thinking has been done for you.

Would you prefer to pick out all the parts yourself? First, be aware that more expensive shells (drums) don’t always sound better than cheaper ones. As long as you use the right combination of drum heads (skins) and tuning, then you can actually make a relatively cheap shell sound good. This is not the case when it comes to cymbals since you can’t really adjust the sound of a cymbal.

Tip: Find your hi-hat, crash, and ride cymbals first, then see what shell set you can get with the rest of your budget. If you want to keep things thrifty, then go for cheaper stands for the crash and ride, since these can easily be replaced later.

All Drum Kits with Cymbals and Hardware
All Shell Sets
All Cymbals
All Hardware (Stands & Pedals)

9. How Do I Find My Dream Kit?

Go to the dedicated Acoustic Drums section of our website.
Using the filters on the left of the page, select the configuration, size, setup, etc that you’re looking for.

Tips:

A good idea is to first set your minimum/maximum budget using the ‘Price Range’ gauge at the top of the filters.
If you’re looking for a complete drum kit including cymbals and hardware, then select ‘yes’ next to these filters: ‘cymbals included’, ‘stands included’, and ‘bass drum pedal’ included.
If you’re looking for a shell set, then simply select ‘no’ next to ‘cymbals included’, and ‘stands included’.
A drum kit with larger or smaller drums can be found quickly using the filter, ‘Type of drum kit’, and adjusting the ‘Bass drum size’ filter to the size that you want.
In terms of looks, you’ll also find a filter for the ‘Colour’ and the ‘Wood/Materials’ that the shells are made of.

Acoustic Drum Kits

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