Do you have an old kids drum set laying around? Or do you need a drum kit that plays pretty well for less than $100? Well I've got the solution for you!
the backstory
The drummer in my band, Reggie, and I have been kicking around the idea of buying an old, beat up drum set for a few weeks. Both of us are living in small apartments and had to leave our drum sets at home up in Salt Lake. We needed a small, portable, and cheap drum set that we wouldn't have to worry about breaking when we took it places. We joked around about buying a kid's drum set at first, but eventually the joke became a serious plan.
Step one: Acquire a Kid's Drum set
Just under a week ago, one of my good friends, Graveey, happened to find a child's drum set at Deseret Industries, our local thrift store.
As quickly as we could, Reggie and I drove down to the thrift store to check out the merchandise.
AND THERE IT WAS...
A First Act drum set! But not just any old First Act drum set, this one had a real kick drum, two Toms, a snare drum, a high-hat, and a crash cymbal that was nearly inverted and probably more wood than metal.
This is where things could get tricky for you, because there are a plethora of First Act drum sets online which simply can't be turned into real sets.
For example...
There are also probably an equal number of useable drums that will work, its all about how creative you can get. I also wouldn't recommend buying a new kid's drum set for this plan. The set above already costs $110 on Amazon!
We bought it for $30 dollars which was a steal! For reasons I can't understand, the same model of drum set is for sale currently on eBay for $225!
Step Two: Clean the Drums
If your set is anything like ours, you'll want to get it cleaned off before you do anything else. Regardless of whether the drums are yours or if you bought them from someone else, odds are pretty good that they've been sitting around for a while.
I usually use disinfectant wipes to clean dust off all of my instruments. They're soft, wet, and seem to be pretty gentle on paint and finishes.
Pro tip: you'll probably want to wipe the drum surfaces off with a damp cloth or paper towel after dusting them to make sure no wipe residue gets left on your drums.
Scrubbing the Cymbals
I've used a variety of things to get marks off my Cymbals on my real drum set, but in this case, I decided to try using the Mr. Clean magic erasers. They seemed to do a great job removing the drum stick marks from the cymbal and definitely made it shinier.
Cymbals are typically made out of a copper alloy, the cymbals on this kit were unsurprisingly thin and cheap. So cheap, in fact, that the cymbal was actually nearly inverted when we bought the kit. I fixed the problem by covering a hammer with a sock and gently working the outer edge of the cymbal back into shape by hitting it against the floor.
The entire cymbal seemed to be covered with a golden paint, to make it appear to be a real cymbal. If your cheap cymbal looks like it has little specs of rust, you can use vinegar and a cloth to scrub off the corrosion, it was fairly effective on these cymbals.
Step three: Replace the heads.
The heads on a drum set honestly make more difference in the tone or sound that the drums produce than the actual drums themselves. This makes sense, since the vibrations that create the sound are being created by the heads.
The heads on starter drum kits are often made as cheaply as possible. They can create unwanted overtones that make the drums sound cheap and ugly. You'll need to measure all of your drums. Drum heads are sold based on their diameter ( the distance from one end of the drum to the other.
Remember! You might not have to replace all the heads! The resonant heads, or the bottom heads on most of the drums are usually in good shape! Which is a great way to save money!
Tune your drums
There are so many ways to do this. I typically use the techniques in this video! Which also contains important information on how to change heads
Drum hardware
Remember that these kits are made to be as cheap as possible, so kids can annoy their parents without breaking the bank! That means the hardware isn't going to function well at all.
The highlight of our kit has to be the snare stand, which consists of the original base and drum holder, with an after market stem that is a plastic pipe thing. It just sorta sits in the middle and everything balances on it.
You'll want to buy new hardware if any of yours is broken. Remember hardware is completely utilitarian, so don't feel like you need to buy anything expensive. you can always find used drum hardware at a pawn shop or online.
Conclusion
Our drum heads and kick pedal have yet to arrive, so prepare yourself for additional content on this project soon!
Comments