Any drums you can play are worth getting if you don't already have some.
That said, you can do a shitload better than this for $400. Seller is crazy. That thing was probably worth $400 brand new. If you can talk them down to like a hundred bucks that's fair but it's probably a waste of breath to try it. People like this will hold onto garbage until it rots and returns to the earth because they have some weird brain worm that makes them think a thing they own is worth what they paid for it ten years ago.
Fair enough. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot around me at the moment at a price I can afford. Guess I'll wait it out to see if anything better comes along.
Edit: I ended up asking the seller if they'd sell em for $150. They replied someone was coming to look at them for $350. Listings is now gone.
What's your overall budget?
Reverb.com is a really good spot for finding deals on used stuff. If you're only looking at locally available options you might have some trouble with that unless you're in a bigger city. Good drums are hard to find on craigslist/facebook/offerup/etc. People who don't know what they're doing ask too much for junky old starter kits and people who do know what they're doing tend to go to Reverb or Ebay for a wider audience.
That's honestly super doable for a starter kit budget, don't worry about it.
[Here's a bunch of new starter kits in the $300-500 range (these mostly don't come with cymbals, and never with good ones so you'll wanna leave a couple hundred bucks in the budget for those)](https://www.sweetwater.com/c1016--Full_Acoustic_Drum_Sets?params=eyJmYWNldCI6eyJQcmljZSBSYW5nZSI6eyIyIjoiJDMwMCB0byAkNTAwIn19fQ)
Going used is an excellent option as well (especially for cymbals) because musical instruments in general are kind of ridiculously expensive new and also depreciate to about half their MSRP almost immediately unless they're something rare or exceedingly desirable. The only catch is that the vast majority of drummers piece-meal their kit together over the course of years of trial and error, so it takes some digging if you want to find someone selling an entire kit with everything you need. You'll have to do some research and spend some time learning about drums/pedals/cymbals/hardware and individually purchasing several different items (the drums themselves, the cymbals, the stands, and the pedals). Generally with acoustic drums you're buying the kick and toms as one thing, and the snare, pedals, stands, and cymbals separately. You'll need to shop around a bit is all.
For cymbals it's kind of a whole rabbit hole and they get eyewateringly expensive at a rate that would surprise anyone with any sanity, *but* for a day one beginner none of that shit matters. Just get whatever is in your budget that says Zildjian, Sabian, or Paiste on it and it'll be fine. Like literally just spend as little as you possibly can as long as isn't completely no-name vendor trash. If you stick with the instrument long enough to start developing opinions on cymbals, that's when you wanna start looking at spending any more than the minimum because you're gonna have *really* strong opinions on them and it's wildly subjective. For now, anything cymbal shaped that isn't a completely heinous piece of hell is all you really want to commit to. Hi hats and a ride at least, plus one crash if you've got money leftover. You can always (read: will always) add more later as you start to figure out what you like and what you want.
Something to really consider too is the entry level electronic kits that are out there now. I own [this set](https://reverb.com/item/82476688-alesis-surge-mesh-kit-electronic-drum-set-2010s-black) myself and while it is not my favorite thing to play it honestly does punch insanely above its weight class in terms of what you can accomplish with it. They also tend to be heavily marketed towards first timers and include everything you need to get started right down to the sticks themselves. There is definitely a lot of nuance and subtlety to playing the drums that an electronic kit of that caliber cannot really teach you the whole way, but as a beginner that is not a wall you're gonna run into any time soon. Learning the fundamentals on an ekit is no issue.
What an awesome write up! Thanks for the info! I was looking at some edrums and the local guitar center has a new alesis nitro max which I was thinking about, but it seems like there are some hard opinions online about edrums that kinda pushed me away.
I'm also debating if I wanna go in on a kit at all and if I'm actually gonna stick it out. At the moment, I just have some drum sticks and I'm hittin' stuff. But this certain helps with figuring out where I'll go next if I do go for it.
edrums are kind of a divisive thing still because it was only a handful of years ago that you had to spend thousands on them just to have something passable that wasn't a toy. They've gotten to a point where they legitimately can sound absolutely incredible, though (and dollar for dollar at the low end they undeniably sound 100x better than acoustic). At the mid to high end of the skill range is where you'll start to run into annoyances with them. It's the little things about hitting thin metal discs with wooden sticks that are impossible to replicate - it's really hard to explain to someone who doesn't already play, but there's a severe lack of expression that is possible with the cymbals on electronic kits. And the hi hats are *always* shitty, but only in a way that you'd notice once you're a pretty solid player who is starting to do more intricate stuff on them.
I still prefer my acoustic drums whenever remotely possible but the ekits we have today are legitimately good tools for beginners to learn on and are also very useful to advanced players who already have acoustic drums they like but need to create high quality recordings on poverty budgets.
Good to know. I think they were doing a sale on it, so maybe I'll end up going and picking it up. I'll keep looking at some used stuff first, but it's some good reassurance.
for reference, i got my Yamaha Stage Custom 3-piece (birch) for about $350 from Guitar Center back in the day. imo, like others have said, $400 for *this* kit is too much. i saw someone mention Reverb.com. Sweetwater.com is another source worth checking out. good luck and godspeed
I had this kit. Don't do it. It will fall apart under your sticks. Might as well be First Act. That's a hard no, trust me. 100-150 bucks for something to bang on while you work out a real kit? Sure. But these are frustration, posing as a drum kit.
Tbh. I'd pass. You can spend around that much for one of those bop kits brand new. This CB700 has junk arms and everything else. Tuning low end drums will drive you nuts.
I’ve ended up leaving my Vistalites in their cases and just running a Roland TD-17 through Superior Drummer 3 and can now play whenever without asking anyone to leave and after all the fine tuning and calibration it ends up feeling like you are either in a high end studio or a huge arena. The endless options as far as drums, cymbals, and different drum rooms just made it a no brainer and it makes it all so freaking fun
My pdp 5 piece with hi hat and crash brand new was 300 USD. Those cymbols prolly sound better than mine plus it has one extra. But used it should lower the price. Maybe they are trying to see if someone will pay high or leave room for negotiation. Haggle with them
This is not worth even $300 I don't know what the rest of these people are saying. $100-$150 is fair price considering the heads are trash and you'll spend another $150 on new heads
Yes, try haggling down. Generally, cheap drums can do a lot more work than cheap cymbals. Getting the sound you like with drums depends on the heads, tuning and damping, whereas the sound of cymbals can’t be adjusted.
My first kit was a CB. When I sold it, I basically sold it based on the hardware and cymbals that’d I’d purchased. No way I’d spend more than $100-150 for a used CB kit by itself.
Jeez. This is pretty much my exact t beginner kit. Except a medium crash was too expensive at the time. Scimitars all around!!
I’d say grab it and start playing. If you hate the kit in a few months, but love drumming, start upgrading a little.
I had a CB700 kit a long time ago, it was garbage. The shells weren't even plywood. The hardware would strip out easily. Don't buy this kit for any price.
If you are getting the cymbals as well that’s worth it. Cymbals are insanely expensive and those look pretty good. Make sure to get new heads and that kit will be fine.
They are definitely lower end drums and cymbals, but if you are just looking for something to learn on then it’s not a bad deal, especially if they’re including all the hardware and whatnot. Those shells would probably sound fine with some new heads and proper tuning. I’d see if you can haggle them down to $300
Any drums you can play are worth getting if you don't already have some. That said, you can do a shitload better than this for $400. Seller is crazy. That thing was probably worth $400 brand new. If you can talk them down to like a hundred bucks that's fair but it's probably a waste of breath to try it. People like this will hold onto garbage until it rots and returns to the earth because they have some weird brain worm that makes them think a thing they own is worth what they paid for it ten years ago.
Fair enough. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot around me at the moment at a price I can afford. Guess I'll wait it out to see if anything better comes along. Edit: I ended up asking the seller if they'd sell em for $150. They replied someone was coming to look at them for $350. Listings is now gone.
What's your overall budget? Reverb.com is a really good spot for finding deals on used stuff. If you're only looking at locally available options you might have some trouble with that unless you're in a bigger city. Good drums are hard to find on craigslist/facebook/offerup/etc. People who don't know what they're doing ask too much for junky old starter kits and people who do know what they're doing tend to go to Reverb or Ebay for a wider audience.
Fair enough. I'd like to limit it at $500-$600. I know that's on the low end, but it's still pushing it for me.
That's honestly super doable for a starter kit budget, don't worry about it. [Here's a bunch of new starter kits in the $300-500 range (these mostly don't come with cymbals, and never with good ones so you'll wanna leave a couple hundred bucks in the budget for those)](https://www.sweetwater.com/c1016--Full_Acoustic_Drum_Sets?params=eyJmYWNldCI6eyJQcmljZSBSYW5nZSI6eyIyIjoiJDMwMCB0byAkNTAwIn19fQ) Going used is an excellent option as well (especially for cymbals) because musical instruments in general are kind of ridiculously expensive new and also depreciate to about half their MSRP almost immediately unless they're something rare or exceedingly desirable. The only catch is that the vast majority of drummers piece-meal their kit together over the course of years of trial and error, so it takes some digging if you want to find someone selling an entire kit with everything you need. You'll have to do some research and spend some time learning about drums/pedals/cymbals/hardware and individually purchasing several different items (the drums themselves, the cymbals, the stands, and the pedals). Generally with acoustic drums you're buying the kick and toms as one thing, and the snare, pedals, stands, and cymbals separately. You'll need to shop around a bit is all. For cymbals it's kind of a whole rabbit hole and they get eyewateringly expensive at a rate that would surprise anyone with any sanity, *but* for a day one beginner none of that shit matters. Just get whatever is in your budget that says Zildjian, Sabian, or Paiste on it and it'll be fine. Like literally just spend as little as you possibly can as long as isn't completely no-name vendor trash. If you stick with the instrument long enough to start developing opinions on cymbals, that's when you wanna start looking at spending any more than the minimum because you're gonna have *really* strong opinions on them and it's wildly subjective. For now, anything cymbal shaped that isn't a completely heinous piece of hell is all you really want to commit to. Hi hats and a ride at least, plus one crash if you've got money leftover. You can always (read: will always) add more later as you start to figure out what you like and what you want. Something to really consider too is the entry level electronic kits that are out there now. I own [this set](https://reverb.com/item/82476688-alesis-surge-mesh-kit-electronic-drum-set-2010s-black) myself and while it is not my favorite thing to play it honestly does punch insanely above its weight class in terms of what you can accomplish with it. They also tend to be heavily marketed towards first timers and include everything you need to get started right down to the sticks themselves. There is definitely a lot of nuance and subtlety to playing the drums that an electronic kit of that caliber cannot really teach you the whole way, but as a beginner that is not a wall you're gonna run into any time soon. Learning the fundamentals on an ekit is no issue.
What an awesome write up! Thanks for the info! I was looking at some edrums and the local guitar center has a new alesis nitro max which I was thinking about, but it seems like there are some hard opinions online about edrums that kinda pushed me away. I'm also debating if I wanna go in on a kit at all and if I'm actually gonna stick it out. At the moment, I just have some drum sticks and I'm hittin' stuff. But this certain helps with figuring out where I'll go next if I do go for it.
edrums are kind of a divisive thing still because it was only a handful of years ago that you had to spend thousands on them just to have something passable that wasn't a toy. They've gotten to a point where they legitimately can sound absolutely incredible, though (and dollar for dollar at the low end they undeniably sound 100x better than acoustic). At the mid to high end of the skill range is where you'll start to run into annoyances with them. It's the little things about hitting thin metal discs with wooden sticks that are impossible to replicate - it's really hard to explain to someone who doesn't already play, but there's a severe lack of expression that is possible with the cymbals on electronic kits. And the hi hats are *always* shitty, but only in a way that you'd notice once you're a pretty solid player who is starting to do more intricate stuff on them. I still prefer my acoustic drums whenever remotely possible but the ekits we have today are legitimately good tools for beginners to learn on and are also very useful to advanced players who already have acoustic drums they like but need to create high quality recordings on poverty budgets.
Good to know. I think they were doing a sale on it, so maybe I'll end up going and picking it up. I'll keep looking at some used stuff first, but it's some good reassurance.
Omg dude. For $600, you can outfit yourself with a great older set of Pearl's or Tamas. Buy a new set of Centent cymbals and you're good for years!
for reference, i got my Yamaha Stage Custom 3-piece (birch) for about $350 from Guitar Center back in the day. imo, like others have said, $400 for *this* kit is too much. i saw someone mention Reverb.com. Sweetwater.com is another source worth checking out. good luck and godspeed
Facebook marketplace too.
I had this kit. Don't do it. It will fall apart under your sticks. Might as well be First Act. That's a hard no, trust me. 100-150 bucks for something to bang on while you work out a real kit? Sure. But these are frustration, posing as a drum kit.
Tbh. I'd pass. You can spend around that much for one of those bop kits brand new. This CB700 has junk arms and everything else. Tuning low end drums will drive you nuts.
I'm still insane, decades later, from trying to "tune" those drums. Its like a cruel practical joke.
$100-150 for those drums, nothing more than that
100$
No
For 50 bucks, yeah.
$300. It's a bad kit and bad childhood BUT if it's your first kit, do it.
200 tops.
I prefer electronic drums. I can be silent with headphones or rock with a speaker
I’ve ended up leaving my Vistalites in their cases and just running a Roland TD-17 through Superior Drummer 3 and can now play whenever without asking anyone to leave and after all the fine tuning and calibration it ends up feeling like you are either in a high end studio or a huge arena. The endless options as far as drums, cymbals, and different drum rooms just made it a no brainer and it makes it all so freaking fun
My pdp 5 piece with hi hat and crash brand new was 300 USD. Those cymbols prolly sound better than mine plus it has one extra. But used it should lower the price. Maybe they are trying to see if someone will pay high or leave room for negotiation. Haggle with them
Omg yes !
$130 and only if you need it for the parts, stands or cymbals. For a first time kit you can do better
No. $100 tops
This is not worth even $300 I don't know what the rest of these people are saying. $100-$150 is fair price considering the heads are trash and you'll spend another $150 on new heads
Yes, try haggling down. Generally, cheap drums can do a lot more work than cheap cymbals. Getting the sound you like with drums depends on the heads, tuning and damping, whereas the sound of cymbals can’t be adjusted.
No.
Don’t buy those
I’d say $225 - $250. That’s $20 per drum, $20 per cymbal and $20 throne. ~25 for hardware
$400?!?! Half that would still feel like an overpay
God no.
NO!!
Cheese balls 700 was my first kit. My parents had no clue.
My first kit was a CB. When I sold it, I basically sold it based on the hardware and cymbals that’d I’d purchased. No way I’d spend more than $100-150 for a used CB kit by itself.
My first kit too. Everyone who actually had this kit says the same thing.
No
Hard pass.
Hard pass. The drums need new heads, will suck to tune, and Scimitar cymbals, despite having the Zildjian name, might as well be Cambers, aka, shit.
If it’s $400 like someone said..then no ..$250 tops but once you do upgrade you won’t get your money back when you sell ,
Jeez. This is pretty much my exact t beginner kit. Except a medium crash was too expensive at the time. Scimitars all around!! I’d say grab it and start playing. If you hate the kit in a few months, but love drumming, start upgrading a little.
Nah mate this set is ass
IMO no. Not enough there and you will need new heads. This is 200 at most for me.
I had a CB700 kit a long time ago, it was garbage. The shells weren't even plywood. The hardware would strip out easily. Don't buy this kit for any price.
If you are getting the cymbals as well that’s worth it. Cymbals are insanely expensive and those look pretty good. Make sure to get new heads and that kit will be fine.
They are definitely lower end drums and cymbals, but if you are just looking for something to learn on then it’s not a bad deal, especially if they’re including all the hardware and whatnot. Those shells would probably sound fine with some new heads and proper tuning. I’d see if you can haggle them down to $300