Drum set for kids

[Jack C]

My seven year old son wants to play drums. I'm going to test him out and see if he's willing to try to learn. If it looks like he's going to really try, I'm going to buy him a set. I was looking at Craigslist to see what's out there. A cheap used electronic set would be cool because he could practice any time without pissing off the family. On the other hand, I want him to learn how to work a high-hat and control a real set of drums.

Any thoughts? You can get used, decent sets for around $350, but I want something that will be size appropriate. Any ideas?

[JohnnyB]

Check into a Pearl Rhythm Traveler. At $450 new you should be able to find a used one in like new condition for $250-300. All the hardware (especially pedal and hi-hat) are very good at that price range, and are certainly better than anything I got to play on until I was 16.

The bass drum is 20" high, but the shallow shell toms enable you to place the heads lower than on typical deep toms. The shallow bass is loud enough for coffee houses and saves a lot of space. Also comes with plastic practice cymbals and you can get foam pads for the drum heads for quiet practice.

I have a set I may be willing to part with but I don't know if I could collect all the parts quick enough for your needs.

[Jack C]

Thanks, JB. That set looks very interesting. I like the fact that's it's something I could steal from him every once in a while for jams at the house. Let me know if you are interested in selling yours. There's no big hurry on my end. I'm probably looking at this as a Christmas present.

[cmatthes]

Elduave also has a nice Gretsch "Cocktail" kit. We used it for smaller gigs, and it did quite nicely, although I believe it was originally purchased for his very musically inclined daughter .

Worth checking out - really nice quality and the price was great. We went with a full-sized kit, but for your son's age, that might be a good starting point.

You may also want to get him started on practice pads or just a snare first. There are also electronic snares/pads out now that might be a good place to start off with the rhythm and timing basics.

You can always add a cowbell for fun...

[JohnnyB]

Elduave also has a nice Gretsch "Cocktail" kit. We used it for smaller gigs, and it did quite nicely, although I believe it was originally purchased for his very musically inclined daughter .

Do you really mean a cocktail kit?

... or did you mean something from the jazz line of Gretsch's "Catalina Club" line with the 18" bass drum:

The smaller bass drum makes it easier to lower the tom tom to a height a 7-yr-old could reach. These are nice drums for the money (I wouldn't mind having it myself), but bear in mind that it's a more expensive kit--generally $650 without stands, pedal, or hi-hat. Add those plus cymbals and you're at least at $1K, but I suspect Elduave could make it more attractive than that.

Still, although the Pearl Rhythm Traveler bass is 20", the toms are much shallower, so their head height could be lower yet.

[cmatthes]

It's closer to the second kit - maybe not a "cocktail" kit.

Lord knows, I'm no drummer, so ain't hip to all that jive, Daddy-O! I think it is priced much better than that though and is really cool.

On the flip side, MF had a full Pulse kit w/everything but a hi-hat and stand earlier this week for $279.99.