I think Istanbul make good stuff but not sure if that's in your price range. I think they had some cheaper/budget level cymbals in the past.

FM dontfeartheringo knows for sure.

Man, when I was in the same boat (got drums, not a drummer, set up a house kit at my apt) I wasnt sure exactly what to do for cymbals but I knew there's some real shit stamped cymbals out there to avoid, and I knew that there was some fancy pants stuff that I didnt need. I just wanted the MIM Strat equivalent. Good, not fancy, player stuff. I wound up just buying used Sabian AAs and they were awesome bang for the buck. The hi-hats I got were even coveted by drummer friends that came over as exceptional sounding. Looking on eBay now the first used set of AA hats that comes up is like $150. I'd be you could get hats, a crash, and a ride for $300 if you shopped around, and would be very happy with that.

Hardware...not sure. I had some freebie shit, and some cheap stuff but again it wasnt leaving my house so i didnt care that much.

Owen wrote: Sat Jul 17, 2021 10:19 am
What would you recommend this the best (most cost effective) way to get low-mid level hardware and cymbals?

Used, definitely. Chicago craigslist has tons of used cymbals that come up every week. I've bought many excellent cymbals for cheap off there. Just check that they don't have cracks, key holing, or flea bites.

Zildjian A's and K's are great cymbals and they made a million of them so they'll frequently pop up for sale, for not much money, especially A's. Sabian AA, AAX, and HH are all very fine cymbals that go for cheap on the used market.

A lot of starter hardware stands are actually really solid, Basix, PDP. From time to time, you can find them used and cheap from somebody who just wants them gone.

All great advice, I am going to keep my eyes peeled for used stuff on craigslist and such. What about a bass drum pedal, should I put some money there or is something like this fine?
https://www.zzounds.com/item--PEAP530?s ... AuEALw_wcB

That pearl is just fine. You can go used for pedals too for even less. A used single Tama Iron cobra is a great, durable pedal that most drummers will be ok to use and likely even cheaper.

I like the feel of DW pedals too but they do need a more eye kept on them as unlike their stands (which tend to be heavy and over-built), they can just kinda fall apart/explode if you're not keeping an eye on tightening nuts etc. The base hinges also are known to wear quickly - we even kept the replacement hinges in stock when I worked in a music store back in the day.

Kick pedals are very much a feel thing - kinda like sticks but obv a lot more expensive. I guess starting out, you'd probably be fine w/ that Pearl. Most Yamaha will be good too. Same w/ Yamaha stands.

Sabian SR2s are the best bang for the buck cymbals if you're buying from a dealer (rather than used from a private party). Reconditioned demo & prototype pieces from across their entire line. Sometimes you can find HHX stuff buried in there. I had a former HHX thin crash that I got for pennies because it was rebadged SR2.

Garth wrote: Sat Jul 17, 2021 2:55 pm Kick pedals are very much a feel thing - kinda like sticks but obv a lot more expensive. I guess starting out, you'd probably be fine w/ that Pearl. Most Yamaha will be good too. Same w/ Yamaha stands.

So true; I recently bought an Iron Cobra to replace my 'vintage' Premier pedal, and was very excited about it. I hate it. I'm forcing myself to use it as it was expensive, but I really really don't like it at all. It bothers me. It certainly isn't helping my playing.

Adam_I_III wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 8:41 am

Garth wrote: Sat Jul 17, 2021 2:55 pm Kick pedals are very much a feel thing - kinda like sticks but obv a lot more expensive. I guess starting out, you'd probably be fine w/ that Pearl. Most Yamaha will be good too. Same w/ Yamaha stands.

So true; I recently bought an Iron Cobra to replace my 'vintage' Premier pedal, and was very excited about it. I hate it. I'm forcing myself to use it as it was expensive, but I really really don't like it at all. It bothers me. It certainly isn't helping my playing.

That's been my experience with other peoples' Iron Cobras too, but I wasn't sure if it was just how theirs were adjusted. They lack responsiveness to me.

I've taken DW 5000s and Pearls home, attached them to the drum, and never had to think about them again other than the occasional oiling.

penningtron wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 9:10 am

Adam_I_III wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 8:41 am

Garth wrote: Sat Jul 17, 2021 2:55 pm Kick pedals are very much a feel thing - kinda like sticks but obv a lot more expensive. I guess starting out, you'd probably be fine w/ that Pearl. Most Yamaha will be good too. Same w/ Yamaha stands.

So true; I recently bought an Iron Cobra to replace my 'vintage' Premier pedal, and was very excited about it. I hate it. I'm forcing myself to use it as it was expensive, but I really really don't like it at all. It bothers me. It certainly isn't helping my playing.

That's been my experience with other peoples' Iron Cobras too, but I wasn't sure if it was just how theirs were adjusted. They lack responsiveness to me.

I've taken DW 5000s and Pearls home, attached them to the drum, and never had to think about them again other than the occasional oiling.

Sod it; just bought a used dw5000 on ebay! Your fault! Hopefully my kick drum foot will be less miserable now.

Anybody want a cheap Iron Cobra? Best kick pedal on the market...

eep, hope you like it! I used one for years but lost some hard-to-order-or-even-describe parts during one or several moves, then just kinda moved on.