So after 4 years of “I want to play drums” and recent “testing of the waters” it turns out little Mrs Kryton is rather good at drums.

We are looking for a practice kit, most likely 2nd hand, also most likely electric with headphones.

Are there any experts on here who could help me understand what I should be looking for?

Thanks….

Some good stuff in this thread Kryton https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/electric-drum-kits/

We ended up with a second hand Roland TD-4 kit which has been great.

We found that a proper kit worked better (junior kit from 6-8, recently upgraded to a full size kit now she’s 9 and getting bigger). That way she can use school kits, tutor’s kits etc and be more familiar with the layout / size etc. And I quite like the sound a proper kit makes – but don’t expect to be hearing it 24 hours a day no matter how much they enjoy it, kids have so much more to do and they will fall in and out of love with it from time to time.

Whether acoustic or electronic, you’ll need a stool (sorry, “throne”) and some sticks, at least two pairs. And something to hold them. Sticks will be dropped during a song.

I had an Alesis electronic kit for a while. Most of the pads were pretty quiet, but the bass drum (‘kick’j  on mine required a standard kick pedal. Which thudded through the floor on every stroke. Some electronic kits come with a ‘virtual’ kick pedal with no beater, but a contact / trigger inside so may be quieter.

for smaller players, if you go acoustic, i’d recommend a “jazz” kit – typically  small (18” or 20”) bass drum, 10” or 12” rack tom, 14” floor tom and full size (14”) snare drum.

Cymbals are extra, and can get eye-wateringly expensive. Here, you really do get what you pay for. Most of the big cymbal makers sell cymbal ‘packs’ which typically contain hi-hat, one crash and a ride or crash/ride. Look at Zildjian, Sabian, Meinl, Paiste, Istanbul Mehmet etc

If you’re buying second hand you might get lucky to get a complete kit including cymbals.

cymbals are like bikes, or guitars. Optimum number is always n+1. Ask Terry Bozzio 😉

I bought a second hand Alesis DM lite. It a pretty basic electronic kit but it works fine for kids to mess about on. They have lessons at school on a proper kit so know how a real kit plays.

It’s a bit too to small/compact for me to play properly but my kids love it. You can plug a speaker into it with a line in cable so you don’t always have to use headphones and also plug your phone in and play along to music. And the drums/pads light up when you hit them!!😀

Once I get my house sorted I’ll be able to set up my proper kit so they can play that as well, but for now it works a treat.

Gear4music have some good deals on electric sets.

Hope this doesn’t break any rules, but I have a kids drum set that I was about to put up for sale, since fadda jnr has given up. Was bought from his primary school a couple of years ago.

If interested, I can send pics/sizes etc by email later this afto/eve: mail (dot) Stuart (at) yahoo (dot) Co (dot) UK..