Practice drum sets

[bigreddestroyer]

Alright guys, just wondering what your opinion was on practice drum sets, more specifically, something like this one.

Practice Drum Kit With 'Mesh' Heads. Low Reserve on eBay (end time 05-Nov-10 19:20:16 GMT)

As A guitarist, I want to start learning drums for a lot of reasons, but living in a top floor flat, I can't exactly have a full kit. So do people find these useful, are they any good, or is it ust as good to get a couple of pots, pans and pillows and practice with them instead?

[SYLrules88]

it seems like every time i watch a bands behind the scenes DVD, there's footage of the drummer warming up on a set that looks like that. Chris Adler from LoG recommends practicing often on a mesh head kit. so these are very good practicing tools.

however i dont know if this is the best tool for learning drums as you wont be learning exactly how and where you need to hit the drums to get sound(s) you desire. Unless you're in a band that has a rehearsal space where you could get some time on real drums a few days a week at least?

id recommend saving up a little more and getting a fairly low cost electric set. i dont like to recommend that people learn on electric drums, but i totally understand in your situation you dont have the option of getting real drums. at least with an electric kit, you'll get some sort of gratification (drum sounds when you hit the pads).

as far as pots pans and pillows go, pots and pans are going to sound obnoxious to your ears and will still be loud enough to annoy neighbors if you hit them like you would real drums, and they wont feel quite the same as a real drum. pillows are good practice tools as they help build endurance in your forearms, but they are no good to start learning on because, like pots and pans, they dont respond like real drums. a cheap electric kit with mesh heads (not rubber pads) is your best option.

[bigreddestroyer]

I am in two bands I play guitar in, so getting time on a kit won't be a huge problem, its mainly the theoretical learning side I'm bothered about, rudiments and hand patterns and stuff. An electric kit and would be pretty awesome to jam on every now and then, but I'm so poor at the moment its unbelievable, and I have a friend looking to get rid of one of those practice sets. So I think I'll end up going for that anyway!
Thanks for the reply though, very useful!

[Razzy]

Damn, where could I find one of these in the states? I did a quick eBay search and couldn't find anything. Anybody know?

[SYLrules88]

you're welcome! and yes the practice pad set sounds like it would be perfect for you then now that i know you can get time on a real kit

razzy you might look at musicians friend. it seems like ive seen a few kits like these on their site or in their catalog. im pretty sure Remo makes or has made kits like this. if you can, avoid getting something with rubber pads as they dont feel like real drums, and i almost feel that playing on an electric kit with rubber pads has hurt my technique :s

just so you know this kit would probably work pretty well. its not the same as the hard rubber pads that i hate so much, but its not as good as mesh heads. i did buy a single pad like these to practice rudiments on though and i like it.

Buy Remo 5-Piece Practice Pad Set | Practice Pads | Drum Practice Pads | Musician's Friend

[Maniacal]

I have this exact kit. I only use the toms and snare. I actually put the hihat and crash in the bin because it was just plastic.

Good for working on your rudiments with hands, but thats about it.

I would suggest getting a cheap electric kit instead.

[chucknorrishred]

just play drums with your band, try different band modes with your bandmates
e.g like bass player on guitar, guitarist on drums, drummer on bass. this will build a better band ,imo, in the long run but lots of ppl in bands dont like to do that.

also u could practice hand patterns w/o a drumset, sitting down, with your imagination and minds ear but um..........

[ryaneatsbrains]

If you want to get into drumming I would say find yourself two phone books, a drum throne, a pillow, a metronome, and a lot of time by yourself away from distractions. Take the phone books and put them in your armpits [this method is a surefire way to improve chops and endurance], position your legs as if they were actually on a double pedal, or double kick setup [you can buy the Hansenfutz practice pedals if you'd like, I think they're $40.00 each if I remember correctly]. If not make sure you raise your entire foot off of the ground when emulating double kick technique. Familiarize yourself with all 26 main rudiments and then move on to 27-40. Start slow, lock into the tempo, and practice dynamics as much as possible. Oh, and on top of practicing rudiments between just your hands and just your feet, try implementing them between hands and feet [right foot right foot left hand right foot for example].