Semi-Pro Drum Kits
Welcome to the second part of our series about buying a drum kit for your specific budget.
Last month we looked at some of the best drum kits you can buy for around £500, If you missed this installment you can read it here.
Today it’s all about intermediate-level drum kits and we shall be looking at kits between £700 and £1000. With this kind of budget, you will enter the semi-pro market which will provide you with a kit that can be used for pretty much any scenario.
Again, we must state that these kits mentioned are our choice of some of the best available - of course, everyone is different and may well have their favorites, but having worked on countless kits over the years we really get to know the capabilities of each kit, what it can do from a sound point of view and the build quality of them.
What will a semi-pro drum kit offer?
Quite a lot actually!
The step up from a starter drum kit to the next level - in this case, the semi pro market will be considerable, the wood that the drums are made of will be of higher quality, the build will be much better including the hardware on the drum-shell (lugs and fixings) and you will have a wider variety of colours available to choose from, including snazzier finishes such as sparkles, fades and lacquers - sounds good huh!
And let’s not forget about the scenarios that these kits can be used for - A semi-pro drum kit will be at home in the studio or on a stage….. a fairly big one at that!…. Ok, maybe not quite Wembley, but it could certainly be used for a lot of professional situations.
Our top three semi-pro level drum kit recommendations.
So let’s get to it! here are our top three picks that you may like to audition if you are looking to buy a drum kit in this price range.
Pearl Export Series.
The Pearl Export drum kit is iconic within the drumming community, It’s been around for years, it’s well built and sounds great!
These are extremely popular as house drum kits for pubs or venues and I would hazard a guess that most drummers would have played on one of these.
Made from a blend of Poplar and Mahogany wood these shells produce a full-bodied and lush tone.
The shells are 6-ply and have a 45-degree bearing edge.
Hardware is solid and the Opti-Loc three-point tom suspension mounts allow the drum to resonate and project.
Available finishes include Smokey Chrome, Jet Black, High Voltage Blue, Satin White, and Black Cherry Glitter.
You can pick one of these up for around £650 - An absolute steal!
Natal Maple Original.
We are big fans of Natal here at Drum-Plan, not a brand that openly springs to mind when you think of drums but is ever-expanding in the marketplace.
Born out of the Marshall Amp factory…. yes, you heard me right! Natal drums, just like Marshall Amps are built to last!
The 7-ply maple shell is perfect for most styles of music. Producing great resonance and projection, these drums have tuneful top-end and thunderous low-mid frequencies.
The shells are nicely weighted due to the solid lugs and hardware and feel of real quality and with some gorgeous finishes available such as the orange sparkle (pictured) and a midnight sparkle fade you’ll be investing in not only a great sounding kit - but a great looking kit too.
These kits retail at around £1000 - A bit more expensive, but well worth it.
Yamaha Stage Custom.
It’s absolutely no surprise that Yamaha features again - This time with their stage custom drum kit.
These kits are great! so great in fact we truly believe that the stage custom can compete sound-wise with kits around the £2500 mark.
We’ve seen many comparison videos that show that this kit sounds extremely close to their Recording Custom drum set. Build quality isn’t as good - obviously seeing as though the RC retails at nearly £3000 but on sound, it’s about 90% there - fabulous!
Made from high-quality 6-ply birch shells, these drums are extremely tuneful. Notes are crisp and defined and due to the darker sound of birch don’t outstay their welcome - perfect for the studio!
The only very slight downfall with the stage custom are the colour options, a choice of four finishes are available, but the finishes are superbly done and look quality.
A stage custom drum kit will set you back around £700 - now that’s a no-brainer.
Our final thoughts.
Whatever drum kit you decide upon at this price level is sure to be well made, sounds fantastic, and should also turn heads through its appearance.
Which drum kit out there is the best? That’s for you to decide, but regardless of choice make sure that you take the time to explore your options and ultimately end up with a kit that excites you from a playing point of view.
Our experience tells us that more playing will happen if you love your equipment - so maybe it is worth investing just that little bit more?
Drum-Plan: We’re here to help you get more out of your drum kit.
Should you need help with maintaining a drum kit - please get in touch with us.
We specialise in drum kit servicing, installations, tuning, and general maintenance taking the stress of maintaining a drum kit away and leaving you to get on with your day.
Appointments can be booked online for convenience.