Buying drums is great fun, but it could also be a bit overpowering. Not only is it necessary to find the correct drums, but there are the cymbals to consider, not to mention cymbal stands and bass drum pedals. Hopefully this buying guide will take some of the apprehension out of the experience in order that you can enjoy the FUN! Once you settle on the type of drum kit you want, the next step in buying-drums is to get a good deal–buy it for a small cash as practicable. Some considerations : The mark-up on ALL drum sets is generally Fifty percent or even more. If you go to the maker and get the list price and take Thirty percent off of that figure, you get a price that is fair to you and the dealer. Refuse to pay more than this. If you see a drum set on the floor of a drum dealer’s store, you know that it has been paid for with his cash. If you are happy to pay half of the 30 percent figure up front and have him order the set, he’ll be paying with YOUR money–nothing out of his pocket except the dime and the time for the phone call. If you are purchasing drums for an amateur, my guidance is to think about a basic 5-piece drum set ( snare, bass drum, and two mounted toms ) with cymbals, pedal, and hardware included. Luckily there are a few firms which make comparatively inexpensive but high quality starter sets. Some brands to have a look for are Ludwig, Pearl, Percussion And, Pulse, and Tama. Regularly the cymbals and hardware that come with these sets aren’t of wonderful quality, but if the basic set is good quality, you can later upgrade the peripherals ( think future Birthday and Christmas presents ). If you are a seasoned player, you might want to consider just upgrading your cymbals and hardware. If you have already got the cymbals and hardware that you need, you can buy a “shell pack” which consists of the drums themselves with no additional hardware excepting the edges and tom mounts. You may also want to think about getting the correct collection of drums for the kind of music that you play. A guideline is that drum kits with less and smaller drums are a decent fit for jazz, normal blues, and other essentially acoustic types of music, while drum sets with larger drums are better for rock and other more amplified styles.