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Are kids and hobbyists getting priced out of drumming?

mikyok

mikyok

Platinum Member
Please discuss as above but I'm having a rant either way after a retail experience that was less enjoyable than having a wisdom tooth out and I can account for both.

When I was a broke student I could easily keep my gear in tip top condition doing pub gigs about 20 years ago. Sticks and heads were very affordable and drummers used to swing by the local store every week to get what they needed for the weekend. The used market was amazing too for kits, snares and cymbals. It was like a little community that was mirrored across the drumming world. Memories.......

Anyhoo fast forward a couple of decades. I've had to get some fresh heads for the first time in just over a year (using electric kit for most gigs), for a recording session in two weeks and an Emperor tom/snare pack plus a snare side head has cost £85 ($115), what the hell man! I swear that's gone up by about £30 ($40) in a year. I only play a 4 piece too! I think sticks are about £12 a pair as well.

Not sure how kids just starting or even pub drummers are coping especially as the pay has stayed the same since the 1970s! I think I may have found why a lot of big stores are going under, nobody can afford the consumables which is what a music shop sells the most of!
 
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helps not to have thrown anything away (or sold-off) since the 70s-90s early 00's.
Zildjians, stands, drum set, bags, Sticks, some heads..

Today a kid could get started with $1000- new Yamaha Stage custom and some mid level cymbals. It's when planning to move on up the questions arise. Do I buy Classic vintage- the standard back then is now considered high end- or do I plunk down $5000 for a fresh high end set. I think the answers are obvious.

Classic sets (and cymbals) never go out of style.
Beginner and low intermediate sets are still sold new.
It's when you want to move up from the latter.

That daunting choice is solvable by looking at what historically was actually on the records still held in high esteem today
Take the Beatles or Motown those both and many others were done on about $800 worth of equipment drums & cymbals.
You can duplicate either if wisely shopping- or hanging on to old stuff- today.
 
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$479 Rydeen (Jimmy Dean's nephew)
usa.yamaha.com

Rydeen Acoustic Drum Set - Yamaha USA

RYDEEN 5-piece poplar drum kit by Yamaha for the beginner or intermediate player not willing to compromise on quality.
usa.yamaha.com usa.yamaha.com
do that then have $500 left over for used Ringo Starr Vic Damone Buddy Rich Paul Anka Ginger Baker Louie Bellson Max Roach 60s 70s A's.. 😁
I'd take the 20" outfit in.. have to pick a color.
 
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jda said:
helps not to have thrown anything away (or sold-off) since the 70s-90s early 00's.
Zildjians, stands, drum set, bags, Sticks, some heads..

Today a kid could get started with $1000- new Yamaha Stage custom and some mid level cymbals. It's when planning to move on up the questions arise. Do I buy Classic vintage- the standard back then is now considered high end- or do I plunk down $5000 for a fresh high end set. I think the answers are obvious.

Classic sets (and cymbals) never go out of style.
Beginner and low intermediate sets are still sold new.
It's when you want to move up from the latter.

That daunting choice is solvable by looking at what historically was actually on the records still held in high esteem today
Take the Beatles or Motown those both and many others were done on about $800 worth of equipment drums & cymbals.
You can duplicate either if wisely shopping- or hanging on to old stuff- today.
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I agree the classic gear is always in style, unfortunately anything vintage means expensive as it's the sound everyone is looking for.

The scary part is if you play anything more than a 4 piece and it costs a small fortune to put new heads on it. Gets even worse if you're young and you haven't got the technique yet
 
dcrigger said:
I don't know that it is any more so than getting priced out of affording food or shelter.
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It's all relative at the moment sadly
 
Honestly, I feel like it's the adult professional/semi-pro that's getting priced out of drumming.

When I was a kid a cheap, entry-level complete drum set cost about $500. Today (40-ish years later) an entry-level kit is about $600-650. That's not a big increase over that amount of time, and I'd say that the quality of those beginner kits is better than they were back in the 80s. So I think a kid or someone just getting started can still get started for almost the same amount they always could have.

But if you want to move up a tier or two, mid-level and lower-end professional drum prices have exploded in the last few years, and while there are still a few that have "only" increased 20% or so I doubt it'll be long before those "bargains" are gone too.

And don't get me started on cymbals...I've felt priced out on new cymbals for years.
 
dcrigger said:
I don't know that it is any more so than getting priced out of affording food or shelter.
Click to expand...
This. EVERYTHING is getting more expensive, at a sudden rapid pace.

I still direct students to the used market, as a more affordable option, but even that is getting adjusted for inflation.

As someone who doesn’t buy new gear, I’m still impacted by the spike in the price of heads and sticks. Since the pandemic, the average price of Vic Firth sticks has gone from $9 a pair to $15 a pair. It’s enough to make a fellow play a bit quieter… 🤣☹️
 
Winston_Wolf said:
Honestly, I feel like it's the adult professional/semi-pro that's getting priced out of drumming.

When I was a kid a cheap, entry-level complete drum set cost about $500. Today (40-ish years later) an entry-level kit is about $600-650. That's not a big increase over that amount of time, and I'd say that the quality of those beginner kits is better than they were back in the 80s. So I think a kid or someone just getting started can still get started for almost the same amount they always could have.

But if you want to move up a tier or two, mid-level and lower-end professional drum prices have exploded in the last few years, and while there are still a few that have "only" increased 20% or so I doubt it'll be long before those "bargains" are gone too.

And don't get me started on cymbals...I've felt priced out on new cymbals for years.
Click to expand...

Remember entry-level kits today are better kits than 15-20 years ago. With good heads and tuned right it's sometimes hard to tell the difference with the exception of a heavy metal band. For weddings and local bar or club they sound fine with new heads. For cymbals my backups are Paiste PST 7. Sonor AQ2 Bop kit with PST 7 new for around $1200. AQ2 is a professional kit and the cymbals are good to play out with.
 
Winston_Wolf said:
Honestly, I feel like it's the adult professional/semi-pro that's getting priced out of drumming.

When I was a kid a cheap, entry-level complete drum set cost about $500. Today (40-ish years later) an entry-level kit is about $600-650. That's not a big increase over that amount of time, and I'd say that the quality of those beginner kits is better than they were back in the 80s. So I think a kid or someone just getting started can still get started for almost the same amount they always could have.

But if you want to move up a tier or two, mid-level and lower-end professional drum prices have exploded in the last few years, and while there are still a few that have "only" increased 20% or so I doubt it'll be long before those "bargains" are gone too.

And don't get me started on cymbals...I've felt priced out on new cymbals for years.
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This has been my take too. All across the music gear world (except orchestra & band), the entry level and one-above-entry ranges have really picked up steam. By and large, $400-600 will buy you a whole heckuva lot better drum set than it did even 20 years ago. It's the level right above that, the lower grade pro lines, that are getting hit hard. It's a lot to swallow going from a $600-700 kit that sounds awesome to a $1500-2500 kit that sounds about the same but takes 5 minutes to tune instead of 15.

Cymbals are definitely the hardest part. Very few drummers have access to play anything in person other than what's stocked at their local chain supplier like GC, where everything is going to be new and way overpriced. I feel like I'm actually seeing less diversity in cymbals these days despite all the amazing companies out there, since it's safer to just bite the bullet and get a standard pack from the Big 3 than to gamble on an endless cycle of randomly bought singles until you find your right set.
 
caddywumpus said:
As someone who doesn’t buy new gear, I’m still impacted by the spike in the price of heads and sticks. Since the pandemic, the average price of Vic Firth sticks has gone from $9 a pair to $15 a pair. It’s enough to make a fellow play a bit quieter… 🤣☹️
Click to expand...
Fortunately sticks don't really effect me as I'm sorting of trade endorsed. Best thing I ever did. Saved me a fortune.

Heads have got stupid. Bass drum heads are astronomically expensive now.

As for the used market I find the odd gem but on the whole there's not that much value for money.
 
And let's not forget that there's hardware, pedals, seats. Someone already in the game can grab something gig worthy for $1000-1500, but a beginner buying the same shells and cymbals still needs to pay an extra $300-600 to be able to play any of it.

Fortunately, as long as you don't mind lightweight grade stuff, that's an area where several companies are actually doing a pretty good job, offering quality gear at relatively lower prices.

edit: and again, that's where the $600-700 entry packages are such a great deal these days. Get everything you need, most of it is good enough for a wedding gig, and from there you can take your time upgrading individual stuff like cymbals and pedals. Beginners have never had it so good.
 
Palaeographical said:
Cymbals are definitely the hardest part. Very few drummers have access to play anything in person other than what's stocked at their local chain supplier like GC, where everything is going to be new and way overpriced. I feel like I'm actually seeing less diversity in cymbals these days despite all the amazing companies out there, since it's safer to just bite the bullet and get a standard pack from the Big 3 than to gamble on an endless cycle of randomly bought singles until you find your right set.
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Buying cymbals is like buying a house. There's never a right time until you look at how expensive they've become a few years later!
 
I only change skins when they break so I'd imagine some manly tears if I go through the bass head. Decent cymbals have always been expensive - I remember much saving for a set of Paiste 404s or 505s. Nice cymbals though. But everything's gone through the roof. A nice wine I used to get for £4 a couple of years ago is now £7.75 and 20 cigarettes are £14. That's a few sets of Vic Firths per week for a lot of idiots like me. :)
 
Hard to know if drum consumables have become more expensive relative to income without factoring in inflation and comparing the same regular item (e.g 14 coated ambassador or 5A sticks) with actual prices. Maybe the acoustic drum market and associated drum consumables market is shrinking so costs are going to go up. I also think drummers in USA are just starting to see the cost drummers in Europe and elsewhere have been living with for many decades.
 
jda said:
"Oh I betcha I'd find a Premier set...with metric Whit-worth sized shells..
(No a nice 76-78-79 era Set with TriLoc and 392 hardware (y)

yowza, knockouts

View attachment 159545View attachment 159546
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Oh yeah, not so much now but in the 90s and 00s.

Got a soft spot for them even though I've never owned one. One day I'll have a 70s Elite. Had a Hayman many years ago. Quite a rare one with a 26" bass drum. Proper rock kit.

I did use Richmo drums for years which were the company of Alan Gilby who designed the resonator
 
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dcrigger said:
I don't know that it is any more so than getting priced out of affording food or shelter.
Click to expand...
Agreed, most 'things' are more expensive. Unfortunately they often outpace the rise in salaries and that's hardly limited to musicians.

I would disagree with Mikyok's assertion that "the pay has stayed the same since the 1970s!" My pay for local gigs is about 5-7 times higher than it was in the '70s. Granted, still not a lot of money then or now, but definitely higher than it was 50 years ago (when I started gigging in Los Angeles).
 
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