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Are kids and hobbyists getting priced out of drumming?

Captain Bash said:
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.
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It's pinching here in the UK. I'm lucky I've got a decent paid gig but in relation to disposable income anyone on a low paid gig must be struggling to justify the expense of basic kit maintenance.

I remember it being about £1 an inch in drum head costs. 14" snare heads were always £10 because there was that many made.
 
bermuda said:
Ag

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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Maybe it's just my part of England. When I started in the early 00s I remember my folks saying they went out for the same price in the 70s. Places are still paying the same now so they only attract solo acts and maybe duos.

Either way what we used to get paid went a lot further than it does now 😭

Lots of reasons for that here mainly massive loss of industry and the way people socialise has changed.
 
There are still cheap drums and cymbals to buy, and they are better than when I started back in 1969. Peace and goodwill.
 
Yea I could never imagine snare drums - a single snare drum -would list for $897 $987 $1004 $1167 no way
$5400 new drum sets never heard of it
 
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Honestly I just look at lesser brands or second line from big companies. last time I bought a drumstick brick it was 44 euros with shipping for 12 7A Goodwoods. Cymbals? Second hand or actually crazy deals. Drumheads I'm using Remo UT but I've been looking at Williams drumheads for more variety. Of course, it won't sound the same as getting a regular emperor and stuff like that but it gets the job done. My drums are all bought second hand with the exception of the Tama pancake which I found a crazy deal for it on Amazon. My take on this is that prices have increased but if you are possessed by the ghost of good deals and steals you will get good gear for cheap like I do.
 
If you want to do it badly enough, you’ll find a way. The price of admission is not very high if you’re a smart shopper and don’t demand the very best of everything.
 
doggyd69b said:
Or, take a vacation to Turkey and get REAL Turkish cymbals while you are there.
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I have thought about that, about a 4 hour flight from mine.

Istanbul do a factory tour as well
 
From my experience pay has stayed static since the late 90's. I charge the same today as I was charging in 1987 for a recording session.
In the 70's when I started playing music a drum kit was incredibly expensive and out of the reach of most kids.
If we were lucky we got a beat up second hand Olympic with Kurt cymbals. Contemporary budget drums are much, much better built and great sounding. I agree, heads and sticks have got very expensive.
I don't think there is a problem with young people and getting into music regarding gear costs, the problem is piracy and streaming, and also the almost instant riches that can be found through Youtube channels, Twitch, Tik-Tok, gaming etc... Music does not seem like a good career choice.
Young people watch 'influencers' and see that with a cheap camera or phone they can start earning money talking about fashion, sport, computer games, music and movies.
 
Kids - probably needs some demographic amplification concerning age range, e.g., young kids without an income would be funded by their parents.

Hobbyists - if drumming is a hobby (as it is for me) then the expenditures would (should?) likely be discretionary.

I certainly don't disagree that drum accouterments are expensive, but their purchase probably isn't time sensitive or necessary in either case mentioned above. I choke and gag at the thought of paying for a new cymbal (or used!) and have to make choices: sacrifice other "things" for new bronze; spend time - save money; go in debt; or live without.

In short, I'm not priced out of my hobby and most other folks likely aren't either, though we all bemoan the prices.
 
I got my first guitar from the flea market in the late 80's. It was a Univox and cost $20. I borrowed the money from my parents and it took months to pay back. Today they are selling for over a grand on Reverb. My first bass was a Harmony SG shape also from the flea market. Also around $20. That one ended up a victim of a Dremel. My first drum set, I splurged, and paid $150 for with a complete set of Camber cymbals and all hardware.

The guitar was nice. I got lucky with that one. But the bass and the drums, I outgrow pretty quickly. I think today, upgrading a kit is much more expensive, but I'm wondering if the student kits last longer before an upgrade is needed? I've been out of the game for a while, so I don't know.
 
Smoke said:
In short, I'm not priced out of my hobby and most other folks likely aren't either, though we all bemoan the prices.
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Really?
I used to walk into a drum store and buy half dozen pairs of sticks, just to try some new models out. I don't do that any more.
Reheading a kit is a significant expense. I don't think used drums and cymbals are too expensive, but new heads and sticks are definitely a pressure on your finances.
 
In late 60's early 70's, as a kid/ teenager, any quality kit was out of my price range or my parent's. I had an Acrolite they purchased for me around 1966. That was only drum I had until about 1971 when they bought me what is now called a stencil kit. It was used. For Christmas one year I got Zildjian hats. Never had any decent ride just the garbage can lid that came with the kit. Never had new heads on the Acro or the stencil. Never had the money. I envied my friends that had a Ludwig or Rogers or Slingerland kit. Nothing has changed.
 
The other thing that I was thinking was that, when I was a kid, you basically had bowling, scouts, music and little league. There wasn't a whole lot of other stuff going on. If you could find enough beer cans along the road to take to the scrap yard, you could get enough money for a pack of baseball cards to trade with friends when you weren't busy catching crawdads or throwing rocks in vacant lots. When you bought a drum set, you played the drum set. Or guitar. Or bass. There's just so much other stuff going on with kids these days. It's great that there are so many opportunities, but a lot of them are an investment and you never know if someone is going to stick with it.
 
Rattlin' Bones said:
In late 60's early 70's, as a kid/ teenager, any quality kit was out of my price range or my parent's.
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hmm. My dad in addition to running a car lot since 1948.. dabbled in a nightclub little further down the highway 1/2 mile.So - he got to know local musicians and actually hired the Ink Spots- pretty popular late 50s- to play there. So he knew musicians (and was one himself very minorly (violin in grade school) But early in 68 when I'm showing interest in drums and began local snare drum lessons I went from sticks and practice pad... to what I know now was a 1962 Ludwig Classic Hollywood Black Diamond pearl 5 piece 20/12/12/16/ and chrome snare- what I can see now was likely a brass Supraphonic (400 may have been the name)
And Zildjians (20, 18 and 14s) and Cases and stands... All for $225 That was my first set. So knowing musicians and being in the buy sell trade business he had local contacts. I played that set - One gig I can recall- till 1971. $225 was for everything. Still have the used at the time (everything was) hi hats. And now I'm certain the Supraphonic was brass. there wasn't a pit on it. 20/12/12/16/ brass snare/ cases, pedals Speed King, and Zildjians $225. I paid back the money delivering papers and worked for him all my life

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Are things more expensive? Yes. I watch the usual used gear hubs and if you pay attention there is good gear to be had at decent prices. I bought a maple PDP snare for $35 recently. It needed cleaned. I still see older Zildjians at good prices. If you want shiny and new your going to pay for that privilege and that's always been true
 
Just paid $19 for a pair of sticks at my local shop. makes me wonder how much longer the forums will be free? not sure where else I could affordably go to commiserate though. :unsure:
 
If we are counting the used market - people give kits away for free occasionally, and there are always deals, you just need to watch the market like a hawk.

Otherwise I know retail prices are awful but you could probably make one kit last a lifetime. Unless you bash like a total idiot your cymbals and heads can also last a very long time, maybe even a lifetime, so it’s mainly the sticks you will consume. So while we are chasing the holy grail/compulsively buying things we all know we could live without.

But back to the used market - through flipping gear I have basically acquired most of my gear for free, and I don’t even heckle people on price, I just buy the good deals that are too good to refuse. If there’s a will there’s a way.
 
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