Toddler Drum Kits|Junior Drum Kits|Cheap Drum kits|Full Size Drum Sets|Electronic or Digital Drum Sets|Drum Teacher
For the very early learner aged between 3 and 7 years of age you can purchase a very cheap toddler drum kit such as the Junior 3 Piece Cheap Drum Kit by Gear4music
or Junior 3 Piece Cheap Drum Kit by PP
for under £100.
However these are just slightly better than 'toy' drum kits and will probably not last that long.
For a child aged 7 to 12 years there are a host of cheap junior drum sets ranging from £120 - £200 upwards which will get you off to a great start. Some of these drum kits - e.g. the Junior Cheap 5 piece Drum Kit by Stagg
come complete with all the essential components, stands, drumsticks, stool and cymbals so you can literally unpack the boxes and start playing drums straight away!
Bass drum
Snare drum
2 rack toms (toms that mount on top of the bass drum)
Floor tom (3 legs support this drum from the floor)
Hi-hat stand
Cymbal stand
Bass drum pedal
Drum throne/seat
Cymbal pack usually a pair of hi-hats and a 1 crash/ride cymbal
Pair of sticks
Drum key (to tune the drums)
Instruction manual on 'How to set up your drum kit
Starter, beginner or junior drum sets are slightly scaled down in size so his or her feet can reach the pedals easily and your child will not need to over-stretch to reach and hit the tom toms. For those with a higher budget or who want to move up a notch from the junior drum kits mentioned above, Tama Imperialstar 18" Junior Drum Kit
make a high class junior drum set which is built to a higher specification. This is not as cheap as the other junior drum sets mentioned and you can expect to pay an extra £200- but you can really see and hear the differences. Cymbals, sticks and stool are not included with all drum kits but you can pick up these accessories easily. Cheap low budget cymbal packages range from about £50 to £200. A couple of good examples are Solar by Sabian 2 Cheap Cymbal Set
or the Meinl HCS 3 Cheap Cymbal Pack and here is a comfortable Drum stool.
Also you might need a couple of extra cymbal stands to complete your set up. For an extra crash cymbal or ride cymbal you could use either of these stands Stagg Crash Cymbal Stand(Straight)
or
Stagg Cymbal Stand (Boom). For further information please see the accessories page.
Cheap Full Size Drum Kit (ideal for a teenager/adult)
For the beginner teenager and adult (12 years onwards) a full size cheap intermediary drum kit would be more suitable than the smaller junior drum kits and they are keenly priced compared to the professional range of drum kits on the market. You can expect to pay from £200 to £400 for a five piece drum kit complete with cymbals, sticks and stool. There are three leading manufacturers of beginner full size cheap drum kits for teenagers and adults: Performance Percussion, Gear4Music and Stagg.
Here is one that wont break the bank- Full size Stagg 5 Piece 22in Cheap Drum Kit in Black
With either the junior or full size drum set, you will be immediately up and running and can begin to enjoy drumming straight away. All drum kits come with a straight forward 'setting up' instruction manual which is very easy to follow. At this point it is highly recommended that you find a good drum teacher. You can ask at your local music shop for a local tutor or you could google for a tutor i.e. Drum Teacher Essex or Drum Teacher Farnham.
Electronic Drum Kits|Digital Drum Kits|Electric Drums
If you don’t have enough space for a full size acoustic drum kit in your home and volume is an issue then an electric drum set or digital drum kit might be a good option. All electronic drum kits come with a headphone jack so the only noise your parents or neighbours will hear is the tapping on the rubber pads.
If you would like to hear the sound of the drum set 'out loud' you can with this digital drum kit made by Gear 4 Music which comes with it's own 30 watt monitor speaker. But you still have the option of using a set of headphones if required. This is very good value for money at around £399. It also comes with a stool, headphones, and drum sticks. Here is a slightly cheaper one without headphones, sticks and speaker but it has some great onboard sounds ION Pro Session Cheap Electronic Drum Kit.
Here are some of the best digital drum kits on the market today:
Roland HD1 ELECTRONIC DRUM KIT
Roland TD-4K Electronic Drum Kit
Roland TD9-KX With FREE 'Ready To Play' Pack
Roland V-Drums TD12kx Electronic Drum Kit
Ranging from £500 to £3000
Yamaha DTXplorer Electronic Drum Kit
Yamaha DTXpress IV Standard digital drum kit
Ranging from £500 to £1000
If you have the budget Roland and Yamaha are considered to be the world leading manufacturers of electronic drum kits. They sound and look absolutely fantastic. Of course the price reflects this!