Drum Kits For Children
The Junior and Toddler Drum Kit
For the very early learner, aged between 3 and 7 years of age, you can purchase a toddler drum kit, such as, the Junior Drum Kit in Blue or Junior 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 11 years old, who is a bit more serious about learning the drums, there are a host of junior drum kits for children, ranging from £120 – £300, which will get you off to a great start.
Starter, beginner or junior drum kits are slightly scaled down from a full sized drum kit so his or her hands can reach the toms and their feet can reach the pedals easily.
Some of these drum kits like the Junior 5 Piece Drum Kit by Gear4music come complete with all the essential components, so you can literally unpack the boxes and start playing drums straight away.
One of these drum kits would typically contain the following-
1 x Bass drum
1 x Snare drum
2 x rack toms (toms that mount on top of the bass drum)
1 x Floor tom (3 legs support this drum from the floor)
1 x Hi-hat stand
1 x Cymbal stand
1 x Bass drum pedal
1 x Drum throne/seat
1 x Cymbal pack usually a pair of hi-hats and 1 crash/ride cymbal
1 x Pair of sticks
1 x Instruction manual on ‘How to set up your drum kit’
Full Size Drum Kit
For the beginner teenager and adult (12 years onwards) a full size 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 £350 to £650 for a five piece drum kit complete with cymbals, sticks and stool.
Here is one that I can recommend at about £450 – Mapex Tornado 3 Starter Drum Kit Black with Stagg rock cymbal Pack containing 1 x ride, 1x crash and a pair of hihats.
This kit is slightly cheaper at £300 as it comes with only 1 x ride cymbal and a pair of hihats - Mapex Tornado III 20 inch Fusion Drum Kit
If you have a larger budget, at about £530, there is the - Mapex Storm Rock Fusion Drum Kit Camphor Wood Grain.
This kit is a specification up on the the Tornado kit but you don't get the cymbal pack.
See below for cymbal pack recommendations.
All drum kits come with a ‘setting up’ instruction manual which is fairly easy to follow, but if you do run into a problem YouTube usually has the solution in a ‘How to set up a drum kit’ video.
Cymbal Packs
Most cymbal companies have brought out budget cymbal packs. These cymbal packs are slightly better than the ones supplied with the kits mentioned above and are a good addition if and when you want to expand your existing set up. The cymbal packs range from about £100 to £350, typically comprising 1 ride, 1 crash and a pair of hi-hats.
A couple of great examples are, at about £145, PAISTE 101 UNIVERSAL (14/16/20) Cymbal Pack and at £170 PAISTE PST3 UNIVERSAL (14/16/20) Cymbal pack. If you have a slightly larger budget, and a couple more cymbal stands there is the Paiste PST3 Five Cymbal Pack at about £230 and at around £320, is the Paiste PST 7 Heavy 14HH/16C/20R Cymbal Set
Most of the beginner kits only come with two cymbal stands, one for the ride cymbal and one for a crash. You can buy extra stands separately . Please see the Accessories page.
Bass Drum Pedals
If you need a bass drum pedal this one is from Gear 4 Music is very sturdy and affordable at around £30 Heavy Duty Kick Drum Pedal.
Depending on your budget, there are more expensive professional ones like the Sakae XDP-200S · Bassdrum Pedal.
Drum Stools
If you have bought a kit without a stool, this one, Padded Drum Throne is priced around £25.
At £50, a good alternative and slightly more comfortable is this 'Saddle' type Basix Drum Stool.
The Cajon
This Meinl Cajon delivers the classic cajon sound at an affordable price and can be used for any 'unplugged' gigs or small venues as a drum kit alternative. It delivers a cool rhythmic pulse/beat and for more sound options, the top corners of the cajon can be adjusted, allowing the player to customise the amount of 'snap' desired. Features: Adjustable top corners, adjustable sizzle effect and anti-slipping sitting surface. Here is a good Cajon Book for the beginner with downloadable playalong tracks.
Electronic Drum Kits
If you don’t have enough space for a full size acoustic drum kit in your home and/or volume is an issue with neighbours, then an electronic or digital drum set 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. Another advantage is the ability to plug in your mp3 player and play along to your music. Especially good for practicing along with your drum grade exam pieces or music minus one books.
Roland are one of the best makers of electronic drum kits in the world.
Here are four of their digital drum kits. Depending on your budget you could spend anything between £300 and £5000. The more expensive kits have mesh heads. They help replicate the feel and bounce of real acoustic drum heads.
Around £400 Roland TD-1KV – V-DRUM (PDX-8) Electronic drums E-drums
Around £600 Roland TD-4KP Electronic drums E-drums kit
Around £850 Roland TD11K + BUNDLE FULL PACK Electronic drums E-drums kit
Around £1000 Roland TD-11K V-Drums & PM-03 Personal Monitor Electronic Drum Kit Pack Includes Stool, Sticks, Headphones and Bass Drum Pedal.