When you are just starting out in the wonderful world of percussion, it is important to remember that you should not sacrifice quality for quantity. If budget is a concern, as it is for most of us, start with a smaller kit. A bass drum, single tom, floor tom and snare plus hi-hat and a single crash/ride cymbal will get you going. You can add another tom or more cymbals as you can afford it. The important thing is to buy well made equipment from a reputable brand. These will last you well into your career as a drummer. That being said, the drums and drum sets included here represent the best brands and quality you can get at an affordable price. They are perfect for the beginning drummer on a budget.

Yamaha Rydeen 5pc Shell Pack

$419.99

Yamaha drums are used by countless professionals in the music business. For the Rydeen model, Yamaha combines high quality woods and durable components to make it the perfect first drum kit. The drums have 6 ply poplar shells making them lively and easy to mic if you are recording. This is a shell pack, meaning it comes with the drums, mounting hardware and bass drum spurs only. You will need to purchase the cymbals, stands, bass drum pedal and drum throne separately – but you can purchase a set of decent cymbals and all of the hardware for under $500 (see our Drum Accessories section) which still brings the total to under $1000. This is a great opportunity to own a set of Yamaha drums at an affordable price.

The pack contains:

• 20” X 16” bass drum
• 10” X 7” rack tom
• 12” X 8” rack tom
• 14” X 13” floor tom
• 14” X 5.5” snare drum
• Mounting hardware
• Bass drum spurs

Pearl Roadshow 4-Piece Drum Set

$559.99

Pearl is up there at the top of the list of drum manufacturers and their Roadshow model is a solid entry into the world of drumming. This kit comes complete with everything you need to start drumming right out of the box. You get 6 ply poplar shell drums, cymbals, a drum throne and all the hardware. They even throw in sticks and a stick bag! This is a great deal.

The kit contains:

• 18” X 12” bass drum
• 10” X 7” rack tom
• 14” X 10” floor tom
• 13” X 5” snare drum
• 16” crash/ride cymbal
• 14” hi-hat cymbals
• drum throne
• double braced snare stand
• double braced hi hat stand
• cymbal stand
• dual chain bass drum pedal
• 2 pair maple drumsticks
• stick bag
• Pearl poster

Ludwig Questlove Pocket Kit 4-Piece Drum Set

$319.99

Since a full size kit will likely be too big for a young child to maneuver around, here is a well made portable drum set specifically designed by Questlove for young drummers between the ages of 4 through 10. They are budget friendly and are made by one of the top names in drum manufacturing, Ludwig. Although students can upgrade to a larger kit as they get bigger and their skills develop, they may want to keep this one. It is the perfect kit to pack up and take on smaller gigs.

The kit contains:

• 16″ bass drum, 
• 10″ tom, 
• 13″ floor tom, 
• 12″ snare drum, 
• foot pedal, 
• hi hat stand, 
• cymbal arm, 
• snare stand, 
• drum sticks, 
• drum key, 
• Hi hat cymbals
• Crash/ride cymbal 

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Roland TD-02K V-Drums

$453.99

While there are cheaper options available on the market, the TD-02KV’s features and build quality make it a worthwhile investment if you are interested in learning to play the drums. And it’s made by Roland so you know you’re going to get a quality product.

• Kit Configuration: 7 modules + stand
• Drum Kits: 16
• Coach Functions: 5 modes
• Metronome: Tempo 20-260
• Rhythm Type: 5
• Sounds: 15 types
• Display: LCD (with backlight)
• USB connectivity
• Audio Input
• Optional wireless MIDI and Bluetooth

Alesis Nitro Max

$449.00

Alesis has been making electronic drums since the beginning. Their drums started off in the budget range but they have been upping their game ever since. They now easily compete along side other brands like Roland and Yamaha. The Nitro Max offers mesh heads which provide a much more realistic drum feel than hard rubber. Kits with mesh heads can be considerably more expensive so this model is a great deal.

• Drum Kits: 32 ready-to-play classic and modern kits from BFD + 16 user kits
• Instruments: 440 drum, cymbal, and percussion sounds.
• Effects: Reverb, 3-band equalizer
• Sequencer: 60 built-in play-along tracks, sequencer, metronome, and performance recorder
• Tempo: 30–280 BPM
• Display: Backlit LED
• USB MIDI connectivity
• Stereo line/headphone output
• Audio input 

Yamaha DTX402K Electronic Drum Set

$399.99

This entry by Yamaha gives you 400+ premium customizable sounds, USB connectivity, quiet pads, a silent kick pedal and smart apps. At $399.99, that’s a great deal, especially from a company like Yamaha.

• 415 high-quality samples
• 10 built-in drum kits
• Foldable lightweight rack
• USB connectivity
• 10 built-in training functions
• Customizable drum kits
• DTX402 Touch app
• Rec’n’Share app for compatible iOS and Android devices

KAT Percussion Electronic Drum Set

$299.99

Kat is a great company that specializes in electronic percussion at a reasonable price. Having used them in our studio, we know from experience that Kat products are constructed of quality materials and come with excellent features. The KT-100 is competitively priced without sacrificing features. In particular, rather than a simple kick drum pedal, this set comes with a kick tower which is usually found on more expensive models. The kit also includes a two-zone snare pad, three single-zone tom pads and three cymbal pads (including the hi-hat). This kit is definitely one to consider if you are on a tight budget.

• 1 8” 2 zone snare
• 3 8” single zone toms
• kick tower
• 10” hi-hat cymbal with choke
• 10” crash cymbal with choke
• 10” ride cymbal with choke
• hi-hat foot pedal
• kick pedal
• rack and pad mounts
• headphone jack
• USB connectivity
• Aux in
• output jack
• TAP/Metronome, Rhythm, Volume, Reverb Adjustment
• 20 Factory Kits and 160 unique sounds in total
• DC 9V power supply

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