Is there anyway i can make a cheap drum kit sound good?!

Is there anyway i can make a cheap drum kit sound good?

There is a common misconception that the more a drumset costs, the better it will sound...or that a cheap drumset will always sound like crap. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.

While it is true that it's easier to get an expensive drumset to sound good, you can get a cheaper one to sound good with a little work.

The first thing is to get a good set of drum heads. Everyone has their own opinion as to what heads are the best, but I would suggest anything by Remo or Evans. I've heard that Attack heads are good as well, but I've never used them myself.

I personally use Evans Genera G2 clear heads on the toms and G2 coated on the snare. For the bass drum, I use coated Remo Powerstroke 3. The Powerstroke 3 is a good head, but not very versatile...it works great for rock music and metal, but that's about it.

Aside from good heads, you should learn how to tune them properly. You can achieve this through trial and error. The only hard and fast rule about tuning is to tune EVENLY. When you put on the head, tighten all the lugs as tight as you can get them with your fingers. After you get them finger tight, tighten each lug a quarter turn at a time. Tighten all of the lugs a quarter turn...if you overturn them, then you could cause the head to "pull", i.e. separate from the rim. If you cause a pull, then the head is garbage.

After you do this for awhile, the wrinkles in the head should start to disappear. If any wrinkles persist, you didn't tighten evenly and you need to find the offending lug(s) and adjust them. Keep plying lightly on the head until it produces a pleasing tone. What's a pleasing tone? Well that all depends on what you want...just try to find something that sounds good to you.

This will be a very time consuming and frustrating process at first. The more you do it, the easier it will become.

Good luck, and happy drumming!