I drive my old "Cadillac" to the store and my daily driver, and my new "Cadillac" for weekends and personal fun.......
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Are High-End Drums a Giant Waste of Money?
- Thread starter Vistalite Black
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That is also the correct answer.
Don’t sell those! Well, maybe 1 or 2 but definitely keep a set. These are hidden sleepers. Most drummers have never played them so they don’t know.
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I found a 1965/66 Gretsch RB burgundy sparkle progressive jazz set in a pawn shop, paid a ridiculously low price for it, and spent some more bucks repairing and refurbishing it. Do I own a high-end set even though it was cheapo?
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If you didn't bother to watch the video, please allow me to summarize. Rob seems like a genuinely good dude. The message of the video, which appears to be intended for younger/newer drummers, is don't sweat it, grasshopper. Don't get discouraged because you can't afford a high-end kit. Get yourself a nice little Stage Custom, throw some new heads on it, and you'll sound fine. That's a pretty positive message. I wish someone had shared something like that with me when I was 14, playing a $35 no name drum set and feeling sorry for myself for not having a brand new Rogers or Ludwig like some of my friends. Now that I'm older and have some spare dough, I get to choose whatever I want.
Hypercaffium
Very well Known Member
High end doesn't necessarely mean extremely pricey. Extremely pricey doesn't necessarely mean good.
Well, as I KEEP saying, own and play whatever you want, whatever makes you happy.
If you were to ask my opinion I would say sell two of those four kits and use the money to buy another interesting kit. But you're not asking for my opinion and I'm not making a video about it.
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Sure, that is a clearer version of what he said.
The click bait aspect to it is the giant headline 'are high end kits a giant waste of money'. My answer to that is "no", or the mildest answer might be "it depends".
It sends the wrong message to all drummers instead of the right message to beginner/learning drummers.
YES, yes, yes, a $5000 drum kit is not needed by a certain type of drummer and very likely 'a giant waste of money'. But to the drumming community overall, very expensive, high end drums are NOT always a waste of money.
GiveMeYourSmallestSticks!
Very well Known Member
I know and I get it, and I think the rest of my reply did a better job of addressing that question. It just seems to me that whenever this topic comes up (and it's come up plenty of times), there's a subset of responses bent on correlating the quality of your gear with your degree of success as a pro drummer or the work you've put in to deserve it. There's also those that will gladly look at what someone else has and determine that they don't need it based on how well they play, how often they play, etc. I've met some of those people in real life, and usually they're critical of what you have because they believe they deserve it/appreciate it more than you.
All of that is sort of related to the example you just provided. If you like having a Lamborghini and can afford it, nobody else should really care how you're using it. Are you getting the absolute most out of it by using it only for carpooling? No, but that doesn't mean you've overpaid for what you've got. Could you perform the same task using a Toyota Corolla? Absolutely, but that still doesn't mean you've overpaid for what you've got, you're just not pushing it to the fullest potential and could have gotten by with something cheaper. Is it still a nicer drive and does it provide the owner more joy and pride than the Corolla would? Um.....yes. So once again, it comes back to the idea of "need" and how/who defines it. As I said in my last post, it could be deemed that most of us need nothing more than a Pearl Export to get the job done, so is everything above and beyond that a giant waste of money? If you have a mid-level kit that's working for you, is the desire to upgrade pointless and unnecessary? As someone mentioned earlier, you might consider sticking with the mid-level kit and spending that money on upgrading cymbals and snares, but no doubt there's an appreciable difference between mid and high level kits that makes the purchase worthwhile for many. Drum companies can only charge and produce what the market will tolerate, and clearly there are plenty of people beyond the pros that desire and see the added value of a high end kit.
While one could argue on a case by case basis about the actual value of certain drums versus their cost, I believe for the most part that with most things you do get what you pay for. I'd bet you could find some spouses of members here who would say any expenditure on drums is a giant waste of money.
Sounds like you didn't watch the whole video.
Squirrel Man
DFO Star
Squirrel Man
DFO Star
Is Cadillac still making cars?
The brand basically died when they introduced the cimarron.
The brand basically died when they introduced the cimarron.
I watched the first two thirds. I DID point out it was the tile that was click bait and what I fundamentally disagreed with. watching the first two thirds it's obvious the title is a rhetorical question, not really something to be debated. High-End drums ARE a giant waste of money..... unless you can get them for $3000 instead of $5000.
In the grand scheme of things people buy that they truly do not need, like boats, motorcycles, ATVs, RV's, vacation homes, big vacations, etc., discussing the price of even the most expensive drum kits almost seems kind of silly.
Squirrel Man
DFO Star
"Some" people...
I've had the same phone for the past 7 or 8 years or so, a TCL android knock-off. It's the Cricket phone they make for elderly people but in a regular android fashion.
The first one I bought for $150 and had it for 4 or 5 years and when the (not replaceable) battery died I bought a Galaxy. Sent it back when even the millennials in my office couldn't figure it out and found out this same TCL was still available and bought another one, this time for $100.
When this one goes that might be it for me with phones. Over priced and over engineered, no thanks.
Pat A Flafla
DFO Master
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Unfortunately, we haven't been the target consumer for quite some time.
Lamontsdad
DFO Master
My phones are trash within 3-5 years. Battery capacity goes way down. Screens get cracked, etc.
Squirrel Man
DFO Star
"Technology" is passing me by and I'm thumbing my nose at it as it passes.
I'm averse to "technology" now for good reason. Technology equates to getting you to buy more stuff, shoving ads in your face and stealing your privacy. No thanks, and it's the kids today who are to blame. They love bling and gadgets and care little about privacy.
Same reason why it's harder and harder to find an honest beer. "Craft" beer = overhopped pee.
Alright, I'm done yelling at clouds for now.
Lamontsdad
DFO Master
"Technology" is passing me by and I'm thumbing my nose at it as it passes.
I'm averse to "technology" now for good reason. Technology equates to getting you to buy more stuff, shoving ads in your face and stealing your privacy. No thanks, and it's the kids today who are to blame. They love bling and gadgets and care little about privacy.
Same reason why it's harder and harder to find an honest beer. "Craft" beer = overhopped pee.
Alright, I'm done yelling at clouds for now.
I am getting my mum-in-law’s iPhone when I go to England. I don’t give a rat’s about not having more computing power than it took to launch and guide the Space Shuttle in my pocket. It could even be newer than the hunk o’ junk in my paw right now LOL
