Whether you’re a beginner, improving or professional drummer, finding the very best drum kit for your ability and individual playing style is key to your enjoyment, development and, hopefully, success behind the drum set.
If you’ve just started learning to play the drums you’ll be looking for a reliable, budget-friendly drum kit that will last the first few years of your drumming life, at the very least. As you then progress you'll need to decide whether your next drum set will be used for recording, gigging, or both, and go shopping with this - and a specific budget - in mind.
Finally, as you progress and venture into pro drummer territory you should have a specific idea of the drum tone, shell sizes and kit configuration you’re looking for. At this level you’ll have access to the best quality shells, road-worthy hardware and even custom options.
Here, we’ve recommended the best drum kits for all styles and levels of player. Whether you’re just starting out, you play in a band or you’re a professional session drummer, these kits should help you get the job done.
What are the best drum kits you can buy?
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With our selection, we’ve tried to cover some of the most common and biggest-selling sets on the market, and options for every budget. We have to commend the and for sheer value, while Yamaha’s perennial is still very much a strong contender for both sound and build quality. Each of these kits will get you playing with all the hardware you need, without feeling like you’ll need to upgrade quickly.
Tama's Starclassic Walnut/Birch is a great new entry in the mid-range too, offering great tones, a huge choice of configurations and some wild finish options.
Best drum kits: buying advice
Drum kits for beginners: what to look for
A common beginner setup is a five-piece kit: bass drum, two rack toms, a floor tom and snare drum. You will need to allow some budget for cymbals and stands (also known as hardware), too – hi-hats, a ride cymbal and at least one crash cymbal. However, many brands and retailers offer packages for complete kits, with drums, cymbals, hardware - even drumsticks - to make sure you have everything you need to get playing.
What are drum shells made of?
Many budget kits will feature a cheaper, unfussy shell material such as poplar, while spending more money will get you shells constructed from one or two ‘tone woods’. Common choices are birch, maple, walnut, bubinga or a combination of shells selected to deliver a complimentary sonic palette.
Moving to an intermediate or pro level drum set
At the mid-professional level and above, there is a strong chance that your tastes have become more refined and selective, and you’ll already own one or two snares, a set of cymbals and hardware. So you’ll most often be looking at ‘shell packs’: your choice configuration of bass drums and toms, with matching snare drums usually available as an additional option.
While many entry and mid-level drum sets feature great quality fittings, as you progress through the price ranges you’ll be paying extra for more durable hardware, designed to live up to the rigours of being set-up and packed down repeatedly. Bass drum spurs, tom mounts, legs and tension lugs are all common moving parts that will wear over time, so it’s worth investing.
Likewise, a great kit can be hindered by cheap, factory-supplied drum heads (or skins), while an affordable drum set can be vastly improved by changing the heads for a quality brand, designed to deliver the type of sound you’re going for once your ears have become more finely-tuned.
These are the best drum kits available to buy
This compact drum set has been considered by many as the king of mini kits for portability, small stages and even for younger players since its launch in 2013. It comprises a 16"x14" bass drum, 10"x7" rack tom and a 13"x13" floor tom, with a standard 14"x5" snare. The chromed shell hardware feels solid, with a weighty tom-holder, smooth hoops and a sturdy bass drum riser.
The standout piece is the bass drum. It's unlikely to replace a larger kick in a conventional rock set-up, but given the shell construction and size, it’s capable of acting like a small cannon. The Breakbeats snare holds a lot of character too – a slight trashy, grittiness, and even at lower tunings it finds a good combination of crisp response and full-bodied overtones. Cranking it results in a distinctly vintage funk sound.
The small tom diameters don't really lend them a 'power-tom' sound, but it’s possible to coax a fat, clean, sustained note from them at the mid-tension sweet-spot. Originally offered in the Azure Blue Sparkle finish pictured, Ludwig has since introduced Black, White and Red sparkle finishes, as well as the all-new for 2020 Sahara Swirl. For the money, the Breakbeats is a hard kit to fault.
Natal’s Arcadia range offers incredible value for money, with The UFX Plus configuration (pictured) including six drums and even a full, great quality hardware pack with straight and boom cymbal stands, hi-hat stand, snare stand and kick drum pedal. Shells are Natal's own 100 percent birch construction and feature the same Natal 'Sun' design lugs as on the top-end 'Originals' series, but cast in a lower-mass form to reduce weight for the gigging drummer.
All of the drums feature a crisp 45° bearing edge with Remo UT heads and triple-flanged hoops. Remo heads do a good job of letting the drums sing cleanly and across a broad range of tunings. That means the bass drum punches through and articulates well, while the snare drum boasts a wide tuning range and copes with heavy hitting as well as light ghost notes.
Toms speak quickly with a strong fundamental tone and no unwanted overtones. With premium features from Natal's high-end lines, adapted for the working drummer, the Arcadia series sets a stunning standard for entry-to-mid-range drum sets.
The Yamaha Stage Custom has been a staple mid-priced kit for over almost three decades, and the brand has continued to evolve the setup to maintain its relevance. Yamaha’s track record of building birch shells speaks for itself. The Stage Custom’s 6-ply shells are 6.6mm thick, straight-sided and butt jointed with Yamaha's distinctive diagonal seams, while bearing edges are carefully cut at 45°.
Wide open, the bass drum is right on the money, delivering a massive wallop of low-end. It's an unashamedly resonant kick with a breathy decay. The toms are equally full-on, delivering quick, fat notes at amp-beating volumes. Birch shells generally make for focused-sounding drums and the toms quickly tune to a point where this is achieved. The snare turns in a typically bright and birch-like performance – tuning variations are taken in its stride, whether tightening to a funky crack or relaxing to an expansive clonk.
Yamaha's credentials run through the Stage Custom Birch like the words in a stick of rock. It's beautifully made; solidly engineered to take the knocks of real life and produces a quality of sound that defies its price tag. This is a kit that you won’t outgrow in a hurry.
The arrival of the Pearl Export in 1982 set a new benchmark and in 2007 the kit was revived with upgraded shells, new lugs, new tom bracket and a superb hardware package. The new, smaller sculpted lug with a reduced footprint allows the shells to breathe better. The supplied 830 series hardware pack and brushed silver and orange Demonator bass drum pedal are absolutely brilliant for the money.
Most budget kits at this price have poplar shells, however Pearl has reintroduced Asian mahogany into the mix and that inner lining of semi-hard red wood adds warmth and depth to the shell tone. The tom heads are Chinese-made transparent Remos and deliver the requisite blam with plenty of depth and authority.
As ever with budget drum kits, the snare is the slightly weak link. It’s lightweight and takes some judicious tuning before it will yield a decent sound. The rest of the kit, however, sounds little different from a kit three times the price.
Gretsch’s Renown series has been a staple for jobbing drummers since its introduction in the early noughties. Their classic Formula shells, 30° bearing edges and silver sealer interior are present and correct on the Renown, alongside resonance-promoting, double-flanged Gretsch 302 hoops. Flawless looks belie the price and the hardware - from the tapered T-wing thumbscrews to the Gretsch ‘G’ cast into the memory locks - adds a touch of class.
Supplied heads include a Remo P3 on the bass drum, clear Emperors on toms and a coated Ambassador on the snare drum. It’s easy to produce a controlled, thick rock tom sound with just a little tension on the batter heads, or a singing, ring-free clarity at medium tension. The floor tom follows suit with a controlled beefy thud at lower tunings, and clarity when pitched up. The undrilled bass drum sounds huge, too. Tuned low, it’s gutsy and sustained, while adding some tension reveals more of a funky punch.
The Saturn V centres around hybrid shells comprising plies of American Rock Maple and walnut. One of the most significant features of the kit is the Soniclear bearing edge. While the inner edges are trimmed to 45° for the rack toms and 60° for the kick and floor toms, instead of the usual sharp summit, the edge has a slightly rounded, flattened back-cut which extends out to the shell's outer edge. This allows greater contact between the head and shell which is designed to coax maximum depth out of the drums and help with tuning.
Tom batter heads are dual-ply Remo Emperors, partnered with single-ply Ambassadors on the resonant side. The combination of relatively shallow depths, decent twin-ply heads and the rounded bearing edge all contribute to a great sound. The Mapex Saturn V is a fantastic all-rounder kit that is equally happy on stage or in the studio – on a jazz gig or playing rock.
