Drum Kit Buying Advice
A drum teacher’s guide to acoustic, electric and practice kits for students and home use
I often get asked where to buy drum kits and what to buy — acoustic, electric, or something else.
Before deciding what type of kit to buy, it’s worth thinking carefully about where it’s going to go and how loud it can be in that space. A ground-floor room on a solid base (like concrete) will carry much less noise than an upstairs room, where sound and vibration can travel easily through the frame of the building. If you share walls with neighbours, it’s also worth considering how much sound might reach them before committing to an acoustic kit.
Once you’ve thought about where the kit will go and how loud it can be, the next step is deciding between an acoustic or electric setup.
Acoustic Drum Kits
Before choosing which kit to buy, it’s worth stressing the obvious: drum kits are loud! If you have neighbours close by, they’ll almost certainly hear you play unless you do something to reduce the volume.
There are ways to dampen an acoustic kit, but they nearly always make it sound worse and feel less natural to play. If volume is likely to be an issue, an electric kit or a low-volume acoustic setup might be a better option. Soundproofing a room is possible, but it’s usually expensive and complicated to do properly.
Buying Second-Hand
I’d recommend checking Facebook Marketplace, eBay, or Gumtree for second-hand kits. A budget of around £400–500 should get you something that sounds good and will last for years. The same kit brand new might typically cost £300–400 more.
If you can stretch to around £600–800, you’ll start to find higher-quality cymbals and sturdier hardware, which is a worthwhile investment if you plan to keep the kit long-term.
You can also sometimes find second-hand kits from retailers such as Andertons and Gear4Music. Prices will usually be higher than on eBay or Marketplace, but you’ll get more reassurance on condition and setup quality. Unfortunately, there aren’t many specialist drum retailers left in this area.
Brands to Look For
Avoid budget brands, as they often use flimsy materials and poor-quality fittings. Reliable makes include Yamaha, Pearl, Tama, Mapex, Ludwig, Gretsch, Sonor, PDP, and Premier.
Look for a kit that includes:
Snare drum
Bass drum
Two or three toms
Hi-hat
Crash and ride cymbals
Bass drum pedal
Stool (or “throne”)
You should also budget for a music stand, as they’re not usually included with drum kits but are very useful for lessons and practice.
If you plan to play along to music or backing tracks, remember that an acoustic drum kit is loud — you’ll need a powerful speaker or PA system to hear the music clearly over the drums. A decent monitor can easily cost £150–200 or more, so it’s worth factoring that into your setup budget.
You can also use in-ear monitors (IEMs) or isolating headphones, but make sure to keep the volume at a safe level to protect your hearing.
Upgrading Over Time
Acoustic kits are easy to upgrade. Drum heads, cymbals, and hardware (pedals, stands, etc.) can all be replaced or upgraded later. If you’re thinking of improving an existing kit, new heads, better cymbals, or upgraded hardware can make a noticeable difference to sound and feel without needing to buy a whole new kit. It’s worth getting something decent to begin with, as a well-built kit can last a lifetime if it’s looked after properly.
Low-Volume Acoustic Setups
If you’d prefer to play an acoustic kit but need to keep the noise down, there are ways to make it much quieter without switching to an electric kit. These setups are useful for home practice or shared spaces where volume is a concern.
The main options are:
Mesh heads – These replace the standard drum heads and drastically reduce volume whilst keeping a similar feel to a real drum. Brands like Remo Silentstroke and Evans dB One are popular.
Low-volume cymbals – Perforated or “quiet” cymbals (for example Zildjian L80 or Sabian Quiet Tone) are around 70–80% quieter than standard ones. Those are fairly expensive, but cheaper alternatives are available and still work well.
Dampening pads – Rubber or foam pads can be placed on top of normal heads or cymbals, but they tend to feel and sound less realistic than mesh heads or low-volume cymbals.
A full low-volume setup still feels like an acoustic kit and allows for proper stick technique, but it won’t be completely silent. It’s quieter than a standard kit, though still louder than an electric one played through headphones.
If you need to play even more quietly or want more realistic and varied sounds, a good electric kit will usually sound better than any dampened or mesh-head acoustic setup.
Hearing Protection
Protecting your hearing is essential. Even short drumming sessions can be loud enough to cause long-term damage. I recommend musician’s earplugs such as ACS, Etymotic, or Alpine (there are many alternatives available on Amazon) which reduce volume without muffling the sound. Getting used to wearing them early on will make a big difference in the long run.
Electric Drum Kits
Electric kits are a great option when volume is a concern — they have a volume control! You can play with headphones for quiet practice or through a speaker if noise isn’t an issue. Most kits also allow you to connect a phone or tablet for playing along to music, which is really useful. They take up much less space than an acoustic kit too, making them ideal for bedrooms or smaller practice areas.
There’s a lot to like about electric kits in 2025!
Things to Be Aware Of
They’re not completely silent. You’ll still hear the thump of the bass drum and the tapping of the pads and cymbals, especially in nearby rooms or flats. It’s far quieter than an acoustic kit, though, and unlikely to bother neighbours.
Avoid older kits. Older entry-level electric kits can be flimsy and spare parts are often hard to find. Triggering and connectivity problems are common as they age.
Avoid the cheapest models. Entry-level electric kits often use foot switches instead of real bass drum pedals, have poor hi-hat control, and feel overly compact. Playing a well-designed electric kit should feel similar to an acoustic one — if it doesn’t, it’s probably not a good buy.
Buying Advice
A good, budget-friendly electric kit should have:
Mesh heads (for a more natural feel and quieter response)
A proper bass drum tower with a real pedal (this is very important, more on this in a moment)
A sturdy, adjustable rack that doesn’t feel toy-like
I’d suggest a budget of around £400–600 for something that feels good to play and will last.
If your budget is lower than that, the most important feature to prioritise is a proper bass drum tower and pedal. Even if the rest of the kit feels basic or lightweight, having a real pedal setup will make practice much more realistic and transferable to an acoustic kit. Foot-switch style bass drum pedals make developing good technique difficult and quickly become frustrating.
Also budget separately for accessories, because the kit alone might not include everything needed:
A suitable drum stool (throne)
Headphones or a small speaker/amplifier if you don’t already have one
A music stand for holding sheet music
Popular and reliable models in this range include:
Alesis Nitro Max – Great value for the features and solid feel for home use
Roland TD-07DMK – Better pads and module but more expensive than the Alesis
Yamaha DTX452K – Sturdy and responsive with decent sounds, slightly less realistic in feel than mesh-head kits but still a decent choice
If you have a higher budget, it’s worth considering some of the higher priced Roland kits. They use better pads and modules and feel more like playing an acoustic drum kit.
Buying Second-Hand
Electric kits can be found second-hand on Facebook Marketplace, eBay or Gumtree, but be cautious. Check that every pad triggers correctly, that cables and inputs are intact, and that the module (the “brain”) powers up properly. Replacement parts for older kits can be expensive or unavailable. Buying a new kit from a music retailer, like Andertons, Gear4Music, Thomann or even Amazon might cost more but gives more reassurance on condition and setup.
Headphone Volume and Hearing Safety
It’s easy to play with headphones louder than you realise. Because the sound is so close to your ears, long sessions at high volume can cause hearing damage over time.
Try to keep the volume at a comfortable level. If you often feel the need to turn it up, your headphones might not be blocking enough outside noise. Closed-back headphones or in-ear monitors (IEMs) are good options, as they isolate well and sound clear without needing to be loud.
Practice Pads
Practice pads are a great tool for improving your technique and timing. They’re quiet, portable, and much cheaper than a full drum kit, making them useful for anyone learning to play.
They can be used alongside an acoustic or electric kit for extra practice, or as a temporary option whilst waiting to buy a drum kit. Pads are particularly good for working on sticking patterns, control, dynamics, and metronome practice.
Things to Be Aware Of
They’re not a full replacement for a drum kit. You can build hand coordination and work on hand technique, but you’ll still need to play on a real kit to work on everything else.
They vary in feel. Some are softer and more bouncy, others firmer and closer to a real drum. It mostly comes down to personal preference. Some of the very cheapest pads feel quite hard and plasticky — I’d avoid those.
Buying Advice
Most decent practice pads cost between £20–50, depending on size and feel. You might want to also budget for a snare drum stand if you buy a bigger one.
Here’s my favourite:
Evans RealFeel – Available in a few sizes. I like the 12” one best as it fits on a snare stand
There are also larger practice pad kits, such as the DW Go Anywhere Practice Set, which lay out multiple pads like a drum kit. These can be useful for working on coordination, but for most drummers, a single pad is enough to start with.
Some links to recommended products may be affiliate links, which help support this website at no extra cost to you.