How To Make A Cheap Drum Kit Sound Great

New Drumheads

An obvious place to start, maybe, but your drumheads are the key to making your kit sound great, no matter what state it’s in. The drumkits that cheaper kits tend to come with often aren’t that great, so replacing them will make a world of difference! There are countless options, but a great place to start would be something like Remo Emperor heads or Evans G2! There are loads of options with different levels of muffling and unique features, so take a look at our site to find the right drumheads for you!

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Take Time To Tune

Tuning drums by ear can be a tedious and time-consuming task, especially for the inexperienced. Yet spending quality time with your drums will not only pay off short term in a great sounding kit, but you will also hone the skills to make tuning in future faster, more efficient, and more accurate. To get you started, there are many videos on YouTube with expert explanations on the subject.

Dampening

Any nasty overtones that tuning couldn’t deal with – particularly problematic with cheaper drums – can easily be dealt with through a bit of smart dampening. There are loads of different options from Moon gel to E-rings! There are also lots of DIY ways to muffle your drums that we’ll get to shortly!

Snare Wires

Easily overlooked, but good snare wires can turn your snare sound around. More wires means more sensitivity, and different metal compositions can make the sound snappier and crisper, or softer and more sensitive. Plus, good wires can help to reduce snare buzz, will be kinder to the snare’s incredibly thin resonant head, and will be much more durable.

DIY tips and tricks

Unfortunately, lots of the stuff we’ve suggested costs money, but now we’ve got some workarounds that you can do using things you’ll have lying around.
When it comes to muffling, there are loads of ways to dampen drums with what you already have, such as using a bulldog clip and a cloth to clip the cloth onto the edge of the drum hoop and have it rest on the head to take some of the ring away! Alternatively, you could use a bit of duct tape to tidy up the drums’ sound, just make sure to fold a little tab into it before you stick it on so you can get it off nice and easy should you want to!
Another option would be to use only drumheads you might have and cut them up to make your own dampening rings, much like the Evans E-rings!
If your kick drum is too resonant and won’t stop ringing, put something in there to dampen the sound! You can use anything from an old jumper, stuffed toys or even a pillow!

Cymbals

A great sounding set of cymbals can be the make or break of a drum kit, but they needn’t break the bank. Take Stagg’s range of dual-hammered cymbals, for example. They sound great and can hold their own against the big competition from Zildjian, Sabian, and Paiste, yet and a fraction of the price. It’s worth remembering that it’s much more difficult to quick-fix a cymbal to sound any better than the day it was bought, but subpar cymbals can come in handy for creating stackers or otherwise experimenting with sounds.

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Conclusion

Once you’ve got your kit sounding better than ever keep it that way. Regular TLC, whether it be tuning, cleaning, oiling hardware or changing heads before they’re completely ruined will go a long, long way. I’ve done too many gigs where I’ve been greeted by a house drum kit identical to my own, yet one that is borderline unplayable due to neglect and mistreatment. It’s sad because I know how good the kit can sound; it’s annoying because I still have to cart along my own drums; and it’s a shame that the drums will become useless long before their time. Don’t let your kit see the same fate.

Ever wondered how to make drums sound quieter? Read our ‘7 Ways To Make Drums Quieter‘ guide!