5 Best Drum Sets Under $500: Cheap and Affordable
Let’s face it: drumming is an expensive passion. We have to purchase and replace everything from drum sticks, drum heads, beaters, mallets, dampening gels, not to mention the set of drums and cymbals you get. Drumming doesn’t have to be an expensive hobby, and in fact, that’s the entire reason we are writing this report.
Today I’ll be exploring five of the best cheap drum sets under $500 that don’t completely suck. Under each kit, I will give overall value, quality, and how budget-friendly the kit is. Unfortunately, at this price point, most kits do not include hardware and cymbals—many of the ones that do are very cheap quality.
ddrum D2 5-Piece Complete Drum Set
ddrum is a company most known for their drum triggers. In recent years, they’ve began branching out making all sorts of other drum gear like sampling pads, electronic drum sets, and now, acoustic drum sets.
The D2’s shells are made from high-quality Poplar wood—something common with most entry-level drum sets including the Pearl Roadshow, Ludwig Breakbeats, and many others. This wood typically has a warm sound profile, with good attack and sustain. For the price, the shells are high-quality for a beginning drummer.
The ddrum D2 includes everything you need to get started playing: a drum throne, hi-hat stand, boom stand, dual-chain bass drum pedal, and tom mounts—though I will recommend upgrading your kick pedal to something like the Yamaha FP 7210A, which I suggest for most of these kits that include a pedal.
ddrum offers six color variations of the kit, so there’s most likely a finish out there you’ll end up liking. There are also available add-ons to the kit, so in the future if you decide you’d like another rack or floor tom, the option is there.
Pearl Midtown Series 4-Piece
Coming in at the top of the list is the Pearl Midtown. The kit is at a steeper price point than other cheap drum sets, but it offers quality and value. Pearl isn’t an unknown name in the drum world; in fact, they are one of the most popular drum makers to date. The Roadshow kit offers quality that other cheap drum makers can’t match.
The kit is similar to the Ludwig Breakbeats, but includes cymbal stands and a kick pedal, which is a big plus. Pearl’s Midtown kit comes in a four-piece with an 16″ kick, 7×10″ tom, 12×13″ floor tom, and 5.5×13″ snare drum. For a rookie player, I wouldn’t worry too much about sizes, as you can get more specialized as you progress as a drummer.
Entry-level drum sets have come a long way since I began playing. I would have loved to have this affordable drum kit as a beginner when I started playing. The Midtown kit is excellent right out of the box, but if you decide to change the stock heads out, your shells will sound even better.
No cymbals are included with the kit, so I’d suggest getting a cheap cymbal pack from Wuhan—something like the 457 series. Be sure to pick up a hi-hat clutch, as well, else you won’t be able to set those up. If you’re a beginner, I wouldn’t worry too much about the sound of your drums and cymbals; try to focus on learning the fundamentals of playing.
The metal hardware included isn’t going to wow anyone, but it’s far better than most of the other kits’ hardware I’ll be listing here. From my personal experience, I believe Yamaha makes the most excellent drum hardware, but it’s really up to your taste.
You can always upgrade to a different set of hardware at a later date. Pearl’s Midtown kit is a fantastic set of cheaper drum shells that are perfect for any new drummer on a budget.
Ashthorpe 5-Piece Adult Drum Set
The five-piece kit from Ashthorpe is very affordable. It’s about half the cost of the Midtown, once you include the cost of cymbals. For the absolute beginner in need of a cheap drum set, you can’t go wrong.
In sacrificing cost, you’re also sacrificing the brand name. Ashthorpe is not a familiar name to most drummers, as they focus mostly on entry-level student instruments. The brand isn’t terrible, but don’t expect the most exceptional quality in the world. The good news is that the kit gives you everything you need to play right out of the box.
Upon opening and setting up, you’ll notice that the drums look decent, but they’re nothing that would blow you away. The wrapped plastic around the shells is very cheap, and the lugs are tiny when compared to professional drum sets.
When comparing to more expensive drums, the Ashthorpe also doesn’t contain as many lugs on each of the drums. With fewer lugs, it’s harder to keep a drum in tune consistently, so keep that in mind (for a beginner, this shouldn’t be a huge issue).
The included cymbals are something you may want to consider upgrading. For the entry-level drummer, leave them as is, but you or your drummer may one day complain of the quality of the cymbals.
Compared to the Midtown, comparing the hardware is night and day. The hardware on the Ashthorpe isn’t great, but you’re sacrificing for cost remember. The included kick drum pedal is also something you may want to upgrade (seems like there’s a running theme here).
I recommend checking out the Yamaha FP 7210A, which will run you a little less than $80 to upgrade. It may seem like an extra expense, but your technique will develop faster and you’ll have a far better playing experience overall.
Ludwig Questlove Pocket Kit
Ludwig is a drum manufacturer that needs no introduction. They make killer drums and some of the greatest drummers of all time endorse the manufacturer. Ludwig’s Questlove Pocket kit is no exception. It’s incredibly affordable and looks incredible on first glance.
Three color options are available, and the sparkle finish looks fantastic. One thing to note, this drum kit is marketed towards younger players, so if you’re an adult, it may be much too small for you to play comfortably. Despite being a smaller kit, I’ve read countless numbers of people online who are upwards of 6′ tall who play the Questlove kit!
The Pocket Kit comes packed with a 12″ x 16″ bass drum, 10″ x 13″ floor tom, 6″ x 10″ mounted tom, and a 5″ x 12″ snare drum. Right out of the box, you’ll have everything you need to get playing: drum heads, hardware, pedals, cymbals, stands, a drum throne, sticks, and a drum key.
The Questlove Pocket kit also includes a free lesson pack redeemable with a valid serial number. Do your self a favor and pick up some new cymbals and drum heads; you’ll have a cheap drum set that sounds fantastic.
Sawtooth Command Series 4-Piece Drum Set
It’s hard to argue with how great this kit looks! Sawtooth’s Command Series four-piece drum set looks and plays like drums of the past. I hadn’t heard of the company before, but I’m glad I stumbled upon them.
The Command Series isn’t the most affordable line in this list, but it is when compared to buying a vintage bop kit. Sawtooth has two main lines of drum kits that sound fantastic for the price. The only downside? It’s just a shell pack. You’ll need to provide your own cymbals and hardware.
The Command Series is a drum kit that will sound great and can last a lifetime if properly maintained. I love the look and sound. What do you think?
Conclusion
Out of all the cheap drum sets available today, I’d have to pick the ddrum D2. The drum set includes everything you need to get playing and ddrum even offers add-ons to the kit. The cymbals are trash, but can be upgraded to something nicer in the future. The shells are what I’m primarily concerned with, and they sound great for the money.
If you want to step up the quality a bit, I also have roundups of the best beginner drum sets and the best professional drum sets, so be sure to give those a read. If acoustic drums don’t seem to be the right answer, perhaps an electronic drum set would fit you better.
is there any drum kits that sound great and are less than $230?
I had a Donner drum set for under $450. Honestly, no one can beat this deal. I was hesitant at first but the drums are very decent. All hardware, seat, kick, included and the hardware is heavy-duty. The cymbals are fair. Has a built-in silencers for quite play.
Search for Donner 5-Drum Set with Built-in Silencer System for Adult