Buying A Whole New Set VS Upgrading Your Current Drum Set

So you’ve bought an electronic drumset, it might have cost $2000, or $500. You’re loving it, and you’ve bought a new cymbal here and there off ebay. But you’ve come to the realization that a major overhaul is needed to get the drumset to the level you want it at. At what point do you say, just forget about it I’ll buy a better drumset. VS just buying 15 parts and pieces from different websites and upgrading it that way.

You can go either way honestly. I’ve seen dudes with an alesis nitro that have like 3 modules and 15 drums and cymbals. I’ve also seen guys that sell the kit on Facebook and use that money towards a modestly better kit with the features they are really missing.

The REAL question is whats the magic number? What is that threshold that you hit and decide upgrades aren’t worth it anymore?

So in my head my number is something like 50%. Not a hard and fast number, but it’s something. Lets say you bought the TD17KL for $1000. You kinda want the mesh toms, and a 3 zone ride. And come to think of it and extra crash would be nice too. Lets add up the numbers:

If you want mesh toms, just going on ebay you can find two mesh toms from Alesis for $100. But I’m guessing most will want to make the drumset out of parts from the same brand. Roland is a tad more expensive and you have to REALLY look around. At first I saw a PDX6 for $60. Kinda small for me, so I checked reverb, and you can pick up a PD85 for $85. Get 3 of those and that’s $255. A Better ride like a CY13R is $130. And for the extra cymbal.. We’re already solid because we’ll take that ride cymbal we already had, and just use it as a crash. Sell the rubber tom pads we already had for For $25 each, and we get back $75. So all in all, that upgrade would cost about $310.

So I know what you’re thinking, Justin, what about the TD17KV. It comes with the 12” snare, and the mesh toms already. Also that version of the TD17 module has Bluetooth! It doesn’t have the extra crash and cy13R, but overall it’s less work to just buy that one for $1200.

That’s the kind of situation is where things get confusing. For me, the difference between the upgrade price and the new drumset price is so close, that buying the upgrades makes more sense. If you bought those used upgrades, you don’t have to sell your set for $800 and then pay the $400 difference to get the TD17KV. So you save a ton of time right there, and you’ll get the better ride, and solid toms.

So in a dilemma THAT close I would just do the upgrades. I want to buy a different set when my vision for my ideal kit is just drastically different from what I have RIGHT NOW. For example. If I have a Alesis Surge mesh because I wanted to test the waters of drumming and make sure it was for me. But after a year I decide that I Really want to have better cymbals, a better module. Upgrading that drumset just doesn’t make any sense. The module purchase would be at least $500 if I wanted something much nicer, better cymbals are going to cost at least $100 each, and before you know it, the cost of upgrades is over 100% the cost of the original drumset. Upgrades are a death by a thousand cuts type of a thing. One new cymbal becomes two. A bigger snare leads to a nicer module. Before you know it, you have a mid range drumset with $2000 trapped in it after a few years.

So again, I tend to say, I’ve I’m thinking about spending half the cost of my set in new upgrades, I would stop and really think about just dumping the kit and buying something else. Go on eBay and capitalize on a different drummer that mindlessly upgraded everything without thinking.

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[TheBonsaiRonin]

I wasn't gonna upgrade but I stumbled across a strike pto kit with roc soc throne, iron cobra 600 hihat stand, and matching double kick for 1300... Talked him down to 1100! Thank God for dreamers. The guy was trying to learn drums, guitar, and keys at the same time and decided to pick one and his wife said she wanted to recoup some money fast. Just be patient and diligent. Deals disappear as fast as they appear

[Vdrumtips]

Great topic! I would have to add: Do not upgrade TD-1K or TD-4KP sets. Also, an upgrade is always better than taking out a loan for a set. It could be a wiser choice to only spend what you have, bit by bit, instead of being in dept for another 12 months. I would like to see a video where you talk about going into debts because of a hobby (e-drums). Especially since you are living in the USA, the country where it is most common to do that. (In Europe it becomes popular now as well). Would love to know your opinion.

[DennisMartenssonOfficial]

Great video, Justin! Definitely, if there's another kit that precisely matches what you would want out of an upgrade, then it's probably always cheaper to just save up the money to buy the thing in one go. Other times, your ideal kit consists of many different parts from different vendors/brands, where simply buying the kit as a whole isn't an option, but you need to buy each piece individually. Then it doesn't matter if you upgrade it piece by piece or buy all of the separate parts in one go. (: I'm going that route atm, and I love being able to buy something small for my kit essentially every month or so!

[brianhall]

This is sort of what I did. I had an old Rogers acoustic kit in pretty decent shape and knew that I both NEEDED to go electronic due to my living situation and WANTED to try edrums. I found an older Hart Dynamics Pro 6.4 drum kit with a Roland TD20 brain in perfect condition and I couldn't be happier. I knew upgrading the acoustic kit was going to cost a ton of money between mesh heads, triggers, ecymbals, brain, etc. The cost of my new kit was almost a perfect wash after selling my acoustic kit (I did have to buy a new rack system, but I can keep that for whatever drum set I plan to use down the road. But, I've been selling off all of my cymbals and stands one-by-one and they should more than take care of the cost of the rack). Thanks for all your videos, Justin. They're both educational and entertaining!

[DrumCoversbyBill]

Great advice as always. Added major upgrades to my Alesis Crimson, and used all the left over pads/cymbals with splitters to expand the kit.

[brguns]

Thank you for all your videos! That's an awesome channel! All your opinions help me buying my first edrum since I leave in an apartment. I just bought a TD-17KVX based on your reviews! It is awesome by the way!

[ChrisLeeDrums]

I think the best upgrade is getting the best module you want in sound quality and what you can afford. Then build the rest of your kit so it becomes your own, original kit to your style. Rather than buying what everyone else has.

[Bcwilderness]

just plug into some software and hit things, dont get caught in the its the gear fog, a yamaha dtx502 does the job, upgrading the software to perfect drums is cheaper better and more fun, than costly parts

[larssterberg]

Bought a td11k, got a vh11 second hand hi-hat and used the cy5 as a splash. Then I bought triggers and meshheads for my old Pearl drumset from jobeky. A guy wanted to switch his old td20 module, I really liked the module, but is sounds really old. I recently sold the module and bought a drumit3. Great stuff! Last thing I have done is to replace the 2 cy8 from the roland with Yamaha pcy155. And the snaredrums bartrigger was not working good so I also replaced that with a 2box sidemounted trigger.
I don't wanna know how much money I used :)

[CoversConPepa]

Hey Justin, a good link you should add to this video description is the one you did with compatibility of pads and modules between different brands. Or you could make a short update to that compatibility list and then link the longer video in the description. Just an idea, always looking forward to your videos!

[Clairvoyant]

Honestly, IMO, as long as your upgrades don't require a new module and you're buying quality pads, an upgrade is never a bad idea. Modules are ridiculously pricey, even used, so updating that quickly kills the point of any sensible upgrade. Other than that, a quality pad will remain a quality pad and will remain usable for "ages"... so if you have a use for a pad upgrade, that's probably never a bad idea.
Yes, all that is out of the window when you find someone desperate to sell his stuff.

[eliasfigueroa]

Great video as always, Justin!

I'm definitely in the "still looking" category, so this video was perfect for me! I totally hear ya on trying to "buy an upgraded used" e-kit, to possibly get the most bang for your buck... but for someone like me, I enjoy being the one that makes the kit become "used", lol!
God Bless Bro!

[schenkevin]

I love my Roland TD-17KVX. I upgraded it with a BT-1 trigger pad for a cowbell/4th cymbal. I only needed to pick up one of those L rods from eBay since Roland ships the kvx with an extra rack clamp.

[Anonymous_________]

I dig guitar center. They make package deals and you can talk then down in price. It's awesome.

[JohnDRobinsonelectronicdrums]

*A great video, Justin! If I was starting out as a new purchaser I would definately go for the second-hand market first and get a high-end kit for a knock-down price.*

[MajorOSC]

I got an Alesis forge for free. But the kick drum doesn't respond as quickly as I wish it did. Plus there's alot I want to upgrade. I like the strike pro bit it's looking too expensive. Anything that'll be as responsive? Or are Roland's still the best? I'm torn on whether to just beat this thing around and deal with it (will never be able to respond at the level I'm capable of) or find something that'll last and feel pro. 30 years drumming in jazz and funk bands. Just never owned an drum set. Very unsure of what's a deal and whats not. is there a way to save money by just keeping the rack and upgrading all the other pieces.

[abrasivepartyc]

Lol at scenario number 2. You explained my situation exactly lmao

[malditoklee]

Fantastic Video as always! Guys I'm gigging with an 80's band that want me to start using E drums exclusively. I pulled out my old TD-3 and I got away with it with Superior Srummer 2 and didn't have a lot of issues except the pads feel cheap. What's the best drum module to use with SD2, so I'm not to concerned with the module sounds, just it's sensitivity. Will I notice a big difference between using the td-17 module over the td-3? would that be a smart upgrade? Thanks!

[matthewf]

I bought a TD8 a very long time ago, then when I was looking at upgrading that I got a TD20X module, better ride, snare & hi-hat but as the original pads and cymbals were all really good the only thing I didn't want was the TD8 module. Since then I've added more cymbals so that now the TD20X is maxed out on inputs and what I've got will do me until I go back to an analogue kit which is my long term plan.
So in my case because my first kit came with decent pads and cymbals I could re-use pretty much everything, even the rubbish pad that was the original hi-hat I now use as a fixed hi-hat / cowbell and it does a perfectly good job. The only other upgrade I've made recently is to get Superior Drummer 3 as the sounds from the TD20X just weren't cutting it anymore. So in terms of spend, my upgrades cost probably twice what I spent on the original kit, but this was over a period of more than 10 years and as I have no plans to sell that doesn't bother me as even when I eventually get an analogue kit I'll keep this for practice during the more unsociable hours.

[evilsix]

Me personally I think for me it was best to get the middle tier. Got the donner ded 200. Learned and found what I like. For example I don’t like deal zone symbols, so I sold my symbols and bought more single zone symbols and then got some wires to split the cable got couple extra symbol stands and arms. Learned I hate mesh kick pads and got a Yamaha 65 kick. Love it. Got a good deal on a used module just so I had better quality MIDI connection. And then got a good deal on a bigger snare and it’s the perfect kit built exactly how I like it everything to my needs and how I like playing electric drums show me personally especially for mid tier, electric drums, or even low tier building a custom kit. How do you want it is by far in my opinion the best option but that’s also how I feel about all music gear like my guitar is an Ibanez that I paid $230 for and then put almost triple that in parts but that’s kind of the sound I was going for I guess something unique something that can be replicated but at the end of the day is unique to me and my playing style and exactly what I wanted to go for I guess this is a super long comment but thank you for anyone’s reading this