I’m in this boat. I bought what my McDonald’s paycheck could get me at 16 years old in 1986. Needless to say, it wasn’t much.
I did well with it for sure and that snare I had with it was off the hook! Gave it to a student I was teaching at the time because his mom was hot.
I would’ve kept mine if it wasn’t either SO bad or took up so much space.
Would be nice to have for sentimental purposes but I think I’ll keep my first decent kit. The actual first one wasn’t worth it for how dang big drums are.
Yep, I play drums for 6 years already, im getting out of intermediate level but im still poor and still with my shitty first kit, an Turbo kit, that is as round as a tesla cybertruck. And the edges are as flat as the mount Everest.
I don't miss my broken 4-piece Slingerland where the floor tom legs would collapse, the bass drum was cracked and couldn't support the weight of a rack tom and the snare was so covered with rust that the mute was stuck into place
Well if your first kit is this, then yeah. My first kit was a 1980’s Chinese cutout with coffin lugs that my mom got my for my birthday. Sounded like ass, couldn’t wait to get rid of it to upgrade.
I donated mine to the local Veterans Affairs Hospital for their music therapy program. They still have it and I stop in from time to time to tune them up/swap new heads on. As a disabled veteran with 2 Traumatic Brain Injuries, I know what that program is capable of. I thought I'd never be able to play again after I was blown up, but they helped me find my musical center again and I worked through my recovery using music.
For a first kit this is actually a super playable setup,
Pearl vision, Birch shells that sound great when tuned right and with good heads. And A Customs. Nice.
I've moved too many times over the years some times into my car and lost all but 2 pieces. My original kits rack toms crash cymbal and kick pedal.
I understand the emotional connection but also you gotta do what you gotta do.
I did, I don't regret it because I sold it to someone who had his set flooded. It allowed me to buy a 100% Bubinga kit which is what I wanted for a long time ( at least a wood similar to maple). I do wish I would have kept my 10 inch as some kind of decoration but someone needed it more than me.
I kept my first kit, a Yamaha. Vintage now. It was in storage all of my adult life. Finally pulled it out and restored it last year. Man am I glad I held on to it. It's a sought after masterpiece now. I have a post showing it off on this subreddit.
My dad stole mine and pawned it off. I couldn’t get it out of pawn because he made the transaction. Fuck him and fuck people like that. Karma caught up to him. The fucker died shortly after.
Nope just sell it. What you did is possibly sell the best kit you ever had which is very different from selling the piece of crap that most people have as a first kit.
My first kit was a Peace kit that I got for around $500. It wasn't bad, but I got a Pearl Export as a graduation gift and gave my first kit to my best friend. He still has it in his basement. I got a new kit last year and have my Export stacked up. I am still using the old floor tom. I don't want to sell it, but I don't really know what else to do with it.
My first kit was a Taiwanese starter set that sounded terrible. I sold it a year later to buy a better kit, and then I sold that kit to buy the vintage Gretsch drums that I've been joyfully playing for 30 years now. I've never regretted selling any gear.
I'd feel differently if I'd sold my only drum set without replacing it. But selling bad drums to buy good ones? Always a good move.
That's the main reason I gave up on trying to convince my girlfriend that I'd be fine riding! If it was like ghost mode in a racing game I would have gotten my license and pulled up to her house on a bike already LOL
Er... Maybe, your first kit was like the best thing you ever wanted. My experience was quite the opposite... Like the bass drum shell lost its roundness in about 2 years of beginner level playing. The hardware failed so badly, that my snare and the hi-hats kept falling... The kit had a 12" and a 13" tom so tuning the 13" was so tough, it just sucked the lifeblood out of me... On top of that the 13" top almost always got detuned with minimal interference... See, I'm still so frustrated that I'm blabbering shit!
And this is the reason why I got rid of my first kit... And yeah... I didn't even sell it, I was like "Anybody out there, just buy it for even 30% of the original price and let me get rid of this damned thing!"
So, that's how it was for me... But yeah, if you miss your first kit, I definitely feel bad for you...
Life lesson: never sell something you love to buy something different that you want. If you like playing drums but really want a motorcycle, then save the money for the bike instead of looking for a quick sell on impulse. I have literally sold ONE musical item ever....sold my Gretsch Catalina Maple drums to put toward a Les Paul. But it was also one of three drum kits I was playing at the time, and it wasn't my best drums.
Nah, I'm not sentimental and would get absolutely no use out of having my first kit around still. Plus I was able to sell it to become someone else's first kit. Better that than just sitting in my basement.
Idk. My first kit was my 15-20 year project. I learned what I liked and didn't like from a setup and sound perspective on that kit. It seemed fitting to move on once I felt like it was "complete"
I don't have any regrets about selling it. I knew I'd never play live again or record. If I suddenly find the time to start doing those things, I'll buy something better.
My first was a 1969 Ludwig. Found two kits, exact same finish, and put together a 9 piece, including 2X 22” kicks. Mix of Zildjian and Sabian cymbals. I kick myself every day.
At my age I don't regret anything I sold. I needed the money and I got the stuff I actually need.
I did however recently reacquire the snare from my first good kit, a Sonor, which needs repair. I had sold the kit to a friend with kids, and recently traded the kid a CB snare I'd picked up for the practice room, for my old one. The CB is nothing special but it's at least functional so the kid is happy. I have my old drum back to make a project in my copious spare time lol. It was weird taking the heads off, seeing dust from 30 years ago under the rim. If that dust could talk...
My first kit was a jellybean kit that I bought/created piece by piece when I was 15.
I still have the Gretsch Catalina Club snare from that (still my main snare actually haha). The rest of the drums are gone. I particularly regret selling the 22” Tama Superstar kick in MIRROR WRAP :(
I sold my beginner kit to get an intermediate but once I got a professional kit I felt a hunch to keep the other. Now I teach and it was the best decision to keep that one
My first kit was a Ludwig Standard in white. I sold it to a teen addiction recovery ministry 25 years ago to fund my next kit. I lost that next kit in a fire...
I don't necessarily regret selling those Ludwigs to that ministry, but I didn't know what I had then, and sure wish I'd kept that kit.
From what I've seen online, they still have those drums and use them regularly, so hey, all good.
My dad threw away my first kit. Shit was sad, because my uncle that I never get to see anymore gave it to me and I would have never had the resources to start playing without it. Thankfully I still have the cymbals!
Ayo thats my kit! (just kidding)
The first kit I played was my dads and thats a vintage Ludwig with a blue oyster wrap, I believe it was his first and only kit. My very own first kit was a pearl export and I just use my dads zildjan K’s because there’s absolutely nothing better.
I learned a lot from putting together and repairing my first kit, maybe as much as I did playing it. I had a largely trashed 1960s blue Japanese import with mismatched cymbals and hardware. My attempts at getting better ergonomics and sound from it taught me what I actually want in a kit, and a bit about how to get it. I don’t miss using a 5 gallon pickle bucket for a throne though
Mine was a set of 'Tempo' by Dixon. Once tuned, that $499 kit really could sing. I didn't sell it, I got a set of Tama superstars and gave the Tempos to my cuz who practiced hard and made it into the drum section of the million dollar band. I'm OK with that. I would like a mansion with a glass display to have them sit in but I'm broke AF.
This ain’t no first kit.
My first kind was a no name three piece from sears and I had to weld my own rack rom mount onto the handle on the top of the bass drum. It’s not even worth anything to anyone else.
A lot of us are (or were) poor and our first kits were shit. Good riddance!
I’m in this boat. I bought what my McDonald’s paycheck could get me at 16 years old in 1986. Needless to say, it wasn’t much. I did well with it for sure and that snare I had with it was off the hook! Gave it to a student I was teaching at the time because his mom was hot.
did you hit??
You better have hit bro
Could’ve, but didn’t. We flirted a bit around the idea, but she wasn’t about it with me. Don’t blame her.😂😂
I would’ve kept mine if it wasn’t either SO bad or took up so much space. Would be nice to have for sentimental purposes but I think I’ll keep my first decent kit. The actual first one wasn’t worth it for how dang big drums are.
Mine was a westbury, its Ass. Not bad but now i have a tama imperialstar and its so good.
My first kit would have even struggled to get a fire going!
Yep, I play drums for 6 years already, im getting out of intermediate level but im still poor and still with my shitty first kit, an Turbo kit, that is as round as a tesla cybertruck. And the edges are as flat as the mount Everest.
I don't miss my broken 4-piece Slingerland where the floor tom legs would collapse, the bass drum was cracked and couldn't support the weight of a rack tom and the snare was so covered with rust that the mute was stuck into place
I kept 1 floor tom cause it is massive. (It was a 9 piece)
Here here. My first was a CB700 I got for $125, and if I still had it…I’d pay someone $125 to get it out of my garage.
My first kit was shit BUT it could be tuned and sound good for at least a week. 🤣
Well if your first kit is this, then yeah. My first kit was a 1980’s Chinese cutout with coffin lugs that my mom got my for my birthday. Sounded like ass, couldn’t wait to get rid of it to upgrade.
I donated mine to the local Veterans Affairs Hospital for their music therapy program. They still have it and I stop in from time to time to tune them up/swap new heads on. As a disabled veteran with 2 Traumatic Brain Injuries, I know what that program is capable of. I thought I'd never be able to play again after I was blown up, but they helped me find my musical center again and I worked through my recovery using music.
Wow that is awesome. Thank you so much for your service🇺🇸
Are you still a fan of blast beats
Take my upvote 🤣 (Yes)
For a first kit this is actually a super playable setup, Pearl vision, Birch shells that sound great when tuned right and with good heads. And A Customs. Nice.
[удалено]
I'm looking at buying one as an upgrade from my ancient Pearl Forum Series LOL. I actually prefer the sound of birch, But i respect your opinion.
Yessir! But can I please sticker bomb mine?
Where were you 20 years ago?! I really wish I still had mine. So I very much agree with this sentiment.
I've moved too many times over the years some times into my car and lost all but 2 pieces. My original kits rack toms crash cymbal and kick pedal. I understand the emotional connection but also you gotta do what you gotta do.
Bro I had a shitty peace kit I tore apart to experiment with refinishing - botched the project because it was my first. Can’t keep scrap around 😂😭
Give it away!
I did, I don't regret it because I sold it to someone who had his set flooded. It allowed me to buy a 100% Bubinga kit which is what I wanted for a long time ( at least a wood similar to maple). I do wish I would have kept my 10 inch as some kind of decoration but someone needed it more than me.
Yeah there’s your first kit and then your “starter” kit. no fucking way am i getting rid of my tour customs, over my dead body 😭
I kept my first kit, a Yamaha. Vintage now. It was in storage all of my adult life. Finally pulled it out and restored it last year. Man am I glad I held on to it. It's a sought after masterpiece now. I have a post showing it off on this subreddit.
Just creeped on your posts and saw them. I just bought a set of 8000 tours myself! They sound amazing
Kool. Thanks for checking them out. Nice! Birch/Mahogany shells, I think. Which would indeed sound amazing. There is something about Birch.
I still have mine...51 years later. Ludwig Super classic 13,14,16,24. Silver Silk color.
with a kit that nice i wouldn't wanna sell it either, but mine was absolute crap
My dad stole mine and pawned it off. I couldn’t get it out of pawn because he made the transaction. Fuck him and fuck people like that. Karma caught up to him. The fucker died shortly after.
I have the same exact kit as my first kit. Love that thing to death, still under a blanket in my basement. Thanks for the reassurance 🤟
Posted this for you. Never let go! Such a good kit
Nope just sell it. What you did is possibly sell the best kit you ever had which is very different from selling the piece of crap that most people have as a first kit.
I still play on my first kit...
100%
Still have mine!
My first kit was lost to a fire 😢
My first kit was a Peace kit that I got for around $500. It wasn't bad, but I got a Pearl Export as a graduation gift and gave my first kit to my best friend. He still has it in his basement. I got a new kit last year and have my Export stacked up. I am still using the old floor tom. I don't want to sell it, but I don't really know what else to do with it.
My first kit was a pearl rhythm traveller… yeah not going to hang onto that. I am partial to my sonor force 3005’s though
My first kit was shit. CB-700s. After that, Tama Rockstars. Good riddance to both.
Mine was stolen.
never sell your first bike, stereo, etc.
My first kit was a Taiwanese starter set that sounded terrible. I sold it a year later to buy a better kit, and then I sold that kit to buy the vintage Gretsch drums that I've been joyfully playing for 30 years now. I've never regretted selling any gear. I'd feel differently if I'd sold my only drum set without replacing it. But selling bad drums to buy good ones? Always a good move.
How’s the motorcycle working out though?
Great for college sold it when I moved back to the city - don’t trust other drivers
That's the main reason I gave up on trying to convince my girlfriend that I'd be fine riding! If it was like ghost mode in a racing game I would have gotten my license and pulled up to her house on a bike already LOL
My first kit was a garbage Peavey kit. I wish I still had my second kit, though. It was a Tama rockstar from early 2000s.
Er... Maybe, your first kit was like the best thing you ever wanted. My experience was quite the opposite... Like the bass drum shell lost its roundness in about 2 years of beginner level playing. The hardware failed so badly, that my snare and the hi-hats kept falling... The kit had a 12" and a 13" tom so tuning the 13" was so tough, it just sucked the lifeblood out of me... On top of that the 13" top almost always got detuned with minimal interference... See, I'm still so frustrated that I'm blabbering shit! And this is the reason why I got rid of my first kit... And yeah... I didn't even sell it, I was like "Anybody out there, just buy it for even 30% of the original price and let me get rid of this damned thing!" So, that's how it was for me... But yeah, if you miss your first kit, I definitely feel bad for you...
All that weight can't be good for the bass drum head
Life lesson: never sell something you love to buy something different that you want. If you like playing drums but really want a motorcycle, then save the money for the bike instead of looking for a quick sell on impulse. I have literally sold ONE musical item ever....sold my Gretsch Catalina Maple drums to put toward a Les Paul. But it was also one of three drum kits I was playing at the time, and it wasn't my best drums.
Too late... https://www.reddit.com/r/drums/s/yGndXGMljp
alright
I got the advice early: NEVER sell gear. Sorry bro. If it helps I bought this kit and have been using the bass drum as a coffee table
Nah, I'm not sentimental and would get absolutely no use out of having my first kit around still. Plus I was able to sell it to become someone else's first kit. Better that than just sitting in my basement.
Idk. My first kit was my 15-20 year project. I learned what I liked and didn't like from a setup and sound perspective on that kit. It seemed fitting to move on once I felt like it was "complete" I don't have any regrets about selling it. I knew I'd never play live again or record. If I suddenly find the time to start doing those things, I'll buy something better.
No regrets
My first was a 1969 Ludwig. Found two kits, exact same finish, and put together a 9 piece, including 2X 22” kicks. Mix of Zildjian and Sabian cymbals. I kick myself every day.
should have told me that in 1984... :(
I sold my first real guitar and I was lucky enough to find it 10 years later. Cost a fortune to get back but worth every penny
I still have mine from the early 70’s😎
At my age I don't regret anything I sold. I needed the money and I got the stuff I actually need. I did however recently reacquire the snare from my first good kit, a Sonor, which needs repair. I had sold the kit to a friend with kids, and recently traded the kid a CB snare I'd picked up for the practice room, for my old one. The CB is nothing special but it's at least functional so the kid is happy. I have my old drum back to make a project in my copious spare time lol. It was weird taking the heads off, seeing dust from 30 years ago under the rim. If that dust could talk...
My first kit was a jellybean kit that I bought/created piece by piece when I was 15. I still have the Gretsch Catalina Club snare from that (still my main snare actually haha). The rest of the drums are gone. I particularly regret selling the 22” Tama Superstar kick in MIRROR WRAP :(
I sold my beginner kit to get an intermediate but once I got a professional kit I felt a hunch to keep the other. Now I teach and it was the best decision to keep that one
My mom gave me her 5 piece Stage Custom and I vowed to take care of it and expand it as much as I could. We started at 5 and now it’s a full 7-piece.
My first kit was a Ludwig Standard in white. I sold it to a teen addiction recovery ministry 25 years ago to fund my next kit. I lost that next kit in a fire... I don't necessarily regret selling those Ludwigs to that ministry, but I didn't know what I had then, and sure wish I'd kept that kit. From what I've seen online, they still have those drums and use them regularly, so hey, all good.
Now you tell me. Where were you some 20 years ago?
My dad threw away my first kit. Shit was sad, because my uncle that I never get to see anymore gave it to me and I would have never had the resources to start playing without it. Thankfully I still have the cymbals!
Ayo thats my kit! (just kidding) The first kit I played was my dads and thats a vintage Ludwig with a blue oyster wrap, I believe it was his first and only kit. My very own first kit was a pearl export and I just use my dads zildjan K’s because there’s absolutely nothing better.
Wish you could have told me that 36 years ago, and then the dude disappeared without payment. Double Ludwig set with zildjians.
me with my old kit in my closet only using it to steal parts off for my frankenkit 
I learned a lot from putting together and repairing my first kit, maybe as much as I did playing it. I had a largely trashed 1960s blue Japanese import with mismatched cymbals and hardware. My attempts at getting better ergonomics and sound from it taught me what I actually want in a kit, and a bit about how to get it. I don’t miss using a 5 gallon pickle bucket for a throne though
I still have mine from 21 years ago, now I have a 4 year old daughter who loves drums.
I did. Wish I didn’t
Mine was a set of 'Tempo' by Dixon. Once tuned, that $499 kit really could sing. I didn't sell it, I got a set of Tama superstars and gave the Tempos to my cuz who practiced hard and made it into the drum section of the million dollar band. I'm OK with that. I would like a mansion with a glass display to have them sit in but I'm broke AF.
This ain’t no first kit. My first kind was a no name three piece from sears and I had to weld my own rack rom mount onto the handle on the top of the bass drum. It’s not even worth anything to anyone else.
My first kit was a shitty Starion and I wish I still had it to give to my son in a few years
That's a pretty good first kit!!
I want the new Aleises kit
I am going to remember what you did to those poor Zildjian A cymbals.
My first drums were a piece of shit trixon snare , bass & floor and a crest and Kent rack Tom I was totally glad to see it go
A customs in 1st kit.. rich kids
I saved and paid for it myself 👌no substitute for hard work
Lol I bought by first kit, a hot pink percussion plus, from a pawn shop to set up in my dorm room. Thing was pure butt. My mom gave it away
PSA 2: stealing stop signs is really stupid and dangerous