Edit, March 21, 2022:
I received the kit, and am currently in the process of acquiring new heads for it since the ones it came with just aren’t sounding as good as I thought they would. However, the drum kit itself sounds absolutely amazing. The tone is exactly what I was looking for, and the cymbals I got for it work wonderfully. Be on the look out for a future post where I’ll do an audio walkthrough of the kit and cymbal setup I use.
***Original Post***
For the past 16 years or so, I’ve been a drummer. I was 12 when I was given my first kit by the church I attended at the time, and ever since then I’ve had a deep love for percussion and drumming in general. Fast forward to now, and I’m in the process of getting a custom drum kit built by a drum maker out in California. But why? What led to me making the choice to do this?
It’s really quite simple. I wanted to get a kit that I could use when I got gigs, which I’m currently working on. The kit I had before the one I’m getting built was a Mapex, though I’m unsure of the exact model. The thing sounded amazing and was incredibly inspiring to play, but it wasn’t very portable, considering it had 4 toms (10, 12, 14 and 16, with the 14 and 16 being mounted on a separate tom stand) and an 18×22 inch kick drum. If you’ve ever tried to move a kit that size, you’ll understand just how much of a right old pain in the ass it would have been to gig with. Also, I was starting to get more into jazz, funk and so on, and the Mapex, while it was an incredible sounding instrument, was just a bit too much in terms of what I was looking for when it came to volume, tone Etc. So I got to talking with a friend and he recommended I go the custom route even if it was a bit more expensive (spoiler alert, it wasn’t nearly as pricy as I thought it’d be.) After giving it some thought, I agreed to do that and my friend and I started looking at my options.
I was originally going to get a drum kit made by Taye Drums (the word Taye is pronounced "tie," as in bowtie) but after I received the price quote for the kit with the add-ons I wanted, it was no longer an option with which I felt comfortable. So my friend and I kept looking around until we found the current person I’m working with, Rene Audette, who is the founder of a company called Billy Blast Drums. I asked for a price quote for a kit with dimensions I felt would work well, and the rate I got was far less than I had been expecting (without shipping the cost of building the kit was $995.00, and the shipping was an extra $95.00.) I wanted to make sure I was getting a good deal, so I had my friend contact another drum builder he knew with the same kit demensions and config for a price. As it turns out, the other builder basically said, "Go with your original choice. I have no idea how he’s building these kits at prices like this, but that’s a damn good deal. Grab it while you can." FYI, the total cost of the kit was just under $1100.00, which is not a bad price for a custom build no matter how you look at it.
So I thought on it for a while, and eventually made the choice to go with that builder. I knew I’d have to sell the Mapex kit to fund the purchase of the custom, but that was a choice I was willing to make. I figured, "Hey. I’ll be able to gig with this kit far more effectively than I would with the Mapex, and the price was right. I see no reason to not do this."
So now we fast forward another few weeks. The Mapex kit was sold in a very quick period of time, which I was definitely not expecting. I’m contacting the builder just to make sure everything is settled with getting the custom kit built (I’m emailing him at this point since I don’t yet have his number saved in my phone.) Well, the cash for the Mapex comes in, and I place the order for the custom kit. We had to place the order through paypal because there was a problem with the builder’s payment system (Apparently, it hated my debit card), but we got it all sorted out.
So as of December 7, 2021, my kit is being built. If all goes well I should have it by the end of this month (January) or the beginning of February. I’ve already purchased and received the cymbals I wanted, and the hardware(cymbal stands, kick drum pedal and drum throne) wasn’t needed since I had kept those from my last kit, all aside from the tom stand which went with the Mapex. So now, it’s just a matter of waiting for the kit to finish being built and shipped here to Texas. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing how it sounds and plays! I’ll try to post some audio once I receive the kit and get it set up and tuned. Until then, I bid you all farewell!