Drums -- what next?

[bosk1]

As some here know, a couple of weeks ago, I picked up a used Ludwig 5-piece with 14" Zildjian hi-hat and 18" Zildjian crash ride.  I earned a little bit of bonus money this last week and am going to add another cymbal.  What should I get next?

[WDADU]

A ride. Use your Zildjian Crash/Ride just as a crash now. Get a good ride cymbal. I use a 20'' Sabian AA Metal X Ride and it cost around $175 and it sounds great. Go to your local music/drum shop and test out some rides. Whatever sounds good to you, get it. Average size for a ride cymbal is 20-22''. Good luck!

[sneakyblueberry]

Cowbell.  More cowbell.

[bosk1]

I was seriously thinking about picking up a nice ride.  The price was a bit offputting, and a few people at MP.com suggested a 16" crash, which ended up being cheaper, so I went that route.  And I have to say, I LOVE it!  The sound is great, and it's nice having a crash over by the hi-hat as well as the ride I can crash on over on the other side.  The sound and feel of it are just great.  I don't have a lot of experience playing and testing different equipment, obviously, so I don't have a lot to compare it to.  But it really has a nice sound, and I'll just leave it at that. 

Oh, it's a Zildjian ZBT 16".  Not high end, but good enough and then some.

[Dimitrius]

I have that crash, it does his work.

You have to get a ride next. Might I suggest the 20" A Custom or Z Custom. And don't get stuck to just one brand, Sabian makes a lot of great ride cymbals (and other cymbals).

[bosk1]

Yeah, I might get a more proper ride next.  But I don't know.  I'm out of stands, so I'll have to either get more stands, extensions, or a rack if I want to add more.  I tend to think my next piece a little bit down the road will be a double bass pedal.

[Jamesman42]

Just hire me as a bassist to jam with. I'm not that expensive, but I do expect a hot dinner every night.

[Dimitrius]

Yeah, I might get a more proper ride next.  But I don't know.  I'm out of stands, so I'll have to either get more stands, extensions, or a rack if I want to add more.  I tend to think my next piece a little bit down the road will be a double bass pedal.

If you don't want the hassle of stands, definitely get a rack.

But for your next cymbal you need a proper ride.

[setrataeso]

There really is no pattern to what you should and shouldn't have on your kit.
A ride seems like a logical next step, but continuing on from there...i dunno get everything.
Double pedals/bass drums give you a lot more options on how and what to play, but I wouldn't recommend them until you are fully comfortable with one bass drum.
Adding accessories like tambourines, cowbells, and smaller splash cymbals are cool.
Of course, you could go the metal route and get tons more drums. Timbalitos, octobans, toms, and whatnot can add a lot to your sound, but also to how big your kit is.
Either way, I recommend that you go nuts once you're comfortable with the standard kit.

[OsMosis2259]

Bosk, I pretty much have the same type of kit as yours. Except i just use 1 tom and a floor tom. I still consider myself just somewhat better than a beginner so I dont want to go all out yet.  I think playing a smaller kit is better at first.

What kinds of stuff do you like to play? Ive been getting into a lot Muse songs like Stockholm Syndrome, Hysteria and Knight of Cydonia. They are fun songs to play and rock out too

[bosk1]

Either way, I recommend that you go nuts once you're comfortable with the standard kit.

Yeah, I absolutely want to just get comfortable with the standard kit first.  But I did feel the kit was lacking on the cymbal side prior to this purchase, so I was just trying to get some good advice as to what direction to go.  Overall, I'm glad I went the route I did.  As I said, I love the crash I got.  And the 18" crash ride I have sounds decent as either a crash or a ride, so it's nice to have something versatile for the time being.  And since a nice 20" or 22" ride is going to be more expensive, I can take my time, develop my skills and my ear for what sounds I like before shelling out the money for one.  The only thing I'll probably add in the near future is a cowbell, just because...well, can you ever have enough?    And I can get one cheap, so...  Later on, once I've got a fair amount of skill on the basic kit, I'll probably add the double bass pedal and ride cymbal. 

Bosk, I pretty much have the same type of kit as yours. Except i just use 1 tom and a floor tom. I still consider myself just somewhat better than a beginner so I dont want to go all out yet.  I think playing a smaller kit is better at first.

What kinds of stuff do you like to play? Ive been getting into a lot Muse songs like Stockholm Syndrome, Hysteria and Knight of Cydonia. They are fun songs to play and rock out too

As far as my own playing, I've only been at it a couple of weeks, so my repertoire is pretty small.  Just some '80s stuff, as I posted above.  Anything I can play a simple 4/4 beat to.  When I was at the gym last night, Dark Chest of Wonders came on my iPod and I thought to myself that it would be fun to play, and I could just play it as a simple rock beat.  So when I got him, after warming up on some more mid-tempo songs, I put that one on and played along.  It was a lot faster than what I'm used to, so it challenged me.  But it was a lot of fun.  It's a bit of a longer song, and has a cool breakdown part in the middle to mess around with and change things up.

When I get together with my pals to jam, most of what we play is a variety of "classic rock" ('60s-'80s).  Sometimes, someone will want to jam a country song, or some blues, or something else.  But most of it is just straightforward rock.  Problem is, the guy who used to drum moved to Georgia in 2006, so we've been without anyone who really knows how to drum.  When my wife recently gave the okay to get a drum kit for the kids to learn on, I jumped all over it.