I will echo what everyone else is saying. Go full size at the least. Think of it like learning web-dev. Would you rather start out learning with FrontPage, or Eclipse & (languageofchoice)? ;)
As far as brand, I am a loyal Tama man myself. You can't really go wrong with the brand names. It is all personal preference. Think of it as if you were buying a car. Quality does matter. Test drive whatever you can find. I like how Tamas sound but don't care for Pearl, for example. All of the incidental choices are crazy. Do you want, high/middle/low end full sized? Steel or wood snare? Paiste or Ziljian cymbals? K series? A series? You can get a lot of good information from your local music stores as long as you go in not completely uninformed. Finding out the preferences of her teacher and why those preferences are, is a very good place to start. Also, look at the manufacturers web sites. You can find out a lot without even leaving the house. http://www.tama.com http://www.sonor.com http://www.pearldrum.com http://zildjian.com http://paiste.com Electronic drums were mentioned, but are .. ehhhhh, artificial feeling to me. The stuff that can be done with them is amazing. Plug your MIDI drum device into your computer, assign a patch and have at it :) http://www.alternatemode.com Do think of it as a major purchasing decisions. If you go for any quality at all, it will be a pretty big financial investment. Were I one of the twins, I would label you as one of the coolest parents to ever have existed. My parents made me pay for mine*. =-/ (* Ran a paper route for 4 years to pay for it. Was when I learned what it really meant to work for something I wanted. $4,000 and 20 years later, I still have that original kit and the life lesson. =-p) As to your specific question: Gammon is good for an entry level kit. They skimp a little on the bass drum, snare and ride cymbal dimensions, but make up for it with some decent double-braced hardware. The snare size/quality isn't really an issue. Most serious drummers have more than one snare, or at least upgrade the one they have ASAP. The only concern I would have is the size of the bass drum. It is the most expensive thing to upgrade and should really be a determining factor in the purchase. This is where the "try before you buy" thing comes into play again. If she likes light and feathery like jazz, then the smaller drum would probably do her for several years. If she wants to be able to pound on it like she has a gorilla foot, then not so much. The hardware is the most expensive "do-nothing" of a kit. It takes a chunk out of your wallet up front and offers no immediate ROI. Cheap hardware *will* fail on you, however. Anything decent will last a lifetime. This is where the Gammon's come through. Any chain driven hardware is doubleplusgood. The cymbals aren't even mentioned by name, which means they are probably crap. With good hardware, changing them to something better, later is as easy as picking new ones and getting no less than you pay for. Aaaaannnnnd once again this all comes back to taste. What matters most is how it sounds to you/her. One of my rides is a heavy thing best used in a heavy metal type flailing. I don't like that kind of music. I have it because it makes a nice, clear ping that I like. I have one set of hi-hats that are heavy and another set that are thin that were made in the 60's. Different era. Different sound. OK, book done. Full size. Gammon is good. Upgrades through ebay. Teacher should instruct on care and tuning/warn you of any future expenses related to (Yes, there can be many). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Order the Adobe Coldfusion Anthology now! http://www.amazon.com/Adobe-Coldfusion-Anthology-Michael-Dinowitz/dp/1430272155/?tag=houseoffusion Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/message.cfm/messageid:325844 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/unsubscribe.cfm
