Whether you're set out to make a brand new 5 piece custom drum set or have plans to give some old drums a face lift, I'm sure you're curious to know how much drum making "really costs."
Below you'll see three different drum makers' situations: one making a brand new drum set, one giving an old drum set a very exotic look, and another taking a recently purchased drum set and giving it a more personalized look.
First up is Jason:it's his first time committing to a drum making project and he purchased all new shells, drum hardware and finishing materials. This includes the few tools and supplies needed as well, since Jason doesn't have a thing and he's starting from ground zero.
Jason is making a 4 piece set, going for an eye catching Green stain with a thick tung oil finish, alternating black and brass tube lugs with matching tension rods and floating tom systems. Jason ended up spending around ,428.00 and now has a completely new custom drum set. If Jason were to call up any custom drum manufacturer, this set would cost him anywhere from ,500 to ,500.
Chris, who is re-making his 5 piece drum set ended up using his current setup. This slashed lot of cost on drum shells and hardware. Chris' goal? Give that baby a drum making facelift with a very nice Birdseye wood veneer stained black with a satin finish. Besides already having drum shells and hardware, he also has a few necessary supplies laying around the house which also cut back on his costs. His total drum making project ends up being about 0.00.
Our third and last drum making lab rat Keith is re-wrapping a PDP drum set that he bought a few months ago off of eBay that cost him 9.00. Keith is perfectly fine with his drum set, but wants to give it a more personalized look; anyone who walks in a drum shop could buy that PDP kit that he has so he wants something a little more unique.
So Keith wants to re-wrap the drums and he also found some new custom lugs to replace the current lugs (the new lugs fit the drill holes that his PDP lugs left behind). Keith doesn't need too many tools but does have to invest in a few new supplies for his project. His entire drum making project cost about 0.00.
As you can see, all of these drum making expenses fall within an unofficial drum making price of about ,000. We know it can be done for less cost but still sound amazing. And we also know it can be done for more money.
Can you do it for less?
