The 10 Best Drum Sets Under $1000

One look at the Pearl Decade Maple and you know that this drum set means business. With the classic look and 6-ply maple wood, it’s a professional set that is perfect for almost any style of playing.

It’s also one of the few complete drum sets for under a thousand that uses maple wood. There are also a variety of colors available, giving you the option to flaunt your style however you please.

The resonance on these drums is gorgeous thanks to the thick maple shells. You can create some pretty thunderous tones with the toms too, as they come with an opti-loc to ensure that they don’t wobble when hit.

The other hardware includes uni-lock, gearless tom arms, and air suspension floor tom feet, helping to give these drums a signature tone and feel as you bang away.

All of this and you get a limited lifetime warranty, which tells you how sure of this set Pearl is.

The Gammon full-sized adult kit is the perfect budget kit for drummers who are new to the game and need a full set to start. It comes with everything you need including cymbals, hardware, sticks, a throne, and even an extra boom cymbal for safekeeping!

The hardware is double-braced for extra durability, and you get 20 lug bass upgrades for a more pro look and sound. One of the great things about this set is that it comes ready to play right out of the box, which is fantastic, as tuning can be daunting for first time players.

It even comes with a key in case you want to take a shot at your own custom tuning.

With high-quality Sabian SBR cymbals and traditional Ludwig teardrop lugs, the Gretsch Energy kit is an instant classic. This beginner-intermediate 5-piece kit is incredibly versatile, giving you just about everything you need to play most styles of music.

It also comes with some of the more widely used dimensions like the 22” bass drum. For a kit well under a grand, we’re surprised as to how incredible the wood snare sounds on this thing. From the Gretsch look to the sound, it’s got it all.

The 7-ply poplar on this kit is the reason why they’re able to sell it for so cheap, though it still sounds fantastic. The rack toms are made to be a bit shallower than most, making them perfect for drummers of all sizes, especially beginners.

The hardware includes some double-braced chrome stands that are durable and lightweight, making them excellent to gig with.

The Pearl Export has been around for quite a while, though in the past few years they have made some serious upgrades that put it in the ranks for one of the best beginner-intermediate level kits around.

With superior poplar and Asian Mahogany shells with a 6-ply configuration and Pearl’s opti-loc, rack mounting system, you’re getting a surprisingly high-quality kit for the amount you’re paying.

The shell build is something to be proud of, as you won’t find a combo like that in many other drum kits within this price range.

This particular set does not come with cymbals, though you can upgrade to Sabian’s SBR series pack for an extra cost.

You can purchase the kit in wrapped or lacquer finishes in a wide variety of different colors and styles to best fit your personality.

The Ludwig Element Evolution is the perfect intermediate kit for the drummer who is looking to step up to the next level.

his beautiful kit comes with 6-ply poplar shells that give you a large, open tone and warm, low overtones for that sweet, chest pounding punch that will get people grooving at the club.

Whether you are laying down some ultra-fat rock backbeats or groovy latin rhythms, the Element Evolution will be there for you.

This bad boy comes complete with Ludwig’s durable, double-braced hardware, thick, triple-flange hoops, and classic keystone lugs for that traditional look.

Not many “budget” drum kits come with a solid set of cymbals, so we were happy to find out that the Ludwig Element comes with a Zildjian ZBT series set. They sound great and can be smacked to no end without cracking.

We’d be surprised if you had never been graced by the wonderful sounds of Yamaha’s birch kits. They’ve been making them forever, and they’ve always sounded incredible.

This particular kit comes with 6-ply shells, each 6.6mm thick with a straight-sided, butt-jointed design. Of course, Yamaha’s unique diagonal seams make the shells a stand out from others on the market.

The bass drums on Yamaha kits have always been a favorite of mine too. They give you that massive, low-end tone with tons of resonance and a soft decay. The toms are similar to the kick in that sense as well, helping you to cut through the rest of the band as you fill to the day’s end.

Thanks to the birch design, you can easily tune the toms to get a quicker and more focused sound. The same goes for the snare, as you can tune it tight to get that whip and crack, making it great for deep funk.

A few years back, PDP decided to put out a birch and maple drum kit at a price that didn’t break the bank. DW has always been known for its high-end, custom drum kits, so the fact that they provide drums at this price is pretty awesome.

There are a lot of impressive features on this kit that reflect more high-end kits. One of those features is the tuning rods, which are true pitch, and allow you to tune your drums more accurately. When you consider the thick hoops as well, you have drums that are close to pitch-perfect.

The copper snare wires included give your snare a nice snap, and the lacquer finish create a wonderfully high-grade tone.

Beyond that, you get a stunning look with the circular lugs and dual-turret legs. DW even put their logo on the bottom of the kick, something we’ve never seen with PDP before.

The Tama Imperialstar 5-Piece Drum Set gives you everything you need to rock, including some high-quality Meinl HCS cymbals.

The Imperialstar line has been a favorite of Tama fans for a long time, and now they’ve upgraded heavily. One of the main upgrades is the double-braced tripod and top-tier hardware.

The shells are made from an 8-ply poplar with an incredibly bold sound. Imperialstar worked uniquely in the design to glue the entirety of the shells’ surfaces rather than spot gluing them. This provides an open tone with tons of resonance, which also helps to get rid of buzzing.

One of the other unique things about the Imperialstar 5-Piece is the precision-bearing edge design, which helps to give the drums an incredibly wide dynamic range. The action on the kick drum is smooth as butter thanks to the included Cobra 200 kick pedal.

Lastly, you can pick between a black nickel or vintage red finish too, each of which is absolutely gorgeous.

The Mapex Rebel 5-Piece is an excellent drum set for anyone that is just starting out in the world of drumming. With stands, cymbals, a throne, and five high-quality shell pieces.

The shells are made of a top-tier poplar that gives you a beautiful low-end and an energetic punch. The tom depth makes this set perfect for smaller adults or children who may have trouble reaching the rack toms.

The hardware on this set is pretty sturdy with the double-braced design, and the brand new Mapex lug design gives it that classy look that we know and love from higher-end Mapex kits.

In terms of the look,  there are a few different colors to choose from, each with a sleek finish that gives the drums the impression that they are far more expensive.

Ludwig is one of those brands that seems to bring the thunder no matter the price range that they are in. The Ludwig Accent 5-Piece is definitely on the budget side of things for Ludwig, though it delivers a high-quality sound that makes it functional for any drummer strapped for cash.

When you purchase the Ludwig Accent, you get five, 9-ply poplar shells, each with a 45-degree angle bearing edge, and one 16-inch crash, 20-inch ride, and hi-hats.

Ludwig has always been known to deliver a warmer, punchier tone. There is a lot of low-end energy and a buttery resonance that will provide shivers every time you hit the kick.

We dig how durable the 200-series hardware is, perfect for taking a beating when gigging. With that said, it’s a better kit for recording or playing at home than playing larger venues.