Anyone know anything about drums? Is this a good purchase?

[bigsur78]

So I've been working on some music with a friend of mine, doing kind of sparse rustic stuff, him on a tele through an old traynor tube amp and me on piano and occasional lap steel. We need some beats to give it structure but there's a real dearth of drummers around here. Lately we've been thinking that having my friend stomp on a kick drum while playing guitar might work.
I found this guy on the local online classifieds, sounds like he's willing to part with this bass drum and throw in an old but working kick pedal for $50 all in. I don't know anything about drums and am wondering if this is a good purchase. The drum is missing the front hoop and skin and needs some legs. Any opinions? Is there a better route to go? Here's the ad for the drum:

http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell ... Z210678046

[pacemaker]

Fifty bucks for a no-name Japanese kick drum in need of repair is not a good deal. Trust me: you'll try to find a front hoop and legs to fit it, and nothing will work. More trouble than it's worth, methinks. For the kind of sound you're describing, maybe go simpler, cheaper, and more - yes - rustic: a galvanized metal washtub from your local hardware store, turned upside down. Your buddy can prop a foot up there and keep time, whether he's standing or sitting. It has a woofy low end akin to a kick drum, but more unique. Also gives your already unusual setup that much more weirdo cred. And all for half (maybe even less than half) the cost of the kick drum.

[bigsur78]

ok... but say we don't want to use a washtub but actually want a drum...
how much can i expect to pay for a good one? a lot more than $50? At some point, isn't $50 a good deal for a beater? or could i find something better for the same price?

[pacemaker]

but say we don't want to use a washtub but actually want a drum...

Ha ha ha... OK, OK... I see your point.

My biggest concern would be getting legs that fit - I have a Slingerland kit I had a hell of a time finding legs to fit. You could always prop it up with bricks or whatnot, I guess.

What kinda kick pedal is thrown in with the deal? I'm just thinking you could find something cheaper... I dunno.

[panoramic]

I just sold a complete set for $125, maybe you should enlist "patience"

[bigsur78]

Patience, eh? Not always easy for me.
I'd love to find a usable kit for $125...

[panoramic]

there is a full set on toronto cl for $200, maybe you just need to look better

[bigsur78]

there is a full set on toronto cl for $200, maybe you just need to look better

$200 ain't $125, nor is $125 $50.
Trying to do this on the ultra cheap, hence the lingering urge to grab the drum/pedal and make do.
But thanks for looking.

[panoramic]

you won't be able to make do with just a bass drum and pedal man

[bigsur78]

this is kind of what I had in mind:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=387ft_NX ... re=related

or this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09uhKZJ60Ow

just an idea we had, trying to get there cheaply. no doubt a drumset would be nice as well, just different.

[bigsur78]

another example, though I'd probably need a good set of legs for this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9nO3r-V3h4

[Grandbag]

Have a look for 70s Pearl stuff like this
http://cgi.ebay.com/PEARL-BASS-Drum-Japanese ... 19bd42a91c
They sound great and you can barely give away orphan drums. They're probably the best sounding deal for under 100 bucks on the market.

[bigsur78]

Thanks for all the help, but I basically ignored y'all and bought it anyway!
The guy came down to $40 and I now have a "vintage" no-name japanese kick drum. He also found the legs, which I was happy about.
It sounds great, though at the moment I have some pillows installed to keep the neighbours happy.
Time to get my stomp on!

[noisepunk]

Have you ever heard of Bob Log? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TevCyeErZUs Seems like he might be a good influence...

It would really cool if you could somehow rig up a stare and cymbal to a couple of drum pedals and one of you could play the bass and snare and the other could play the cymbal and a hi-hat I know, piano and pedal steel both kind of keep your feet occupied... it would just be cool...

[bigsur78]

Have you ever heard of Bob Log? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TevCyeErZUs Seems like he might be a good influence...

It would really cool if you could somehow rig up a stare and cymbal to a couple of drum pedals and one of you could play the bass and snare and the other could play the cymbal and a hi-hat I know, piano and pedal steel both kind of keep your feet occupied... it would just be cool...

ha... not sure I'll get my buddy into the helmet/microphone getup. but thanks for the vid. I like his little hihat machine for the left foot, I can see us trying to rig up something like that. The goal is simplicity though... I'm aware we're in danger of straying into cheezy one-man band territory and would like to steer clear of this sort of thing: