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Drums & Percussion

Sabian AAX MAXX Mike Portnoy Splash Cymbal
0 of 5 stars
from  Product Price  $144.99
Paiste Masters Dark Crash Ride
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $820.00
Pearl Top Tuned Djembe With PBJSTD Wood Djembe Stand
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $299.99
Zildjian K Custom Organic Ride Cymbal
5.0 of 5 stars (7)
Product Price  $539.95
Zildjian K Constantinople Bounce Ride
5.0 of 5 stars (3)
Product Price  $724.95
DW Collector's Series 3 mm Brushed Bronze Snare Drum
0 of 5 stars
from  Product Price  $1,149.00
MEINL Byzance Brilliant Trash Crash Cymbal
0 of 5 stars
from  Product Price  $369.99
MEINL Classics Custom Dual Ride Cymbal
0 of 5 stars
from  Product Price  $279.99
Sabian Todd Sucherman Sessions Ride Cymbal
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $699.99
Sabian HHX Max 22" Mike Portnoy Ride Cymbal
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $634.99
Open-Box LP World Beat Tube Drum
0 of 5 stars
LP Matador Pine Whiskey Barrel Bongos, with Black Hardware
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $269.99
Zildjian A Custom Hi-Hat Pair
5.0 of 5 stars (144)
Product Price  $539.95
MEINL Byzance Traditional Extra Hammered Hi-Hat Cymbals -
0 of 5 stars
from  Product Price  $559.99
Zildjian K Custom Dark Hi-Hat Cymbal Pair
5.0 of 5 stars (30)
Product Price  $629.95
Zildjian K Mastersound Hi-Hats
5.0 of 5 stars (18)
Product Price  $599.95
Sabian HHX Chinese Cymbal
5.0 of 5 stars (15)
from  Product Price  $479.99
Sabian STRATUS Ride Cymbal
0 of 5 stars
from  Product Price  $344.99
Ludwig NeuSonic 4-Piece Mod 2 Shell Pack With 22" Bass Drum
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $2,249.00
$1,439.36
Sabian AAX X-Celerator Hi-Hats
5.0 of 5 stars (23)
Product Price  $514.99
48-Month Financing*
Dream Contact Ride
0 of 5 stars
from  Product Price  $349.99
Or $13/month^ with 48 month
financing* Limited Time. Details
LP LP 60th Anniversary Top Tuning Fiberglass Conga with...
0 of 5 stars
from  Product Price  $789.99
Sabian Vault Artisan Medium Ride
5.0 of 5 stars (8)
Product Price  $864.99
Zildjian K Paper Thin Crash Cymbal
4.5 of 5 stars (2)
from  Product Price  $419.95
MEINL African Talking Drum
4.0 of 5 stars (5)
from  Product Price  $79.99
LP Performer Series Bongos -
0 of 5 stars
Product Price  $339.99
Used Ludwig 3 Piece 3 PIECE LEGACY MAHOGANY BLUE OYSTER...
Product Price  $2,749.99
$2,999.99
Excellent Condition
Used SABIAN 14in AAX Series Dark Crash Cymbal
Product Price  $189.99
$199.99
Excellent Condition
Used DW 14X6 Performance Series Snare BLACK Drum
Product Price  $349.99
$399.99
Excellent Condition
Used Tip Top BD909 Electric Drum Module
Product Price  $99.99
$129.99
Excellent Condition
Used Tycoon Percussion 30th Anniversary Cajon Cajon
Product Price  $199.99
$250.99
Excellent Condition
Used Ludwig 4.5X14 LM404 BLACKROLITE BLACK SPARKLE Drum
Product Price  $319.99
$344.99
Excellent Condition
Used Zildjian 14in A Custom Hi Hat Pair Cymbal
Product Price  $299.99
$349.99
Excellent Condition
Used SABIAN 14in AAX Medium Hats(pair) Cymbal
Product Price  $389.99
$414.99
Excellent Condition
Used TAMA 6X13 Artwood Snare Blue Burst Drum
Product Price  $179.99
$199.99
Excellent Condition
Used Mapex 5 Piece Saturn VI Natural Mapa Burl Drum Kit
Product Price  $1,799.99
$1,999.99
Excellent Condition
Used SABIAN 14in AAX Xplosion Fast Crash Cymbal
Product Price  $179.99
$199.99
Excellent Condition
Used Dc California 4 Piece CUSTOM MAHOGANY WHITE Drum Kit
Product Price  $1,699.99
$1,999.99
Excellent Condition
Used Orion 14in X10 Cymbal
Product Price  $174.99
$199.99
Excellent Condition
Used Velocity 5in SNARE BLUE SPARKLE Drum
Product Price  $129.99
$149.99
Excellent Condition
Used TAMA Octoban Hand Drum
Product Price  $349.99
$474.99
Excellent Condition
Used Gretsch Drums 4.5X14 Gergo Borlai Signature Brass Drum
Product Price  $499.99
$599.99
Excellent Condition
Used MEINL 21in C Squared Ride Cymbal
Product Price  $449.99
$499.99
Excellent Condition
Used 2020s Pearl 14X6.5 Ian Paice Signature Snare aluminum...
Product Price  $399.99
$524.99
Excellent Condition
Used Ludwig 3X13 IMPERIAL SNARE Maple Drum
Product Price  $299.99
$349.99
Excellent Condition
Used SABIAN 14in SR2 Medium Crash Cymbal
Product Price  $129.99
$144.99
Excellent Condition
Used SABIAN 16in SR2 Medium Ride Cymbal
Product Price  $139.99
$179.99
Excellent Condition
Used Ludwig 5 Piece Breakbeat Elite Complete Drumset Black...
Product Price  $749.99
$899.99
Excellent Condition
Used SABIAN 17in HH THIN CRASH Cymbal
Product Price  $199.99
$274.99
Excellent Condition
Used SABIAN 14in AA Medium Hi Hat Pair regular Cymbal
Product Price  $249.99
$349.99
Excellent Condition
Used DW 3 Piece Performance Series Dark Cherry Burst Drum...
Product Price  $1,799.99
$1,929.99
Excellent Condition
Used SABIAN 14in HHX Thin Crash Cymbal
Product Price  $219.99
$239.99
Excellent Condition
Used Ludwig 14in 110TH ANNIVERSARY CHROME OVER BRASS Chrome...
Product Price  $699.99
$899.99
Excellent Condition
Vintage 2014 DW 14X6.5 Neal Peart?Rush The Time Machine...
Product Price  $3,499.99
$3,999.99
Used Koide 20in 20" medium ride Cymbal
Product Price  $324.99
$429.99
Excellent Condition
Used Koide 14in 703 14 in Hi Hats Cymbal
Product Price  $399.99
$549.99
Excellent Condition
Used Koide 15in 15in Cadence Hihats Cymbal
Product Price  $324.99
$470.99
Excellent Condition
Used Paiste 20in 2002 Big Beat Ride Cymbal
Product Price  $369.99
$419.99
Excellent Condition
Used Orange County Drum & Percussion 6.5X14 Miscellaneous...
Product Price  $499.99
$590.99
Excellent Condition
Used Yamaha 6.5X14 SD765 MA SILVER SNARE Silver Drum
Product Price  $199.99
$249.99
Excellent Condition

About Drums

Drums and percussion are likely the second oldest musical instruments, beaten only by the voice itself. Percussion instruments produce sound by being struck, shaken, scraped or rubbed. Drums are just one member of the percussion family. They refer specifically to instruments with head or skin stretched over a shell. The technical term for the drum head is a membrane, making the drum a membranophone.

When you think about drums and percussion, your first thought might go to a drum set with a snare drum, rack toms, floor toms, bass drum, cymbals and cymbal stands. Perhaps you're a hand percussionist and drums to you are bongos, congas, timbales, cajons or even djembes. This just goes to show the wide variety of instruments within the drum and percussion category, and with such a long, rich history it’s easy to see why there are so many variations and types of drum in world.

Drum History

Drums and percussion instruments are the oldest musical instruments in history and haven’t changed much in the course of a few thousand years. One of the oldest discovered drums was made with an alligator skin and dates back to as early as 5500 B.C. Every culture on every continent used drums in some form, whether it was for musical purposes, communication with distant neighbors or relaying commands on the battle field. We've all seen the paintings of the Revolutionary War drummers marching on the front lines, or the ancient hortator keeping time on the Viking longship. However, as technology evolved, so did the drum.

Drum Construction

The basic principal of every drum is the same: a round cylinder with a drum head—or a drum skin— that you strike with your hand or a drum stick or mallet. The head is held down by a hoop or a rim, and tension rods or rope thread into a lug. The distinction made between drums and hand drums is somewhat obvious. Any drum you play using your hands is a hand drum or hand percussion. Acoustic drum heads vary widely depending on the type of drum they're on. A typical drum set drum uses a drum head made of mylar on the top and bottom of the drum, while hand drums often only have a calfskin head on top. To tune the drum up or down, you tighten or loosen the drum head.

The drum shells are constructed from a myriad of materials including wood, metal and plastic, and the different wood species or metals can produce special sounds. Many companies such as DW, TAMA and Yamaha create hybrid drum shells which utilize different tone woods or metal and wood to achieve a unique sound. Wood drum shells are constructed in several ways but the two most common ways are multi-ply construction or stave construction. Multi-ply drum shells are constructed using anywhere from three to 20 thin pieces of wood that are glued and pressed together. Stave drum shells are built using one piece of wood that is typically steam bent into its cylindrical shape.

Electronic Drums

Electronic drums originally started out as simple metronome machines and evolved in the early 1970s into something closer to what they are today. Companies such Roland, Yamaha and Simmons produced the first electronic drum sets. They became popular and commercially successful in the early 1980s as technology and samples became better and more advanced. Electronic drum kits or e-kits have a very similar design to acoustic drum sets. There's a snare, toms, bass drum, cymbals and you play it using drum sticks. However, electronic drums utilize rubber or mesh heads and the cymbals are rubberized pads. The biggest advantage to electronic drums is the amount of drum and percussion sounds you can program, as well as the built-in, complete drum sets.

Drum Set Cymbals

A typical drum set or percussion setup utilizes cymbals. A drum set includes a pair of hi-hats, a crash cymbal or two, and a ride cymbal. However, experimenting with different cymbal sounds has become very popular and many drummers often have effects—or FX—cymbals in their setup, including china cymbals, splash cymbals and cymbal stacks. Most cymbals are made from bronze alloy and are either machine or manually hammered into their final form.