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Starting a young one on a musical instrument early in life is very popular, and while many parents aren’t brave enough to buy a child drum set, drumming can be a great activity for young kids. Learning the basics of drumming will not only teach your child a skill for life, but instill important rhythm skills that are translatable to any other musical instrument and many other endeavors such as sports as well. Plus, there are many more starter drum sets on the market today than ever before, and the quality has gone up as prices have gone down. However if you are a parent looking for a starter drum set, you should carefully consider buying a used junior drum set.

Most major manufacturers of drum sets will now offer smaller, less expansive versions of their kits design for starters. You will find mini drum kits for children as young as 3, but also junior drum sets appropriate for kids into their teens. The quality is also good enough to last for years, even if you child puts a lot of beating into the set (the heads are replaceable anyway). The junior drum sets referred to are not ‘toys’, but real instruments and drums sets that make excellent sound, good enough to accompany a band if your young one is lucky enough to find some guitar and bass playing partners.

When [searching|looking|browsing|shopping} for a childs drum set to buy, parents have a lot options. Traditionally musical instruments were bought from small, locally owned music stores that while helpful to consumers, had limited selections. Recently, larger music chains such as Guitar Center and Musician’s Friend appeared which are still focused on music and instruments but offer a wider selection and sometimes lower prices. Many parents today will also end up buying their child’s beginner drum set at a mass merchandiser like Wal-Mart, Target, or Sears, or a consumer store like Best Buy. However there is another option many choose that often is the best one of all.

Used child drum sets can make a lot of sense for parents for many obvious reasons. First of all, there are lots of them on the market. Since kid drummers who end up enjoying drumming always eventually grow out of their original drum kit, they go on to buy full sized drum sets. This means their old child drum set (which normally is in good condition) is available for sale, and at a good price. Parents can find these used drum sets for kids being ‘handed’ down in numbers, usually on sites like eBay, where many of musical instruments are auctioned almost everyday.

Another smart reason for getting your youngster a used drum set is hedging your bet on your little one’s future in drumming. How is your jr drummer going to like drums going forward? There is always the possibility that your kid will play on his drums for a few days, get bored, and be finished with them forever. While this may not happen with your kid, it does happen, and if you buy a used drum set, you’ve made a smaller investment in something that didn’t last very long. Your options are to pass it on to another child, or sell it right back on eBay and recoup most of the investment you made.

Choosing a used starter drum set can be smart approach for parents considering their child’s first drum kit. Many drummers started on a used set, and there’s no shame in it. In fact, many times drummers have a hard time parting with first set, even it was used and even if a new set is waiting for them. If you are a parent looking for a junior drum kit, definitely consider buying used.

Are you currently looking for a junior drum set for a child? At www.FirstDrumSets.com you can learn about, find, and buy starter drum sets and junior drum sets.

The Best $600 Acoustic Guitar, Period.

Not too long ago I decided to purchase a new acoustic guitar. I’d grown tired of my 7-year-old Ovation Celebrity Deluxe – the shallow-bowl Lyrachord backing makes for a plastic-sounding attack. I gave myself a budget of $1500 and set out to find an all-wood guitar that would meet all of my criteria: a natural, woody sound; even tone between strings and throughout the higher registers; and a great playability. My main buy targets were Martin and Taylor guitars, both well-respected guitars.

Down in Florida for Memorial Day weekend, I decided to hit the local guitar center to sample some guitars, figuring I would get a taste of what I wanted and refine my search later back in my home state of Tennessee. I found the acoustic section and began to look around. Since a clearly deranged individual occupied the “expensive” room, yowling and banging away on a two thousand dollar guitar, I decided to sample the budget guitars first just to get warmed up. The first guitar I picked up was a Taylor 110 acoustic guitar, which I eventually took into the classical guitar room in hopes of escaping the sounds of the Lithium-deprived individual and some nu-metal kid playing the same riff over and over.

What struck me right away, even before moving out of the noise, was how easy it was to play the Taylor 110 Acoustic Guitar. I knew the strings were mediums (I had played custom lights on my Ovation), and I had been out of practice, but it was still easy to play all my songs, even the technically difficult ones. Jumps from 1st to 5th position were just as easy as on my Ovation, and the narrower neck kept my hand from getting fatigued when playing hand-stretching chords.

After playing the Taylor for a little while, I picked up a Martin of a similar price and went back to my sanctuary. I was surprised to notice that the build quality of the Martin seemed inferior to the Taylor – there was a fair amount of buzzing on the frets (although the intonation was fine), and the Martin just felt more clunky than the Taylor 110 acoustic guitar for some reason. The strings unfortunately were rather dull – Martin strings their guitars with their own strings; Taylor uses Elixir Nanowebs, which in combination with the Martin’s darker, woodier tone made it difficult for me to get even sound on the higher strings, particularly in higher positions on the fretboard. I tried a more expensive Martin ($1100) that had less of the same issues but enough that I felt a bit disappointed.

By this time the psycho’s girlfriend or sister (or maybe his parole officer) had convinced him to leave, and I was able to venture safely into the “expensive” room. Unfortunately there was only one guitar in there below my budget of $1500, another Martin. I played it for a bit, but it just didn’t have the same feel as the Taylor 110 acoustic guitar and suffered from dull string syndrome as well. I went back to the Taylor, having fallen for its simple beauty, nice sound, and excellent craftsmanship.

I was a little shocked that the Taylor sounded and played better than a guitar more than twice the price and pretty excited about shaving $900 off my budget. The store sale actually pushed the price down even further on an already on-sale guitar, so when I added an SKB hard case, the total came close to $600 including tax – a steal by any definition.

To be fair to the other acoustic guitars, the Taylor 110 Acoustic Guitar isn’t perfect – it’s got a Sitka spruce top with Sapele laminate sides and back, which combined with the Elixirs creates a tone that’s almost a little too bright. The finish and inlays are really plain, and for this price you don’t get a preamp. However I couldn’t argue with the sound – I had a friend play the guitar for me, and it was “that sound” – the sound I’d come shopping for.

For around $600, you simply can’t buy a better guitar than the Taylor 110 Acoustic Guitar.