Drum Mount

Drum Building 101 - How Much Time And Money Will I Need To Invest?

The very first drum set I ever built was this: A 3 piece drum set (10” tom, 14” tom, and a 20” kick drum) that was stained blue and had gold “bling bling” hardware. I later built a snare drum to match the set but it came out a slightly lighter shade of blue than the other drums (more about that learning experience in another article).

This drum set was my first ever experience with drum building. Before building this I had never worked with wood, I did not consider myself a crafty handyman, and I had never stained anything, unless you count grass s and coffee stains!  A couple of years before building my first drum set I become friends with a guy named Kevin. Kevin owned (and still owns) a recording studio in town. Kevin was the first person to introduce me to the idea of building my own drum set.  He had a custom drum set in his recording studio that sounded amazing. When he told me that he made it with his bare hands I flipped out. When he told me how little he spent to make it I flipped out yet again. He had ordered all the materials for the set, stained it, put a clear coat on it, and assembled it…and HE RECORDS THAT DRUM SET ON 90% OF HIS STUDIO PROJECTS!

My first build took about 2 weeks to get supplies shipped to me, 2 weeks to complete and cost me approximately $950. I do not have the receipt to prove it, but this (see resource box) 5 piece drum set was built in 3 weeks for $1,369 (that’s includes shells, hardware, hoops, drum heads, cutting the bearing edges, layout for hardware, rims mounts, tom arms, AND SHIPPING). Here (see resource box) is the receipt for all the materials.

In comparison take a look at what other “custom” drum companies want to charge you for essentially the same drum set. These prices are taken straight from the drum company’s websites, and no I am not kidding, go see for yourself. To clarify I am pricing out this drum set: 8” tom, 10” tom, 14” tom, 16” tom, 20” kick all with standard hardware, stained with a high gloss finish.

Company A advertised price - $3,425 – doesn’t include shipping

Company B advertised price - $4,225 – doesn’t include shipping

Company C advertised price - $4,125 – doesn’t include shipping

Cost of building your own - $1,369 – includes shipping

Honestly most custom drum companies will sell you drums for less than their advertised prices so let’s say you get a 30% discount.

Company A unadvertised 30% off “Artist Pricing” – $ 2,397.5

Company B unadvertised 30% off “Artist Pricing” – $2,957.5

Company C unadvertised 30% off “Artist Pricing - $2,887.5

Cost of building your own - $1,369 – includes shipping

As you can see, it really does cost less to build custom vs. buying custom. The real financial danger is that after you make your first drum, you'll want to build more!

Now that you know how much money building a drum set will cost you, let’s talk about how much time you need to build yourself a professional level drum set.  When your thinking about how much time it will take to build a drum set you need to keep in mind what type of finish you want on your drums. The general rule that I have observed is that wrapping a drum or drum set can be done in an extremely short amount of time compared to painting, staining, or applying a high gloss finish. Building a drum set that is wrapped can be done in a matter of days, (even hours for the more experienced drum builders) simply because you don’t have to wait for stain, paint or clear coats to dry. If you want to stain your drums and apply a high gloss finish, you’ll need at least 3 weeks to build up your clear coats and for the shells to fully dry. Wrapping your drum takes less time, but the material to wrap your drums will cost more. Applying a stain and high gloss finish is usually cheaper, but takes much longer.  My advice if you’re looking to save money and get a quick turnaround for a custom drum set is to stain it and apply a satin finish.

About the Author

Philip Ellis is a professional drummer, runs P.Ellis Drums, a custom drum company in Austin, TX and is the Author of “How to Make Custom Drums”. Check out http://www.makedrums.com to learn more about how to build your very own custom drum or drum set!

Drum Mount

Comments are closed.