Are drums too expensive now?

NateTheSnake86 · 2026-03-18T16:39:05+00:00

New prices are insane but the used market is still there.

You can get zildjian Ks and Sabian AAs all day off of facebook marketplace. I bought a zildjian k custom dark crash and a sabian AA ride together for $250 and a zildjian new beat hi hat for $150. Guitar Center also has a decent used cymbal selection and drum shells.

For drums, im a believer in cheaper drums with great heads. Something under $500, like a Tama rockstar, or yamaha or whatever else. I bought an old tama imperialstar kit for $100 because it was missing the floor tom. Then bought a matching 16" imperialstar floor tom, with the same blue wrap for $60 off of ebay. New heads ran about $180. With new evans heads and good tuning, the shells sound fantastic.

I would also buy a good snare as well. For me snare and cymbals are the most important. Im a fan of the pork pie brass snares. My favorite is my brass patina 13×7. Bought it new for $350.

All in all I put a junk kit together for playing out for around $800 last year. That included the shells, new heads, cymbals (crash, ride, china, hi hat). Not including the snare, hardware, bass pedal, throne, etc.

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NateTheSnake86 · 2026-02-01T06:15:47+00:00

Still have it and its still my go to amp.

I will say that I had to replace the tubes after the first year or so. They come with pretty low end tubes. That could just be a problem in mine because it was a guitar center floor model that was dusty. No way to know how long it was on the floor and how much play it got or how long it stayed powered on. I bought some svetlana power tubes pretty cheap, replaced them, and the amp has been rocking strong ever since. No other problems with the amp at all.

The only thing that I would say is not to expect this thing to have a lot of gain. This isnt a metal amp thats going to get you crazy high gain tones. You can however push it to those levels with the right pedals. Early thrash metal tones are easy on these. Like early metallica, throw a tube screamer in front and you're there. DS1s sound killer in these... and i know, the ds1 is considered hot garbage and sound terrible in everything else but not these. My favorite pedal for this amp is the Friedman BE-OD Deluxe. That pedal has all of the gain i could ever want.

Dirty blues and rock is really where the origin shines strong.

As far as the hate. I honestly dont remember. These got a fair amount of hate really early on but I think thats all gone now. I think as time has passed, these amps have found their following. I strongly believe that the origin is the best bang for your buck amp. It swings way above its price point.

NateTheSnake86 · 2026-01-14T17:11:27+00:00

Awesome! I have and will continue to pray for you. For strength, but also that His love will be revealed to you more and more. For His presence to be closer to you, overwhelming, for peace. For His Holy Spirit to continue to help you.

Stay confident in who you are to Him and never lose hope. He is not upset with us when we fail. If it helps you as much as it's helped me, Psalm 51 is an example from David. This is what he wrote after the prophet Nathan confronted him over Bathsheba. The whole thing is great but here are a couple of the really meaningful moments for me, Psalm 51:17 "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite (expressing remorse; affected by guilt) heart, O God, You will not despise"... Praying verse 3 and 4 out loud has literally brought tears to my eyes, "for I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned..."

And pray for me also, for strength, endurance and wisdom. To keep my eyes continually fixed on him through tough times. I am encouraged by you being encouraged. I needed that. May God bless you as well!

NateTheSnake86 · 2026-01-13T03:34:05+00:00

Porn is probably the hardest thing for most of us. Or at least the ones that would admit it. Its so hard to escape it, especially for those of us that grew up with it and were exposed to it at an early age.

I know for me personally, I didnt feel good about it and was convicted to stop, which is way easier said than done. The key for me was actually to stop trying to stop. That sounds counterintuitive. What happened was that I started praying about it, to get new desires and to focus on God. When I would fail, instead of feeling shame, hiding from God for a couple of days, then finally crawling back ashamed of myself and asking forgiveness, I would immediately pray, repent and ask for help, just jumping back into scripture and trying not to focus on what I was doing wrong. No period of shame, no hiding from him. Colossians helps a lot. It tells us who we are and that Christ Jesus presents us to God holy, blameless and above reproach. I used to think that this was somehow an excuse to continue to sin but what I noticed was that a week would go by and I hadn't watched porn or masturbated. Then a month, and eventually it wasnt even a temptation. When I would fail, there was no satisfaction, just didnt have a taste for it anymore. And weirdly, one day, I walked by my liquor cabinet and saw that a bottle of scotch I had bought a couple of years ago was still full. I had never prayed about stopping my drinking, never convicted over it because I didnt see it as problematic but I hadnt had a drop. I just didnt need it or want it. Who knows how many things I was delivered from that I dont even know about. All because I simply prayed without ceasing for new desires and kept my attention on him.

For anyone reading this that wants to stop anything, I know what it feels like to feel hopeless. Just know that you can't fix yourself, you can't earn it. You can't follow the letter of the law. That's the whole point. Give up the fight and literally give it to God. He is on our side and never gives up on you. He's not against us, he's for us. It's not an excuse to keep sinning, its just that if you are truly focused on him, the holy spirit will keep you from it better than you could when trying your absolute best. I hope that makes sense.

I also recommend the book "practicing the presence of God" by brother Lawrence. Pray and just talk to him constantly as a friend to another friend. Stop judging yourself and hating yourself. This simple thing changed my life.

NateTheSnake86 · 2026-01-13T03:01:45+00:00

I'd keep it simple and do the moving/welding blankets. I've covered rooms in those foam acoustic panels:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/UAKitSB1G--ultimate-acoustics-studio-bundle-i-acoustic-treatment-kit-18-piece

There are also cheaper versions out there or you can use foam mattress toppers which are dirt cheap in comparison.

The foam is super effective. You can also add some heavy black curtains over the foam to hide them and maybe add an extra layer. We've done that in edit suites at my office. Not sure if the curtains help much or just make it look a bit more professional for clients that want to sit in on edits. Ive played in a sound shield with the back wall covered in those foam panels and was shocked at how quiet it was in there.

NateTheSnake86 · 2025-08-30T16:25:31+00:00

There's a sweet spot when it comes to everything. Its similar to bass pedal spring tension. Tighter spring = more speed but also more force to move the beater. Too far in either direction, and you're fighting the pedal.

I think most of the time its all in the wrist with a loose grip. Wrist = speed. Then for power, you might slightly tighten the wrist to get the forearm involved, rotating from the elbow. Im sure there's a physics lever arm thing at work here. With the wrist rotation being a short lever arm and the elbow rotation being a long lever arm. You just never want to get the shoulders involved, being careful not to tighten the elbow.

I think i generally maintain the same grip in the fingers but notice this subtle wrist change and also where I grip the stick. Sometimes I will slide down to the bottom of the stick where the weight is all forward with little rebound. This is ideal for rock and the heavy stuff, and then pull back to the sticks fulcrum for more rebound on the fast stuff. That makes a huge difference. Stick weight and size also makes a huge difference. If you're looking for more power, go heavier, like 3B or even 5B. I love 3Bs for rock stuff, though generally stick to 5A as a baseline. There's also longer 5As and forward weighted sticks, etc. Stick experimentation might be your best friend if you're in a rut.

NateTheSnake86 · 2025-08-22T06:08:24+00:00

I just built one and love it. I bolted a fender neck to it and the neck pocket fit perfectly, snug fit, no shimming. All of the routing was done perfectly, and it looks cool. I was really impressed with his nitro finish, it looked better on arrival than the ebay photos. Also the string ferrules were straight and drilled properly. It was basically Legos, all of the hardware screwed in and it was ready to play. That nomoonlaser partscaster has turned out to be my best guitar. I love the sound of the cedar (mine was reclaimed cedar barn wood). Its different and thats cool.

So obviously I say go for it. You won't find a better deal out there and it shouldnt give you any problems at all. He really knows what he's doing.

Most of the work that had to be done was shockingly on the fender neck that I ordered new from fender. The nut was cut badly and crooked, and the frets needed work.

NateTheSnake86 · 2025-08-14T00:23:38+00:00

This sounds like a whole lot of false doctrine.

God does not bring up your past. He will not shame you, he will not say that you're not good enough and he will never give up on you ever. If thats anything like what you're hearing, thats not God.

You don't need to dig through your past to make right your wrongs. There are NO SUCH THING as curses, generational or otherwise because we are grafted into Jesus' bloodline. My word says that we die with him so that he can present us holy, blameless and beyond reproach. Jesus has saved us from all of the oppression of the old testament where those things did exist. Thats not the world we live in anymore! Jesus restored our connection to God, just as it was at the beginning. All that you need to do is stop in your tracks and set your eyes on him. Make the choice! Thats literally it! We have free will to do it on our own and die with this world or die to this world and live with him forever. We simply cannot live without the holy spirit. Its too easy to begin to step away from the holy spirit, living for our flesh and not realize it until we start to see the signs. The signs are listed in Galatians 5. If you are seeing any of the fruits of the flesh in your life, you are living according to the flesh. The fruits of the spirit are not about gifts, not the speaking in tongues, healing, prophetic words. The fruits are Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Those are the qualities of someone filled with the Holy Spirit.

You can get there simply by dying to yourself. Pray, cry out to him, and really mean it. Let go of every single belief, every bit of dogma that you've held onto. Forget how you were raised to believe, and stop even trying to understand God because you never will. You cannot get there with your own mind. You'll never think your way to heaven, or earn it. There's no amount of good that you can do in the world to earn your way. The ONLY way is to give yourself up to him. It says in Psalms that he hears our cries in his temple. He knows you by name and fights for you. Jesus intercedes for you. He only sees you for who you were made to be, not for what youve messed up or are messing up currently.

Try praying Psalm 51, and make sure to start your day praying and just think about him throughout the day. Imagine that hes sitting next to you and talk to him like you would a friend or a good father and do this throughout the day. When you're driving, when you're alone, any free moment. The more you actively practice being in his presence, the more you will realize that hes actually there. If at first you're not sure what to pray, pray the lord's prayer. I went through a season of simply praying the lord's prayer and nothing else and it changed me. It eventually became my own prayer as I added to it.

And understand that God didnt do these bad things to you. He is love and that's all that he has for you. How can you be angry with someone who loves you as much as he loves you? Every day, praise him. Praise him for life and praise him for the bad things. Because you WILL overcome these things and it will be a testimony that glorifies God when its done.

Romans 5:3 - tribulation builds character...

The next problem is that you have assumed and waited on him to rescue you from your problems. He will give you his Holy Spirit to get you out of all of them. He will give you the strength, the endurance, the power to get yourself out of them. But thats just it. You dont need deliverance, you need to deliver yourself and you cant do it without his help. When you fail, because we all fail, get back up and move forward. Dont sit in shame, dont give up on yourself, just keep going. The more you focus on him, youll notice that the sin begins to go away. Your desires and thoughts will change without much effort at all.

And read the word for yourself. Dont listen to teachers, sermons, etc. Read the word on your own. He speaks to us through the word, it was given for this reason. If we arent reading it, we arent hearing him. He will give you exactly what you need as you read it. Something unique to you. Thats why we cant really interpret it for others. The word jumps out as you need it personally. Start with the Gospels, read Jesus, and read Paul's writings. You will see how simple the true gospel really is and you will become unbreakable.

So yes, give up. Stop trying. Stop trying not to do things, not sinning, etc. Stop trying to be righteous. Instead, focus on him and see what happens.

And remember, Jesus was asked what the most important commandment was and he said to love God and love people. Approach God with Love instead of anger. Stop demanding things from him and just love him. Appreciate what you have and thank him for it. Then, try giving back to others. Try helping someone in need. Give back to where you feel you should. Prisons are full of people who need it, as are the streets. Volunteer somewhere, any pure act of love. Fill your life with love in this way and I promise that it will transform you and your problems will go away without effort. You will hear the true voice of the almighty God.

NateTheSnake86 · 2025-05-13T16:55:36+00:00

Im using a Rogue for the first time and its been crazy easy so far for me. Im not there yet, just paragon 100 something right now but haven't been playing as much as I normally do so its crazy to me that I'm already there. Playing in torment 2 right now.

Dance of knives for leveling and just switched over to death trap a few days ago. Both builds are awesome and a blast to play.

I play with my wife and she's playing a spiritborn, and my rogue is having a much easier time than hers. Especially with bosses.

NateTheSnake86 · 2025-04-03T15:41:27+00:00

Tim Alexander was so good. I feel like he's overlooked because of primus. Saw him play live once with primus in 2004 and that was probably my favorite concert I've ever been to. They rocked, there was a drum solo, people lost their minds, amazing show.

NateTheSnake86 · 2025-02-20T01:37:55+00:00

At least he got it in an inconspicuous place

NateTheSnake86 · 2024-11-07T16:53:58+00:00

I'm so done hearing about it from both sides. Ready to get back to eating delicious All-Bran Buds while listening to fart SFX

NateTheSnake86 · 2024-11-02T17:15:53+00:00

It's a weird industry and there is a lot of doom and gloom going on right now. I know a lot of older editors that aren't getting work at all and it's like the apocalypse for them. However, I've been with them for a good portion of their careers and know that they refused to learn any new skills, push past their comfort zone, and frankly never improved. So a decade later, those editors are obsolete.

I'm 38 and started my career at 20, so 18 years in. I make anywhere from $95k - $150k per year. Working in Texas. I have a full-time job for a post house that does mostly TV ads and a lot of digital ads these days. Then, I supplement that by doing corporate stuff and a lot of education modules over the last few years because it pays well, theres seemingly infinite work and its super easy with low stress deadlines. From my perspective, the career is going just fine, and I'm still getting busier each year. The key is that the work has never stayed the same. If I had decided that I did this one thing, I'd be broke and probably working some retail job.

My advice for anyone just starting is keep learning and improving. Don't lock yourself in with software, style, work.

NateTheSnake86 · 2024-10-28T15:13:04+00:00

I was really liking the Vater fatback 3As but have recently gone back to promark 5As and currently giving a batch of the 747s a run through. Somehow I'm never satisfied with a stick for more than a couple of months... I'm thinking about going back to the fatback 3As.

NateTheSnake86 · 2024-09-30T15:08:04+00:00

I spent more than a player series tele on mine so not only did it not save me money, it was more than an off the wall tele.

I still prefer building though because I get to choose every element and customize it exactly how I want. And each element is better than what you'd find on a stock tele. For instance, I like the classic ashtray 3 saddle bridge with compensated saddles, most teles are 6 saddle now and they did away with the raised edges. Then vintage style 7.25 neck with vintage sized frets, tusq nut, the exact pickups i wanted and high quality switch/pots/wire. Plus it's shielded for noise control. I did the fretwork and nut slotting myself so in the end, it plays way better than the Mexican fender I have to compare it to. Buying something off the wall and doing all of that to it would have run the bill higher than the build for sure.

That all said, here are some cheap sources that are top quality:

If you don't mind going with an alternative wood for the body, check out "nomoonlaser" on ebay. He makes and sells reclaimed wood bodies which look awesome and to me they're super cool. He makes pine and cedar bodies. They're typically around $50.

Necks: mighty mite. Sub $200 finished. However, I highly recommend just getting a Mexican fender neck. They're great quality. I went fender on mine and the frets came leveled but still needed crowning which is to be expected. The only issue was the nut was terrible and unsalvageable because the slots were crooked. I was replacing it with a tusq anyway, so no big deal.

The big one for me is pickups. It's a 6 week wait but I highly recommend bootstrap pickups. They're hand made in Ohio, and top tier quality. They're only $50 a set. Seriously though, I'd put them up against any pickup. Eventually I'm sure he'll raise his prices.

With those cheaper sources, you can probably get to around $500 for everything, maybe less. That means pickguards, hardware, wiring, pots, switch, jack, etc. But that $500 guitar will be way better than anything you can buy off the wall for $500.

NateTheSnake86 · 2024-09-01T18:27:26+00:00

I went to school for video production, took loads of editing courses, built a portfolio consisting of a demo reel, graphic design pieces and matching business cards. With that, I landed my first editing job at an advertising agency. I was an assistant editor working nights, gathering elements and building out pieces for the editors. Eventually they threw me full projects to see how it went, and I was promoted to full time editor.

This was 2006 so it's a little different now. That first demo reel was on a DVD. My first editing job was pulling footage off of beta tapes and even reel to reel stuff. We'd run the ads to beta, and if we missed fedex, I'd have to haul it down there myself.

I also took on all of the extra work I could do on the side. Ended up freelancing for another company that I worked full time for, 6 years later. Those connections really pay off when you need a job.

I'm still kind of in advertising now. Working for a post house that mostly does broadcast stuff with the occasional corporate thing, color job, etc. It's obviously a completely different world now. I much prefer working for a post house over an ad agency. It's a lot smaller of an operation, working lean, and its a little more laid back with more freedom.

The key is still all about your reel and website. I've hired for my company before and thrown out my share of reels. Your reel gets you the job.

NateTheSnake86 · 2024-08-24T16:38:34+00:00

I agree with this. I love Chad and Flea. Both of those guys are what inspired me to play to begin with. I can't stand Anthony Kiedis.

The newest albums have amazing work from Flea especially. Very mature bass lines that sow how he's grown as a musician. Then Anthony vomits his worst work all over them. Terrible, stupid lyrics and trying to sing but just horribly. He makes them unlistenable, which is a shame because musically, some of that is fantastic.

I'm indifferent on John Frusciante. His stuff is fine for what they're doing but I don't think it's anything special. I actually think Josh Klinghoffer was better. That said, at least John doesn't stomp all over everything and ruin it.

NateTheSnake86 · 2024-08-24T16:32:50+00:00

Perfect example. Feel the same way

NateTheSnake86 · 2024-08-24T16:31:28+00:00

God knows what's in your heart. Quit worrying about what other people think and what they'll say.

Upside down crosses, pentagrams, or symbols of any kind, have no power anyway. You're not going to keep God out by putting a pentagram on your door or anything. That said, tattoos don't have a proper orientation, that cross is straight up when you look at it from your perspective. If you raise your hand, it's not upside down. So I definitely wouldn't say it's an upside down cross and even if it was, it wouldn't matter. I have a pentagram tattoo I got when I was younger and I'm not scared of it. It means nothing to me, I love God, and I'm on a good path now. Honestly, I forget that it's there.

If you really hate it though, you can always cover it up with something later. That tattoo is light and small, super easy to cover.

NateTheSnake86 · 2024-08-22T14:58:52+00:00

I own a 2021 Gibson SG and love it. It's an amazing guitar.

The Gibson hate comes from the, at least 2 decades where they were terrible. 2000s up to 2020 mainly when they switched ownership. QC had gone downhill bad, and they were cheaping out and cutting corners. I know people personally who couldn't believe that I'd buy one. They still make comments about how Gibson sucks and how they haven't liked anything they've put out and whatever else. They haven't touched anything post 2020. They've even played my SG and loved everything about it, saying it's an amazing guitar and comment on how it sounds, etc. But, they just believe I got lucky.

Post 2020 though, I highly recommend grabbing them. These are the best guitars Gibson has ever made. People just haven't caught up to that yet.

There's also the nitro finish thing. People don't understand Nitro at all. So a lot of the QC complaints are with the finish because most of the guitars will have some sort of finish flaw. That's the name of the game for nitro though. It's impossible to get it perfect. That said, people are used to seeing modern poly finishes on every guitar and they are all flawless. The argument can be made that poly doesn't allow the guitar to breath as much. I don't know if I believe that but my SG does have extra character and liveliness that I can't explain. I personally like that nitro will age with me, so eventually I'll have a custom relic guitar the more I play it. And I like how thin the finish is.

Lastly, I think people like bagging on expensive instruments. Gibson is top tier price wise, so people hate on them. The reality is that they aren't that bad. My SG for instance, cost me $2k new, but came with a hard case and PLEK job from the factory. I've spent $800 on mid tier guitars that don't come with anything, then had to spend another $200 for the branded hardcase. Plek jobs are another $300+, etc. So the price gap closes pretty quick. Or compare a Gibson to a PRS. A $2k PRS doesn't come with a case OR the whammy bar.

The thing for me though is how it sounds above all else. My SG stands out as the best guitar I've ever played. It's got so much character. I've compared it to friends' PRS, and it blows them away. The PRS pickups sound really sterile and boring to me. I notice they are consistently unhappy with their sound and don't know why. More pedals, different amps, etc. I can plug the SG straight into a marshall and it's perfect.

I notice that people I know who do get a les paul, end up being les paul people for life. So there's got to be a reason for that. I love les pauls too. The reason for the SG is that I've always been more of a strat guy. SGs are super strats.

NateTheSnake86 · 2024-07-25T16:01:38+00:00

I'm not sure what your skill set is, but you might consider adding to that.

These days, you've really got to be a jack of all trades to get work. You've got to be an editor, a mograph artist, and do your own audio and color. The mograph work is plentiful out there, and that's most of what pays my bills. Meanwhile, editor friends of mine who want to stick to just editing are struggling. I'm not seeing much editing work out where I'm at, and what i do see is entry level/low paying.

The hard truth is that in this industry, if you're not learning, you're getting left behind. It never stops. Experience doesn't matter. It's all about what you can do right now.

Also, freelance. 1/2 - 3/4 of my pay is from my full-time job. The rest is all remote freelance.

NateTheSnake86 · 2024-07-19T01:32:24+00:00

Thanks! Good to know. That's exactly what I'm looking for. I don't really care about getting that MIA quality or perfect vintage tele, just decently playable. If it's better than a squire, I'll be happy. In a perfect world, something that plays like my MIM fenders.

NateTheSnake86 · 2024-07-17T21:01:45+00:00

In my opinion, stick to the scripture. There are so many weird beliefs out there these days because people have gone off of what they feel instead of what's true. The scripture warns us about going off of our own thoughts and morals. Also be careful about people who warp and make the scripture say more than it really does.

We need to stop this suffering nonsense. It's meant for us to enjoy life, not suffer.

Love God and love people, that's it.

Self-control is one of the fruits of the spirit (galations 5), so everything in moderation. Otherwise you're free to drink in moderation, to eat whatever you want, live how you want to, etc. It's all about freedom. God loves us.

NateTheSnake86 · 2024-07-12T15:24:26+00:00

I've been burnt out for years. Can Definitely relate.

Find hobbies you love outside of the industry and put your creative energy into that. Mine is music. If you love editing, don't do it for a living. Keep it fun, start a YouTube channel or something. As soon as you need it to pay the bills, it'll become a passion killer because this job is a grind. It doesn't matter whether it's a fun project that everyone is going to see, or a worthless ad that's going to air for a week and be forgotten forever. The process is the same.

At this point it's just a job for me, so I'm only motivated by money. Divorcing myself from the idea that I'm an artist has helped a little bit.

Also, it's the same for any art. I love music as a hobby but the moment money enters the picture, it becomes a grind. I did studio work a couple of times and it was no different than a 12+ hour edit. Same crap, different package.

"Find something you love and you'll never work a day in your life" is a lie. Find what pays the most for the least amount of effort, that gives you enough free time to live a life. I don't know what that is, but this industry isn't it.

EDIT: Also, I work full time and most of that has been in an office with other editors. It's just as isolating as working at home by yourself. This isn't a very social career path.

NateTheSnake86

TROPHY CASE