I review products independently and only recommend products I would use myself. If you purchase through a link, I may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more.
DrumCraft is a European drum brand that has been steadily growing in popularity over the last few years. The brand’s drum sets are highly reliable, and they all sound fantastic compared to other kits in the same price range.
One thing I really like about DrumCraft is that their product range is quite simplistic. You have three main lines of drum sets available that are catered to beginners, intermediate players, and professionals.
In this guide, I’ll show you all three drum kit lines and compare them according to sound quality, build quality, value, and overall performance.
What are the Best DrumCraft Drum Sets?
| Image | Recommended ProductsProduct | Features | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
Best Pro Kit
|
|
||
Best Intermediate Kit
|
|
||
Best Beginner Kit
|
|
In-Depth DrumCraft Drum Set Reviews
DrumCraft Series 6
DrumCraft Series 6 Review
The DrumCraft Series 6 is the brand’s current top drum set. It’s an incredible professional kit that competes with sets like the Mapex Saturn and Pearl Masters. However, it’s more affordable than those options.
I love how well this drum set is crafted. You get hybrid shells that work together with pristine hardware, giving you a reliable instrument to use in any situation.
The shells are a mixture of walnut and maple. The maple plies give the drums warm and resonating tones, while the walnut plies add a slight bit of aggression and intensity. The overall product is a set of drums that speak boldly but ring beautifully.
The 45-degree bearing edges further add to that modern tone that we all love so much.
The kit has DrumCraft’s ZGM zero-gravity tom mounts. These mounts attach to cymbal stands, and they latch onto the rack toms with brackets. You have no metal being drilled into shells, so the shells have the purest tones possible.
These mounts feel great to use, and they make the rack toms easy to position. The only drawback is that you get a slight bit of wobble, but it’s not any more than you’d get from other kits in this price range.
The final thing to mention about this set is the beautiful range of finishes on offer. The Satin Natural is my favorite, but you have five other pristine finishes that look stunning.
Overall, this is an amazing drum set to get if you’re looking for something professional that costs a bit less than all the other popular options from various more well-known brands.
Features:
- Hybrid maple/walnut shells
- Brushed nickel hardware
- ZGM zero-gravity tom mounts
Pros
- Shells produce warm and resonant tones that are a lot punchier than drummers may expect
- Beautiful finish options, especially the Satin Natural finish
- Slightly more affordable than comparable professional drum sets
- Reliable hardware quality
Cons
- Cymbal-mounted rack toms wobble a bit when you play
DrumCraft Series 4
DrumCraft Series 4 Review
The DrumCraft Series 4 is the brand’s mid-range drum set option. This kit is great for drummers that are looking to upgrade from a beginner set. It’s also ideal for casual drummers that want a reliable kit to play gigs with.
The shells are made from a mixture of poplar and mahogany. This is the same combination that you’ll find on the world-famous Pearl Export drum sets, and I’d say that the tones you get are quite similar.
The toms sound vibrant and powerful, but you get a very strong boosted low-end. This means that the toms sound best when they’re tuned low.
All the shells have black powdered chrome hardware. They also have stainless steel tension rods, with the steel and chrome contrasting really nicely.
The rack toms on this kit also use the ZGM tom mounts. However, these ones are mounted to the bass drum. They’re very similar to the YESS mounts that you get on Yamaha kits, with the ball-and-socket joints looking almost the same.
A lot of drummers may prefer these ones to the cymbal-mounted ones on the Series 6, as they feel a lot sturdier.
This kit has five finish options, but they’re not as diverse as the ones available for the Series 6.
Features:
- Hybrid poplar/mahogany shells
- Black-powdered chrome hardware
- Four lacquer finish options
Pros
- Very deep and booming tones from the poplar and mahogany shell mixture
- Excellent tom mounting system
- Beautiful finish options that contrast wonderfully with the black powder chrome hardware
Cons
- The stock drumheads aren’t great
DrumCraft Series 3
DrumCraft Series 3 Review
The DrumCraft Series 3 is the brand’s entry-level drum set option. This is designed for newer drummers that are looking to buy their very first drum kit. It has all the features that benefit a first-time drum kit owner.
Firstly, it’s highly affordable, allowing people with low budgets to own a really decent setup. I’d compare it most to the Roadshow kit from Pearl.
The shells are made from poplar, which is the most common wood used for beginner kits. The drums sound quite balanced, with the floor tom and bass drum sounding quite beefy.
I also think the snare drum sounds a lot better than the snares you get on other entry-level drum kits, especially when you tune it high.
The rack toms are also mounted to the bass drum here, but they both have independent rods that stick into the bass shell. This makes them slightly less maneuverable than the mounts on the Series 4.
This kit comes with a cymbal stand, hi-hat stand, snare stand, and bass drum pedal. You’ll just need to get a drum throne and cymbals separately to have a full setup.
Lastly, there are just two finish options. The black one is quite standard, while the wooden stripe one is a bit more exciting.
I highly recommend getting this kit if you’re looking to buy your first drum set. It’s a really enticing option for a beginner drummer.
Features:
- Poplar shells
- Full set of hardware
- Two finish options
Pros
- Excellent option for newer drummers
- Build quality seems to be a bit sturdier than comparable beginner kits
- Included DrumCraft cymbal stands offer impressive performance
- You can choose between a standard or studio configuration
Cons
- Not a great kit for more experienced drummers
DrumCraft Drum Set Buying Guide
While DrumCraft only offers three different drum sets, I think the simplicity of the product range is quite appealing. You get a beginner, intermediate, and professional drum kit option, and you can just choose one according to what your level of drumming experience is.
It makes buying a DrumCraft drum set a lot easier than buying a set from a big brand, as you don’t need to weigh up multiple options.
Here are a few more things to know when looking to purchase a DrumCraft set.
What Makes a DrumCraft Drum Set a Good Buying Option
- You get proudly German construction quality.
- DrumCraft sets have incredible finish options.
- The hardware on DrumCraft drums is excellent.
- Most DrumCraft sets are slightly more affordable than their competitor products from other drum brands.
- It can sometimes be an exciting prospect to own a drum kit that not many people know about, as it will set you apart.
- DrumCraft kits have amazing tonal quality.
Features to Look Out for in a DrumCraft Drum Kit
Shell Material
Shell material is one of the biggest aspects that determine how a drum set sounds. Different types of woods bring various tones out of drum kits, so it’s good to know what those are.
The only woods used for DrumCraft drum sets are poplar, maple, mahogany, and walnut. The Series 3 kit just uses poplar, while the Series 4 and 6 drum sets have blended shells with poplar, mahogany, maple, and walnut.
Here are brief descriptions of the tonal qualities that those woods offer:
Poplar – Balanced lows, mids, and highs.
Mahogany – Boosted lows.
Maple – Balanced lows, mids, and highs. Very wide tuning range too.
Walnut – Slightly boosted highs to give more vibrant tones.
Shell Hardware
Shell hardware refers to all the metal parts that hold drum shells together. This includes hoops, lugs, tension rods, and tom mounts.
DrumCraft offers a fairly standard range of shell hardware across the brand’s three kits. However, the quality of the hardware improves slightly as you go from the Series 3 up to the Series 6.
The Series 6 has all the best hardware features, with the hoops looking pristine and the tom mounts having excellent performance quality.
The Series 3 has entry-level hardware features. However, all the hardware parts perform quite reliably. The drums just don’t stay in tune for as long as the higher-quality ones, as the hoops and lugs aren’t as strong.
Size
Size may not be the first thing you consider when looking to buy a drum, but it’s quite important. The size of your drum set will affect how it sounds and how much space it takes up.
One thing that I really appreciate about DrumCraft is that the brand offers various configurations with all of their drum sets.
With the Series 3, you can choose between a standard or studio setup. The Series 4 has the same option, but you can also pick a configuration with two floor toms.
That gets extended even further with the Series 6, as you can get the kit in small jazz sizes.
A standard drum kit setup typically has a 14” snare, 10” high tom, 12” mid tom, 16” floor tom, and 22” kick drum.
A studio drum kit setup has the same sizes, but the floor tom is 14” and the kick drum is 20”.
A kit with two floor toms will have the same sizes as a standard setup, but there will be an added 14” floor tom.
A jazz setup normally has a 14” snare, 12” rack tom, 14” floor tom, and an 18” kick drum.
Hardware Stands
The DrumCraft Series 3 is the only kit to come with hardware stands. If you purchase a Series 4 or Series 6 kit, it will simply come as a shell pack. This means that you only get the drum shells and tom mounts.
To create a full drum kit setup, you need to purchase stands and cymbals separately. This is how most intermediate and professional drum kits are packaged, no matter what brand you’re looking at.
However, DrumCraft is one of the few brands to include a snare drum with all of their drum sets. Other brands don’t include snares in their professional shell packs, making DrumCraft quite an attractive option!
DrumCraft Drum Set FAQs
Where are DrumCraft Drum Sets Made?
The DrumCraft brand is based in Germany, which is a lot of the best drum gear in the world comes from. So, you get proudly German quality from all the DrumCraft drum sets.
How Popular are DrumCraft Drum Kits?
DrumCraft is a relatively unknown drum brand when you compare it to big names like Tama and Pearl. The brand was operating several years ago, but it went through a revamp over that time which has now boosted the popularity a bit.
You’ll find quite a few DrumCraft drum sets being played throughout different stages in Europe.
How Much Should You Spend on a DrumCraft Drum Set?
DrumCraft offers three main lines of drum sets that range from $500 to just over $1000. One of the big benefits is that these kits are a bit more affordable than their competitors.
If you want to buy DrumCraft’s top kit, you won’t need to spend more than $2000 to get the kit, hardware, and a full set of cymbals.
