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If you’ve owned an entry-level drum kit for a while, getting a higher-quality mid-tier kit is a great way to improve your setup. Intermediate drum sets also work well as gigging kits for drummers who don’t want to move around high-end gear.
I’ve been lucky enough to play on some amazing mid-level kits over the years, and I’ve compiled a list of them for this guide.
Here are some of the best intermediate drum sets available. I’ve compared them according to quality, build, value, and overall versatility.
What are the Best Intermediate Drum Sets?
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Best sounding kit
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Best overall kit
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Best jazz set
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Best maple set
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Best compact set
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Best affordable set
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Best Intermediate Drum Kit Reviews
Mapex Armory
Mapex Armory Review
I’ve performed with the Mapex Armory drum set on numerous occasions and it’s been one of the most reliable mid-tier drum sets that I’ve played.
One of my favorite things about the set is the number of high-end features it has that are typically reserved for pricier drum kits.
It’s the only kit on this list that has a virgin bass drum, meaning the rack toms mount to cymbal stands. You arguably get a cleaner sound from the bass drum, and it just makes the kit look more professional. However, that can be debatable depending on who you talk to.
Another fantastic feature is the hybrid drum shells. You get a mixture of maple and birch plies. These are the two most popular woods used for drum kits, with one providing balance and warmth and the other providing brightness and a bit of oomph.
The result is a modern tom tone that I really enjoy. The toms are loud and forceful, but they’re also highly musical.
The kit comes with a 14” x 5.5” Tomahawk steel snare drum. Steel snares are often seen as lower-quality, but I’ve always been impressed by the amount of bite that this one offers. It’s really aggressive, especially when you tune it higher.
Overall, this is an incredible gigging drum kit with excellent value for money. While there are other kits that you may prefer, I definitely think this kit is one of the best options.
Features:
- Hybrid birch/maple shells
- SONIClear bearing edges
- Steel snare drum
Pros
- Some highly unique finish options for a mid-level drum set
- Includes a powerful and cutting steel snare drum
- Great option for drummers that like stand-mounted rack toms
- Incredible value for money compared to other comparable drum sets
Cons
- No negatives to mention
Yamaha Stage Custom Birch
Yamaha Stage Custom Birch Review
The Yamaha Stage Custom Birch is the one drum set that will comfortably appear on everyone’s list of suggestions for great affordable kits.
While the Mapex Armory has great value for money, this kit costs a few hundred dollars less, and I think it’s a much more attractive option for a lot of drummers.
The main feature is the pure birch shells. With birch wood focusing more on higher-frequency sounds, these drums sound a lot punchier than all the other options on this list.
I’ve heard how the brighter sounds make the kit sound livelier on a stage when mixed with big amp stacks, so I understand why people say that this kit is one of the best options for gigging drummers.
I’m also a huge fan of Yamaha’s YESS rack tom mounting system. The cool thing about it is that all of the brand’s high-end kits also use it, so you get a luxury feel when working with the toms, even though this is an affordable set.
The YESS mounts make the toms quite easy to adjust, and they sit really securely. No matter how hard I played the toms, they never wobbled when I tried this kit out.
This kit has been on the market for decades, but Yamaha recently introduced a few more finish options to spice things up. A few of them were taken from higher-end Yamaha kits, adding even more value to the kit!
Features:
- Birch shells
- YESS mounting design
- Air Seal System for shells
Pros
- Bright and powerful tones that work very well for live gigs
- Fantastic tom mounting system that Yamaha also uses for all their high-end drum kits
- One of the most affordable drum sets that professional drummers can comfortably use
- Yamaha has recently released new finishes to give more life to the kit
Cons
- I’m not a big fan of the stock drumheads that the kit comes with
Gretsch Catalina Club
Gretsch Catalina Club Review
The Gretsch Catalina Club is my top option for drummers that want a good jazz drum set. This set has 7-ply mahogany shells that give it fantastic low tones.
However, I always think of jazz straight away when I hear the toms being played. No matter how you tune the drums, they sing in a musical way that jazz drummers tend to love.
The low-end boost from the mahogany plies adds a lot of depth to the sounds, but the boosted resonance is what makes them sound musical.
The bass drum also sounds like a cannon. Instead of it producing a tight and refined sound, it produces a booming sound that makes it work as an extra tom in the setup, which is another feature that I know jazz drummers really love.
The shells have compact sizes, meaning the kit is quite small when you set it up. This makes it a dream to travel with. It also works well for venues where you don’t have much space on stage.
Unfortunately, I don’t see this drum kit as very versatile. Gretsch makes another version of the Catalina with maple shells that would be a much better option for non-jazz drummers.
If you’re a pure jazz drummer, this would be my top recommendation. There’s nothing quite like playing a good Gretsch kit with 30-degree bearing edges to offer those popular vintage-like tones.
Features:
- Mahogany shells
- 30-degree bearing edges
- 1.6mm triple-flanged hoops
Pros
- Wonderfully musical tones from the mahogany shells
- Powerful boom from the bass drum
- Compact shell sizes, so it’s easy to carry around and fit into tight spaces
- Surprisingly good snare drum
Cons
- I don’t think this kit is as versatile as other compact options
PDP Concept Maple
PDP Concept Maple Review
Up next we have the PDP Concept Maple drum set. This has arguably been one of the most popular intermediate drum sets for well over a decade, as it’s known to offer great tones with epic construction quality.
I’m a big fan of DW drum sets, and PDP offers a few hardware features that are borrowed from those.
Let’s start with the maple shells, though. While maple shells mainly offer warm and balanced tones, I’ve always thought that the toms on this kit sound a bit punchier than what you hear on others. They speak very quickly, lending well to fast drum fills that include many notes.
The snare drum also has an amazing crack to it when you tune it high. I’ve often seen this kit being used by Gospel drummers, and they always tune the snare as tightly as possible. It sounds so good at higher tunings.
The features borrowed from DW sets are the True-Pitch tension rods and the MAG throw-off for the snare drum. The tension rods essentially make tuning a lot easier. They also hold tuning very nicely.
The MAG throw-off is a magnet lever that makes turning the snare on and off quite smooth. I think both these features push this kit ahead of many others in the same price range.
Overall, it’s an amazing kit that I highly recommend. Especially the 7-piece version.
Features:
- Maple shells
- True-Pitch tension rods
- STM tom mounts
Pros
- High-quality hardware features from DW that boost performance quality
- Multiple configuration options available at different prices, with the 7-piece setup having the best value for money
- Sharp tones from the toms, making the kit great for quick styles of drumming
Cons
- There can sometimes be shell issues with bad stock, but it’s rare
Sonor AQ2 Bop
Sonor AQ2 Bop Review
The Sonor AQ2 Bop is one of my favorite small drum sets. While I recommended the Gretsch Catalina Club earlier, I think this kit is a lot more versatile.
It has maple shells as opposed to the Catalina’s mahogany ones. This leads the drums to sound a bit warmer and more balanced.
I’ve found the stock heads to really not do the kit justice, though. Once you replace those with high-quality ones, the kit comes to life in a dramatic way.
While the shells are small, you almost get the same powerful tones that you get from a regular drum set. The toms sound incredible when tuned low, producing big and booming tones. They sound just as good when tuned high, giving you jazzy resonant tones.
If you’re looking for a gigging kit to use when you don’t have a lot of space, this is one that I’ve seen working just fine at rock shows. The included cymbal arm that mounts to the bass drum is a huge space saver, as you don’t need to use a full ride cymbal stand.
It also has proudly German quality, which is something that makes Sonor drum kits feel a lot sturdier and more well-built than many other brands’ drum sets.
I just wouldn’t recommend getting this as your main drum set, as the small shell sizes are definitely not for everyone.
Features:
- Maple shells
- Die-cast lugs
- SmartMount rack tom mount
Pros
- One of the best compact drum sets available
- Highly versatile for a drum set with bop configuration shell sizes
- Top-tier build quality, which is very impressive for the price
- Comes with a tom-mounted cymbal arm to save space
Cons
- Many drummers will find it too small to use as a main set
Pearl Export
Pearl Export Review
Our last kit for this list is the Pearl Export, which holds the record for being one of the most sold drum kits ever. I grew up seeing these drum sets everywhere, and Pearl has continued to keep the Pearl Export as one of the best options for beginner and intermediate drummers.
While this kit isn’t quite as high-quality as the other ones on this list, it costs around the same. The reason for this is that it comes with a full set of Pearl hardware, including drum and cymbal stands, and a bass drum pedal.
Pearl makes some of the best hardware in the world, so I think the inclusion of the hardware pack boosts the kit into the intermediate category.
The shells are a mixture of thin poplar and thicker mahogany. Poplar makes them sound a bit flatter than the other kits, but the mahogany plies add plenty of low-end. I definitely think these toms sound best when tuned low, and I’ve been really surprised at how good a well-tuned Export set can sound on a stage.
My biggest complaint about this kit is the tom mounts. Pearl’s L-arm tom mounts have never been a favorite of most of the drummers I know, and finding good tom angles can be quite tricky.
Other than that, it’s an amazing drum set with incredible value. You could definitely continue using the hardware stands in the future when upgrading to a professional set, so there’s great long-term value from the purchase.
Features:
- Mahogany/poplar drum shells
- Superior Shell Technology
- Full set of drum hardware included
Pros
- Full set of high-quality Pearl hardware included that you can continue to use when you upgrade to a better drum kit
- The bass drum resonant head has a porthole, which is great for drummers who use microphones
- Fantastic low tones from the toms and bass drum
Cons
- The drum shells aren’t as high-quality as the rest of the kits on this list
Features to Look Out for in an Intermediate Drum Kit
Shell Hardware
One of the biggest things that differentiates drum kits at this price range is what hardware gets used to hold all the shells together.
The main things I’d suggest looking at are tom mounts, counter hoops, shell design processes, and other potential shell hardware features.
All drum kits are built to perform in the same way, but I’ve played on plenty of kits that I prefer to others simply due to the hardware making them feel and look a bit better.
A good example of this is whether the rack toms are mounted to the kick drum or cymbal stands. If they’re mounted to the bass drum, they often feel a bit sturdier. However, they resonate a bit more if they’re mounted to cymbal stands. A lot of drummers I know also prefer how that looks.
If you want a kit with rack toms that mount to the bass drum, you can then look at how the tom mount designs differ.
I love Yamaha’s rack tom mounts the most, and I’m not a huge fan of Gretsch’s tom mounts. So, I’d likely pick a Yamaha kit over a Gretsch one if I were simply deciding based on those factors. Some people may disagree with me, though, so it’s important to understand your own preferences and stick with those.
Materials
After checking out the hardware features, you should look at what kind of wood is used to make the drum shells. Drum brands use various wood types that bring different tones out of the drums.
Most good intermediate drum sets have maple shells, which are nicely balanced with an overall sense of warmth. I highly recommend getting a maple kit if you’re not looking for something specific, as those tend to be the most versatile.
The two other wood types that we looked at above are birch and mahogany. Birch is a thicker wood that boosts the high frequencies of the drums. It leads them to sound brighter and punchier, also making them sound slightly louder.
I’ve always found birch kits to work best on live stages, as they easily compete with other loud instruments around them.
Mahogany has opposite tonal effects, boosting lower tones to get deep tom sounds. If you want big and booming drums, a mahogany kit would be a good choice.
You’ll also find hybrid drum sets, which have a mixture of plies from different woods. These give you all the tonal qualities of whatever woods are used, offering a unique mix.
Sizes
You have two choices regarding size – regular or compact. Regular drum kits have 22” bass drums, three toms, and a snare drum.
Most intermediate kits are available in this kind of configuration, with some coming with a few more toms to give you a larger setup.
Compact drum sets have smaller sizes, and the whole idea is that they’re easier to transport and smaller to fit on tight stages.
While there are a few high-end compact drum sets available, most of the compact sets I know of fit into the intermediate category.
I’ve always thought that it’s a good idea for every drummer to own both kinds. A full kit can be used for most things, while your compact kit can be used when you need to play on something smaller.
The great thing about mid-level drum kits is that they’re quite affordable, so it’s not a big hit on your budget to get two drum kits.
I also know a lot of drummers like to own high-end large drum kits, and then they’re happy to purchase a mid-level compact kit.
Intermediate Drum Kit FAQs
How Do You Know if a Drum Set is Considered Intermediate?
The main defining factor of an intermediate drum set is the price tag. Most mid-level kits cost between $600 and $1500.
You’ll find a few lower-quality kits that cost around $1000, but they’re priced higher due to them coming with hardware stands.
You’ll also find some higher-quality kits that cost a bit over $1000. These are shell packs that often don’t come with snare drums.
Which Brands Sell the Best Intermediate Drum Sets?
Most drum brands have a few good intermediate options. If you want reliability in performance, I’d recommend picking a kit from one of the eight major drum brands.
This includes Mapex, Tama, Gretsch, Ludwig, Pearl, Yamaha, PDP, and Sonor.
Do Professional Drummers Use Intermediate Drum Sets?
Yes, it’s quite common for professional drummers to regularly use intermediate drum sets. Most intermediate sets can sound really good if you tune them well and place high-quality drumheads on the shells.
You’d also need to use pro-tier cymbals, as cymbals play a huge role in defining the overall quality of a drum kit’s sound.
