5 Best PDP Drum Sets

PDP Concept Maple Drum Set Review

The PDP Concept Maple is undoubtedly the most popular PDP drum set available. It’s the most easily found PDP kit out of all of them, and it offers fantastic tones and incredible DW-inspired features.

This drum set always sounds particularly good in a live music setup. The maple shells provide a balanced and versatile sound that works great for many styles of music. 

You can choose to get this kit in either a 5-piece or a 7-piece setup, and there are dozens of finishes to choose from.

The shells are made from Asian maple, and they have a well-rounded tone that is full-sounding. This means that they give a pleasant and warm tone when struck. This tone has a larger presence the larger the drum is that you hit. The bass drum, in particular, is quite meaty!

The true value of this kit comes from the borrowed DW hardware features. The shells have true-pitch tension rods to keep the hoops locked. These make tuning incredibly easy.

The snare drum included with the kit has the DW MAG throw-off, which is a fantastic magnetic lever to control the snares. The shells also have dual turret lugs that are inspired by DW’s turret lugs.

You get a set of Remo batter heads with the drums, but they aren’t of the highest quality. That’s the only slight downside of the kit, but it’s relatively minor compared to how much value is offered here. Overall, it’s the best PDP drum kit for all budgets.

PDP New Yorker Drum Set Review

The PDP New Yorker is a compact option by PDP. This is a small kit that packs a sizeable punch. With poplar shells, you get a focused tone that is relatively clear. However, these tones aren’t as rich as the ones you’ll get from the maple set above.

I have a student who owns this drum set. He’s quite young, but I can see how he appreciates the extra comfort offered by the smaller sizes. 

The two ideal applications for this set would be for gigging or for being used as a children’s set. The small drum sizes are what make it an excellent gigging option. The 16” bass drum is the same size as many floor toms, so you’ll be able to fit the set almost anywhere.

The kit also allows you to place a cymbal holder in the tom mounting bracket on the kick drum, further reducing the footprint.

The kit has three color options. The Rose and Electric Green Sparkle finishes are fantastic for children and more vibrant drummers, whereas the Black Onyx Sparkle finish is a bit better for adults who want a plainer look.

You also get mini turret lugs here, and they do a fantastic job of keeping the drums in tune. It can sometimes be a bit difficult to get the right tuning due to the shell sizes, but most drummers get the hang of it after a while. Once you know how the kit responds to various tunings, you’ll be able to dial them in easily.

There’s a special Daru Jones version of this kit if you’re interested in something along similar lines!

PDP Spectrum Drum Set Review

The PDP Spectrum is slightly more affordable than the Concept Maple, bringing it to the lower side of the intermediate drum set range. This set has an interesting combination of poplar and maple shells.

I didn’t have too much experience with this kit before trying it out, but I now think it’s massively underrated. These drums sing beautifully!

While the poplar makes the kit light, the maple adds an element of warm tonal responsiveness. It’s a unique blend that I haven’t found in many other intermediate drum sets.

However, out of all the PDP drum kits, the Spectrum gets spoken about the least. This is mostly because a 5-piece Concept Maple is very similar in price. If that kit is just out of your budget, this is an excellent one to consider getting.

It shares the same lug design, supported by the True-Pitch tension rods. It just doesn’t have the MAG throw-off on the snare. All the counter hoops on the drums are also slightly lower in quality.

If you want an affordable maple set, the Spectrum is one of the most affordable full-sized kits you can buy that has maple in its shells. So, it’s still a worthy option to consider.

Like the Concept Maple, it doesn’t feature the best stock drumheads, so the drums would benefit from an upgrade in this department.

PDP Center Stage Drum Set Review

The Center Stage is PDP’s most affordable kit. While it’s only a few dollars less than the Spectrum, it’s a full drum set that comes with drums, hardware, and cymbals. So, you’re getting everything you need to start playing with only one purchase, making the kit excellent for new drummers.

It wouldn’t work well for experienced drummers, as the thin poplar shells and weaker hardware are noticeably lower in quality compared to the other PDP sets on this list. The set is also quite small in comparison to the others, except for the New Yorker.

You get the classic True-Pitch tension rods that are offered on all the PDP kits, but all the other hardware features are ones commonly found in entry-level drum sets.

Aside from the drums, you receive cymbals, as well as a hi-hat stand, bass drum pedal, drum throne, snare stand, and a straight cymbal stand. You also get a brass pair of hi-hats and a brass crash to attach to those stands.

These cymbals don’t sound too appealing, but they’re something for beginners to use while they save to buy better cymbals.

When trying this kit out, I thought the hardware was surprisingly sturdy. The stands were all double-braced and felt very solid. 

The bass drum pedal and hi-hat stand had a smooth playing action to them as well.

It’s an ideal set for newcomers to the drumming world, and it strongly competes with other popular entry-level sets such as the Pearl Roadshow. Just don’t buy this one if you’re not a new drummer!

PDP Concept Maple Classic Drum Set Review

The Concept Maple Classic is an incredible drum set from PDP. While it shares many qualities with the standard Classic Maple kit, it has a few special features that make it highly regarded by pro drummers who use top-quality drum sets. 

The standout feature of this kit is the maple hoops on all the drums. Most drum kits have metal hoops, easily setting the Maple Classic kit apart. 

These wooden hoops added a sense of warmth to the drums, and it gave the toms a smoother tone. I’ve heard that this is an excellent studio set because of that. 

This is the only PDP drum set that doesn’t come with a snare drum. Rather, it comes as a 3-piece shell pack with a rack tom, floor tom, and bass drum. The rack tom is meant to be mounted onto a snare drum stand, keeping the bass drum pure with no mounting hardware drilled into it. 

You get three large size options for the bass drum, which are 22”, 24”, and 26”. Not many kits this affordable offer sizes that large, and you could easily get the classic John Bonham sound with that 26” bass drum. 

PDP sells Concept Maple Classic snare drums, but you’ll need to buy one separately when getting this drum set.