How much does a drum kit cost and which one to buy? 2026 guide

The question I hear most often in the workshop: how much does a drum kit cost if you want to actually play it, not just keep it in your room? Below I go through our kits from the cheapest to the most expensive and say plainly what you pay for at each level. I describe my own drums, because I know them inside out. Polmuz is my company’s brand, so keep that in mind.

Prices from our shop, September 2026, rounded to PLN 100 and without a snare drum. Model 2 is priced for a 20/12/14 custom order in natural wood, Model 1 for the smallest ready kit, 16/10/14.

What a drum kit is made of

Before you compare prices, check what is in the box. A full kit means drums: the bass drum (the big drum at the front that you play with your foot), the snare, the toms hanging above the bass drum and a floor tom standing on legs. Then cymbals: hi-hat, crash and ride. And the hardware you cannot play without: a bass drum pedal, a hi-hat stand, a snare stand, cymbal stands and a throne.

Here is the first trap when comparing prices. One shop gives the price for the drums alone, another for drums with stands, a third for the full set with cymbals. The difference between those three can easily be PLN 1,000–2,000, so always ask what exactly you are getting.

Acoustic or electronic?

An electronic drum kit is more of a stand-in for a drum kit. It is great for practising in a block of flats and a lot of fun, but it does not give you the dynamics of an acoustic kit. The cymbals are its weakest part.

Electronic drums are easier to play, so someone who has only practised on them will not play well on an acoustic kit. An electronic kit is fine to start with and for practising at home, but sooner or later you have to move to an acoustic one: soundproof a garage or rent a rehearsal room. For me, real drums are acoustic drums only.

Polmuz Birch Model 4 – approx. PLN 3,200, complete and ready to play

This is where I start when someone asks about a kit for a beginner or an intermediate player. The shells are birch, not poplar, and in this price range that is the most important difference.

To save money, big brands put poplar into their cheap kits. Poplar is soft and brittle, so you cannot cut a proper bearing edge in it, and the edge is what the head rests on. If the edge is poor, the head does not sit well and tuning problems begin. Model 4 does not have that problem, because birch takes a sharp, smooth edge.

The kit has everything: drums, stands, cymbals and a throne. Take it out of the box, set it up and play. It is easily enough for home, the rehearsal room and a small gig. This is how it sounds with a 22″ bass drum:

Played by Paweł Osicki.

Polmuz Birch Model 3 – approx. PLN 4,300, better hardware and lacquer

Birch again, but everything around it is a class higher. The pedal has a double chain, and both the pedal and the hi-hat stand on base plates. The hardware on the drums is sturdier: lugs, hoops, floor tom legs. The drums are lacquered, not wrapped. Customers most often choose Blue to Black Fade, and there is also Coffee Fade and black lacquer.

The toms hang on mounts that do not go through the shell, and the mounts sit on stands, not on the bass drum. A drum without holes vibrates more freely, so it sounds longer and fuller. Remo UK heads come as standard. For this price, that is a very generous spec.

Cymbals are not included. A Stage Pro set (14″ hi-hat, 16″ crash, 20″ ride) for PLN 600 is enough to start, so the whole thing comes in just under PLN 5,000.

Many people pair their drums with our Polmuz cymbals. They are hand-hammered by Turkish craftsmen from B20 bronze. The hammer never lands twice in the same spot, so every cymbal has a voice of its own. A hi-hat, crash and ride set costs from about PLN 2,500.

And this is Model 3 20/10/12/16 at Tall Pine studio:

Played by Paweł Osicki.

Kits available now, by bass drum size:

Stage Pro cymbals for Model 3 – PLN 600

Model 3 and Model 4 are made in China under our brand and our quality control. I say it openly, because at this price practically every drum kit on the market is made that way. The difference lies in what you demand from the factory: what wood, what edge and what hardware the drums are made with.

Custom kits: Polmuz Model 2 and Model 1

This is where the custom kits from our workshop in Gdynia begin. You choose the wood, the colour and the drum sizes, so you put the kit together around yourself, and we build it. Model 2 and Model 1 have exactly the same wood and the same solutions inside. What differs is the hardware and the time we spend on each drum.

What both models have

• Thin plywood. Usually maple, six plies, 4.8 mm. In 2019 I ordered samples of many different plywoods and tested which one sounded best. This one won: just knock on a bare shell and you hear its pitch.
• A 45° bearing edge milled, polished smooth and waxed. It meets the head on its flat part, so the drum tunes low and holds its tuning well.
• Holes drilled to within 0.2 mm. I draw the hole layout in QCAD the way I used to draw ship hull sections. The screws go in straight and do not rub against the hoop.
• A badge with the owner’s name in every drum, and with it a lifetime warranty on the shell.

For both kits we recommend mounting screws made of acid-proof stainless steel, the kind used in shipbuilding, and double waxing and oiling of the inside of the shells. With these the kit is practically indestructible, because nothing in it goes mouldy or rusts over the years.

Model 2 – from approx. PLN 5,500

Model 2 is made in our workshop in Gdynia. A 20/12/14 kit in natural wood costs about PLN 5,500 to order. A colour, fade or lacquer adds PLN 500 per drum. Ready kits we have in stock start at about PLN 6,500.

Model 2 drums to order

Model 1 – from approx. PLN 6,000

Model 1 is also made in our workshop. What sets it apart from Model 2 is heavier-duty drum hardware: lugs, claws, legs, mounts and tom holders. Evans heads come as standard, and we spend more time on every drum, refining the details. The smallest ready kit, 16/10/14 in Satin White Fade, costs about PLN 6,000, and an 18/12/14 in satin brown PLN 6,400. A 20/12/14 custom order in natural wood is about PLN 7,400. The most expensive, most extended Polmuz we have ever made cost PLN 40,000.

Two examples from the top shelf. We built the white and red kit with the eagle on the bass drum for the Polish Army. The other one, in polished black fade, went to the Warsaw Philharmonic (Filharmonia Narodowa): maple finished with oil and wax. An orchestra needs drums that sound clean without muffling and stay in tune for the whole concert, and that is exactly what the edge and the precise drilling provide.

This is how a maple Model 1 sounds:

And here I show why these drums are so easy to tune:

Polmuz Custom – woods, colours and examples · Design your drum · How we build drums, on polmuzdrums.com

They are all very easy to tune

What the whole range has in common, from Model 4 to Model 1, is the edge. It is sharp, smooth and even, so the head settles into the right place by itself. Tuning the whole kit takes fifteen minutes, not two hours of fighting with every rod. I show how in the guide to tuning in 15 minutes.

Warranty

The shells of all our kits carry a lifetime warranty for the first owner, which is rare in this price range. The hardware, meaning lugs, hoops and stands, gets 3 years instead of the usual two. Full warranty terms.

What to look at when you buy a drum kit

When you buy a drum kit, do not be afraid to take a drum apart and look inside. These are the things I always check:

• The bearing edge. This is where the sound of the drum lives. If it is well cut and even, the head sits properly on it and the drum is easy to tune. A simple test: put the shell edge-down on a sheet of glass. If no light shows through anywhere and you cannot slide a sheet of paper under it, the edge is level.
• Lug holes. The lugs should be parallel to each other and square to the edge. If they are not, the tension rod does not line up with the hole in the hoop, it rubs against it and the drum is hard to tune.
• Tension rods. They should turn easily, without resistance. Then you can tune finger tight, turning the rods with your fingers, by feel. In my opinion that is the fastest and most convenient way to do the first rough tuning. If the rods are stiff, you are left with slower methods.
• Wood. Poplar is really only fit for small kits tuned high. A sensible choice starts with birch: it is a fairly hard wood that does not chip when you cut it, so you can make a good edge in it. Denser and harder woods, like bubinga or walnut, take an even more precise edge and give a more intense, classier sound.
• Lacquer or wrap. Lacquer dampens the shell less than wrap and, in my opinion, looks better.
• Tom mounts. Ideally non-invasive, meaning they need no holes in the shell and hold the tom, for example, on the hoop screws.
• Warranty. Check whether the maker gives one year, 3 years or a lifetime warranty.
• Spare parts. Ask whether the maker has them at all. Many do not care, and then a lost screw or a cracked lug means fitting something that does not match.
• Stands and pedal. Double-braced legs, memory locks, a double-chain pedal that will not snap, pedal and hi-hat on base plates, spring tension adjustment on the hi-hat. These are features of professional gear. Heads are easy to replace, stands and pedals are not, so it pays to have good ones from the start.
• Snare drum. The throw-off should lower the snare wires far enough. Check it like this: release the snares and hit a rimshot. If the wires still bounce off the head and buzz, the throw-off is weak, and a snare like that can be really irritating. Also look at the snare beds, the shallow dips in the bottom edge where the wires pass over. Cheap snares often do not have them, and then the wires sound poor and the drum is hard to tune.

A used drum kit

With a used kit it is hard to tell at first glance whether it is fully in working order. If you do not know drums, buy a new one.

A used kit can always be sent to our restoration workshop and put right, above all the edges. That way you can save quite a bit. But watch out for mix-and-match kits, meaning toms from different kits repainted in a similar colour. Drums like that do not sound coherent and do not match. Also watch out for dishonest sellers and check that the kit has not been flooded and that the wood is not dried out.

Buying a used kit makes sense if you know drums or can bring along someone who does.

Where to buy

The best way is to come to the Polmuz workshop in Gdynia, see the kit in person and look inside. I am happy to show you and explain what to look for. You will also find our kits in our online shop, on Allegro, on Reverb and on the Ceneo price comparison site.

Most customers call us first (+48 797 317 035) and then come over. They value direct contact: we like talking to people and giving them our time. Today, when so much shopping is anonymous and impersonal, a simple conversation with someone who knows drums really matters.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a drum kit for a beginner cost?

A complete kit with drums, stands, cymbals and a throne costs about PLN 3,200 at our shop (Polmuz Birch Model 4). You can buy cheaper, but then you usually pay for it with poplar shells and an edge that makes the heads hard to tune.

Are cymbals included in the price?

It depends on the kit. Model 4 comes with cymbals. For Model 3 you have to buy them separately: a Stage Pro set costs PLN 600, and hand-hammered Polmuz B20 bronze cymbals start at about PLN 2,500. With Model 2 and 1 you buy just the drums and choose the rest separately.

How much does a good drum kit cost?

A good kit for rehearsals and gigs is our Model 3 for about PLN 4,300. Custom kits from our workshop in Gdynia, with your choice of wood and colour, cost from about PLN 5,500 (Model 2) and from about PLN 6,000 (Model 1).

How much does a custom drum kit cost?

Our custom kit starts at about PLN 5,500 for a 20/12/14 in a natural finish (Model 2). A colour adds PLN 500 per drum. The most extended Polmuz we have ever made cost PLN 40,000.

What is the difference between Model 1 and Model 2?

The wood is the same. Model 1 has heavier-duty hardware, Evans heads as standard and even more carefully finished details.

Electronic or acoustic drums for a flat?

Electronic drums work well for practising in a flat, but they do not give you the dynamics of an acoustic kit, and the cymbals sound weak. They are enough to start, but later it is worth playing acoustic anyway, for example in a soundproofed garage or a rented rehearsal room.

Is it worth buying a used drum kit?

Yes, if you know drums or have someone who does. Watch out for mix-and-match kits, flooded drums and dried-out wood. If you have no experience, buy a new one.

What should you check when buying a drum kit?

The edge matters most: a drum placed on glass must not let light through anywhere. Then check the lug holes, whether the tension rods turn easily, the wood (birch and up), the stands, the warranty and the availability of spare parts.

Tomek Stukan, owner of DrumStore and the Polmuz brand. I have been working with drums professionally since 2006, and we have already restored more than 200 drums in our workshop in Gdynia.