Berkeley RBD1

i bought thhis kit just over a year ago. i got the kit with the standard set up. snare, 2 rack toms, floor tom and bass drum, and 16'' crash and 14'' hats. i bought the kit for £165. the value for money is exellent. the overall sound of the kit is decent, but it will requier some carful and skilled tuning to get the best out of the kit. the skins supplied with the kit arnt great, but they lasted me about 6 months. i would certainly recommend investing in some new skins, especially for the snare. i would recommend a coated remo ambassador for the snare, as i feel it gets the best possible sound out of the snare.

I still use this kit. i have upgraded it so that it now has sabian solar ride crash and hats, and the sabian b8 pro 8'' 10'' and 12'' splashes.

SNARE

6/10

the snare is of a decent quality, and produces a nice warm, fat sound. although it is a little to ringy. the snares do not pick up great either. but it is still of a reasonable standard for a starter kit. the rimshock you can get is also surprisingly good.

KICK/BASS

9/10

for a starter kit the kick is excellent. it is quite powerfull and tunes up really nicley. i would recomend putting a pillow in the shell or something, just to dull it down. the skins on this are also good. the sound is amazing for a starter kit, especially to say that the toms are drilled in.

RACK TOMS

8/10

the rack toms are surprisingly nice. they have a very nice warm sound to them which is somewhat appealing. they have a very nice volume to them aswell.

FLOOR TOM

8/10

Most begginer kits have quite poor floor toms but this is an acception. its pefect as a starter. i would recomend putting a remo on there. the sound from the tom is a little dull. that is my only critisism.

HI-HATS/CRASH

3/10

The cymbals do let the kit down slightly. without these appauling cymballs the kit would get 5 stars from me. The hi hats sound appauling. they are literally paper thin. they lasted me all of a week. i know that starter kit cymbals are always poor but just if they were thicker so that they lasted longer. the hats bend like foil aswell. The crash also sounds like you are hitting a bin lid. OVERALL THE KIT IS GREAT VALUE FOR MONEY AND YOU WONT REGRET IT. JUST MAKE SURE YOU UPGRADE THE CYMBALS!!

The Berkeley RBD1 is a really good starter drum kit, and not that expensive. A good sound and a nice appearance.

It would be nice if the kit came with a Ride Cymbal, but it is a very good Starter kit.