Ludwig Questlove Pocket Kit 4-piece Complete Drum Set - Black Sparkle Reviews

I got this set for my son who is 9 and beginning to learn to play. Previously he had been using a small electronic drum pad that was very limiting for his skill level. Having an actual drum kit has made a huge difference in his enjoyment while playing and has helped me see just how talented he actually is.

It sounds fantastic and can withstand getting beat on by several children almost around the clock. It's sleek looking and compact to fit in a small-ish space. The instructions were easy to follow to get the kit put together. Shipping was exceptionally fast and the customer service from Sweetwater was phenomenal. I highly recommend this kit for your beginner drummer

Drum set is great and impressed with the customer service!

When I placed an order for a different drum kit that was back ordered my sales engineer Joe Donner reached out and really took time with me to find a another recommendation and Joe's experience paid off because my grandson (and my son-in-law) just love this set! I think we were all pleasantly surprised about the great quality of the drum kit and how easy it was to setup. My grandson had a wonderful birthday surprise!. Thank you Joe!

This was an awesome buy and I have enjoyed every minute of it. The purchase process was astounding as I was making a move when this was ordered and the sales engineer followed up with mento confirm the new address - than you all!

I got this pocket kit for my 8 year old daughter. Everything is nicely packaged and has everything you need to get jamming. The cymbals are cheap and will need replacing if you want a better sound. But on the bright side, the crash/ride is quiet. Overall I am very impressed. The snare is awesome. The kick drum is outstanding considering how small it is. Very pretty sparkly metallic paint job on the shells and the black hardware sets it all of for a great look.

Purchased this kit for our son to start learning on. We were expecting your standard cheap kids kit. I have been blown away by how great this thing plays.

Looks: 10/10 the sparkle really shines beautifully. Ludwig logo looks really good. The black is a really deep black that contrasts with the sparkle finish to make this kit look stage ready for even the nicest occasion.

Hardware: 9.5/10 the kit is built very well. No warps, dings, chips, dents or imperfections. Everything feels nice and solid. The hi hat pedal and stand needs a little improvement, as it doesnt feel like the rest of the kit. It feels flimsy and sloppy. The kick pedal is smooth and very adjustable. The springs will squeak so you'll need to mitigate that. Cymbals are not good. They aren't the worst, but not good. Toms are solid with excellent tone when tuned with a drum dial to exact standards. Can sound like a big band kit, or a rocker kit depending on tuning. Snare is snappy and tight, with almost zero buzz when the kit is tuned properly. Kick drum is a real thumper. Depending on your style and setup, the kick can sound perfect for jazz and big band projects, or that signature death metal clicking kick and anywhere in between. The throne is adjustable and at its lowest setting is still a little too tall for my 4 year old. Im 6'2 200lbs fit and the throne is comfortable for me for about an hour. Overall extremely impressed by the build quality.

Playability 11/10 man this kit is FUN to play. Even for me. It is so versatile and easy to play. I love it and do does my son.

Recommend? 100%. Get it, you wont regret it.

I got this kit as a travel/small patio kit. I placed an emad on the bass and Evans 360 on the toms/snare (batter). My god, this is a more than a entry level kids kit! This is a great set for the money. The highhats/cymbal are not the best quality. The hi hats are fun in a kookie way! I"m really enjoying this kit!

We purchased this set for our 6 year old who has expressed an interest in learning the drums. It's a perfect set for him now and to grow into. It is very good quality for our expectations.

Everything from the order to delivery was above my expectations.


Thank you,

I bought the kit for my 6 year old buddy as a Christmas gift. I assembled it (put the heads on and tuned them) As a drummer of 40 years, the lack of instructions included in the box was no problem to me, but I would suggest that retailers offer a setup sheet with these.
I gave him the gift early :-) it is holding up great under serious beating! LOL Ya the cymbals aren't the greatest, but for a kid starting out they are fine.

Fantastic piece of equiptment, it looks good, it sounds great, and it's compact so finding space for it is not an issue. Of course my kid never touches the darn thing so it is collecting dust. Buyer beware, maybe your child doesnt want to be a rock star.

I purchased this kit for my 5 and 9 year old. I wanted to get them a kit that was appropriately sized, and one that wasn't a toy that they could grow into. The kit sounds great out of the box with a little tuning. It's small enough for the kids to play, and still large enough for dad to have some fun too. The cymbals aren't good and will get replaced if and when the kids get into it enough. The hi hat stand could be a little more solid; it's got a little bit of a wobble and something is always coming loose on it. A big thanks to my sales engineer Aaron Regenold for recommending this kit.

If you are like me, you are looking at this set because you need something small enough for your young child to reach the pedals and the snare at the same time. It's really all about the snare stand and I'm happy to report that the snare can go low enough for my daughter who just turned 5. Unfortunately, not so much with the throne. It is unusable for my 5 year old and at least 2-3 inches too tall for my 7 year old at the lowest setting. I wouldn't let that be a deterrent though because you probably have a small chair sitting around somewhere that you can use until your kid turns 8.

If you know what you are doing, you can get the toms and kick sounding decent. If you don't know what you are doing, I would suggest pulling up a youtube video on how to center and tune a drum head because the 5 lug hoops are not very forgiving. The hardware is perfectly adequate. The pedals feel smooth enough to be playable. The included sticks are usable as well. They are matched and they are straight. That's about all you can ask at this price point.

On the negative side, the snare is questionable. You really have to work to get the heads to sound right, especially the bottom head because the bearing edge is cut to accommodate the snare wires. The set includes a few round pieces of metal that they are calling cymbals. After 2 days, my 5 year old is already stealing cymbals from my set. Talk to your sales engineer about some cymbal options. Even the most entry level sub-$100 packs available here will be a significant upgrade from these. This seems like Ludwig squeezing the product into the "everything included" category when they would have been better off just leaving out the throne and cymbals and lowering the price point.

Overall, considering the price point, I would say that the drums and hardware exceeded my expectations, the snare matched them, and the cymbals fell way short. You will be happy that you bought the kit, but it might not be long before you start eyeing some upgraded components.

This kit is a great first set. The cymbals are playable, but needed replacing. The heads are marginally better than the cymbals and again, needed replacing. That"s as bad as it gets. After replacing what I consider wear items on this... set, it"s a hot little setup. My son is small for 12 years old and it fits him well. I can play this thing fine as well. This would by a great coffee house set...

I got this kit to fill a small space and have something around to jam on with my other gear. The heads and casings are of a light-moderate quality, but the set is also very inexpensive. It creates a good enough sound to jam without complaint. Also, Sweetwater customer service was great to work with.

If you're looking for a simple, inexpensive kit then this is a good choice. It helps if you are an adept drum head tuner, but that's not so hard. Oh and it's small, so be prepared to play on something sized for a 12 year old. Slight adjustments and you'll feel comfy enough.

for the money, this is 4 stars. Overall as a set, it's 3 stars. My rating is what I expected and what I purchased!