The pedal that you`re thinking about getting, James, looks pretty solid. If you look at the Pearl Power Shifter Double pedal, which I have and paid 270 bucks for, the construction looks exactly the same...BUT!!! as I have pointed out in my "way too long" Vex Maple Drum set review, the hardware they sent me looked esthetically good, but was pathetically engineered and wasn`t worth the trouble to ship.

On the other side of the argument, (I don`t mean to be like Mr. John Kerry and flip-flop on everything, but for the sake of giving due credit...I must attempt to be fair) I think, personally, that the Vex crew makes good single products. What that means is that yes, the drums may COME with crappy hardware, but the Vented Snare that they make seems to be pretty highly regarded, so it seems that when you buy a single item, it turns out okay, compared to JUST the hardware being of poor quality with the drum sets. Of course, I have read to the contrary in that others have said the whole drum set sucks...so it, in the end, is really up to you my friend.

Now, I would suggest getting the DW400, or the Iron Cobra (180-260 bucks on sale at www.midwestpercussion.com) or the Pearl Eliminator/Power Shifter double pedals (you can find them all at midwestpercussion.com...free shipping, too). I know you`ll be spending almost three times as much, but it is worth it to not have to worry about your pedal breaking down or finding parts if you need to replace something quickly. Good luck, if you need anything, please email me!

JAY
Hear Vex Drums on our songs @ www.myspace.com/stationj

I just bought the $340 to your door kit and gotta tell ya, it was actually nicer than I thougt. The cymbals are horrible, but I expected that. The one thing I don`t quite get on this set is what the bass pedal is supposed to look like when in place properly. It doesn`t go up enough onto the rim of the bass for the front of it to sit flat in the ring so I am not quite sure how it is really supposed to look when properly installed. Anyone got a pic of what it looks like when installed. For $340, it is hard to beat this set.

Hey thx u guys! Ive been reading all of your reviews they have been really helpful! Thx again! Im looking at a Vex on ebay for about $350 total with shipping and all! Is tht too bad of a deal! Should i really expect wat i paid for. And also I`m kinda new at this so would this be a good set for me? Any other suggestion if so plz give me an email at bones7077@yahoo.com or keep on posting them ill keep an eye out! thx again!!!!

ac/dcdrummer

I have had them for about 2 mos now and really...they`re not bad! The cymbals do suck but for $340 delivered, you can`t really beat them. The seat is great and all of the hardware is fine. The Hi-Hat seems a little on the stiff side but all and all...it passes!

Any word on where I could find another one of them 20 ply Vex Vented Snares?? I`m thinking of building my own, but that would run me up to at least $500. ...Hmmm. I emailed the dude that sells them on ebay about 4 months ago, but I have not heard anything back yet..

Beetham

After reading everything I am beginning to think that I am pretty lucky to have gotten some pretty good equipment from Vex. I rate mine at about 600-700 dollars worth, but my set still needs lots of improvement. I say go ahead buy a set and if it happens to put together nicely you got yourself one of the better sets on the market. Email me about Vex at cstruckdb@yahoo.com

I`d like to submit a differing opinion on the Pacific hardware. Both my Pacific (motorcycle seat) throne and single bass pedal are stamped "DW" on the parts and are seriously beefy, NICE quality pieces. The medium to heavy Pacific cymbal stands and snare stands are likewise just as nice and solid. I could see problems with the lightweight models unless you`re hanging a splash or chimes, etc. I love my Pacific hardware, it seems to be all DW hardware with Pacific label. Thanks!

My vex kit is great! compared to the purcussion or other (toy) kits selling at any store or even ebay for the same price its an amazing deal. Maple shells for how much? This is a perfect kit for a beginner to a pro. I did upgrade things (of cource the heads) & I had my own stands & cymbals. I use a DW Custom kit live. This kit is an amzing bargain!