Rhythm Mate Standard -CCM : Very well made with great tone

I'm an enthusiastic amateur and this kit was, therefore, at the perfect price point for me. For an entry-level kit, this is excellent quality and beautiful to play. The tone is great, even with the stock heads and all drums hold their tune well.

The hardware is really solid and easy to adjust; I particularly like the tom mount which allows you to make tiny adjustments with ease. All supplied stands are good quality and will stand up to some serious punishment. The snare stand is the clamp variety and holds the snare really snugly. The drum throne is pretty basic but very comfortable.

The Meinl BCS cymbal set that comes with the kit has lovely tone and sustain. I'm not sure how much they would cost on their own but I'd say that you're getting a real bargain having them included in the price of the kit. I've used Paiste PST3 up till now and I have to say I much prefer the Meinl.

The drums themselves are solid and stay put when you go to work on them. The adjustable feet on the bass drum with carpet spikes mean that my kit doesn't shift at all when playing on carpet or rug.

As I said, I'm an enthusiastic amateur and have been playing a cheap kit for a few years now so the Rhythm Mate is a real step up for me. I have to say I'm extremely happy with it. The only part of the kit that doesn't live up to the shine and quality of the rest is the AccuTune hoops on the bass drum. They're heavy duty black plastic and look a little cheap next to all of the chrome found everywhere else. That said, they are supposed to hold tuning much longer so I can live with the look if that's the case.