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HB Drums Predator Elite 7pc. Reviews  4 / 5 based on 2 reviewsPredator Elite 7pc. Lacquer finish. Ripp Tide Red. toms: 8', 10', 12', 13', 16' floor tom, 22' Bass, 13' Snare. All Birch shells. Been playing drums for over 15 years. Rock, RandB, Fusion, Funk, Jazz, Blues. Currently play in 2 bands and also 2 churches.
Purchesed online from HBDrums.com, got them on sale for $595 including shipping. I have a older Roland TD-7K kit for church and small-medium gigs. But I needed a good acustic set for lager/outdoor gigs. I looked around for a year, but my wife is sick, on disability, and I had a $700 max limit to work with. Forget local music shops, good birch 5 pc. kits go for around $1000. After much debate I decided to take a chance and buy online from HB. I'm not a big online shopper, but I took the risk.
Kit came in 4 business days. Boxes in good shape, no damage. The red lacquer finish is beautiful, shells sound full, warm, good attack. No issues with hardware. I have owned the kit for over a year now and have had no problems, ton of complements on the sound and finish. Most people never heard of HB drums, its nice to play something people 'don't know'.
Well, it was supose to come with a 14' snare, mine came with a 13'. The snare was natural birch finish, not the matching ripp tide red, as described in the add. These are hand applied lacquer finish shells. The floor tom is a bit lighter in shade then the rest of the kit. You really can't tell unless its outdoors in the sun. Somehow the sun brigs out the shade difference the most. By mistake instead of a hi-hat stand I got an extra tom stand and a extra snare stand, I'm not complaining because I already got a great hi-hat stand, and the extra tom stand works with 3 boom arms much better for what I need. But honestly, it was an error on HB's part.
Quality- the shells are good, no defects, the bearing edges are decent. Like most kits if you are a perfectionist you may find things to complain about. On my kit the 10' toms top bearing edge could have been better, but I have done wood work before, so it was a easy fix for me. On the 8' tom one of the lugs was missing a screw and washer. I have plenty of extras, so once again -easy fix, but it should have been caught at the factory before shipping. Overall I give the fit/finish a 6.5 to 7 out of 10. Its good, but theres plenty of room for improvement.
HB Drums are a fantastic value for the price. There is no doubt about that. You just can't find a better deal for the money. They sound amazing, really great tone. I've got a ton of complements on my kit; other drummers, musicians, sound/PA guys all say the kit sounds great. The lacquer finish looks very nice, even if it had some flaws, (I was able to get some red toner at drum maker.com and applyed 1 extra coat of lacquer to get my floor tom to match the rest of the kit). The overall fit/finish is good, but can use improvement on HB Drums Quality Control part. I think its safe to say, they are drums that 'out of the box' may require some additional fine tuning, tlc or finishing work. But even with that factor, they are still the lowest costing birch drums on the market that once tweeked sound fantastic. It all depends on your point of view, some will read this and say that HB are garbage because of the flaws, and others like me, well, I'm sticking by them. As a matter of fact, I'm planing on getting the duke pro series snare, and the 18' floor tom. And in the future if I'm in the market for a full kit, it will probably be another HB Drum set. I don't mind tearing the kit apart, or fixing whats not to my standards. Thats what makes a kit 'custom'. Of course that may not work for everyone. I do recomend you call them and talk to them first, ask questions, find out what the return policy is if you receive something that you are not willing to except. They are not perfect, but have been around for 30+ years, so obviously they have to be doing something rite. Bottom line: they work for me and are worth every penny! instrumentaldrummer rated this unit on 2010-01-28. I've been playing drums since 1982. Have played through out the USA. Currently play with a praise and worship band at church, have my own band, do fill in work for other bands, studio work, and have done some drum clinics over the past 2 years. Will be playing this spring at San Antonio FIESTA wich is a international music event.
I needed a good quality acustic semi-pro set for larger venues and outdoor gigs (such as FIESTA). I use a Roland TD7-K electronic kit for smaller shows. I did not want to spend thousands of dollars on a new birch kit. I did my research for about a year and decided on the HB Drums 7pc. Predator Elite. 2007 end of year clearence sale for $575.00. The Sonor kit I was looking at would be almost 3 times that price. Purchased on line direct from HB Drums.
6 ply, all birch shells, beatuiful lacquer finish, heavy-duty double braced hardware. They project and sound wonderful. 7 drums for less than a 'brand name' birch 5pc.
Some minor cosmetic blemishes, but I need to remind myself that I'm a horrible perfectionist.
I inspected the kit from top to bottom carfuly: Laquer finish is incredable, fit and finish are better than what one would expect for this price. Good bearing edges top/bottom on all drums. The overall product is a solid kit even with the small cosmetic blemishes.
Worth every penny. A great deal for the money. Kit came with wrong color snare and floor tom. Was able to contact HB Drums to get them exchanged quikly. Good customer service, but don't expect someone to be on the phone 24/7. Hb Drums is a small private drum co. (Just how I like it). Bottom line: Great SOUND, great value, great price, great looks. If you got a problem, they will assist you, and fix it. I personaly WILL be purchasing from them again. Wojtek B. rated this unit on 2008-04-19.
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