Drum Center of Portsmouth — Local services in North Hampton

Originally posted 1/27/25. It’s tough to write this review, as I’ve been a customer of DCP various times in the past, and have only had positive interactions and things to say about DCP.

Buyer beware the condition you receive your supposedly ‘new’ drums in. I purchased a high end drum set, a Tama Star Maple Bop Kit, along with a matching snare, and received it last week, on 1/22/25. It’s obvious that the kit was used, as it arrived showing various signs of use. The most noticeable wear was some light scuffing on the top of the bass drum that’s visible on the lacquer (see attached picture, taken the day I received the kit last week). To clarify, the spots I’ve circled in the picture are not just the light reflecting, and they don’t come off when cleaned with MusicNomad Drum Detailer. Looking at it up close in person, it’s easy to see the marks are scuffs / scratches in the lacquer that happened during previous use of the kit, possibly from something scraping across the drum during set up and breakdown. As the drums were packed well for shipping, it doesn’t look like the sort of thing that happened in shipping transit. Furthermore, the inside bass drum hoop arrived a chip in the lacquer where the natural wood is exposed beneath as a result.

Really, the bottom line is pretty simple: Used gear, even in good condition, shouldn’t be represented and sold as brand new by a retailer like DCP, but especially not high end gear at this price point. While the ‘damage’ & wear is admittedly light, it’s not really acceptable to receive the nicest kit I might ever buy in my life in in used condition, when it was expected to be brand new. Nowhere in the listing on their website was there mention of the drums being in used condition; the customer can’t be expecting to buy a brand new Tama Star kit, with the retailer making no mention of its used condition in either its website listing, or beforehand in correspondence with the customer regarding the purchase of the kit.

If you’re going to use drums for things like filming, recording, and creating content for your YouTube channel before selling them on your website, the correct thing to do when listing them for sale is to make explicitly clear the extent of their use and the impact of that use to the customer...

I have ordered several things from the Drum Center, all with quick and good service. However, my latest purchase left a lot to be desired. I ordered a Sabian Snare Drum Mute/ Practice Pad on April 26, 2024. I was happy with the price and delivery time. It arrived on May 1. The pad was supposed to have 4 feet that rested on the snare head so that you could use the pad to mute the snare and practice as part of the kit. The feet were missing. I called DCofP and reported the problem the next day. They emailed me a return shipping label for the bad pad and said they would ship me a correct new one. They were going to inspect the new one to ensure it did not have the same problem. This is when my satisfaction with DCofP deteriorated. I mailed the bad pad back to them on 5/3. After about a week, I had not received the new pad and had not heard from them. I called them and they said the the returned pad had not been processed yet and it would be a few more days until they did that and could send out the new pad (seems like too long to me.) I reminded them that the person I originally spoke with was going to inspect the new pad to ensure it did not have the same problem, and they said they would to that. They finally shipped the new pad on 5/15 and I received it on 5/20. The new pad had the same problem as the original pad. I called them on the same day I received the pad and told them about the new pad problem. They said they would research what happened. They got back with me later that day and said that all new pads they had in stock had the same problem, but that they all had stickers stating the the feet were no longer included, even though the box clearly showed them. The person I spoke with said he would email me another return shipping label and contact Sabian to find out what was going on and call me back. That is the last I have heard from them. I never got a shipping label and nobody returned the call. I sent an email to their support staff on 5/25 and basically stated what I have said above, but have not received a response to that either. Now it's 6/13/2024 and I am still waiting for a return shipping label and a response about the problem. In spite of my previously good history with the DCofP, this has been enough to...

Calling this a drum shop just isn't fair. This is Utopia for drummers. After years of enjoying dozens of always-educational and often hilarious DCP videos on their YouTube channel, I finally set aside two days to make the six-hour drive to Portsmouth to see the place. I wish I hadn't waited so long.

I spent three hours roaming every inch of DCP and can't wait to return. In fact, I'm going to make a visit here part of my annual fall calendar, even if the only thing I need at that time is a pair of sticks. But I guarantee it won't be the only purchase I leave with, because the entire vibe of this mammoth retail-store-within-a-shrine-to-all-things-drumming is so damned inspiring, I want to support DCP.

And if you are a drummer, know a drummer or just want to BE a drummer, you should support DCP, too. Why? Because Shane and his team have built a business that to my way of thinking is the Gold Standard of drum shops, from the ground up. Not in NYC. Not in LA. Not in Vegas, Austin, Nashville or any other live music mecca, but in tiny (but beautiful) Portsmouth NH.

The inventory and displays are mind-boggling. The prices are fair and competitive. The staff is extremely knowledgeable, friendly and low-pressure and make you feel at home the moment you walk through the door. I've owned small businesses all my life and couldn't be more impressed by what DCP has achieved and the height of the bar they've set here in a hyper-competitive industry. This is a special place. It reminds me that an independent business owner who loves his craft, is a genuinely good human being (I spent some time with Shane, and trust me, he is exactly that), builds a team of like-minded people and treats them like family can succeed against the odds.

I visited ostensibly to buy yet another kit, but that was just an excuse to justify paying for a hotel night. The only downside of my experience at DCP is that it's ruined me for visiting any other drum shop. That would be like settling for a burger when I can buy a filet for the same price.

Their ecomm site and website rocks, too, btw. But as you can tell by my expression, for this drummer, the road trip is worth...