Hey, I’ve been a drummer for over 30 years. When I started I got a practice pad. That was really the only option outside of a full set and it worked well. You’ll need to build your fundamentals with rudiments that you can apply on a full kit. This takes some time. That’s not to say you can’t jump into a drum set right away, but I can be a frustrating starting point and as you point out, expensive.

As a work around you can set up other objects around your pad and tap your feet to get a feel for coordination on a full set. Once you’ve made some progress and reach the level of uncontrollable tapping on random objects and air drumming day and night, it’s probably a good indicator you’re in deep and probably need to invest in something.

I will add that buying an electronic kit was the best decision I made, and I wish I had done it earlier, and not been such a purist. The main reason being, I can practice more often, and it provides a more drum like experience.

For a first pad there’s lots of options, gum rubber is a favorite, there are some multi surface pads that you may also want to try, if you want to pretend you’re playing on the worlds tiniest kit. For sticks, start with marching drum sticks or “corps” sticks and get a pair of 5A or 5Bs. Work with the corps sticks for a few months and bring in the smaller sticks to get used to those too. The larger sticks will help you build strength and are over all easier to work with. All this should be obtainable for under $100 USD.

Good luck and hope you enjoy drumming!

One should always start cheap with hobbies until you know it's gonna stick

I'm gonna give some advice that goes a bit against the grain here. It sounds like you want to try it out without making any big purchases before you know if you'll like it, so I'd suggest finding a drum instructor and take one or two lessons just to get a feel for a real acoustic kit. Let them know you don't have drums and just want to try some out. They'll be able to get you playing a super basic beat in that time and you can see how you feel from there. Learning instruments is hard for most people, especially learning a first instrument. At first it kind of sucks, because you don't know how to do anything. That's where an instructor will also be really helpful because they can show you some things that are fun but also easy. If you enjoy the lessons but still aren't sure you want to commit to buying anything, look for practice spaces in your area that provide equipment. Most small cities will likely have a few. This way you can try some stuff out on your own and play around without having to go all in on buying anything.

Then look in to getting a practice pad. I like this one because it's got two sides that emulate the feel of both drums and cymbals pretty well and is good for getting your hand coordination down, and the soft side is pretty quiet.

If you're still in to it, I would strongly suggest looking in to getting a used acoustic kit. Try craigslist/fb marketplace and look for Yamaha, Ludwig, Pearl, Gretsch, Tama, DW, Sonor, or Mapex. Try to get something that includes hardware and cymbals. If you're patient, you can usually find something in the $300-$500 range. Anything lower in those brands is an absolute steal. Learn how to tune and know that, just like playing, tuning drums is a skill that takes practice and you will be bad at at first.

As far as electric goes, there are very good electric kits out there, but in my opinion the only ones really worth getting are very expensive (think $1500-$2000+). The cheaper ones are a good way to learn bad habits and not get a feel for how large a dynamic range acoustic drums can be. If you do start out on electric and switch to acoustic when you find you want to stick with it it will likely be a harder transition than if you just started on acoustic. I understand some people can't make acoustic work because of their living situation, but imo everyone wanting to give drums a serious try should start acoustic if at all possible.

One final note, and I kind of touched on this before, but if you really want to give it a serious try just know that starting out sucks because you will be bad, and that's ok. Sucking at something is the first step to being good at something. Practicing can be a real bore, but if you focus on fundamentals and taking it slow you can build a great foundation quicker than you might expect that will make things easier and more fun down the road.

I love my electric drum set. Playing acoustic drums are LOUD. Like so loud that if anyone is in the house, they can't watch TV or even have a conversation. And if you live in an apartment, forget about it. Electric drums get really expensive, but just being able to plug headphones in is invaluable.

How I learned to play drums was actually by playing Rock Band and Guitar hero (the later ones had drums, too). It sounds silly, but it teaches you to move your limbs independently and some basic patterns that lots of drummers use. I haven't tried this, but you might be able to connect a Rock Band drum set to your computer, and get a program to make it act like an electric drum set. It might be a decent starter kit. I think the Guitar Hero drums might be a little better for this, as they have dedicated cymbals and 6 total pads, compared to Rock Band's 5 pads (including the bass pedal in both). Neither one has a hi-hat pedal, which is a shame. But it might be good enough for a beginner.

Buy something used, midrange. You can always sell it again

Go full set. Look at something like the Alesis Niro or Alesis Surge - I used to play acoustic drums, but when we moved, I had to have e-drums due to the neighbors.

I suggest just finding whatever used kits are for sale near you and picking one you like within your budget, but definitely try to get at least: kick drum, snare, hi-hat and one cymbal; that will be plenty to get started. Drum kits are modular so if you get really lucky and find an amazing set that someone just wants to get out of their garage but feels a bit overwhelming to look at: just buy it and use the few pieces you need to start, then you'll have stuff to grow into if you like it. Honestly if you have the space for a kit and your housemates have the patience to hear the horrible sounds you'll be making, that is like 90% of the hurdle to learning to play drums lol

You'll want to watch some videos or read up on how to tune drums and make them sound better. Sound is subjective so there is no right or wrong way to tune and dampen things IMO: I used to use wadded up paper towels and duct tape as a kid. Just mess with it until it sounds good to you.

How you learn is up to you, but my suggestion is to find what is fun. If it isn't fun then you may not stick with it. Drumming requires a lot of awkward coordination that doesn't come naturally to most people, so it will take some time to establish basic muscle memory. If you have a friend who wants to learn an instrument then get together and jam! It will sound absolutely horrible but if you both suck then it will be fun and you'll learn pretty quick. If you can afford a teacher then they will have their own ways of teaching that may or may not work for you, and there are a million resources and videos online now so I'm sure you can find something that is your speed. Good luck!

When i started (20 years ago), my parents just rented a set for the first little while to see of i would stick to it, i reccomend going this route.

I also reccomend a full size kit, be it electric or acoustic vs. Just getting a simple drum pad. The feeling of a full sized kit is vastly different in my opinion.

Electric: Can be loud or can be silent to the environment around you. Light weight. Customizable digital options for sound. Can usally find a kit the is of defent quality for a decent price.

Acoustic: no volume nob and no headphone output, so consider your playing environment. Feels different than electric, hitting skins and bare metal just feels better to me in general. Looks sexy AF. Decent kits are not cheap, and cheap bad kits sound like cheap bad kits.

Hi-hat, kick drum, snare, crash and/or ride cymbal, floor tom and 1 or 2x tom-toms would be my reccomendation. Electric you will have a wider selection of sounds, seeing you can usually program them for different usage.

Edit: just wanted to add, a drum pad is still a starting point, so if thats your best option go for it! Hell, even some different sized plastic buckets is a start worth pursuing.

Do they call you Doctor Worm?