Ha, I too would like to talk drums with Mr. Smith...but hes not really here when I am, and he probably doesnt care either, but anyways. I think he plays the orion birds eye maple...fucking expensive, and think, he gets them for fucking free. I have the V5834T Voyager series and its great, no complaints. Mapex makes good sets, I don't think you can really go wrong...get some good cymbals and you have yourself a good set up.

Wagon burner.... Anyway. I was using the Mpro series for a long time before I got the Orions (and damn are the Orions bad ass). The Mpro is a good kit. You can actually make it sound high brow for what some would call a starter kit. The hardware isn't bad either. I always say mapex is the most underrated brand of drums out there and I'm not saying that because they hook me up either. You know me I'd tell you what I really think about them if I thought they were shit. I would rather buy a nice drumset than take a shitty one for free any day. The nice thing about mapex is that they're well priced. You'd pay twice as much for a DW kit that sounds half as good as my mapex kit. It pisses me off seeing companies ripping musicians off. Believe me I've been there. before I found out about mapex I'd try to buy a nice drumset only to leave the drum shop empty handed and pissed off because the descent stuff costs more than my fathers retirement fund. As long as you're pretty good at tuning you'll be very happy with mapex. I suggest the Fusion size kit they have in the Mpros if that's what you're into. It comes with four toms wich is a bit much, (I usually only use two of them unless I'm feeling a little bit metal) but I like the smaller depth drums as apposed to the deeper toms. They're easier to set up on top of your bass drum and they're easier to tune...... Good luck...