Your Favorite Drum Co.

Please respond with reasons

Starion, Sunlite, TKO, CB700---all these companies rejected Virgil for an endorsemant as he was not quite good enough for them. [img]graemlins/beer.gif[/img]

well those drums are too shit for virgil!

Flam triplet are those the only rudiments you know you will never be as good as A professional drummer with that attitude.

I used to entertain the conceit that I carried my drum sound around with me; regardless of which kit I played I sounded like me, or so I thought. Now I'm not sure. I had big Ludwig tubs that sounded like Led Zep. I had a Gretsch bebop kit that sounded like Tony and Elvin's right out of the box. A friend had a Yamaha set that convinced me to start using coated heads, but those had the Colaiuta/Weckl sound. Mapex sounds like no other drum out there, possibly because no one plays them but Gregg, I got rid of a beautiful red Mapex kit because the voice of the smaller floor tom wouldn't integrate into the rest of the "choir" of voices (which sounded fine---maple outer plies, beech inner plies) no matter what heads I used or tension put on them. I hated DW because I felt like they "bought up" every artist in sight from Keltner to Novak. I thought their timber-tapping process was marketing hyperbole, i.e. bullshit. I thought wrong. I finally got a DW set when I realized they literally played themselves. You don't have to hit them, you can caress them with the sticks if you want and they will still sing nicely. You can get a lot more out of them with a lot less effort, especially if you're using smaller drums. I've tried all kinds of heads on them and that definitely imbues them with different sonic properties, meaning you can sound like you and not necessarily anyone else playing DW. But when the day is done it's a snob thing really, like having a Mont Blanc pen or driving a Lexus. Virgil sure makes those Premiers sound great, but he'd probably make the boxes they came in sound great too if he elected to take a pair to 2Bs to them.

Attitude? I thought you would catch the irony of the statement. It was actually a joke. C'mon man.
Unless your post was a joke, because your grammer was [img]smile.gif[/img] !!!!!!!!!!!'
This thread topic is as old as the internet.

I'll give you a real answer. Pearl Masters are great, best factory kit out. I heard some guy in West VA who bought a Smith Custom 9 piece drumset for only 26,000 dollars.
Premier are a good choice. If you go to the NAMM show, then you will find so many great drums, that you will have to specify a price range in your question.
[img]tongue.gif[/img]

I have a Tama kit, and it sounds good for a low end kit, but Tama drums all seem kind of cheap to me. It seems like they cut costs in every way possible (I have a Tama snare, and even the nameplate is made of plastic).

I just bought a Pearl Sensitone snare and couldn't be happier with it. Sounds great and is stunning to look at. Excellent quality, all around. A friend of mine has an old maple Pearl kit that I played on quite a bit, and it sounds really nice.

In my experience, Yamaha Recording Customs are pretty tough to beat, sound and quality wise. I've never heard those drums sound bad. Incidentally, do they still make them? I've seen certain retailers online still advertising them.

They still make them but I'm not sure how long either the MC or RC will last.

I prefer both to the current Absolute line so hopefully they'll stick around.

Every drumset brand ive had or used extensively,i have loved for that particular moment.When i was a kid,of course i had a low end entry level drums.I loved them.I took them apart,played my heart out on them,and marvelled at them.That 5-piece silver-grey Westbury kit fostered a deep love of drumset that continues.

Of course u get older,and thru time u do realize how important well made drums can be for yer overall drumming self.I still think if one has a decent(if not a masterful)set of technical facility(and a beautiful touch that flatters the drums make),and a knowledge of head combinations,and have a handle on tuning,u can make any drumkit sound good,if not comperable to pro/specialty kits.I have actively played Yamaha,Pearl,Premier,over a 16-year span.Until i had a chance to play and have access to handcrafted drums(Ayotte in particular),i hadnt realized my "equipment-geek-knowledge" was underdeveloped.Playing those drums made everything easier:response,incredible ease of tuning,light(!),and it flattered my technique,i didnt have to work a drum as much anymore.

Now i play a handmade Dunnet 4-piece kit.Its tiny,but so easy to tune,and versetile despite the sizes,and everyone notices how beautiful they sound.So because Dunnet is a local company,i think i may have found a Co. that i will support for a very long time.I will continue to support any drum manufacturer that employes the process of hand-made craftsmanship,and continues to innovate.In fact every single drum company has an innovation on the market,so its all good.The benefits of that attention to detail from Ronn(Dunnet)only helps but to make me sound good-anywhere-.If Ronn hadnt captured my attention,i would have saved for a set of DW's....................peace...............beats

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ April 20, 2003 04:40 PM: Message edited by: beats ]</font>

The Yamaha Recording Customs, (according to a Yamaha Japan rep at NAMM) are made the same way that they've been making them for 20 years. (Well, with the exception of the YESS mount and the 2.3 mm vs. 1.6 mm rims). I played on a friends RC from the 80's and even with those tired old pinstripes he had, they still sounded GREAT! The kit that Garibaldi used with Tower of Power at NAMM looked like a set of RCs but in this cool blue fade finish.

Hi Derek,

Why do you prefer the Yamaha MC and RC over the current Yamaha Absolute series (i.e. the one with the Nouveau lugs and die cast hoops)? I am looking into buying a drum set. Yamaha's Absolute Series and MCs are two of the sets that I was considering. Any thoughts and opinions that you have on this topic will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

The MC or RC sound WAY fatter to me. If it's a concern, you could just special order your MC or RC with the die cast hoops. Be prepared to wait though. My special order MC took 10 months to get.

The MC and RC are my favorite drums with Gretsch a very close 2nd. However, from a customer service standpoint they could be better.

If I have to recommend a high end kit to someone who doesn't know what they want, I always recommend DW just because I KNOW they'll be happy and get taken care of. I love those guys.

Thanks Derek for your suggestions and thoughts.

Hey jonthibault
What heads are you using on the new snare? What about the tension on both the batter and reso?

Dude, though my new snare rocks the hizzle, I unfortunately haven't had a chance to really cut loose with it and try different tunings, etc. I've been studying for finals, so basically I've been staring at it and fondling it (the snare). But I'm filled with a sense of peace knowing it's safe in my closet, all shiny.

It's also tough when you live in an apartment. My good friend Steve Holmes claims we will someday do some double drumming again, but he is apparently still recuperating from the last ass-whooping I gave him.

also the whooping on the drums.

Ouch......man whore hurt, hurt bad.......lol