Ludwig six-ply maple, mid 1970s vintage


They were white wrap...then they were black wrap...then I refinished them in a sort of "honey maple" stain, which is where they're at now.
diameterxdepth:
12x8 tom
13x9 tom
14x10 tom
15x12 tom
16x16 tom

22x14 BD
(OR:  20x14 BD made with a no-name maple shell, for "jazz" applications)

Snare drums...we won't get into that here.  

"Favorite" setup for toms: 12, 14, 15


My folks chose it as a gift - they bought it for me back when I was in the seventh grade (you know, back when the earth's crust was just starting to cool...)  That kit was 12/13/16/22, and over the years that followed I added the 14 and 15" toms.

Why do I still play them?  'Cause they still sound @$%# good...and I haven't saved up the money for a set of Tempus shells.  Yet.  

Pearl Masters BRX
6 ply scandinavian birch shells

31 step deep wine red lacquer finish

all optimount rack toms on icon rack with evans g2 batters and g1 reso
10x10
13x11
14x12
16x14

22x18 with evans eq3 batter, black masters head (remo powrstroke) with 1 6" holz reso, evans eg1 white head with 2 6" holz and custom band graphic (gigging head)
5.5x14

i have played pearl for 10 years, and they are solid and sound great. i have always wanted a masters b/c they are what a drum should sound like. more specifically, a birch kit b/c of the punch and tone. pearl's shell construction is the best and strongest, and their optimount is second to none easily. i actually wanted the silver burst kit with black hardware, but i got the shells for this wine red kit brand new for 1100. you cant beat that, and wine red is the color of my old pearl elx, so i still love it.

I don't have a favorite cause I like my drums for different occassions.

The ones that have the most sentimental value to me are my Yamaha Club Customs.  They are birch and mahogany with a midnight confetti (multi color glitter) over black.  They are very warm sounding with good punch.11x 12, 12x 13, 16x 16 floor and a 16 x 22" kick.  I always play the Yamaha manu katche 5.5 x 14 snare *dad bought it for me* with this kit and usually I only play it on new years or when the weather is extremely terrible.

1. Drum make
Fibes, built in Austin, TX in late 1996

2. Shell type/plies
Maple-gum-maple (the classic Jasper shell) six-plies.  Same as classic Gretsch.

3. Color & type of finish
Turquoise sparkle wrap

4. Text listing of the sizes
Thirteen by nine inch rack tom, sixteen inch by sixteen inch floor tom, twenty-four inch by fourteen inch kick drum and fourteen inch by five inch snare drum.

5. Why you chose this kit
I chose them because they were the right sizes and the right finish at the right price at the right time.  Why I've kept them and will never sell them is because they are loud, resonant, easy-to-tune, sound great, take a beating and look good all at the same time.  They sound great acoustically or under mics.  Fibes is an easy company to deal with when I've had issues with lugs or floor tom brackets and they are eager to keep Fibes drums in front of audiences and on records.  They are pricey and I could never have afforded to buy them new, but they are certainly my ace number one rig and I'm convinced they will remain that way.  And I'm often buying and selling stuff, switching things out.

1. Yamaha YD 5 piece Birch (I play it as a 4 piece right now) Garnet Red
12x10
14x12
16x16
20x18
It's all I could afford and I didn't really know all that about drums when I bought it, so I did buy it cause it looked nice.

No toms random?

1. Drum make

Whitehall, which is a 60's (and 70's) budget line made by the Pearl folk.

2. Shell type/plies

Asian mahog, about 6mm thick, unsure of ply count, but thickness is really more relevant anyway.

3. Color & type of finish

Black contact paper wrap.    

4. Text listing of the sizes

20x16, 16x16, 12x8.   Also a 14x11 CB, which is essentially the same.   Snare is 13x4 made out of the 13" tom that came with this kit.

5. Why you chose this kit

Because it was $40.   The real question is why I kept it.      I kept it because I found that with a little TLC, its a helluva kit.   Ive had to replace a few lugs.   I removed the tom mounts from the bass, and 12" tom.   Removed the spurs and use hoop mounted cowbell posts as spurs instead.   I pulled the old wrap off and rewrapped 'em in contact paper.   Did some wood working to clean up the bearing edges (not much).   And got some Aquarian Vintage heads on 'em.    After much research Ive found I just like the sound of mahog family woods and rounded, vintage style bearing edges.   So why switch.   And the sizes are perfect.   Versatile enough for jazz, rock, pop, world beat, whatever.   And easily portable.

Ive considered replacing it, and if I gigged regularly on drums again, I would.   But with something similar, like a Gretsch Catalina.   Just to have a shiny new kit with no extra holes in it    

1)  Tama Starclassic Exotix I
2)  Maple shells- 5 mm/6 ply toms, 7 mm/7 ply bass (with outer ply
     of figured chestnut).  All w/o sound focus rings.
3)  Sierra Gold Burst lacquer finish
4)  5.5X14 SD, 8X10 TT, 9X12 TT, 11X13 TT, 14X15 TT, 16X18 FT,
     18X22 BD (I added the 13" tom)
5)  A- Always wanted Starclassic maples since I heard Bruford
          playing them.
     B- Was intrigued by "exotic" outer plies (Tama, DW, etc.)
     C- Got 'em cheap on eBay!

I'm always in the market for the Tama Exotix II (koa/bubinga) if anybody wants to unload one!

Yamaha
Maple Custom Absolute
Cherry Wood
14 Pearl Free Floater Snare
10 tom
12 tom
14 tom
22 bass drum

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I chose Yamaha because most of my favorite artists play Yamaha.  

Drum make - Orange County Drums and Percussion.
Shells - 6 ply toms/bass, 20 ply vented snare (very very loud)
Finish - White with green racing stripes.
Sizes - 8x10 rack, 14x16 floor, 18x20 bass, 7x14 snare
Hardware - DW hardware
Cymbals - Paiste

Powerful set, I can play acoustically over 2 Mesas and an Ampeg and still have wonderful tone and attack. I chose this set because of the limitless design capabilities. I am able to keep my toms nearly on the same playing plane as the snare; this allows for fast, effortless fill work. I chose Paiste cymbals because they are cast and have great sound.