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So do any of you have a favorite set of drums or heads that just sound as good as you could hope for.
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The most important part of the drum sound is choosing the right head for the application, and proper tuning for the sound you want. Most good drum sets use a comparable quality shell, and most custom drum set makers all use the same shells (Keller) so the real difference in the kits is the heads, tuning, depth of shells, and where/how the hardware mounts to the drums. Better kits will usually use more esoteric hardware and hardware attachment points that allow the shell to vibrate more freely. Other than that, the difference between most lower priced kits and their high end brethren is usually in wood species, quality of finishes, and better hardware.
There is no "ONE PERFECT" sound for all styles and types of music.
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No question: Baltimore Drums.
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Keith Larsen from Balto Drum does build a nice kit. Keith is not only a great drummer himself, but a real cool guy. He worked for years as a drum salesman in a music store before branching out on his own, first as a small drum store, then as a drum builder. Dennis Chambers plays his stuff (even though he endorses Pearl!), as do lots of other great drummers. I have a Balto snare drum thats pretty nice.
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Just like you can't use a Fender Haguar to play ballads, no one drum kit is going to get the job done. Kit's are genre specific.
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Drum kits, nor guitars or any instruments for that matter are genre specific. While some general trends are seen in certain musical styles (like jazz drummers seem to prefer smaller tom sizes) they are not absolutes.
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I like Fibes, and Sonor for some studio stuff, for clean thumpy toms ...think old Police tunes, ELP.
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Stewart Copeland played Tama drums almost exclusively during his Police days. While he endorses Remo drums now, Carl Palmer played Ludwigs with ELP.
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I like vintage Ludwig for Rock and Roll ...Zepplin
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For years, Ludwig was basically the only quality drum maker around so EVERYBODY played them.
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Tama is a great kit in the right hands, Toto?
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While current drummer Simon Phillips uses Tama, Deceased TOTO drummer and founding member Jeff Porcaro used Ludwigs early on and then endorsed Pearl. Jeff was one of the best drummers in the world!
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Yamaha made some nice kits, Steely Dan?
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There are at least 12 drummers that I know of that have played on record or live with Steely Dan. While I guess some have used Yamaha, Steve gadd who is closely linked to the "Dan" sound used a mishmash of brands in his studio kits. His kits had Pearl Fiberglass drums, Gretch drums, Ludwig drums, and usually featured a Ludwig Supraphonic snare. While he later went on to endorse Yamaha (and still does) what you hear on most of his 1970s-1980s recordings is a mix of brands.
And why cant you play a ballad on a Jaguar? Does that mean I can only play country music on a telecaster? I better go tell the boss (Springsteen) to switch!
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Most of the DW kits I work with sound just as bad when close mic'd as those shallow shell, no bottom head travel kits. One of the two best sounding kit's I've worked with is a Pacific the guy bought used for a couple hundred bucks.
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Pacific is the low end brand of DW. So not to "tarnish" their high end name, they build their cheaper priced kits under the name Pacific.
Just goes to show that its not the cost of the kit, its the heads and how you tune it.