The Signa Gigabeat are 800.00 at MF. The Terabeat is 949.00 They should sell well. Any clue on the lead time Jon.?
I don't know, but GC definitely has a bunch they'll be selling. And we've seen that some stores have already put them on the floor.
I like the idea, but I have two concerns.
The first is that I would imagine that after a few years of playing (with all of the micro vibrations from the hitting the drum) that the lugs would "wear" against the wood, causing the hole to slightly enlarge. I can see head changes becoming "oops, that lug fell out...now that one did too!".
The second is...those are the ugliest finishes I've ever seen.
There's little danger of the lugs falling out, they're pretty snug from the start. As for the hole enlarging or wearing, does that happen to wood from with standard lugs that go through the shell and tension is applied? I've never seen that.
I have to agree, Brad. What is the draw to this kit? You have to build the thing yourself, your drums have huge holes cut in to them for these lugs to go in, the lugs are held in only by the tension of the head so any head changes will result in a mess of lugs falling all over the floor, the colors are horrendous, and for all that you get to pay $1000 for a basic 4 piece shell pack.
The holes are not huge, the lugs are not kept in place by tension - they will not fall out. I think a 4-piece American-made kit for $1000 is a pretty great deal. These are essentially Classic Maple shells. If you want a genuine Classic Maple kit with traditional lugs, completely assembled, I
promise you will pay a lot more than $1000! If you can find another brand new, US-made shell 4-piece for that money, please let me know.
I still don't get what you are getting with this kit though. It looks like Ludwig make the kit intentionally inexpensively, they make you assemble the thing, and they charge quite a premium for it.
On the contrary, you are
saving the premium price for having the folks in Monroe assemble it. The kit was designed so that it could be simply assembled, but with aspects that don't sacrifice sound. Again, these are basically Classic Maple shells - 6 plies of North American (Maine, if you must know) maple, with the 7th ply being the finish. They come with Ludwig's US heads, real hoops, newly designed isolation mounts. pretty nifty and again, a great price for US shell drums.
...it's not a Ludwig kit, not really anyway. As a purely outsiders perspective, a ludwig kit has a pedigree...these do not.
On another note, why not regular lugs? Rocket science they are not.
It
is a Ludwig kit - they make the shell and heads in their Monroe facility. Only the hardware and mounting is different. Regular lugs involve
far more assembly, and asking the customer to do all of that would really be nervy if you ask me.
As for the Ludwig pedigree - whatever
that means with all of the changes they've gone through in just the last 50 years - no, they're not the familiar classic lug design. There's a new badge, new colors, and a new concept in making a quality sounding kit more affordable. I don't blame Ludwig for moving forward, and it's not like they're not abandoning their familiar lines and designs. For those who want the classic or traditional look, there are other lines available, or simply go vintage. There's a contingent of purists who can't get past the "clear maple" era, and I certainly understand the love for those drums. Not only are the Signets not for them, I doubt Ludwig could ever make
anything to satisfy them. So, those overly-concerned with pedigree really aren't potential Ludwig customers anyway.
Me, I just want drums to sound great, and I find that the Signets do. But a lot of people just won't allow themselves to find out. Best I can do is present facts and my findings, and hope that people get a better understanding of the new line.
Thank you, long day, good night!
Bermuda