Brand new Ludwig Kit...do my heads really suck?

drums360

Junior Member
Just purchased a new Classic Maple kit from Ludwig...Vinnie's configuration (10,12,14 and 22 bass drum). Took 2 months to get them. They look amazing. Was so excited to get them set up and play them. Much to my surprise, I couldn't get any kind of consistent tone out of them. They do not sing as much as I expected them to. They feel tight even though they're not. They sound high pitched for 10,12,14" drums even when tuned as low as I can tune them. They came with Medium coated Ludwig heads on top and medium clear heads on the bottom. Even the bass drum sounds muddy.

I come from playing a 90's-ish Yamaha recording custom kit with coated ambassadors on the top and clear ambassadors on the bottom. Bass drum is a powerstroke 3. My old drums sound amazing compared to these.

My question is, do you think it's the Ludwig heads it came with that are making it sound so poor? If so, why would they ship with these heads? Also, if it is the heads, which ones would you recommend I use on them to get the most tone, warmth and range?

Thanks for your time.

Jamie
 
I would buy a 12" ambassador or Evans G1, and see what difference it makes. I think classic maples should sing pretty good. I've heard several people say they don't like Ludwig heads. It wouldn't cost much to try one drum. If you like it you can buy more.
 
A Ludwig "medium" head is comparable to a Remo Diplomat in weight.I don't like them, at all. I couldn't dial in my kick with Ludwig head, either.
 
Change the heads! The Ludwig heads are aweful. I have a similar set of classic maples 10,12,14,16 and 20 When they arrived, I spent days trying to dial in a great tone with only minimal success (and I know how to tune a drum). Switched the Ludwig heads for a set of Evans G1's and it was like night and day. Not only did the drums sing beautifully, but they sang in a variety of tuning ranges. I was able to get a wonderful lower tone as well as medium range and they even sound killer in the bebop tuning ranges. Beautiful drums, but head selection really does matter.
 
Heads will definitely make a difference. Some seem to like the Ludwig mediums as their snare batter. I've never heard a Ludwig batter that I like very much.

G1's should improve the sound although Ambassadors or Aquarian Texture Coated would do similar work.

You may want to consider that you're referencing a birch kit (Yamaha RC's) with a more controlled sound, all other things (heads, tuning, etc) being the same. If you want a sound closer to that, you may need to go 2-ply on the the tom batters and bass drum. I have nice drums but would love to have some Ludwig Classics. I'd use coated G2's or maybe Vintage Ambassadors on them.

HTH

Jim
 
They sound high pitched for 10,12,14" drums even when tuned as low as I can tune them. They came with Medium coated Ludwig heads on top and medium clear heads on the bottom. Even the bass drum sounds muddy.

My question is, do you think it's the Ludwig heads it came with that are making it sound so poor? If so, why would they ship with these heads?

First, understand that "fusion" size toms are only going to tune so low, and with the Classic Maple sharp-ish edge, there's not going to be a lot of warmth or low end from smaller sizes (I still consider 12/13/16 to be standard tom sizes.) But yes, different heads will make a difference, and my CMs still sport older Evans EC2s (the foil ones.) I get a really warm, punchy sound.

Ludwig isn't really known for their heads, and I would normally not recommend them for toms, which rely on the purest tones with nice decay. But on snares and kicks, I've found them to sound great. When I get a new snare or kick, I typically leave the factory heads on, and when I first change them them, then I put Evans on.

But Classic Maple and Legacy ships wirth Ludwig heads because they manufacture them, so it makes sense that Ludwig would use them, As it happens, Ludwig's Keystone series comes with Evans heads, which kinda says something. :)

Ludwig's heads aren't necessarily bad, but there are better choices in most drummers' opinions. And for toms in particular, I'd have to agree.

Bermuda
 
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I will agree with what everyone else is saying here. I have a set of Classic Maples and I think you can rest assured, the problems you're experiencing are primarily the heads. Change them to one of the combos suggested here and you'll be much happier.

As to why Ludwig uses these, I can't say, but the Ludwig heads are not preferred by very many people. They apparently use a different type of plastic for their film, and as mentioned, their medium is equivalent to a Remo Diplomat in thickness. The last time I really loved a Ludwig head was in the 70's and 80's when we used Silver Dots on our marching snare drums. It's too bad, because I really like their collar and hoop design.

Another poster mentioned that the Classic Maples will sound much different than your Yamahas, and this is absolutely true, as well. It may take a period of adjustment. The Ludwigs have a distinctive sound of their own, but it ain't like a Yamaha.

Good luck. Hope you end up liking your kit as much as I like mine!
 
Another Classic Maple owner here...

I changed out all the heads except the bass drum reso. I use Aquarian Modern Vintage on the batter side with Texture Coated on the resos. They definitely sing.
 
The heads that come with new kits are almost always crap. At least that's been my experience. If i were you I'd change all heads (that's what I did with my Gretsch drums and I achieved an amazing improvement in sound quality).
 
The heads that come with new kits are almost always crap. At least that's been my experience.

That depends mostly on whether the kit is budget, or a company's flagship line. There's a series of pretty cheap heads that come with most lower-priced Asian-made kits, and I'd agree that those need to be replaced immediately. But the better kits tend to feature US-made Evans, Aquarian or Remo heads, and they're also the choice of boutique builders.

The obvious reason for the cheap heads is to keep the price of the kit lower, which is crucial for budget and entry-level gear. In some cases, a set of new American-made heads rivals the cost of the kit! Same goes for cymbals, which can quickly exceed the cost of a "cheap" kit.

Bermuda
 
When talking about the Ludwig heads shipped with the Classic Maple kit, in my opinion, yes most of them do suck. The only ones I kept was the snare batter and reso head, that combination sounds killer. I also kept the bass drum resonant head. There was very little consistency with the Ludwig tom heads. After much trial and error, I ended up with Evans G2 coated over G1 clear heads. I'm sure I could get equal results ( or better) using Emperor coated over Ambassador clear.



Dennis
 
I had Ludwig/Evans, (Ludwig heads that are made by Evans) heads come with my 2012 Club Date kit. I only kept the front bass drum head because like audiotech said, that head sounds great in combination with a good bass drum batter head. The other heads are just there to hold the hoops in place during shipment :)
 
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I had Ludwig/Evans, (Ludwig heads that are made by Evans) heads come with my 2012 Club Date kit.

Those heads are made in Asia and pretty cheap, dragging both Ludwig's and Evans' names through the mud. They're not Ludwig's or Evans' US heads.

Bermuda
 
Disgusting. It's a new drum kit. Practice good hygiene and put fresh new heads on it, bottom and top. Take some pride in your investment, for crying out loud.

Edit: Excepting the bass reso.
 
Those heads are made in Asia and pretty cheap, dragging both Ludwig's and Evans' names through the mud. They're not Ludwig's or Evans' US heads.

Bermuda
Glad to hear that because I both like, and frequently use many heads that are made by Evans USA. I was just showing by my post that stock heads are not what they seem to be even though they may carry a brand name. Remo does the same thing with their "UT" heads. They whore themselves out to drum manufacturers to make a quick buck.
 
Remo does the same thing with their "UT" heads. They whore themselves out to drum manufacturers to make a quick buck.

You can't blame the head manufacturers for wanting to sell product to the widest audience possible.... that's their job. It's the budget drum manufacturers that require cheap heads in order to keep their price down, and the head companikes also have to source their heads from Asia to meet that demand. Evans, Remo, and Ludwig have cheap overseas counterparts.

Bermuda
 
You can't blame the head manufacturers for wanting to sell product to the widest audience possible.... that's their job. It's the budget drum manufacturers that require cheap heads in order to keep their price down, and the head companikes also have to source their heads from Asia to meet that demand. Evans, Remo, and Ludwig have cheap overseas counterparts.

Bermuda

Not to hijack here, but does Aquarian have a cheap overseas counterpart too? Or is it just the ones you mentioned?
 
Hmmm, not aware of an Asian Aquarian. I suspect the entry-level buyers are swayed by more recognizable names, and both Remo and Evans have a nearly 30-year headstart over Aquarian.

Bermuda
 
Not to hijack here, but does Aquarian have a cheap overseas counterpart too? Or is it just the ones you mentioned?

I've never seen one. I don't think Aquarian goes down that road

Remo seems to be the cheap stock head juggernaut. I don't know who takes credit for the 'no-name' heads that show up on stencil kits.

Jim
 
Thanks for all your responses guys. It's very relieving to hear that I'm not the only one who is experiencing issues with Ludwig heads. I'm anxious to change the heads and hear the difference.

I decided to stick with what I know. I went out yesterday and bought coated ambassadors for the tops and clear ambassadors for the bottoms. Also bought a PS3 for the bass drum. I'm going to leave the Ludwig reso head on the bass drum and hope that changing the batter head will garner the nice crisp sound I'm used to...

Keep you posted!

Jamie
 
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