New Guru "Tour" series kits - details here first :)

Cool. You could go with some interesting finishes too.

Show us some inner shell porn.
 
Very nice looking drums. I think the more natural finishes are just fine.

The hardware on your other lines is really unique, and makes the unmistakable statement that 'these are Guru drums',
even without the badges and bass reso head graphics.

A price to be paid for that though.
This line looks a bit more generic, except for those fine shells. But that probably makes them a bit more affordable too.
Here's hoping you do well with them.
Thanks Bill. Yes, for us, these are very generic looking drums. Fairly standard everything, & non of the usual Guru signatures such as segmented bass drum hoops (although they are an option on this series), specialist lugs, aluminium brackets, legs, spurs, etc. All the quality touches are still there though, but it's mostly unseen. All becomes apparent when you play these though. Tuning is almost impossible to get wrong - they actually sound pretty good in a terrible state of tune :)

Wow, 10, 11 and 12mm thick!?

My 10 mm bass drum lacks usable depth/bottom, but its ply.

What percent in net weight gain compared to ORIGIN, IN-TENSE?
10 - 12mm thick is about average for most stave drums without reinforcement rings. Weight wise, they're about the same or maybe a touch heavier than the average high end ply kit, & fully double the weight + of In-Tense & Origin series. Anyone who's ever picked up the thin shell Guru's will tell you just how light they are.

... also GURU gets 5 stars on the lug splay.

Builders, manufactures take note, tube lugs with no splay.
I have noticed a couple of "alignment" examples on these photo's, but it's that dreaded fisheye lens affect again. I took these shots in a hurry :(
I wasn't even thinking lacquers (I would assume nitro-cellulose not poly), but a nice stain that would still show the wood's grain patterns.
That's a maybe, but we spend so much time keeping the wood as intact as possible, & are so used to celebrating the natural splendour of nature's offerings, it all seems kind of counter intuitive to us.

Rookie question...
The 15x7 snare... What kind of sound profile should we expect from that size? Can't say I have seen anything like that short of marching snares. Sounds like it would be a deep note. That's a lot of real estate for a snare!
It's a deep boy alright. If you want silly huge & fat, then it's a great option. Outside of that, a 14" or 13" will carry 99% of tuning requirements just fine :)

Congrats on the new line Andy. Love everything about what you've described and I can't wait to see/hear the hybrid kit. I'm intrigued.
The hybrid is an interesting option, both sonically & aesthetically.

First class as usual Andy. They look great!

Wow....that is a beautiful looking kit; aesthetically and engineering-wise. Very nicely executed. Very impressed.

Great looking drums as usual. I would love to see and hear some clips of some 26" Guru bass drums. Keep us posted!

Very nice!
.....................

If I were going to buy a kit, this would be the one worth saving up for!
Thanks for the props guys, on what is a fairly standard looking set. No fireworks visually. Once on stage, it's the sound that does the talking ;)
 
Really like this one mate. Love the blonde and the size options are right up my alley.....and as much as I'm loathe to admit it, I'm really sold on the the "generic" look. I note the floors are available in 14x14, but the 16" comes in a shorter depth......would only a wanker bother to inquire as to the reason why the 16" isn't square too? 'Cos I'd hate to be confused for one of them. :)
 
Really like this one mate. Love the blonde and the size options are right up my alley. I note the floors are available in 14x14, but the 16" comes in a shorter depth......would only a wanker inquire as to the reason why the 16" isn't square too? 'Cos I'd hate to be confused for one of them. :)
All floor toms are 14" deep, even the 18". The reasons are very simple, & it's just another example of the focus of this kit range, & much of the hidden thinking behind the design. We find there's more useable tone & a stronger fundamental from that depth. On live stage, & especially when mic'd, floor toms can lose tonal definition, & fail to translate in a satisfying way when too deep. The one aspect other manufacturers don't seem to have picked up on is the drum's proximity to the stage. The closer that resonant head is to the stage, the more the tone is confused by reflected overtones. The affect is a partial choking of the drum.

I know I'll be unpopular for saying this, but most drummers are almost completely obsessed with the tone from the drivers seat, & believe more depth = deeper sounding drum. Gotta let those nuts go, & get real on what really does translate & what doesn't. PA systems & mic's love clear pronounced fundamentals. They don't like wayward sub rumbling, or overtone chorusing, or empty head sustain, especially close mic'd. Strangely, the same elements apply to what translates off stage in an acoustic setting. "Notes" translate, & offer sonic space in the mix.

Outside of a low dynamic studio situation, empty head sustain is completely useless. The tone you want is in that first second or so of shell excitement. That's what people hear, that's what mic's hear, & that's what so many kits completely miss out on.

Cool. You could go with some interesting finishes too.

Show us some inner shell porn.
I'm leaving out for a couple of days this morning, so haven't got time now, but I'll put up some construction shots when I get back :)
 
Sound samples, please!!!

Good for Guru going towards good quality but reducing the costs then you can please all audiences. :)

Would like to see also the sepele kit. Does the 20" lose too much bottom end compared to the 22"?

I know you're gonna shoot me Andy, but I actually prefer the look of those lugs compared to yours.
 
Look absolutely stunning Andy and I look forward to see/hear/try this new design at the LDS in 3 weeks time.

Heavier and thicker shells must provide quite a projection, it kind of remind me the Sonor Signature shells which were also available in thicker sizes, I remember I had a 8" x 14" snare in the mid 80's, it was incredibly heavy and loud.
 
Good call on keeping the finishes at a minimum, it fits in with what I see as the Guru philosophy much better. You're not one of those Keller "I'll accommodate anything just to get a sale because I'm desperate (but that just loses me in the crowd of everyone else who does that)" kinda guys, and to me your restraint shows professionalism. But, a nice stain is a nice stain... XD. Best of luck to you with this series!
 
Guru needed a line that was more affordable. I bet this line will be a big seller. Good move for Guru, it will make the company accessible to a much larger market. The natural wood look is the trademark of Guru in my mind. Everybody does lacquer. I like how you celebrate the wood. Wood should be celebrated.
 
Guru needed a line that was more affordable. I bet this line will be a big seller. Good move for Guru, it will make the company accessible to a much larger market. The natural wood look is the trademark of Guru in my mind. Everybody does lacquer. I like how you celebrate the wood. Wood should be celebrated.



I guess it depends on where the drums will live, as the elements can celebrate a natural finish too, turning the party into a mess real fast under the right circumstances.

I agree tho that GURU's wear a natural finish effortlessly, as in that's what they should look like, but maybe only b/c we haven't seen anything else from them, so in that respect GURU laid the right foundation by not coming out with paint from the get go.

It is true, the argument for colour, you can't see the woods grain 10 feet away, its just a mustard, or brownie coloured kit.
 
There is no doubt that these drum are gorgeous. The finish is spectacular. The lugs are my faves. The sound is I'm sure great. But I could never think of paying 5000.00 USD for 4 drums. Is this the economy line? I haven't priced stave drums before but wow. More power to those that can afford them. Great work andy.
 
There is no doubt that these drum are gorgeous. The finish is spectacular. The lugs are my faves. The sound is I'm sure great. But I could never think of paying 5000.00 USD for 4 drums. Is this the economy line? I haven't priced stave drums before but wow. More power to those that can afford them. Great work andy.

Its been stated there's no economy/budget line from GURU. These are cheaper than ORIGIN and IN-TENSE, but 100% heavier too, and for $5k + Im going to want a pretty, nice-nice coloured finish.
 
I knew that kit vaguely reminded me of another I've seen here - seen in this thread (especially the second pic):

http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32076&highlight=gretsch+new+classics

Just the general look, not anything else. The lugs have a similar look to me, but the Guru ones are a bit more stylish.

Not meaning to compare them, by any means. Just an off the cuff observation.
Maybe it just shows how little I really know about drums (besides general looks - LOL)
 
Its been stated there's no economy/budget line from GURU. These are cheaper than ORIGIN and IN-TENSE, but 100% heavier too, and for $5k + Im going to want a pretty, nice-nice coloured finish.


I was going by this comment.

Guru needed a line that was more affordable. I bet this line will be a big seller. Good move for Guru, it will make the company accessible to a much larger market.
__________________
 
I was going by this comment.

Guru needed a line that was more affordable. I bet this line will be a big seller. Good move for Guru, it will make the company accessible to a much larger market.
__________________

Well it is true... like BLACK TAR toothpaste will 'help' fight cavities.

They are cheaper, mission accomplished. 'Affordable' is more subjective.
 
Bo told me to tell you to put him down for 2 kits.
One in 20, 12, 14. and one in 22, 13, 16 config. Can you finish them in blue and olive? :)
Those drums look wonderful Andy. If I wasn't a vintage guy I would seriously consider them.
 
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Bo told me to tell you to put him down for 2 kits.
One in 20, 12, 14. and one in 22, 13, 16 config. :)
Those drums look wonderful Andy.

Hahaha! Those are really nice Andy.

However, after our many private discussions regarding the Gurus and whether or not I'd be a good candidate for them, I think I would want the very thin sonically uncompromising Gurus. The wood hoops, the super light hardware, that's all unique to Guru. I get players want a more "normal" kind of look, but really, if you want normal, there's alot of that already out there. I think I really would sound different on an Origin or In-tense kit. Especially one that was single-headed.

But congratulations on the new line!
 
There is no doubt that these drum are gorgeous. The finish is spectacular. The lugs are my faves. The sound is I'm sure great. But I could never think of paying 5000.00 USD for 4 drums. Is this the economy line? I haven't priced stave drums before but wow. More power to those that can afford them. Great work andy.

To be fair, a lot of that is the Guru workmanship and such- my custom stave kit that I assembled came out around $3000 (about %60 of that was just the shells and bass hoops) and I did not try to save any money on the hardware. That number could be brought down with cheap hardware and such, but of course, that will affect the sound. Obviously there's inexpensive and expensive kits in every realm out there and Gurus tend towards one end- for good reason :)
 
Although the lighter hardware is nice I would challenge you to do a blind test and try to identify the difference in sound between the lighter and this hardware. I highly doubt you could discern any difference

Also don't forget that lighter makes it inevitably more fragile thus more dangerous to bring it to a live set
 
Also don't forget that lighter makes it inevitably more fragile thus more dangerous to bring it to a live set

Yeah, I'm always dropping my kit everywhere when I go to a gig. I get there, I take the drums out, and I throw them onto the stage from the crowd. Then I get the audience to rush the kit like that scene in the Lion King. It's very dangerous for the hardware. Good argument.
 
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