Build Quality? - Ludwig Classic Maple, Keystone, and Gretsch Brooklyn

Frickin' sweet! You won't be disappointed w/ Classic Maples, or the deeper shell. Don't give up! Be patient and prepare for a period of adjustment, since you're just getting your bass foot together. It took me just under one year to really feel strong on a 24x16", having always played a 22" (of various depths.) You'll have frustrating days...I sure did...but sticking with it is well worth it. I'm actually MORE comfy on a 24" kick now, than any other size. Also, I recently started playing w/ shoes, having always played in socks, so I had yet another challenge to overcome. My right foot has never been faster or more articulate...it was worth the work.
 
Frickin' sweet! You won't be disappointed w/ Classic Maples, or the deeper shell. Don't give up! Be patient and prepare for a period of adjustment, since you're just getting your bass foot together. It took me just under one year to really feel strong on a 24x16", having always played a 22" (of various depths.) You'll have frustrating days...I sure did...but sticking with it is well worth it. I'm actually MORE comfy on a 24" kick now, than any other size. Also, I recently started playing w/ shoes, having always played in socks, so I had yet another challenge to overcome. My right foot has never been faster or more articulate...it was worth the work.

Thanks man! They should arrive this upcoming Wednesday and I'll report back for sure.
 
The new green kit will be delivered today! I'm home sick (cough, cough) and waiting for the FedEx guy to show. Also, the UPS guy will be delivering coated Vintage Emperors for the tom batters and a SuperKick II for the bass today too. he he

PS - I honestly am home sick, but it just happened to coincide with my drums being delivered. Honestly!
 
The new green kit will be delivered today! I'm home sick (cough, cough) and waiting for the FedEx guy to show. Also, the UPS guy will be delivering coated Vintage Emperors for the tom batters and a SuperKick II for the bass today too. he he

PS - I honestly am home sick, but it just happened to coincide with my drums being delivered. Honestly!

Your employer will want a written excuse from the FedEx guy.

The drums are stunning!!! Lucky you.
 
Your employer will want a written excuse from the FedEx guy.

The drums are stunning!!! Lucky you.

Thank you!

I got the drums late yesterday evening (figures!), so I didn't get to spend anywhere near enough time with them to get a great feel for the set. I will say, however, that the 16x24 bass drum is kicking my ass. The difference in volume and low end is mindblowing!

The stock heads are paper thin and need to be swapped immediately. I'll do alot of that over the next week and report back with a video and stuff (in a new thread.)

Thanks everyone!
 
That's a sweet looking kit you got there!..Bonham sizes, right?

Bonham inspired for sure, but not the same sizes. The bass drum is 16x24 and the rack tom is 9x13. Not as big as Bonham sizes, but not too far off either.

I fired up the new 16x24 bass drum without any muffling and I about sh*t my pants when I hit it. My significant other came running down and said "holy crap, that is huge sounding." lol

It's big and loose and very much Bonham sounding. Since then, I put on the SKII batter head and a felt strip under the reso head. It has so many lows that it almost sounds like a car stereo with subs. It's ridiculously loud with an ungodly amount of low end! AWESOME!

he he
 
I fired up the new 16x24 bass drum without any muffling and I about sh*t my pants when I hit it. My significant other came running down and said "holy crap, that is huge sounding." lol

It's big and loose and very much Bonham sounding. Since then, I put on the SKII batter head and a felt strip under the reso head. It has so many lows that it almost sounds like a car stereo with subs. It's ridiculously loud with an ungodly amount of low end! AWESOME!

he he

Yeah man! I have a matching 22x18" and you'd think the volume and power would be similar...but the difference is night and day. Every time I pull the 22" out, I end up putting it right back a few minutes later. My 24" bass has ruined me for anything smaller. Seriously! It's every bit as versatile, too...as long as you can learn to control your dynamics. I love the warm, booming spread that comes out of a bigger bass drum. Soooo sweet.

Glad you're enjoying...let's see some pics! Audio and/or video would be even better!
 
By the way, I too have the 16 and 18 floor toms. I call them the evil thunder tub twins. Prepare yourself my friend. Nice thing is that they tune up quite easily. Not an easy task for drums of their magnitude. Just speaks volumes of the craftsmanship coming out of Monroe.
 
Had. Really good bonding moment with the new set tonight! Put the vintage emperors on the toms and tuned everything up nicely!

I'll make a video this weekend, but I'm loving the set so far!
 
Thanks guys!!!! This bass drum is going to ruin me too. It has so much low end and projection that it's freaky! I'm sure that will change a little when I end up putting a port hole in the reso head for live use, which kinda stinks. I may hold off for as long as I can.

The kit is beautiful and doesn't have any issues at all... I'm not real fond of the seams on the wrap, but I got over that in 3 minutes. LOL

My 14x22" bass drum has alot of nice rebound to it and is super easy to play. My 16x22" bass drum isn't like that. Kinda dead sounding to me and not real easy or fun to play.

I'm glad to say that this new 16x24" bass drum feel perfect to me. It has lots of rebound like the 14x22 and is just as easy to play. YAY!!!! I was worried about that more than anything. I need zero time to adjust to the bigger drum.
 
COOL! Glad the new kit's worked out for you. The pic looks great!

Yeah, when I got my first 24, I never wanted anything smaller after that. I went bigger, too, but I really dig a 24 still (18x24 mmmmm haha!).

The sound and feel of a 24 and up for anything I would get involved in is what works best for me.
LOTS of people dig 20's and 22's, and that's great for them, they sound good too, but a bigger bass drum is for me.

I'm off for a gig now, playing my 20x26 :)

Have fun rockin' your kit!!!!
 
COOL! Glad the new kit's worked out for you. The pic looks great!

Yeah, when I got my first 24, I never wanted anything smaller after that. I went bigger, too, but I really dig a 24 still (18x24 mmmmm haha!).

The sound and feel of a 24 and up for anything I would get involved in is what works best for me.
LOTS of people dig 20's and 22's, and that's great for them, they sound good too, but a bigger bass drum is for me.

I'm off for a gig now, playing my 20x26 :)

Have fun rockin' your kit!!!!

20x26? Holy cow!!!!

Bo do you have your bass drums setup for gigs? I have an SK2 on the batter and the stock reso with a felt strip. No pillows.
 
Nice job with it all for sure. Of course I like the drum sound, but the crash by your ride sounds really nice in your video clips.

If you asked "how" I set my bass drum up for a gig, and not "Bo", who hasn't posted on this thread (haha!) and it was a typo, let me know. I won't bore anyone otherwise :)
 
Nice job with it all for sure. Of course I like the drum sound, but the crash by your ride sounds really nice in your video clips.

If you asked "how" I set my bass drum up for a gig, and not "Bo", who hasn't posted on this thread (haha!) and it was a typo, let me know. I won't bore anyone otherwise :)

Ha! Yes, I meant to ask you how you setup your big bass drums.

Also, that crash by the ride is an 18" K Dark Thin crash.
 
I use a Coated Ambassador batter, with a 3" x 4" Coated Ambassador beater patch (taped to the head on the ends--it's free). Heads last eons (20 mil where the beater strikes :) ), and I get a new head feel every time I change a patch. I also get no click (I hate "click"), just a great, fat, natural sound, with tone and punch with this type of patch.

Muffling is a roll I made that sits between the head and the pedal posts (also free--it's a white tube sock, glued on the end). It is insatntly adjustable, and is a no hassle device.

KickMuffleSide-1.jpg


Smooth White or Coated Ambassador front head.
Inside is a small 1" thick piece of Polyfoam at the bottom of the shell to soak up any excess sound bouncing around (it is not used for "muffling"). It's cut 2" from the batter, and doesn't or barely touches the front head. If I have a mic hole, it's only a 4" one.

I do this on all my bass drums (a 14x24, 16, 18, and 2-20x26 drums and a 16x28) and it works great on every drum.

It's all simple, and less expensive than "specialized" heads and all that stuff.
I also play heavy rock, and I have NO problems using Coated Ambassadors.

You can PM me if you want a recording of the sound I get with this set-up.

Hope this helps in some way.
 
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