Gretsch - Sonor - Ludwig : which is the fattest groove kit?

Thunderstix

Senior Member
I'm looking for the fullest and fattest sounding kit with the most balls. No flimsy kits for me! Groove kit 10/14/20 with 13 snare. This is my selection so far:

- Gretsch renown
- Gretsch new classic
- Sonor s classix
- Ludwig classic maple

So which one kicks most butt?
If all things are equal, I'll go for a Gretsch blackhawk. At least it comes in the right sizes.
 
Hey Thunderstix

All these kits can sound really fat and are wonderful instruments.

I would go with the Ludwig or Sonor. Right now at my shop we have an s-classix kit and it easily smokes everything we have. Including all the highend DW, Tama, Yamaha, PDP, Gretsch and evertything. It sounds absolutely incredible and almost hurts to play man.

But as always....play them and research them and check out youtube and whichever you like most get it.

God Bless,

dxtr
 
That would all have to do with tuning and the size of the drums and not the brand name.
 
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Right now at my shop we have an s-classix kit and it easily smokes everything we have. Including all the highend DW, Tama, Yamaha, PDP, Gretsch and evertything. It sounds absolutely incredible and almost hurts to play man.
dxtr

See, that is interesting. This coming from a guy with a drum shop, and see's/tunes/plays everything you can think of.

What say anywho??
 
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See, that is interesting. This coming from a guy with a drum shop, and see's/tunes/plays everything you can think of.

What say anywho??

I'm not sure I've ever heard anyone say "what say anywho??" but if it means i must defend myself then i shall.

Sonor drums sound amazing. Everyone has preferences and out of most everything I've ever seen/played/tuned i found these drums sounded very fat with a great tone and are great musical instruments.

The blackhawks are fine drums....but they are nowhere close to the quality and sound of any of the drums you listed. Buying any of the drums you spoke of, would be a kit you could own for the rest of your life. I definitely don't see the hawks as a lifer kit.

God Bless,

dxtr
 
Sonor used to offer heavy shells but s classix and delite are so thin. I can't imagine them sounding fat. Bright and ringy comes to mind, not low and fat.

Well, "fat" is sort of subjective. Everyone has their own idea of what that is. Regarding Sonor shells, they actually DO offer the heavier 8mm in SQ.
 
ahh gotcha. sorry man i think i took it from a regular internet forum point of view (which is angry...and generally more racist lol)

thanks for backing me up artstar! lol

Just remember that the thinner the shell the lower it tunes and the lower the natural note is. lower tuning tends to lend itself to fattnes. Now they sounded bright because the kit comes with single ply clear heads of course. But 2-ply coateds would mellow out that attack nicely. My church just grabbed a pearl masters kit. Old pearl master when they were 4 ply maple with reinforcement hoops and I'm using a 13X9 as a floor tom it tunes so low. In my opinion super fat sound....but again you might look at fat sound as like the 70s sound where the toms were all very dampened and round sounding with very little attack.

God Bless,

dxtr
 
I've played all of the kits in live settings mentioned in the OP. By FAR the best quality and sound were the Sonor S-Classix. It wasn't even close.
 
I'm looking for the fullest and fattest sounding kit with the most balls. No flimsy kits for me! Groove kit 10/14/20 with 13 snare. This is my selection so far:

- Gretsch renown
- Gretsch new classic
- Sonor s classix
- Ludwig classic maple

So which one kicks most butt?
If all things are equal, I'll go for a Gretsch blackhawk. At least it comes in the right sizes.

I currently own both Classic Maples and Renowns, I have never played Sonor drums.

I love the Classic Maple shell, thin enough to be super-warm but thick enough to project like crazy. The Renowns are great, I'm very impressed...but they're not Ludwig.

I love Ludwig because they make the most distinct sounding drums on the market, IMO. When you hear a Ludwig kit, you know it almost right away. It's bold. They speak like no other drums.

Renowns are great but are a bit more mellow, to my ears. They're warm, well pronounced...but don't have that "smack you in the face" bold quality that Ludwig shells seem to have.

When I hear a Sonor kit, I only know it's a Sonor when I can see it being played. They sound great on recordings but there's nothing very unique about the sound. That's just my observation.
 
I think you've made up your mind Thunderstix. I still say get the high end. have it forever. but your kit and i hope you enjoy it man! Keep us posted on what you buy.
 
I've just bought an entire new set of cymbals and I think they're a better investment than any shell set. I'm also very happy with my 13" brass snare so for now I'm set.

However, I'm leaning towards sonor and ludwig. I will have to test these before buying anything but few if any shops actually store these kits. In the meantime, I'm keen to hear your input.

I'll also check out premier, slingerland and the other classics because the modern American and Japanese drums are crappy to me. Pearl reference, yamaha absolute... what a joke! :) They seriously don't sound much better to me than the budget kits. Modern kits are more about looks than sound, it seems.
 
Can't go wrong with any of the kits you mentioned really. It will all come down to your personal tastes. I have a set of '65 Slingerlands. I know they are still around but are they actively making drums?
 
Its not what drums you play, its the way you play them. all the drum kits you mention sound very good though!
 
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