DW performance or Tama SC birch bubinga
- Thread starter vazer
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M
Matt Bo Eder
Guest
I had a Tama SC Birch/Bubinga kit and it was lovely. Very responsive and I got great tones out of it with coated emperors on top and bottom, with a PS3 on the bass drum. I recommend those, very well built. I have yet to see a DW Performance kit in person, so I can't comment on those.
FritzDrummer
Senior Member
I have played on both. Both are great sounding drums! I lean towards the Tama B/B because of the lower warmth of the Bubinga, but both kits are great. I've played a DW Performance several times as a backline kit and it was great, reminded me of my Pearl Masters Maple I usually use. I just prefer the Tama slightly better. You cannot go wrong with either kit though.
BertTheDrummer
Gold Member
Really depends on the sound your going for.
How could you describe the sound in each kit?
incrementalg
Gold Member
Having played both while on a months long quest for a new kit I would describe them like this:
DW Performance: Solid maple sound. Not as fat sounding or resonant as DW collectors, but a solid, warm maple sounding set of drums. There isn't anything bad about them, but there isn't much to set them apart from other good quality maple drums.
Tama: Punchy like birch, but with an enhanced low end. I think you miss out on the warmth and sustain you'd get with the maple DW, but they have a really great attack with punch and low end galore.
Can you describe the sound your looking for in a set?
DW Performance: Solid maple sound. Not as fat sounding or resonant as DW collectors, but a solid, warm maple sounding set of drums. There isn't anything bad about them, but there isn't much to set them apart from other good quality maple drums.
Tama: Punchy like birch, but with an enhanced low end. I think you miss out on the warmth and sustain you'd get with the maple DW, but they have a really great attack with punch and low end galore.
Can you describe the sound your looking for in a set?
Basswood
Senior Member
Birch is known to have an equalized sound, bubinga for it's low tones, and since they are combined, I'd say you get a bit of both. The performance is maple only, I think it would be interesting to look for a Starclassic maple and see how it compares to the DW.
Both kits should sound very nice.
Both kits should sound very nice.
There's a shop, Skins n Tins in Champaign, IL, that has a brand new, Japanese-era made Starclassic Maple kit in gloss black lacquer. Sizes are 22/16/12/10, I believe. You could probably call them, ask for Liz, and get them for under 2K. The maple of Tama SC kits with some 2-ply heads could give you a nice, warm, fat sound. Plus, I think their Tom mount system is a lot nicer than DW's.
M
Matt Bo Eder
Guest
Should be well under 2k. I bought mine new on eBay for $1299 in the same configuration.
calan
Silver Member
I can't comment on DW performance specifically, but I played a Keller Maple kit and some Pearl Session Maples for years upon years, so I can comment on the generalities. I got really tired of fighting those drums to get what I was after. I could get the sound I wanted (or close), but that usually required looser head tension, pre muffled heads, and a lot of patience dialing them in.
I was after more punch and focus, and some more natural low end, and kind of stumbled into the Tama BBs. I'm super satisfied. The hardware is a little heavy, and maybe they don't have quite the sustain of the maple shells, but at similar (low) tuning they sound fuller and punchier, and I'm not going for sustain-for-days sounds anyway. And that's with g2s over g1s. I'm partial to the EMAD and GMAD family of bass drum heads, and the Tama inherently gets me closer to a modern kind of processed punchy rock sound than either Maple kick.
The hardware is great. I miss the weight of triple flanged hoops but I like the focus the die casts give and maybe they hold tuning a little better. The starcast mounting system is maybe not the most elegant solution, but I think it functions well in terms of sound and stability. Using mic clips with the starcasts is, unfortunately, tedious at best. I had to buy entirely different mounts, which was actually a more flexible system anyway, so I'm happy... but maybe not the most necessary expense. The starcasts are also a little more struggle to get into bags than the optimounts I had on the maple kits.
The bass drum mount is pretty cool, with the ability to slide and all. I have a Taye slide track on my Keller kit, but I feel Tama's take on that is more sleek and solid.
I currently have two BB kits. No quality issues with either. They both look great (one is a wrap, the other a sparkle lacquer), and I'd be hard pressed to describe a sonic difference between the two at equal sizes and tunings. One is black chrome, the other regular, they've both held up well.
I kept the Keller kit around for the situations where I want something more resonant and traditional sounding, and/or lighter to move. I have yet to use them over the BBs, but outside of jams, I've only been playing rock and metal. When my blues/soul project picks back up, I'll go with the Kellers.
I was after more punch and focus, and some more natural low end, and kind of stumbled into the Tama BBs. I'm super satisfied. The hardware is a little heavy, and maybe they don't have quite the sustain of the maple shells, but at similar (low) tuning they sound fuller and punchier, and I'm not going for sustain-for-days sounds anyway. And that's with g2s over g1s. I'm partial to the EMAD and GMAD family of bass drum heads, and the Tama inherently gets me closer to a modern kind of processed punchy rock sound than either Maple kick.
The hardware is great. I miss the weight of triple flanged hoops but I like the focus the die casts give and maybe they hold tuning a little better. The starcast mounting system is maybe not the most elegant solution, but I think it functions well in terms of sound and stability. Using mic clips with the starcasts is, unfortunately, tedious at best. I had to buy entirely different mounts, which was actually a more flexible system anyway, so I'm happy... but maybe not the most necessary expense. The starcasts are also a little more struggle to get into bags than the optimounts I had on the maple kits.
The bass drum mount is pretty cool, with the ability to slide and all. I have a Taye slide track on my Keller kit, but I feel Tama's take on that is more sleek and solid.
I currently have two BB kits. No quality issues with either. They both look great (one is a wrap, the other a sparkle lacquer), and I'd be hard pressed to describe a sonic difference between the two at equal sizes and tunings. One is black chrome, the other regular, they've both held up well.
I kept the Keller kit around for the situations where I want something more resonant and traditional sounding, and/or lighter to move. I have yet to use them over the BBs, but outside of jams, I've only been playing rock and metal. When my blues/soul project picks back up, I'll go with the Kellers.
incrementalg
Gold Member
Check out Mapex Saturns. Very warm with tons of low and a great tuning range.
You're not crazy, i've Heard the design videos and they sound with more low end and punchier than the performance, they have a more collectors sound (maybe)
Icetech
.
Ah thank god.. i figured i was going to get slammed to death for that
But i find it to be true.. on mine. i put a superkick 2 with a vintage bomber beater for the kick.. its a monster without being annoying. The toms like to be really deep, i'm still working on finding a happier higher tuning.. The only thing i don't like is my snare that came with it, i just cannot tune it to a happy place at all.. have tried for hours over the last 5 months.. a customer of mine gave me a chad smith snare and i put heads on and tuned it great in like 5 minutes..
That would be my only complaint of the whole kit.. MF will sell you the shellpack for $1250 if you call them.. smokin deal.. at least it seemed so for me
Artstar
Platinum Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by RobertM View Post
There's a shop, Skins n Tins in Champaign, IL, that has a brand new, Japanese-era made Starclassic Maple kit in gloss black lacquer. Sizes are 22/16/12/10, I believe. You could probably call them, ask for Liz, and get them for under 2K. The maple of Tama SC kits with some 2-ply heads could give you a nice, warm, fat sound. Plus, I think their Tom mount system is a lot nicer than DW's.
You bought a Japanese Starclassic Maple for $1299 ??
How ?
Originally Posted by RobertM View Post
There's a shop, Skins n Tins in Champaign, IL, that has a brand new, Japanese-era made Starclassic Maple kit in gloss black lacquer. Sizes are 22/16/12/10, I believe. You could probably call them, ask for Liz, and get them for under 2K. The maple of Tama SC kits with some 2-ply heads could give you a nice, warm, fat sound. Plus, I think their Tom mount system is a lot nicer than DW's.
You bought a Japanese Starclassic Maple for $1299 ??
How ?
incrementalg
Gold Member
Why the DW and Tama SC? Have you checked out other kits as well? Lots of great stuff out there. I don't think the Tama will hit the mark as far as warm sounding...the birch has a more direct/focused sound. You'll get low end from the bubinga, but I don't think the sound would exactly be warm.
The DW set would get you closer to warmth, but I think there are others that will get you to the warm and low sound you described.
The DW set would get you closer to warmth, but I think there are others that will get you to the warm and low sound you described.