Music is Awesome
Senior Member
Can they just say they're renaming PDP Platinums because that's basically what they're doing, except for the fact they're keeping PDP Platinums too?
"Stephen, why would I go out to California to preview some drums made in Mexico? I said forget it, I'm not interested."
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It's like comparing a Camry to a Lexus. Same company, different perception. The subtleties are in the fit and finish and overall performance/luxury options.
Can they just say they're renaming PDP Platinums because that's basically what they're doing, except for the fact they're keeping PDP Platinums too?
DW is going to seriously damage its brand and dilute the value of the drums. If I were a DW owner, I'd be disappointed in the company for choosing to do this. For those who care about such things (and a lot of DW owners do, I suspect), they will always be fending off questions like "So are those the Mexican DWs? How do they sound compared to real DWs?"
Another case in point re: resale. Note the set below. 1918 Leedy 28" on right 1930 32" Slingerland on left, Rogers 'script' toms. Played them for years, pictured here at Crossroads Of The World recording studios on Sunset, Graham Nash's old LA studio. 33 song rock opera featuring Todd Rungren.
Now I want a custom kit to my own personal specs. Can you spell R-E-S-A-L-E-V-A-L-U-E?
I paid $45 for the Leedy in 1985, sold it for $1,000.00 last year. Paid $100 for the Slingerland in '87 sold it for $1,300.00 last week. The 3 Rogers 'script logo' toms I sold for $1,800 to a collector in Memphis TN back in August. I paid $300 for those in 1990.
Yes, resale value does have it's points. I'm now able, with that money from these to have a custom kit made to my specs, with a finish of my choice. 28" BD, 15" rack, 18" & 20" Floors w/re-rings, rounded bearing's, N.A. Maple, cast hoops. Matching 6.5 40/snare. Undecided yet on Champagne Sparkle or White Marine Pearl.
Listen to the two first songs on my signature below. That kit is a Ludwig ACCENT import kit....it's all in the tuning...and the sound engineer...LOL.
i actually agree with this. As someone who is in branding and advertising AND who owns a DW as well, i think this is a bad move. Yes they will sell more drums, but it will damage the reputation of it. However, like fender, they will get the "well is that a real DW"? So the damage will only be slight.
Taylor guitars has a fantastic name. Their cheapest Taylor guitar is like a $500 baby guitar that is lacking any kind of frills at all. If you want a mid line taylor, you going to have to pop off 4 figures easily. They are exclusive and if you see anyone playing a Taylor, you know IMMEDIATELY that it is a high end guitar -- very special. If Taylor started making a mid-line guitar, the specialness of that headstock goes away. Until now, when you see that DW badge and sticker and lug, you KNOW what it is. Brand recognition is EVERYTHING to a company. Part of the reason that DW is so coveted is because of this -- shallow as you think it is, its the truth. Its part of the reason i bought mine. Now if it sounded like crap or built like crap, i wouldnt have bought it. But it sounded and was built every bit as good as i thought it would be.
I go to an audition with my DW and i am taken seriously before i even play the first note. You pay for that. I can just see it now "oh a DW -- cool -- is that a real one?". As bullshit as it sounds, it will happen. DW arguably has the best name in drums (that extends beyond drummers) -- why screw with that? To sell a few more kits? I don't think its smart at all. Just my opinion.
I've always said that it's not the drums, it's the drummer that counts. That said, the DW drums made in Mexico may indeed measure up to the US manufacturer in every way, but the stigma that will remain if not addressed will be the resale value or depreciation consequence.
I played the Plats in the shop and gave them a thorough work out, and they seemed to be very decent drums, but there's that little engraving on the badge that says "Made In Mexico" and THAT signifies a lesser quality, at least in the eyes of a collector or purist. Regardless of the excellence of the item, there is that bump in the road.
It's like comparing a Camry to a Lexus. Same company, different perception. The subtleties are in the fit and finish and overall performance/luxury options.
I suppose I can sum it up in four words. Same thing, only different. And for a lot of us, it's that difference that will be the deciding purchase factor.
This might hurt their "image," yes, which I agree is a mainstay of the company. But it will only hurt it, not destroy it. Add to that the fact that they're probably going to sell tons of these and make tons of money; I think it was actually quite a wise business decision.
I don't like it though. I'm gona cringe the first time I get asked whether my drums are "real" or not!
DW is going to seriously damage its brand and dilute the value of the drums. If I were a DW owner, I'd be disappointed in the company for choosing to do this. For those who care about such things (and a lot of DW owners do, I suspect), they will always be fending off questions like "So are those the Mexican DWs? How do they sound compared to real DWs?"
People keep bringing up this point and I don't understand where it's coming from. Look at it this way.
The Export, Session, Vision and Forum series have done no damage to Pearl, nor does anybody mistake them for a Reference or Masterworks kit.
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Companies that wish to put themselves at the high end of the market will often deliberately not have anything in the mid- to low-range. Can you get an entry-level Lexus? Entry-level Rolex? Those brands are serious about branding themselves as exclusive, elite and expensive, because that's the market segment they are aiming for. In their view, if they made an entry-level line, it would reduce the exclusiveness of their brand, and people are willing to pay for exclusiveness. Whether that's right or wrong or makes sense to us isn't relevant here. Some companies build their brand on this, just as others build it on the low end of the market.
DW has done something much different than just create a lower-cost line. They're seeking to cash in on their exclusiveness, while cutting corners in other areas. As a result, many more people will be playing DWs, diluting the exclusiveness that others thought they were investing in. Of course, life isn't fair and them is the breaks, but I suspect DW will lose much of the exclusive end of the market when they do this. People will be asking, "Are those real DWs, or the Mexican knock-offs."