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

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.

Interesting stuff and thank you for sharing! I specifically like the sock idea. It's so obvious, but yet creative at the same time.

Thanks man!
 
what kind of music are you going to play?Jazz get the Brooklyn's,hard rock or
metal get the Keystones,
 
what kind of music are you going to play?Jazz get the Brooklyn's,hard rock or
metal get the Keystones,

Mainly rock and funk. I got the Classic Maples and absolutely love them!

I will say that I still don't like the floor tom leg brackets all that much, but whatever. This is a fantastic sounding kit and luckily for me, has absolutely no quality issues.
 
Mainly rock and funk. I got the Classic Maples and absolutely love them!

I will say that I still don't like the floor tom leg brackets all that much, but whatever. This is a fantastic sounding kit and luckily for me, has absolutely no quality issues.

A couple of months late, but congrats on the kit..............I've been seriously looking into crossing over into the 24" bass drum world............haven't done it yet, but your experiences have me thinking about it even more
 
Mainly rock and funk. I got the Classic Maples and absolutely love them!

I will say that I still don't like the floor tom leg brackets all that much, but whatever. This is a fantastic sounding kit and luckily for me, has absolutely no quality issues.

Have you tried the Ludwig Atlas Pro pedals yet? They are fabulous. I suggest you try one out. Once you do...you will wonder why you didn't sooner.
 
Mainly rock and funk. I got the Classic Maples and absolutely love them!

I will say that I still don't like the floor tom leg brackets all that much, but whatever. This is a fantastic sounding kit and luckily for me, has absolutely no quality issues.

Just a quick question, what brackets do you have installed on your floor tom, keystone or classic?

Dennis
 
Just a quick question, what brackets do you have installed on your floor tom, keystone or classic?

Dennis

Sorry for the delay! I have the classic style brackets. I mean, they work and I'm not slamming the company or anything crazy like that! I've just felt floor tom leg brackets that were much nicer than these.

6119-4820-large.jpg
 
I have the keystone brackets on my CM kit. I love 'em! Nothing wrong with the classic brackets, functionally speaking but I just think the keystones are just more modern and they work great. No need to over tighten. Can you replace them if you wanted to? Not sure if the holes line up or not?
 
I posted this a long time ago comparing the wall thickness of a Ludwig Elite bracket and a DW TB12. Most people would agree the DW is a pretty awesome bracket--which it SHOULD BE at a $60 list price.

P6110108.jpg


The walls on the Ludwig bracket on the left are a lot thicker, even where the screws go in to attach it.
The rest of the bracket work the same on both pieces. There is a pretty big price difference between the two.

The Classic bracket is fine, but the thicker T-handles Ludwig has (P-3903) feel better with it.
The legs are mainly what I don't really care for with the Classic ft set up, just too long to me.
The Classic bracket itself is OK, and isn't going to break, but I'll agree it doesn't feel "as sturdy" as other mounts available.
 
BTW, not being a "Fanboy". I know Ludwig has it's issues.

Just found it interesting that the wall thickness on these two brackets that I use was so different.
I will say that Ludwig's Tube lugs (AND screws) are way beefier than the generic Tube lugs put on all the "BB copy" snares, and lugs you get from suppliers.
 
I have the keystone brackets on my CM kit. I love 'em! Nothing wrong with the classic brackets, functionally speaking but I just think the keystones are just more modern and they work great. No need to over tighten. Can you replace them if you wanted to? Not sure if the holes line up or not?

This is also what I have and have no issues with them.

DSC_0503.jpg


Dennis
 
...
The legs are mainly what I don't really care for with the Classic ft set up, just too long to me.
The Classic bracket itself is OK, and isn't going to break, but I'll agree it doesn't feel "as sturdy" as other mounts available.

Yeah, that's all I'm really saying. The classic bracket doesn't "feel" as sturdy as others. Not really griping much about it, though. They're working fine.

The legs are really long, I agree. I thought about cutting them down, just to make transport that much easier.
 
Sorry for the delay! I have the classic style brackets. I mean, they work and I'm not slamming the company or anything crazy like that! I've just felt floor tom leg brackets that were much nicer than these.

6119-4820-large.jpg

Buy the memory locks to fit the mounts and you will be happy.
 
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.

I was just now reading back through this thread for a piece of info and saw this post.

Zambizzi, you were 100% correct. I'm still not 100% on the 24" (my foot is JUST starting to come around period), but I'm getting there.
 
...The Classic bracket is fine, but the thicker T-handles Ludwig has (P-3903) feel better with it...

That's the info I was looking for, but I also thought I remembered someone saying they put Gibraltar t-handles on the Classic floor tom brackets. Didn't see that in this thread. Must've read that somewhere else.

I may try to replace the t-handles soon with something nicer feeling.
 
Wow, old thread!
I put Gibratar wing nuts (6mm) on all my Elite Brackets on the ft's. They feel much better than the wing nuts that come on the Elite bracket.

The thicker Ludwig T handles that I posted the number for work really well.
The other one's are fine, but for having to set up quicker on a gig, and even more for breaking down after a show, the thicker, more comfortable pieces are nice.

The new ATLAS wing nuts are great, but, I'm not sure if they'd have too big a span for that Classic Bracket. I could check tonight though, it may be an optical thing, and really only be as wide as what is on the Classic.
 
Wow, old thread!
I put Gibratar wing nuts (6mm) on all my Elite Brackets on the ft's. They feel much better than the wing nuts that come on the Elite bracket.

The thicker Ludwig T handles that I posted the number for work really well.
The other one's are fine, but for having to set up quicker on a gig, and even more for breaking down after a show, the thicker, more comfortable pieces are nice.

The new ATLAS wing nuts are great, but, I'm not sure if they'd have too big a span for that Classic Bracket. I could check tonight though, it may be an optical thing, and really only be as wide as what is on the Classic.

I must've read your post about the Gibraltar wing nuts in another thread! I still don't like the classic floor tom brackets much at all and I'd replace them immediately if I could find a nice replacement. The Elite brackets looks more functional to me, even if not quite as nice cosmetically.

I did a google search to find out if the Elite brackets are a direct fit for the Classic brackets and some people said the holes would need widening a tiny bit and several other people said they were exactly the same. Hm.
 
It's funny, I like the simplicity of the Classic bracket. The eye bolt makes it very sturdy too. Too each their own.

My floor tom legs are really short for some reason. Must be 'cause they're an old model.
 
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