Justinhub2003
Silver Member
Over the last 18 months, I have built my dream kit. Or at least the kind of kit I thought I’d never have when I first started playing at 14. I spent an embarrassing amount of money over the last 18 months. So While I did drop a lot of cash of on drum gear, I did pick up a lot of knowledge it what I do and don’t like from certain gear.
I've traded in my other hobbies and have basically turned into a drum gear addict
Heres some quick reviews of some of the things I‘ve purchased:
Kits:
DW Design Series 4 piece drum kit (10, 12, 16, 22): I got an incredible deal on this kit. Basically walked away spending around 550 bucks on this brand new kit at guitar center. I still have it. This kit sounds great and is built very well. I think its absolutely great choice as an intermediate kit.
Ludwig Classic Oak 4 Piece : This is the kit I have setup now, I’ve had it just about 5 weeks and I absolutely love it. I’ve never owned a drum set that tuned up so Easily with any variety of heads. and in Just 5 weeks I’ve tested EC2S, G2’s, coated G2’s, UV2’s and now, my favorite of the bunch, the Evans G14 Coated. seriously I never get tired of this kit. It was able to talk 400 off the sticker price at Sweetwater. Killer deal on this kit
Snares:
Ludwig Supraphonic LM402: this is my go to snare now. This is the only snare where I didn't change out the snare wires because they sounded so good. add a Remo Vintage Ambassador coated to this and it will never let you down. To me its an absolute must have.
Ludwig Copper phonic 14x6.5: I bought this Snare because I heard Carter McLean play it and it sounded amazing. And while I do love it, its much darker sounding than my Supra.
Ludwig Black Beauty with Brass tube lugs and Diecast hoops 14x6.5: I Bought this drum because I fell in love with the way it looked. And loved it even more when I heard the way it sounded. That said, I felt the Diecast hoops were taking a little life out of the drum so I bought some brass plated triple flanged hoops and it really made the drum sing. That said, its not Supraphonic, at least to my ears
Ludwig Raw Brass Phonic 14x6.5: This was a complete impulse buy, I bought it on Amazon because I loved the way it looked. But I thought I was buying a Ludwig Bronze phonic. Then I heard it and I fell in love with it. Its much brighter than my Black beauty. So I took the Die Cast hoops from the Black beauty and I put them on the Raw Brass Phonic . It a really cool looking Snare. But admittedly, its not something I have to keep in my collection.
Ludwig 110th Anniversary Exotic Avodire 14x7 Snare (1 of 55 in that size) : This is my least favorite Snare from Ludwig. For one, when it arrived, it had a Tension rod that was visibly bent and the leather bag it came with had the ludwig patch glued on and it had fell off. Luckily, I contacted Ludwig and they shipped me 4 tension rotes and brand new Defect free bag. 14x7 is a rare size for ludwig. It comes with Die Cast hoops as well and I believe is 10 plies of Maple with an exotic veneer finish on the outside. It was expensive and to be honest, I rarely play it. Just doesn't have the Life to it that other Ludwig Snares have.
DW Collectors Series Satin Ebony Maple Snare 14x6: I rarely ever play this drum even though its my best sounding wood snare. It was also an impulse buy, as my local guitar center had this incorrectly listed and priced as DW Design series snare. I had a 15% coupon they let me apply as well. It was on a kit as a "demo" and had a Remo Silent Stroke on it. I was able to get the Snare, The silent stroke Head and they gave me my choice of any other head I wanted with it free, and I paid just $255 for it. For the Price I love it, But if I had paid full retail, Im just not sure I'd think it was worth the price tag. I do love the throw off and the 3 position butt Plate. It has Maple Re-rings and is made really really well.
Bass Drum Pedals: (I'm flat footed, with ankles that I've sprained at least 10x playing basketball, so I've been on a conquest to find a perfect pedal that fits me)
Peal Powershifter Redline Eliminator Double Pedal (no longer have) : This the first really high pedal that I bought. And I really liked it. I have nothing bad to say about it. it gave me finesse and Power. And lots and lots of adjustability.. that said, I almost think it had too many adjustments available, with all the cams and such. It made setting it up to my liking very overwhelming. I ended up returning it. But I'd absolutely use this pedal again
Tama SpeedCobra 910 double pedal (No Longer have) : This was my first long board style pedal. And At first I really really liked it. but Im not super speed kinda guy and I felt the pedal lacked the power I wanted from it. Ultimately I ended up moving away from it. Don't regret this and likely wouldn't use again
Yamaha FP9 Double Pedal (no longer have): This is the one I should have kept. This is a smooth pedal that I really really liked. I planned on keeping it but ultimately it started collecting dust. Im likely going to buy it again just to have I think. The pedal was smooth, powerful and very versatile. I had just heard so many good thing about Trick and Direct drive pedals that it tainted my mind a bit and ultimately caved.
Trick Big Foot Pro1-V Double Pedal (Current Pedal): this is by far the most expensive and best pedal I've ever owned. Its smooth, fast and very very powerful still. It has taken time to get used to a direct Drive and I still to this adjust it. I initially was having issues with the pedal swinging back and cracking me in the foot and the default beaters are really really painful. It actually altered my playing a bit and made me scared to hit the pedal because it hurt so bad. But Once I got that figured out, I've slowly figured this pedal out and am really really digging it. I don't use the stock beaters. They are too light for me. I don't play metal but feel this pedal is good for any style just because it does what your foot does with very little input lag.
Various Hardware:
DW's Airlift Series Hardware: I went all in on DW's Airlift hardware, and Overall I really like it. I have the throne, the Snare stand and the Double tom stand. Lowering and raising my toms and Snare is just a one handed process now. I don't have any con's with them except maybe the price. The Throne is comfy but Id prefer it not be 4 legged as it takes up so much damn room. But over all, its a nice series of heavy duty hardware. Its built to last too
DW 9000 EF hi hat stand: Not much to say here except its an outstanding hi hat stand with an extended footboard. I wear size 11.5 or 12, and that extra bit of room on the footboard is enough to give me more room to do more subtle things on my hi hat.
I've traded in my other hobbies and have basically turned into a drum gear addict
Heres some quick reviews of some of the things I‘ve purchased:
Kits:
DW Design Series 4 piece drum kit (10, 12, 16, 22): I got an incredible deal on this kit. Basically walked away spending around 550 bucks on this brand new kit at guitar center. I still have it. This kit sounds great and is built very well. I think its absolutely great choice as an intermediate kit.
Ludwig Classic Oak 4 Piece : This is the kit I have setup now, I’ve had it just about 5 weeks and I absolutely love it. I’ve never owned a drum set that tuned up so Easily with any variety of heads. and in Just 5 weeks I’ve tested EC2S, G2’s, coated G2’s, UV2’s and now, my favorite of the bunch, the Evans G14 Coated. seriously I never get tired of this kit. It was able to talk 400 off the sticker price at Sweetwater. Killer deal on this kit
Snares:
Ludwig Supraphonic LM402: this is my go to snare now. This is the only snare where I didn't change out the snare wires because they sounded so good. add a Remo Vintage Ambassador coated to this and it will never let you down. To me its an absolute must have.
Ludwig Copper phonic 14x6.5: I bought this Snare because I heard Carter McLean play it and it sounded amazing. And while I do love it, its much darker sounding than my Supra.
Ludwig Black Beauty with Brass tube lugs and Diecast hoops 14x6.5: I Bought this drum because I fell in love with the way it looked. And loved it even more when I heard the way it sounded. That said, I felt the Diecast hoops were taking a little life out of the drum so I bought some brass plated triple flanged hoops and it really made the drum sing. That said, its not Supraphonic, at least to my ears
Ludwig Raw Brass Phonic 14x6.5: This was a complete impulse buy, I bought it on Amazon because I loved the way it looked. But I thought I was buying a Ludwig Bronze phonic. Then I heard it and I fell in love with it. Its much brighter than my Black beauty. So I took the Die Cast hoops from the Black beauty and I put them on the Raw Brass Phonic . It a really cool looking Snare. But admittedly, its not something I have to keep in my collection.
Ludwig 110th Anniversary Exotic Avodire 14x7 Snare (1 of 55 in that size) : This is my least favorite Snare from Ludwig. For one, when it arrived, it had a Tension rod that was visibly bent and the leather bag it came with had the ludwig patch glued on and it had fell off. Luckily, I contacted Ludwig and they shipped me 4 tension rotes and brand new Defect free bag. 14x7 is a rare size for ludwig. It comes with Die Cast hoops as well and I believe is 10 plies of Maple with an exotic veneer finish on the outside. It was expensive and to be honest, I rarely play it. Just doesn't have the Life to it that other Ludwig Snares have.
DW Collectors Series Satin Ebony Maple Snare 14x6: I rarely ever play this drum even though its my best sounding wood snare. It was also an impulse buy, as my local guitar center had this incorrectly listed and priced as DW Design series snare. I had a 15% coupon they let me apply as well. It was on a kit as a "demo" and had a Remo Silent Stroke on it. I was able to get the Snare, The silent stroke Head and they gave me my choice of any other head I wanted with it free, and I paid just $255 for it. For the Price I love it, But if I had paid full retail, Im just not sure I'd think it was worth the price tag. I do love the throw off and the 3 position butt Plate. It has Maple Re-rings and is made really really well.
Bass Drum Pedals: (I'm flat footed, with ankles that I've sprained at least 10x playing basketball, so I've been on a conquest to find a perfect pedal that fits me)
Peal Powershifter Redline Eliminator Double Pedal (no longer have) : This the first really high pedal that I bought. And I really liked it. I have nothing bad to say about it. it gave me finesse and Power. And lots and lots of adjustability.. that said, I almost think it had too many adjustments available, with all the cams and such. It made setting it up to my liking very overwhelming. I ended up returning it. But I'd absolutely use this pedal again
Tama SpeedCobra 910 double pedal (No Longer have) : This was my first long board style pedal. And At first I really really liked it. but Im not super speed kinda guy and I felt the pedal lacked the power I wanted from it. Ultimately I ended up moving away from it. Don't regret this and likely wouldn't use again
Yamaha FP9 Double Pedal (no longer have): This is the one I should have kept. This is a smooth pedal that I really really liked. I planned on keeping it but ultimately it started collecting dust. Im likely going to buy it again just to have I think. The pedal was smooth, powerful and very versatile. I had just heard so many good thing about Trick and Direct drive pedals that it tainted my mind a bit and ultimately caved.
Trick Big Foot Pro1-V Double Pedal (Current Pedal): this is by far the most expensive and best pedal I've ever owned. Its smooth, fast and very very powerful still. It has taken time to get used to a direct Drive and I still to this adjust it. I initially was having issues with the pedal swinging back and cracking me in the foot and the default beaters are really really painful. It actually altered my playing a bit and made me scared to hit the pedal because it hurt so bad. But Once I got that figured out, I've slowly figured this pedal out and am really really digging it. I don't use the stock beaters. They are too light for me. I don't play metal but feel this pedal is good for any style just because it does what your foot does with very little input lag.
Various Hardware:
DW's Airlift Series Hardware: I went all in on DW's Airlift hardware, and Overall I really like it. I have the throne, the Snare stand and the Double tom stand. Lowering and raising my toms and Snare is just a one handed process now. I don't have any con's with them except maybe the price. The Throne is comfy but Id prefer it not be 4 legged as it takes up so much damn room. But over all, its a nice series of heavy duty hardware. Its built to last too
DW 9000 EF hi hat stand: Not much to say here except its an outstanding hi hat stand with an extended footboard. I wear size 11.5 or 12, and that extra bit of room on the footboard is enough to give me more room to do more subtle things on my hi hat.