Then your one lucky guy.

I recently had a DW collector's series snare for a couple weeks and I've gotta say, it's the most dynamic, responsive, sensitive and down right painfully loud snare I've ever got my hands on.

I was BLOWN away.

I've played the whole kit before and it's great but the snare..........Bowing

I say this after having played a black beauty, an 8" Luddy Supra(supposedly the exact model jb played at the end), a pearl reference and my sonor teardrop.

I'm also a huge fan of old luddy's....actually any old drum.

Haven't been lucky enuf to play an rk or dyna yet.

Not holdin my breath to ever play a cloud camco or bronze shell but who knows.

Post some pix of your kit.

Yea, I need to post some photos of it. Ill take some at the next show we do and post them. We are playing an outside festival in April, ill take a few good ones there.

There have been a lot of discussions about the sound of vintage vs. current production drums. My opinion is that they are just different. As mentioned in an earlier thread I had a Yamaha Maple Custom Absolute (2 ply clear over single ply clear) a DW Collectors (2 ply clear over single ply clear) Spaun Custom (2 ply coated over single ply coated) and a B/O Luddy (2 ply coated over single ply coated)

In the case of the Yamaha and DW kit, the batter heads were tuned to the lowest possible pitch (or close) and the resonant head was tuned a minor third above that. The Spaun kit was tuned somewhat higher with the resonant heads even with the batter. The Ludwig kit was also tuned up a bit with the resonant head a minor third above.

The DW and Yamaha kits were very open and musical sounding. Each had it's own specific characteristics but both shared a clear tone, good attack and an overall very musical sound.

The Spaun kit was similar But darker in quality and, of course, an overall higher pitch. Still a great sounding kit.

The Ludwig kit had less sustain and a more rounded tone. Perhaps I should say "warmer" tone. Pretty much what one would expect from a vintage kit. What we often refer to as "vintage goodness!" The one draw back to the Ludwig kit was that I felt I had to beat the daylights out of it after having played the others. That wouldn't have been the case had I started on that kit of course.

All of that to say, I like all of them a lot for their particular characteristics. Tough to beat those vintage sounds though!

I have a set of DWs, 3 Ludwig 3-ply kits, and a Gretsch round badge kit. 3 totally different beasts. The DWs are very easy to tune, sing for days, and have great articulation. The Ludwigs are finicky with their tuning (you have to tune them in their "sweet spot" to sound good) and they have a nice woomph with a short sustain. The DWs are better drums, for practical reasons, but there's just something about the Luddies that make them so much more satisfying to play...

I have a different take on this, to me, it's the size of the drum and head selection that will make the biggest difference in the sound. Since the 80's, smaller toms have become the norm, most new kits I see are generally in the 10,12,14,20 or 22 configuration.

I was in this drum shop and they had a DW kit with a 13,16,22 and a Rogers kit in the same sizes, they both had single ply coated heads. I took the liberty, (with the owners permission), to grab a drum key and tune up the toms on both kits as close as possible. I played the DW toms right next to the Rogers toms and I could not hear much difference.

Now, if that DW kit was a 10,12,14 with clear heads, it would had been like night and day, just my :2Cents:.

I never really liked my DWs with any other tuning than a big fat rock tuning. For me they seemed like a "one trick pony". One badass trick I admit. Tuned high and open there was just too much sustain to play them completely wide open and they were not the right kit to play Bossa at corporate events and such. Too damn loud!

As for comparing vintage kits to them: Apples and oranges. Like comparing a Dodge Dart and a Mazda 3, Though I've never played a "vintage-style" DW with the rounded off (butter?) bearing edges. Maybe they are the best of both worlds.

My DW Jazz Series (24,13,16,18) is beautiful to play. It's definitely louder, has more sustain and more bottom than my Vintage kits. I've never recorded with it though, so I might be in for a shock either way there someday. But it has personality. My Collectors (24,22,20,18,16,14,13,12,10) kit is great too, is practical for touring but is way happier on lower tunings. Has a big footprint over mic's and sounds quite warm in the studio. If anything it has a mellow tone. A/B Toms with the Rogers Toms in my living room and the Rogers(24,13,14,16,180 (although in a roughish state) out Tone them. Rogers Kik is a bit meh though.

The Ludwig Downbeat definitely outshines the smaller Collectors drums in character, and sings in studios and quiet Jazz gigs, but can't keep up when the dynamic starts to creep up. They just start barking like scared puppies.

My 3ply B/O's have been my studio go to for years now, although I feel maybe they've lost something recently. The 60's super classics are ok but the Rack Tom is Pony.

Here we go........... The best is the Gretsch RB!!(22'13'16) The only trouble is the Kik when anchored with Velcro blocks jumps about on the end of my foot when I give it some. But the sounds on that kit in any tuning range is just oh! The SS kit isn't to shabby either. I am thinking of looking at new GretschUSA, but I hear they are relatively "nothing special" these days.

Oh and the Vistalites are good. Not bad in the studio TBH. The DW Acrylics are just for live, they'll never see a studio door with me.

And thats before I start on my Snare collection!!!!

So this is where my head is at. I've tried to surround myself with drums that that suit different jobs BUT appear to have a playful tone. Too many new Drums seem to have a serious 'BING' or 'BONG' in the sound, and that sound persists throughout the dynamic level and Tuning range. I guess for me this is most audible in all post 80's Japanese drums kits I've played. A lot of players love that uniformity and thats great. But for that tiny element of tonal chaos in the sound, That's why I like the old US drums(which have character in bundles), and actually, my new(ish) DW's.

Nice seeing everyone's perspectives on this. I think some of my complaints on the DW kit fall under the way the drummer had them tuned. He had his toms and bass tuned a little too high for my liking. different strokes for different folks i suppose!

And that is a very good point. We seldom have the opportunity to truly do A/B comparisons on various drum kits; even on our own. The odds that somone will have the time or ability to put brand new, matching heads on multiple sets of drums and then spend the time really tuning and dialing them in are slim. I say, figure out what any kit does well and let it shine.