I don't know that anyone can actually answer this question in anything other than an extremely subjective manner. In this day and age, any major manufacturer should make a fine quality instrument. Various manufacturers tend to appeal to certain styles of music but I wonder how much of that is in the nature of their marketing.

What I can say for certain (and this is not subjective) is what drum kits show up the most often on equipment riders for touring artists. Unless an artist can support the cost of "demanding" a specific kit, and most cannot, they will generally post their preferred brand of kit followed by two other suitable choices. As a side note, we often install a different resonant head with the endorser's logo if we don't carry their endorsed brand. In almost any case a DW kit or a Yamaha kit will be acceptable. In fact if you have those two kits you can cover pretty much any rider and I do not recall a situation where it did not. Following those two might be Pearl, Ludwig and Gretsch. Beyond that it is tough to say.

That's interesting, I'm sure I've seen bands with the reso bass head says Orange County or DDrum or CC or something but the drums look like Yamaha or some other brand.

And of course this Poll IS purely subjective. Just looking for peoples opinions, impressions, experiences and anecdotes.

In modern times it seems like a drum is a drum. When you really get deep into sounds, each brand has a particular flavor, but it's the difference between vanilla, vanilla extract, french vanilla, vanilla bean, etc...

Which companies out of the mix have actually done something worthwhile in the past ten years? My first pick was DW, because they have done the most experimentation with the actual "build" of a drum kit. Next up was Ludwig and Tama, because of their experimentation with different woods, and the drums ACTUALLY sound unique and aren't just marketing fluff. Well, Pearl has *tried* to do this, but a Pearl drum sounds like a Pearl drum--boxy and boring. With the other companies, you know what you're going to get, whether you like the Yamaha and Ddrum "one-trick pony" sounds, or the classic Gretsch sound, you know exactly what you're buying, like if you go to a McDonalds or Starbucks.

With so many options of the same old stuff, I'm glad there are tons of custom companies pushing the envelope and offering new and unique sounds. But, drums are drums to the audience...

When you see photos of Gene Krupa playing Rogers that is probably the issue. Sometimes a really high profile artist will get support directly from the manufacturer and they will arrange to get a kit when they need one.

I took a walk though a large drum shop a while back and thought "so many great drum kits" I'm sure they all make good top end kits. (Although I find it a shame that it's so hard to find 22 x 14 kicks) Last night I took my Pearl kit to a gig with a big stage and good sound. I could have taken other kits but its the one I fall back on when I need no fuss projection. The sound guy kept talking about the kick and how good it sounded. I told him I was glad to hear that, because I had just shelled out $55 for a new head for it. He asked if many drummers do change their kick heads and I said it wasn't something you'd do every month but its certainly worth doing every so often. And to me, that's the point. If you change your heads when they're worn out and know how to tune your drums, any modern drum kit will sound great, IMO, because the shells and hardware will be most likely better than many vintage kits you would find. Not all, but many. $00.02

I am not saying this to argue and, in fact I tend to agree but I wonder how true that was of vintage drums when they were new? Specific brands were associated with certain types of music, especially by the mid to late 60's.

I don't know. The only catalog pages I've seen were describing different model options, not discussing the finer points of their construction methods, and how it impacts the sonic qualities of their drums. Back in the 20s-60s, reinforcing rings were taken for granted by Ludwig and Slingerland (not Gretsch), and not touted as "an option that disrupts overtones and raises the overall pitch of the shell".

Well said.

I feel like my DW gear is pretty versatile as it has a wide tuning range. My Spaun kits with 6 ply shells and double 45 edges are extremely easy to tune. As you mentioned the Yamaha kit seems like a one trick pony but it is a nice trick. I think some of that is the die cast hoop and some is actually the perception of what the kit should sound like. I do have more issues with tuning the Yamaha kit in it's sweet spots without some noticeable distortion which I don't find with any of my other kits.

I love this kind of stuff on forums. Opinion posted as if it's gospel, not an opinion. So I could play you 10 new kits blindfold and you would know one from the other?

Every good musician knows that 99% of your sound, is in your hands. You might sound "boxy and boring" playing Pearl drums, but on the other hand, I sound fine on anything with heads. Peter Erskine once told me he loved playing my Pearl kit - and that's just his opinion too.