What's your favorite drum kit?

[Meriphew]

What drum kit do you prefer (or lust after), and what style of music is it best suited for? Pics welcomed.

[marqueemoon]

What drum kit do you prefer (or lust after), and what style of music is it best suited for? Pics welcomed.

I have a Premier APK jazz kit (16x18, 8x12, 14x14, 5x14 snare) that I totally love. It's a cheapie too (paid $375 used if I remember right). The deeper kick makes it good for rawk, and the stock snare is quite nice. The kick drum spurs are nice and sturdy too. It does not budge. My only complaint is they don't hold tune as well as I'd like, but then I keep em' tuned pretty low and play rock.

[chetatkinsdiet]

I've got a bunch of kits...all makes, sizes, etc. All vintage. My newest kit is a Tama Superstar from 82. I think my favorite rock kit is a mid 70s 6ply maple Ludwig in 13/16/24. My favorite smallish kit is an early 60s Rogers Tower kit in 12/14/20. I'm all over the board on snares....can't go wrong with any of the Luddy Supras...I've got the 5 & 6.5" depth models. I sorta think that metal shell snares work everytime, while wood shell snares work sometimes. That's just me. I did just hear a set of older recording customs in a friends studio that I nearly flipped over. I might have to hunt down some of them.
later,
m

[goldenarmes]

the one i made with my uncle Paul Bleifuss.

14X18, 8X12, 14X14, 5 1/2X14

rules for jazz and soul/ funk

[Dan Phelps]

For super meaty/punchy/modern sound I like an Ayotte set that I've recorded with...I've never heard more fundamental come from another bass drum. Even with a pillow and a sandbag in there, it just has the "bump." Sizes: 22x15, 12x8, 16x14.

For old school stuff I like 60's Ludwigs with crusty crusty cymbals.

I love big quirky bass drums. I own a 28x9 Ayotte that works well as a kick or a resonator in front of a smaller drum. I really like anything that forces me to think/play in a different way.

For snares...you never know what will work. Ludwig Supras are great. I've played on a 12x6 GMS snare that was a monster.

Pots and pans really are the best.

D

[kingborax]

Having played drums for a long time, I think late '60s Ludwig sets are unbeatable. I think back when drums were not amplified, the sounds they actually made at all volumes was more important. I play rock music, and no matter the intensity of my playing, the tone is always there. I feel that is what sets these drums apart from the rest...

I lucked out when I found mine. (first day looking for them in classifieds etc.)

-JOel

[stevemiddlekauff]

I really enjoy my dw kit. Maple 22" kick, 12" and 14" toms, and 14" dw edge snare.
Sometimes I wish I had a bigger floor tom, but not during load in or out.
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~smiddlek ... g_3637.jpg

[Catoogie]

Gretsch

[T-rex]

I have to agree, Gretsch. They have it all, the name, the history and the sound. I have early 60's Gretsch snare, 13 tom and 16 floor tom that I love, all white marine pearl. I am currently using a 24" Ludwig bass drum with the kit for louder rock.

I think Bill Stewart has the best sounding jazz kit I have ever heard. Gretsch 12, 14 and 18 with a Ludwig Brass Hammered snare. Snare is super crisp and conversely the toms are low and menacing but still melodic which makes a great contrast between the voices.

My first kit is still the kit I use as a practice set which is 70's Rogers, they don't sound that great, they are all out of round and impossible to tune, but great sentimental value!

One last thing, Yamaha Recording Custom drums are incredible drums for someone who needs a focused kit that sounds great and easy to tune. The toms and bass drum really don't lend to a lot of variety, each one has a fundamental tone and that was all I was really able to get from them. The tone was great with a good balance of attack and resonance, but more on the controlled side and incredibly easy to tune with no wierd overtones or ring.

[thecongostudio]

Although I am a piss poor drummer, I know what sounds I like. My favorite all around drum sound from a commercially available set is the Ludwig Vistalite set. The sounds are all there and I know a set of Vistalites when I hear them

My girlfriend finally got her new set of Pork Pie drums yesterday and Holy crap. I think they sound better than Vistalites and have a totally unique but incredible sounding presence. Just the way that the drums sound naturally is something that I have tried to achieve through various outboard gear. But either one of those kits are fine in my book...

Check out the new pork pies...

http://community.webshots.com/photo/146 ... 8056rzYqbw

[bigtoe]

i really dig fortune drums... made by Cleveland's "drum guy"... not modern like a DW but not as jazzbo as an old gretsch...kinda the best of both worlds. first time i heard a set tuned up by the maker...i was amazed at how easy it was to get sounds...when i found out they were local to me i thanked thee lorde. dunno what they're best suited for musically...i'd put em in the 'versatile' category? and in the pricey category. i just got an olde gretsch for my "house" kit. (god bless you, scott!)

i think snares are like mics...can't have too many and they're all good for something. My favorite one I ever ran across was this super deep brass one?just cuz you could work out with it. jobs where you can find the right snare for the song are always good fun. ixnay on the naming of snare drums for a session though. eg: "let's put 'ol' brassy' up!" "um...can we switch to 'woody'?"

MIke
edit: PS- hey - those pork pies look rad...aquarian heads on kick rule!

[pscottm]

glad those 'house-jazz' gretsch's are working out mike!

as for my favorite kit, there's a kit i borrowed from steve albini last year for a show @ chicago metro that was about a '70 ludwig i beleive, had a 20" kick 12" rack and 14" floor. those drums sounded incredible. small and resonant, punchy at any volume. i was looking for a new kit at the time so i got bill at cc custom drums in KC to make a replica. turned out he knew this kit well (and was the one who gave it to steve). they have 6-ply maple shells w an extra 6-ply reinforcement ring at the edges. it was his first attempt at this type of shell and man did they turn out great. i couldn't be happier.

[JASIII]

Keith Moon's "Pictures of Lily" set.

2nd choice: John Bonham's amber/clear lucite set.

As far as newer sets, I still like a yamaha maple custom. I'm curious about their oak custom sets. Anybody have one? I bet they're heavier than a bitch.

[dwelle]

i've got a chrome slingerland from the late 60's early 70's i believe. 13/14/18/24. not very versatile at all, but it does BIG very well, which is what i'm after. great for rock n' roll. looks cool too. shitiest hardware though. it's amazing how much better hardware has gotten over the years...

[flatcat]

The best kit I ever heard on a record I worked on was a late 50s Gretsch kit. I was the bass player. Unbelievably good sounding drums, owned by a guy named Mike Israel.

The drummer I've worked with on and off for the past 15 years had a set of Yamaha Recording Customs, and they sounded great live and in the studio. Being only a basic drummer myself, I would happily own a small Yamaha kit.

He had a Yamaha Manu Katche signature kit the last time I did a gig with him. They weren't real loud, but I'm dying to put mics up and around them, I think they'd sound fantastic recorded.