A tale of 3 drum sets.

Alex W

Alex W

Pork and Beans connoisseur
I ended up selling my Yamaha Stage Customs because despite my best efforts I could not get the toms tuned to my liking. We are talking hours and hours of tuning and retuning with different heads to boot.

Anyways the only set I have right now is my Yamaha electric set and I have been looking at 4 different sets.

High on my list are Ludwig Signets. They are made in the USA Ludwig factory and they sound pretty good. The downside is that you have to put them together, the lugs are something new and not really time tested, and the set doesn't come with a snare. $949



Another set I'm looking at is the Mapex Armory 6 pc. Shell kit. The Walnut looks great and they sound "ok" but not as good to me as the Ludwigs. It also comes with two floor toms which I prefer and two mounted toms. I prefer 1 mounted and two floor toms but meh whatevs. I don't know much about Mapex and I can't even remember where these are made. Probably China. $899



Gretsch Rock Catalina. I don't think they are making the "rock" Catalina anymore because I can't find much info about them online and it seems like the people still selling them have 1 color. 24 inch bass which I like, 1 mounted tom, 1 floor, which I can live with. Snare included, not much downside with these at $899



Crush Sublime. I played this set about a year ago and was blown away. Now I can't really find much info and the Crush site looks like it hasn't been updated since last year. Same configuration as the Gretsh but I think the bass drum is smaller. These are a little over a grand.



Thoughts? Opinions? Sets that aren't on my radar? I prefer cymbal mounted toms and two floor toms, but I'm not against trying anything.
 
I had a Catalina Club set years ago. Hands down the best sounding kit I have ever played. Granted I am not a drummer, but I have played a ton of kits. The only one that was close was my brothers Ludwig kit. It was a vintage kit, built in the 60s, was swilry looking like Ringo's kit.
 
If I was to go with Gretsch, I would go with the Gretsch Catalina Maple kit. It comes as a 6 piece kit + a free 8" tom, and street price is around $1K. The great thing about a bigger kit is that it can go small, or it can go large. I have one that I got one in 2007 (no 8" tom), and it's been an awesome kit. Everyone who has ever played it comes away telling me how great it sounds ( superior tuning? :grin:). It's made in Chinese factories, too, but the quality control has been very good.

You can also get it in the Walnut Glaze.
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Or even Aqua Sparkle.
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I will say that I have not heard of the Ludwig Signets, so I have no opinion there, but the Mapex Armory is a solid intermediate kit with birch/maple shells. Mapex makes good drums, and if you go up in their lines, you will find the Mapex Saturn drums, which are definitely sought after drums.
 
I would probably spend my money on the Ludwigs. I'm not familiar with that line, but they've making great drum kits for a looooong time, and have always had pretty good hardware on their high-end lines. But, then I already have several snares that I like, and the 4 piece is the configuration that I most often play. If you don't have a snare and really desire more toms, one of the others might be a better choice for you.

I used to be a dealer for Gretsch Drums and will say that the Catalina Maples are an incredible value and do sound great. I've never played the Rock configuration that you posted. I've never played on the other kits you've posted either, though they look like pretty good options too.
 
I'm gonna head back down to Columbus in a couple weeks and give them all a go again. I'm heavily leaning towards the Mapex armory series for ease of tuning. I hate fiddling around with drums for hours trying to get them tuned right and the Soniclear bearing edge seems like it makes life easier. Everyone seems to love this series (Armory) and I may have just had a bit of ear fatigue by the time I got to them, or they could have been tuned shittily like most of the drums at Sam Ash and GC. The Mapex Mars aren't entirely off my radar either as they are about $599. The snare seems to be the weak part of the Mars series.
 
I tried (and bought) the Mapex Mars kit which really wasn't on my radar but I was surprised by how good it sounded. I liked the wrap better than any of the lacquers in the Mapex Armory line, and it's made out of birch where the Armory series is a hybrid shell. I got the crossover kit which is one mounted tom and two floor toms which is my favorite configuration. I can tell they skimped on the snare. The wires and the throwoff are weak. It doesn't sound horrible and I'd still gig with it, but it's gettin replaced with a pork pie or black panther brass snare. The Armory line has a really good steel snare included but I would have replaced it regardless.

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