Gretsch, while most notable for guitars, also manufactures drums, and has since the early days of his first music store in Brooklyn, New York (1883). In conversations with drummers over the years, one company always seems to come up - Gretsch Drums. Whether you believe his process or not (and I do), John Good works meticulously to create excellent drum shells. A 2014 interview recently piqued my interest with DW’s John Good - it’s worth a read. I think Drum Workshop Collector’s kits are authentic works of art. Whether you can justify the price is your call. Some drummers scoff at Drum Workshop drum sets, saying they’re overrated and overpriced. Deep Rich Red Burst over Exotic Mapa BurlĬlick here to see all available Exotic shell packs.Candy Blue Azure Burst over Mapa Burl (one of my favorites).Natural to Burnt Toast Fade over African Chenchen.Candy Yellow to Tobacco over Bubinga Pommele.I assume since they work with DW, you can get any finish available on DW’s website. The specific kit I’ve linked above comes with the Randall May internal mic system, which is a unique and impressive feature.Īt the time of writing this, Sweetwater has quite a few finishes available for order. Black nickel hoops are a favorite of mine on lighter-colored drum sets. This shell-crafting technique allows the drum to vibrate more freely, giving the drum a lower overall pitch.ĭepending which shell pack you pick determines the hardware. The outermost layers of the wood run vertically, rather than horizontally. It should be no surprise, a kit at this level does not include cymbals or hardware.ĭW’s Custom Shop Collector’s drums feature Vertical Low Timbre (VLT) shells.
Being that custom is in the name, you’ll have to wait a little longer to get your kit. The Exotic line of drums is part of Drum Workshop’s Custom Shop finishes.
#Vintage drum sets series#
While I will get to more affordable options later in the article, the Collector’s Series from DW makes an excellent case for being the best drum set money can buy. This project once again reminds you that just because an instrument is old or dirty, it still has a use and can be brought back to looking and sounding great.So yes, I’ve started the list off with a rather expensive drum kit. A Remo ® P3 Clear Batter Head and Remo ® Fiberskyn Resonant Head on the bass drum allowed it to be deep and punchy all in one while not being over bearing and blending with the rest of the drums. With some new Remo ® Ambassador Coated batters and Remo ®Ambassador Clear on the toms and snare drum. Most drum sets in this line had smaller sizes so this definitely stood out. The other unique aspect of the drums were the sizes of 22” BD, 13” tom and 14” floor tom. While a non-vintage cymbal arm had to be used it still has the classic look with a more modern casing used on the drum. Once done, all parts were re-installed on the drums. While not every scratch or bump was able to be removed, every part was hand polished to add a protective layer and “like-new” shine. The most extensive cleaning took place on all the hardware as the chrome parts when Some of the parts were put in the ultrasonic tank and then buffed to remove any surface rust or major areas of grime. The exterior champagne sparkle wrap was cleaned and polished to once again show the beauty on the drums. The bearing edges were lightly sanded to remove some rough areas but were overall in great condition. The interior of the shells were sanded and repainted white to bring back the classic look that these drums had when constructed so many years ago. The process started by stripping down the hardware (lugs, tension rods, strainers, hoop) until the shells were empty and able to be cleaned. Below is a basic breakdown of the steps taken to get the drums back into excellent condition.
While I knew it would be a challenge, I was determined to make these drums look and sound great again. The 1967 Ludwig Club Date that I found had all the original parts except for the cymbal arm and a hoop on the mounted tom.
I was not expecting to find a vintage set of drums. When I arrived to inspect the drums I was able to piece back together two drum sets that needed new heads and cleaned. I recently visited a local summer camp that had a few drum sets that were in need of some work. Every once in a while we will get a call from a customer that is somewhat out of the ordinary.
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