making my own drums!!!!!

[Tekker]

No offense, but OCDP is a ripoff. It's just like DW.

DW a rip off?? Really? What don't you like about them (besides the price)?

I've played on a few DW kits down at Guitar Center (and at a concert that my old band opened up for a few years ago) and they are frigin' sweet (at least I thought so). Sure they are pretty spendy but I wouldn't say a rip off.

I've had my heart set on gettting one for a while, but what set(s) would you recommend instead? (and I don't want to build my own, I prefer to leave that to people who actually know what they're doing. )

-tkr

 

[fenix]

dw are awesome drums, but they really can't do what you can't do as far as sound goes. I believe they use keller shells which are available at several online retailers and you can get them pre-cut bearing edges 45 degrees which is what dw uses (if no reinforcement rings). This is the reason why i'm building my own drums--to cut down on price and have that same killer sound. Wish me luck.

 

[Tim Brown]

DW a rip off?? Really? What don't you like about them (besides the price)?

I've played on a few DW kits down at Guitar Center (and at a concert that my old band opened up for a few years ago) and they are frigin' sweet (at least I thought so). Sure they are pretty spendy but I wouldn't say a rip off.

I've had my heart set on gettting one for a while, but what set(s) would you recommend instead? (and I don't want to build my own, I prefer to leave that to people who actually know what they're doing. )

-tkr

They are a scam.
Think about it this way:

I can get a 16"x22" Shell with hoops for about $200.
Figure 24 Lugs at $2 each.
Spurs are another $35

Essentially, for about $300 you can build an exact copy of a DW drum.

Hell, you used to be able to buy the exact same lugs until DW pitched a hissy fit about Hayman lugs being made available to tyhe public. In case you didn't know, Camco was the company that was bought and renamed "DW", they bought their lugs from a British Drum Company called Hayman. DW tried to claim that they had the rights to the Lugs, but they didn't-because Camco never owned that design! Then DW attempted to say that only they were allowed to sell drums with round lugs.
In short, what I have heard is that they basically threatened all these small drum and drum supply companies with lawsuits which would have ruined most of them financially.


Now, The question you have to ask yourself is this:

Is it worth paying DW $1,000+ more than that because it says DW on the shell? A DW Kick can easily be $1,200-$1,400 bucks. They wanted several Thousand (As in over $3,000 for 1 Kickdrum)to build me a 28" Kick, and I said "Fuck You Too!"

DW's Shells are made EXACTLY the same as Keller. They used Keller shells for years, and any DW's bought Prior to 2000 were made with Keller Shells.

Sure, their Hardware is great, but they don't actually make that- it's made for them, but that's no big deal, because everyone else subs out their metal work as well.

I've had several DW owners ask me to make kits for them after checking out the one that I have, but I do not have the space or means to make kits anymore. (After I built my kit, I no longer had a place to do woodworking.)

The Drilling can be done for you by any of the Drum Supply houses that you purchase keller shells from, as well as having the Bearing edges cut.

You can have the shells stained and sprayed at any local Cabinet shop.

So ask yourself, why should you pay DW the $1,000+ price difference for 1 drum- when you can build a whole kit for that price difference?!?!

You're paying for the Name "Drum Worksop" when you buy their drums, not the actual drums.

What ruined it for me, was when I noticed that "Rikki Rocket" (Mr. No Talent) was an Endorser. That guy can't walk and chew gum, but they give that hack an endorsement. Come On! There were tons of other Talented drummers in the majors that were much more deserving. AT Least Tommy Lee is a badass behind the kit-even though he is one of the teo dumbest people on this planet-the other being Pam Anderson Lee. (Get the porn movie-goddamn are they dumb!"


Tim

 

[Tim Brown]

dw are awesome drums, but they really can't do what you can't do as far as sound goes. I believe they use keller shells which are available at several online retailers and you can get them pre-cut bearing edges 45 degrees which is what dw uses (if no reinforcement rings). This is the reason why i'm building my own drums--to cut down on price and have that same killer sound. Wish me luck.

You can get the exact same shell setup as DW.
You just Order a 5-Ply Shell with 3-ply Reinforcement Rings.
It will look and sound exactly like a DW, because it's what DW sold for $20 years.
They mic up really well, but the don't sound good on stage.
A friend of mine plays guitar in a band and their drummer bought a new DW kit.
As soon as Neal started playing the DW kit, the band noticed that they couldn't really hear the Kick drum. Prior to this, he was using a Pearl Export kit. They were used to this really thick THUMP that he got out of the Export Kit, but the DW didn't do this because it was a thinner shell.

THey even asked him to switch back to the export kit, because they liked it better than the DW kit-because of the thick shells on the exports, they could hear the drumkit really well on stage.
In short- He was thrown out of the band because he wouldn't do what was best for the band - which was use the Export kit.

The drums that have very thin shells with the hoops in them are more "tone-y", but they are not as "thick" sounding....It's hard to explain. They sound awesome when you are sitting behind the kit, and the close mic' really well, but they don't sound as good far away as a set that has Thick Shells....the Thick shelled drums deliver more "thud or thump" than the shells with reinforcement rings in them.


Tim

 

[elevate]

In short- He was thrown out of the band because he wouldn't do what was best for the band - which was use the Export kit.

It's one thing to say that DW drums are overpriced, it's another to say that Export series drums sound better than DW. I own an Export kit and have played DW kits for recordings. There's absolutely no question which kit sounds better. To kick someone out of a band because you think their old kit sounds better is kinda silly. Do drummers go around telling guitarists how to get proper tone? Oh well, no accounting for taste I suppose.

 

[Tekker]

Well Tim, I think you just talked me outta my life long dream of owning a DW.

One of the drum techs at Guitar Center told me the exact same thing (about building one using Keller shells), but I was a little sceptical because I didn't want to risk screwing something up. But this does kinda sound like it would be a lot of fun to work on and I would be SAVING MONEY in the process!! (gotta love that)

The drums that have very thin shells with the hoops in them are more "tone-y", but they are not as "thick" sounding....It's hard to explain. They sound awesome when you are sitting behind the kit, and the close mic' really well, but they don't sound as good far away as a set that has Thick Shells....the Thick shelled drums deliver more "thud or thump" than the shells with reinforcement rings in them.

That would be perfect for me as I tend to play pretty loud at concerts. This way I could just mic up the kit and let the soundguys balance the kit out, instead of having to "play quieter".


fenix,
I went to a concert where the drummer had a light blue sparkle drumset (the most incredible looking set I've ever seen) and I've wanted that same color ever since. Although that Bing Cherry stain would look sweet also.
Be sure to put up lots of pictures when you get it done.

Also, where are you ordering your shells from?

-tkr

 

[Tim Brown]

It's one thing to say that DW drums are overpriced, it's another to say that Export series drums sound better than DW. I own an Export kit and have played DW kits for recordings. There's absolutely no question which kit sounds better. To kick someone out of a band because you think their old kit sounds better is kinda silly. Do drummers go around telling guitarists how to get proper tone? Oh well, no accounting for taste I suppose.

Look at what you said.

You said (and I quote) "I own an Export kit and have played DW kits for recordings. "

Now let me ask this:

Have you played a DW kit in a live setting with no music in the Monitors on stage (They had little floor monitors, and only had vocals through them)?
That was the situation with this band. I did not say ANYTHING about the Exports sounding BETTER, I said that they CUT THROUGH Better; the Band could hear the Kick of the Exports, but they couldn't hear the Kick of the DW's.

It had nothing to do with whether they sounded better, it was the fact that they couldn't hear his Kick drums, and he was hitting them just the same. Those types of shells just simply are not as loud as a "Thick" shell. They have alot of Tone, which is why they close mic so well, but on their own they simply don't project as well as a thick shelled drum.

Personally what I would do if building a kit, is go witjh the DW stylew shells for the toms, and a standard type of shell (10 Ply) for the Kicks. That way you get the best of both worlds - The "Tone" for the toms, and the Thump from the kicks.

Once I get everything settled and can do some more drum work, I'm going to build a new set of toms of the "5ply-shell/3-ply ring" DW type for recording.

Tim

 

[elevate]

I hear what you're saying, but it still seems incredibly silly to kick out the drummer because he chooses to use the kick drum that sounds better instead of the one that cuts through better. That's like telling your guitarist to quit using his Mesa Boogie Dual rectifier and use the Crate combo amp because it's more piercing and hence is more audible (...or maybe that isn't a good example ).

While I haven't played a DW kit live, I have played shows with several bands whose drummers had DW kits, and I always wished my drums sounded that good - even the kick drum (which I could hear just fine).

 

[Executivos]

I'm not even really a drummer (i own a set though) but in my experience with issues like "we cant hear the kick" it just needs to be tuned or muffled differently. The whole dw vs pearl export....I don't know that sounds pretty shady but....whatever floats your boat I guess.

 

[Tekker]

Hey Tim, would you happen to have any mp3s you could put up of your kit? I'd really like to hear those in action.

-tkr

 

[Tim Brown]

Hey Tim, would you happen to have any mp3s you could put up of your kit? I'd really like to hear those in action.

-tkr

We should have some material up soon. We are slated to begin recording this weekend, and those songs are going onto Mp3.com, or some other sites like that.


Tim