For you guys who built your own (or for those who use "non-standard" drum companies - Raven Custom Drums), where do you get the best information on this type of stuff. And for curiosity's sake, have you ever considered doing your building on a professional level?
Those Raven Custom Drums are absolutely beautiful, I would love to hear how they sound.
My cymbals are UFiP and my snare is Ludwig. The bass, riding and floor tom I made from solid spruce lumber and made the rims from plywood. Painted black, of course!
I have recorded alot of different drum sets. I have found that every drum company has a couple of good models of drums. With the propper skins and tuning they all sound good. Just depends on the sound your going for. I find that alot of drummers I have recorded don't know how to tune there drums either. So if you hear a drummer playing a set you thought might be cool but didn't sound good it might not be the kit but the drummer. I am not a drummer but I do own a kit for the studio. Sonor Force 2005. I picked these because it was in the budget. I work in a store putting kits together and tuning them. I have lost count after 8 years of doing this but you really learn how to tune drums after the 100th one. So I would be curious to line up the best kits from every company and find the right skins and propperly tune them and A & B them all. That would be awsome.
Ooooh. I play a PDP kit right now... it's a cheapy (as far as the drums go) I've invested far more in a my rack and cymbals and other hardware. I'm hoping eventually to get a DW. I've played a couple kits that have blown my mind. That and or I've liked the sound that Sonors can get too.
Pearls...the only ones to buy are the high end ones. I have to agree with others on this board about the tom-mounts. That and the ridiculous amount of metal hardware connected to the shell. Fine for rock, etc., but not very good, really.
Sonar Force 2003 Fusion kit... and I'm in a metal band, haha. I've got a Pearl free floating snare though which sounds about 8463829376 times better than the sonar one. I have a big ol' mixture of cymbals: mostly Sabian but I have some nasty Stagg China as well which I love.