pdp drums?

[petgeh]

I'm gonna by a new pdp kit. Now i have a few questions:

What do you think about the MXR drums?
I really like the kit, but i'm not sure about the bass drum size, because i play in a punk band and most punk drummers use a 22" bass drum and the MXR drums have a 24" bass drum. Is the bass drum size important?

Whats the differnece between the LX, MX and CX drums?
The LX drums are much more expensive than the MX or CX drums. Is it only the finish?

Whats the difference between birch and maple shells?

[Doug Masters]

A few years ago, I had a PDP FS birch kit. Nice kit for the money except for the snare which sucked. I have heard both good and bad things about the maple PDP kits. Some folks love 'em, some don't. I would suggest taking the heads off and inspecting the bearing edges BEFORE you buy the kit.

The LX kit is lacquered....not sure about the others.

[SketcHyRollin564]

I just wrote a HUGE breakdown on every kit in the PDP lineup, going into good detail. I accidently clicked a button, and now i cant get all the text i wrote back, so now im kinda pissed. ill go ahead and re-type it later.

[petgeh]

And whats with the bass drum? Is there a big difference between a 22" or 24" bass drum? Whats better for punk?

[msj67]

I have a Pacific (PDP) LX kit in the natural finish and I'm very satisfied with it. The LX kits are 100% maple shells with a lacquer finish. I believe the CX series is identical to the LX except that they have wraps instead of a lacquer finish. Not sure about the MX but I'm sure the Pacific website has info.

I had heard stories here on Drummerworld about some PDP's having bad bearing edges so I checked them before I bought the kit, and the edges are excellent in my view. The drums sound fantastic and are very easy to tune. The kit came with a matching 5x14 snare but I don't use it - I agree with an earlier poster that the snares are not that great. I continue to use an 80's vintage 6.5 inch Tama steel snare which I have had for over 20 years and still sounds wonderful.

Hope that helps.

[tmv31]

lx=laquered finish
mx=matte finish
cx=covered finish
and the lxe is the top of the line with exotic finishes

the mxr is a rock setup with a matte finish
and the fxr is the birch version of the mxr with a 22" bass

[SketcHyRollin564]

^ and the fs is satin finish


the fs and fxr, are both 100% birch. I have the FS and i love it

The MX, CX, LX, are all the same wood, but they have differnet finishes. This is why the LX is more expensive. That, and with hardware, it comes with a better hardware pack.

The LXE is the closest you can get to DW. It MAY have a little bit better wood than the LX, but im not sure. It has exotic finishes, which is what the E stands for. It also has a 10 lug snare and bass, with dw heads.

[rendezvous_drummer]

Do yourself a favour and DON'T buy a PDP. They are known for the poor quality in their contruction of the shells. Are you buying a PDP just because some punk drummers use them? Have you checked any othert company?

[Exident]

Hey,
i would not go with pdp. pdp looks great, pdp is good too but you can get better drums for the same price.
I would personaly go with Sonor 3005. Here in germany they are 890€ and they are absolutly good. The hardware is great, the sound, tha laquer.
You could go with Yamaha too.

in a price range of 1000$ i would buy Yamaha or Sonor!
MfG
Tobias

[petgeh]

Thanks for the help!
I really like the pdp drums. Everybody said the sond good and the look good.
I don't want pdp drums, because some punk drummers use them. I checked out sonor and pearl, but the i like the pdp most.
I need a 22 bass drum, a 10 and a 12 tom and two floor toms.
Are there any other good companys?

[rendezvous_drummer]

Dude, seriously, look at the Yamaha Stage or Tour Custom. Either choice is great! Set them up with Coated G2's on toms and an EMAD bass and you got yourself an unbelievable kit. Seriously, check them out.

[kung_f00]

Okay, what things have boiled down to here is that some of us at DW have had bad experiences with pdp and want to shun them. Please, take note.. I'm even going to bold this.

NOT EVERY PDP KIT HAS AN ISSUE WITH BEARING EDGES!

I have inspected several different pdp kits before, I have friends that own pdp kits, and not all of them have the same issue with bearing edges that some of the members here have reported. The only consistent issue I've seen with pdp is the hardware. When it comes to cymbal stands, tom clamps, and such, it's better to go with dw or another 3rd party company like Gibraltar. But the drums themselves are more-or-less fine.

And, to give the benefit of the doubt -- if the bearing edges are even slightly funky, then it takes, what ... a couple dollars worth of sandpaper and 10 minutes researching bearing edge repair on Google?


My advice is this: get the kit that you'll want for a while. Make sure you know what kind of wood you want, what finish you want on the drums, and what kind of sounds you can get out of the drums. Better yet: do some hands on research! Find these kits, and go play them. Make sure the drum meets your every requirement.

PDP is a good enough company that they have many unique finishes to choose from, and their shells are just as good as many other companies. Yes, the hardware isn't the best, but you can buy Gibraltar hardware for the same if not cheaper than pdp hardware.

[jollymosher]

WOW! the sound of drums is based largely on the bearing edges. Pdp has CRAP for bearing edges. the look like some some underpaid moron has cut them with a pair of safety scissors.

Buy anything else. please. you will be very happy.

[harryconway]

... most punk drummers use a 22" bass drum and the MXR drums have a 24" bass drum. Is the bass drum size important?



Funny...cat I know plays in 3 punk bands and loves big kicks. 24 and 26 inchers. And bashes vintage drums. I think most drummers "in general" play 22's. As in I think that's probably the most popular kick size out there. What do you want to play? Get it and do it. Make it work. Being a punk drummer is attitude way more than being a gear head.

[tmv31]

going along with what harry conway said, I think that the sound that you want matters more with the sizes than the syle, it's all personal syle, I've seen punk drummers use anything from a 22x20 to a 26x14. It's all about what sound YOU want not what you see others using, If you like pdp, than I would disregard what others say, just as long as you inspect them because guys like dogbreath love their pdp kits and would defend them. A lot of the people you see bashing pdp kits have not owned them but have heard stories so you can't go by what you hear from others just what you hear from the drums, if that makes sense.

[rendezvous_drummer]

A lot of the people you see bashing pdp kits have not owned them but have heard stories so you can't go by what you hear from others just what you hear from the drums, if that makes sense.
I can tell you from personal experience in that when I went to go buy a new drumkit, I thought I'd check out PDP and with me own two eyes and hands, I was able to point out the poor bearing edges on not one, not two, but three PDP kits that were in the store. Wood chips, damaged bearing and crappy hardware= NO DICE!

[kung_f00]

I can tell you from personal experience in that when I went to go buy a new drumkit, I thought I'd check out PDP and with me own two eyes and hands, I was able to point out the poor bearing edges on not one, not two, but three PDP kits that were in the store. Wood chips, damaged bearing and crappy hardware= NO DICE!

Any consideration that the store itself could have been an issue? Just a thought.

[msj67]

FWIW, here's some simple advice from a guy who's been playing for over 20 years and has owned kits from just about every manufacturer (including my current PDP kit whose bearing edges are very clean and precise) -- Check out all the kits in your price range and choose the one that you like best based on sound and appearance. Before buying it, check the shells and the edges to make sure they're in good shape. If a problem arises later, you can always make a warranty claim. As I mentioned, the edges on my PDP LX are great, but I am familiar with bearing edge problems and have seen them on previous Tama and Gretsch kits I've owned (rough cut edges, chunks missing, etc.). On a Tama kit I used to own, I had to send one of the shells back for a bad edge, as well as one of the hoops for being quite out-of-round. Tama was great about it and sent out replacements very quickly.

Cheers.

[rendezvous_drummer]

Any consideration that the store itself could have been an issue? Just a thought.

I thought that at first and was hesitant to buy my drums from there, but then i went to another shop closer to my house with less selection and stood in front of me was a PDP all birch kit with...you know it, dented bearing edges. I doubt that both stores have poor shippers. Out of all of the PDP kits I have tested out, not one sounded good to me.

[harryconway]

So I just got back from my studio tonight and I found out my punk drummer buddy I referred to in post 14 is goin' on tour with Duane Peters & the Hunns (Corey Parks on bass). And his road kit will probably be a black Ludwig 3 ply Blue & Olive badge 24, 14, 18 kit.

[SketcHyRollin564]

I thought that at first and was hesitant to buy my drums from there, but then i went to another shop closer to my house with less selection and stood in front of me was a PDP all birch kit with...you know it, dented bearing edges. I doubt that both stores have poor shippers. Out of all of the PDP kits I have tested out, not one sounded good to me.

how long ago was that? PDP used to have a huge bearing edge problem on a LOT of their drums. Apparently, they have fixed it, and its very rare to find crappy bearing edges now.

if it was recently, on a newer model, then i guess they havnt fixed it? My bearing edges are fine, so i have nothing negative to say.

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

how long ago was that? PDP used to have a huge bearing edge problem on a LOT of their drums. Apparently, they have fixed it, and its very rare to find crappy bearing edges now.

if it was recently, on a newer model, then i guess they havnt fixed it? My bearing edges are fine, so i have nothing negative to say.

I found issue with an FS Series in London not two weeks ago. Horrendous bearing edges.

[rendezvous_drummer]

how long ago was that? PDP used to have a huge bearing edge problem on a LOT of their drums. Apparently, they have fixed it, and its very rare to find crappy bearing edges now.

if it was recently, on a newer model, then i guess they havnt fixed it? My bearing edges are fine, so i have nothing negative to say.
2 months ago, and then I went again last week. Different kits, same problem.

[SketcHyRollin564]

So then i guess PDPs bearing issues havent been fixed. I guess its what somebody said earlyer (or in a different thread), its just luck. You either get a good one and it sounds great, or you get one of the infamous defected ones, and sounds horrible.

I happend to get lucky.

[Red Hawk]

Not every Pacific kit has crappy bearing edges...

Back when I got mine, which was while the factories were still in Japan, instead of Baja california, there were very very few reports of anything wrong with Pacific kits. Now that they moved the factories, downgraded all the hardware and started focusing more on looks instead of function it seems their kits are getting progressively worse. FWIW, every bearing edge is still perfect on my kit 4 years after it was purchased new from http://www.midwestpercussion.com

You guys make it sound like pacific is the only company that ever has any bearing edge problems. I've seen some pretty messed up Yamahas and Gretch's in my local music stores. Even one DW that someone I know ordered with an EDGE snare of all things had to be sent back due to bearing edge problems. I guess I might come off as kind of defensive here, but it seems like as soon as one person attacked Pacific, everyone jumped on the bandwagon. I could do the same with Yamaha I suppose, since I've played probably 15 yammie kits and never liked any of them. This includes maple custom absolutes, 2 nouveaus, a few birch kits, a recording custom, club customs... i hated how all of them sounded, but maybe that's just personal preference.

My band practices at a place that just bought a brand new LXE. I was SHOCKED to find it only had an 8 lug kick, and an 8 lug snare... My kit has a 10 lug shell for each of those drums. Why would they do that? That and the tom mounts are less beefy, the cymbal stands (which I never use anyway) are lighter duty, and the pedal is cheaper looking...

It's really too bad, because I remember the big industry buzz when DW announced they were going to do the whole Pacific line thing. That's why I got the Pacific LX pretty much right when it hit the market, because back then it literally was DW's 4th best line.

If you want a Pacific and want to save even more money, get an older LX used somewhere, or look into Mapex or Sonor.

[Jusstickinaround]

The newer Cx Pacific kits I've seen all have ten lug kick and snare, I saw a red sparkle kit at GC that looked really cool. I'm going to inspect it right now.

[rendezvous_drummer]

I'm not implying that all PDP kits have bad bearing. Of course there are good ones....I just haven't seen any at all :/

[Exident]

Hey,

like i said. PDP is good, no question. But the hardware suxs and some other parts too.
Yamaha is great! But much more better is Sonor and here in germany sonor is cheaper than yamaha.

Sonor 3005 would be a great choice. No foils, laquer shells. The hardware is great! The tom mounting system is extremly well.
I saw a lot of kits. Yamaha and Sonor have a great sound. But in my opinion Sonor has some better parts. Hardware, mounting system and laquer.

I would tell you to go with Sonor. If it is very expensiv in your country try Yamaha.

MfG
Tobias

[Jusstickinaround]

Went to GC last night and tried a pdp kit, the bearing edges looked fine, but the kick drum sounded awful. It had a DW logo head on the batter, one like a Remo Powerstroke, the front head was an ebony head with the pdp logo. I tried tuning it and it never sounded right, my little 14x18 Gretsch kick had more punch and was just as loud. The toms sounded ok, but not enough to buy the kit, sorry pdp lovers, but I'd give this particular pdp kit a thumbs down.

[Red Hawk]

PDPs have always come with the crappiest kick drum heads available I think. And the hardware, except for the tom mounting system, which kicks ass, is worthless. My hihat stand broke like 2 weeks after i took it out of the box.

The first thing I did when I got mine was replace the kick heads with Evans EQ3s front and rear. I never even put the pacific or DW or whatever came with the drums on. The tom heads were great though. I'm going to try to find a close match to those when I replace the clear G1s I have now.

[morbius25]

So I have a question for the people who say don't buy these. Do you (and I know some of you have) have, or have you owned one of these kits, and had a catastrophic event happen with them. Example; were you playing them then they just vanished, or blew up, or I don't know stop working?

See I could sit here without a TAMA, Pearl, Ludwig, DW, and trash the crap out of it because I don't play them. But how can you say well I heard from a guy that said that there bearing edges suck. I heard from a guy that Lost Planet was a cool video game, I played it, it sucks.

As humans seems to me that we take what other people say and count it as the gospel according to.......whatever idiot said it that day. I have a set of PDP's, I love them. I personally think TAMA, and Pearl both suck. But I have never played one, so I can't say well I heard from my cousins, twin brother's sisters girlfriend's dog groomer that Pearl blows.

Now for the money yes PDP is good. But I play at my house, and have no major issues. It seems that everyone has some kind of stick up there butt about other equipment than there own. You know I think I feel a blog coming on.......

[fourstringdrums]

I'm one of the guys who doesn't write off PDP so easily. Yes, the pedals are lousy, and there are some questionable kits out there, but I just sold a PDP CX that was very nice (sold it because I wanted a kit with a 20" bass). Granted, my Gretsch Catalina has better QC all around and to me sounds better (but that's because of the wood, birch vs. maple I'm sure), but the Pacific was a kit that I would've been happy to keep if it hadn't been for my bass size preference. You just need to play one before you buy it (I didn't but lucked out). There are plenty of them out there that are of great quality. I have a feeling now that they're putting 10 lugs on their basses and snares that they may be stepping up the QC a bit too. The only thing I'll say is that I didn't like the stock snare, but then again I don't like my Gretsch stock snare either. It's a slightly better but not by much. It still sounds stock.

[morbius25]

I'm one of the guys who doesn't write off PDP so easily. Yes, the pedals are lousy, and there are some questionable kits out there, but I just sold a PDP CX that was very nice (sold it because I wanted a kit with a 20" bass). Granted, my Gretsch Catalina has better QC all around and to me sounds better (but that's because of the wood, birch vs. maple I'm sure), but the Pacific was a kit that I would've been happy to keep if it hadn't been for my bass size preference. You just need to play one before you buy it (I didn't but lucked out). There are plenty of them out there that are of great quality. I have a feeling now that they're putting 10 lugs on their basses and snares that they may be stepping up the QC a bit too. The only thing I'll say is that I didn't like the stock snare, but then again I don't like my Gretsch stock snare either. It's a slightly better but not by much. It still sounds stock.

Hey they are putting 10 lugs on now, and they are putting DW heads on them as well. I bought a PDP mx last years and my snare has 8 lugs on it and the one thats at my local music shop has 10 and costs a little bit more.

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

All I ever said was that on personal inspection that the bearing edges and the hardware on a shop floor model were truly appalling.

[OsNaPPaRkeR]

I have the CX series. I think they are amazing for the price. The snare sucks. The toms sound clean and they hold up very well.

[eddie]

I HAVE A PDP MX AND A MAPEX PRO M AND ITS MORE PROFESIONAL THE PDP SOUND, MORE SWEET , WARM, THE ARE 10 LUGS ON BASS AND SNARE.
THE TOMS AND BASS DRUMS SOUNDS REALLY GOOD, AND THE BEARIN EDGES ARE PERFECT MORE THAN THE MAPEX PRO M, I WILL SALE MY MAPEX SOON, AND EXPADN MY PDP MX THE ONLY PROBLEM IS THE MX SNARE BECAUSE IS
14X5 AND I LIKE THE 14X6.5 OR 7 THE HARDWARE ITS REGULAR IN COMPARATION WHIT MAPEX HARDWARE THAT IS SUPER, BUT I PREFER THE SOUND ON A DRUM SET AND THIS MX SET HAVE A DW SOUND BELIVEME

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

I BELIEVE YOU I DO IN YOUR CAPITAL WORLD.