Ludwig Epic snare drums

zarrdoss

Gold Member
I went in GC yesterday and saw a Ludwig Epic "brick" 20 ply birch snare drum 7 x 14, it sounded good as was pretty cheep like 210 bucks, but didn't really like the color they had so I went home to see what others colors they had it in and also came across this.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Ludwig-Epic-Snare-Drum-H73377-i1882036.gc


http://www.ludwig-drums.com/snaredrums/epic.php
its a 8 x 14 6 ply for 190 bucks. I really like the transparent black with smoky chrome hard wear look and was thinking about giving one a try. I don't know much about wood snares, and was wondering if anyone has had a chance to try one of these out? how would this compare to the "Brick"?
I play a variety of things and like a deep fat sound, like my Black magic 8 x 14. So if anyone has any clips or advise I would appreciate it!
 
The Epic line is birch, and the Brick is a nice drum esp for the price. It likes to be tuned high for a solid crack, but it's also nice and focused at lower tunings (partly because of its thickness & weight.) I tune mine kinda med-high and used it on a gig a few days ago, and it was very normal and sweet. No gel or tape needed, just a pleasing sound wide open.

I'm not too familiar with the 8x14 you mentioned, but I recall the Epic snares have always sounded very nice at NAMM, so I'd say you can't go wrong with either drum. In general though, the larger, thinner shelled snare will 'breathe' more, and sound warmer at lower tunings.

Ideally, you should hear both drums to compare them. It's always tricky buying something that makes a sound, without hearing it first.

Bermuda
 
Yeah I saw that one and that is the one I got a chance to hear at GC. I really like the sound in the vid you posted and nice playing BTW and somewhere between the two tunings is about where I like it.
I have searched everywhere for a sample on the other snare I mentioned but I guess its to new, hell I might have to be the first, worse case I hate it and send it back, lol

And thanks for your replies!
 
Yeah I saw that one and that is the one I got a chance to hear at GC. I really like the sound in the vid you posted and nice playing BTW and somewhere between the two tunings is about where I like it.
I have searched everywhere for a sample on the other snare I mentioned but I guess its to new, hell I might have to be the first, worse case I hate it and send it back, lol

And thanks for your replies!

Oh, no, that was not me playing. It was Bo Eder! :)
Shoot, I thought there was only a single size config. for the brick, and that maybe you'd made a typo.
 
Oh, no, that was not me playing. It was Bo Eder! :)
Shoot, I thought there was only a single size config. for the brick, and that maybe you'd made a typo.

Thats OK, I did know that was Bo's video and know he gets on here a lot and will see that, lol.
 
The reason they call it the brick is because of the shell. That 20-ply birch is only available on this drum. Once you go to the 8x14, or any other size, the shell is considerably thinner.

And I hadn't updated my thoughts on this drum either, but someone asked me about the wood hoops, and let me tell ya' - the wood hoops do not matter. The drum pretty much sounds the same with its own hoops, so I actually returned those to the shop I bought them from (those Yamaha wood hoops new cost $215 - so if I didn't need them, there's other things I could spend $215 on....).

The drum is nice, the red is a little goofy - the better choice is either the black or natural - and it sounds ok. But I'm noticing there might be a price barrier going on here. If I go into a store and play with the new snares valued at 300+, those automatically tend to sound better then the sub-200 snares. You could argue that it's because they put cheaper heads on the under-200 snares, but I put good heads on my Brick, and although very different from my Tama Stewart Copeland, the quality level seems, well, a bit cheaper. The Epic is definitely not on par with my old DW Collector's 5x14 maple snare I owned years ago, but then again, the Epic is $300 cheaper!

Maybe I'm a little spoiled by high-quality, but I'm not sure I'd recommend the Brick. I'd spend a little more for a Tama Artwood maple. Or better yet, go searching for a used Ludwig maple snare. I found a guy selling a heavy maple Ludwig maple snare that was 7x14 for $300 and that drum would've been incredible.
 
So I am jumping into this thread a little bit late, but I just bought this 10 lug 14x 6 1/2 Ludwig Epic snare from 2008. Ad said fair condition because it’s missing some snare rivet, but I think it’s a birch shell in pretty good shape. Should have it tomorrow…
 

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