Ludwig's new Signet 105 drum line!

I'm pretty late to this party but myself, I love them! Got to see them at NAMM as well and I was hooked.
I'm no stranger to fine drums with amazing finishes and found myself loving the matte woody finish esp the Indian teak. I will say though that I'm not really into wraps so I'm a bit biased.

IMHO, drums are made of wood (mostly) and I want to see that wood! LOL I don't mind a stain in any color or fade.....just give me my grain. Rant over lol

I like the simple look even if they are somewhat industrial. I don't mind the "assembly" part, heck I would even like that. I was a bit worried about the hole size but after a few posts from this thread my worries are over.

I wonder if this type of system would allow the shell to vibrate more than a lug that is tight against the shell with one or two screws.
Much like a DW lug setup. Under that lug is a fairly large rubber gasket about the size of a silver dollar. 10 of them, each side. That must cause some dampening right?

Regardless, I want one!

Wish I could have met some of you guys!
 
I wonder if this type of system would allow the shell to vibrate more than a lug that is tight against the shell with one or two screws.

I prefer a lug that's nicely attached to the shell - no gasket - and the Signet lugs are held pretty tight. that is, there's no way they'd rattle, unless you have a really loose rod, and then you've also got it and the washer buzzing.

I've got all drum sizes (except the 8" tom) and will be taking these on gigs to see how they far in the real world. They sounded great at NAMM even with heavy clear heads, and I expect them to really sing on the job with different heads.

Bermuda
 
My Pearl Session Customs, a good example of a mid line drum, have 8 lugs on a 22" bass drum. 8 lugs on the 16" floor tom too, which isn't too much IMO. I never felt I was lacking anything with the 8 lug bass, never gave it a 2nd thought. Strangely, on a 14" snare, I like 10 lugs. It focuses the sound more to my ear. So the higher I tune, the more lugs I prefer. Bass and snares really are opposite tones on the scale, and tuning approaches seem to parallel that.

But I bet the Signets sound great up close. Same Ludwig mojo, less mass. On paper it seems like a home run. The finishes are a little over the top though. It just screams "look at me", and a lot of guys don't prefer that.
 
They've issued only one set of raw shells that I know of, under duress, for an important artist. (not me, I said important.)

Let me guess...that dutch guy who's almost deaf from crashing PAISTE 2oo2 rides?





My Pearl Session Customs, a good example of a mid line drum, have 8 lugs on a 22" bass drum. 8 lugs on the 16" floor tom too, which isn't too much IMO. I never felt I was lacking anything with the 8 lug bass, never gave it a 2nd thought.


Here we go! What's the number needed to make it popular opinion? Get enough drummers chiming in and manufactures might feel safe taking a run at abolishing the ten lug rule.
 
Both my '67 Ludwig kit and my 64' Gretsch kit have 8 lugs on a 20" Bass drum. No worries at all and they both sound great. I doubt this would be an issue with a 22" bass drum.

I even have 6 lug snares that sound great.



8-20 is on the fence, though still a consideration as in- if the 10 lug rule were challenged/abolished 10-20 would be affected also.

I have a couple of beater sets with 8-22, don't notice a difference and might even admit they feel better than my 10-22's.

Hmmmmm, opinions growing!
 
I prefer a lug that's nicely attached to the shell - no gasket - and the Signet lugs are held pretty tight. that is, there's no way they'd rattle, unless you have a really loose rod, and then you've also got it and the washer buzzing.

I've got all drum sizes (except the 8" tom) and will be taking these on gigs to see how they far in the real world. They sounded great at NAMM even with heavy clear heads, and I expect them to really sing on the job with different heads.

Bermuda


I guess my post wasn't clear with what I was thinking and trying to put to words. I wasn't thinking the shell or lug would vibrate because the lugs are a drop in lug with no screws or mounts.
What I was trying to put to words is; I wonder if the Signet drum shell will vibrate or produce a musical tone more freely because the lack of a lug held tight with screws and gaskets. Sort of using a DW Collectors setup as a reference. Just a thought out loud.


I'm not the greatest with words
 
What I was trying to put to words is; I wonder if the Signet drum shell will vibrate or produce a musical tone more freely because the lack of a lug held tight with screws and gaskets. Sort of using a DW Collectors setup as a reference. Just a thought out loud.
It doen't matter how the lug is attached to the shell in terms of affect on resonance, so long as it's secure. Clamped, pinched, bolted = all the same so long as they're secure. The drum vibrates as a single entity. That said, because the mass of the signet lugs is less than Ludwig's standard offerings, & certainly because of their lack of gaskets, they should show a benefit, all other elements being equal. Large mass + rubber gaskets really put the brakes on a drum. That's not necessarily a bad thing, if lower resonance/shorter notes is what you're shooting for.
 
I wasn't thinking the shell or lug would vibrate because the lugs are a drop in lug with no screws or mounts. What I was trying to put to words is; I wonder if the Signet drum shell will vibrate or produce a musical tone more freely because the lack of a lug held tight with screws and gaskets.

I know, I was saying that a tight lug is preferrable (in my experience) and the Signet lug is tight.


It doen't matter how the lug is attached to the shell in terms of affect on resonance, so long as it's secure. Clamped, pinched, bolted = all the same so long as they're secure. The drum vibrates as a single entity. That said, because the mass of the signet lugs is less than Ludwig's standard offerings, & certainly because of their lack of gaskets, they should show a benefit, all other elements being equal. Large mass + rubber gaskets really put the brakes on a drum. That's not necessarily a bad thing, if lower resonance/shorter notes is what you're shooting for.

+1

Bermuda
 
It doen't matter how the lug is attached to the shell in terms of affect on resonance, so long as it's secure. Clamped, pinched, bolted = all the same so long as they're secure. The drum vibrates as a single entity. That said, because the mass of the signet lugs is less than Ludwig's standard offerings, & certainly because of their lack of gaskets, they should show a benefit, all other elements being equal. Large mass + rubber gaskets really put the brakes on a drum. That's not necessarily a bad thing, if lower resonance/shorter notes is what you're shooting for.



Thank you!

Robert
 
I just played a set of these the other day at my local g.c. Great set! If these don't fly out the door something is wrong!
 
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My yamaha tour custom moto-x edition (indenisia) has 8 on the 24 bass drum and 8 on the snare and it sounds just great (mid range , msrp was $1200 I believe ).
 
I just played a set of these the other day at my local g.c. Great set! If these don't fly out the door something is wrong!

The only thing wrong is when people form opinions before they get all the info or hear the product. :)

Thank you for giving them a chance!

Bermuda
 
The only thing wrong is when people form opinions before they get all the info or hear the product. :)

Thank you for giving them a chance!

Bermuda
I looked at the drums and I saw that the design was good based on my life experience with similar products that use the same design concepts. I saw that the drums were different and they deserved a chance to be heard.
 
Saw the teak Signets at GC today. It looked much better in person than the impression I got from the pics.
Talked to the guy that put them together and he said it took much longer than he thought it would. Difficult to get some of the lugs in, I guess. It was the first one he did though.

I didn't see any splintering looking inside the drums, and was told there was some, but it was very minor, and probably not noticeable unless you were looking for it.

They weren't tuned yet - the bass drum batter head was all flappy. But even though I could see some wrinkles on one end of the high tom head, it sounded good. The floor tom seemed tuned up right and sounded real good.
Definitely a set to consider in that price range.
 
Saw the teak Signets at GC today. It looked much better in person than the impression I got from the pics.
Talked to the guy that put them together and he said it took much longer than he thought it would. Difficult to get some of the lugs in, I guess. It was the first one he did though.

I didn't see any splintering looking inside the drums, and was told there was some, but it was very minor, and probably not noticeable unless you were looking for it.

They weren't tuned yet - the bass drum batter head was all flappy. But even though I could see some wrinkles on one end of the high tom head, it sounded good. The floor tom seemed tuned up right and sounded real good.
Definitely a set to consider in that price range.
Good feedback :) For the vast majority, it will be the first time they've assembled the product. That said, I think it's a non issue. Let's face it, if it takes 30 minutes or 3 hours, no big deal. I think most customers would want to take their time anyhow. Being careful, pride of ownership, etc. All good stuff!
 
Good feedback :) For the vast majority, it will be the first time they've assembled the product. That said, I think it's a non issue. Let's face it, if it takes 30 minutes or 3 hours, no big deal. I think most customers would want to take their time anyhow. Being careful, pride of ownership, etc. All good stuff!

Ya - this guy's pretty conscientious. Not what you think of as the typical GC employee.
He's been there several years and put lots of kits together.
I'm sure he was taking his time to avoid any mishaps.
Even so, he said it took almost two hours. A minor consideration if it's a set you're going to keep for years.
 
And purchasing from Musician's Friend for $799 no tax, free shipping and 12 months to pay for it without interest is very tempting. $66.66 a month. Ludwig should sell quite a few of these.

Just a couple of clicks away.
 
The only thing wrong is when people form opinions before they get all the info or hear the product. :)

Thank you for giving them a chance!

Bermuda

I really try to hold judgment on something until I can get my hands on it.

To go a little more indepth on my experience with the kit: the toms sounded amazing, same for the snare. The kick sounded a little flat, but I assume that had to do with the tuning. It did not sound bad, it just did not have any boom. But it had a nice punch.

I also have to say that I loved the blue finish! Reminds me of a house one would see in a New England beach town!
 
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