I just have to ask this, which one is your favourite?
And what do you think about the Ludwig head?
The first question is very difficult to answer because none of my drum choices were done "off the cuff" and none were made with a compromising sonic mind set. I've never heard or seen a drum set for the first time and bought it on the spot, except maybe the Ludwigs, but that's an entirely different story. I've played the Ludwig Legacy, Classic Maple and Keystone series many times, but I always came short of getting the right finish in the right configuration until a couple of weeks ago. I really detest buying drums from a catalog that I can't first play, hear, see, feel and inspect. Most of the time I'll audition the kits, directly comparing it with others that already have my interests piqued. For instance, my Tama Starclassic Bubinga drums probably took me about two month before I finally decided that they were the ones for me. It wasn't that I wasn't floored by their sound, they're incredible, but I still wanted to compare them to just about every other drum kit that interested me and that I could get my hands on. This is why it's so difficult to mention a favorite. It would probably be much easier for me to state the ones that I play the least, although I have no intentions of letting either one of them go. I retired my 1965 vintage kit a couple of years ago, so it sits stacked nicely in the corner of the room. The other set of drums I play less frequently are my Gretsch Renowns, although they do get used every week.
I will say this, if my DW Classic drums are set up, I can't walk past them without playing them and my Yamaha Maple Custom Absolute kit is more "pure vanilla" than the rest, but are my most recorded set of drums and the last month or so, my most gigged.
I'm not completely going bonkers with the Ludwig heads. I believe the drums have a lot more potential than what their heads can faithfully produce. I really haven't gotten around to changing them just yet. First I'll try Evans G1 coated over G1 clear on the toms and if that doesn't cut it, Ambassador coated batters. I'm not sure where I'm going with the bass drums batter, but it will probably be an Evans EQ4. I had great results with that head on the 20" bass drum of my vintage kit.
Sorry for the book, lol.
Dennis