Dream kit started

uniongoon

Gold Member
My snare family is getting some new members to the family today

1smlvb.jpg


I have been obsessively searching and wishing for a good deal on a set of Pearl Masterworks. If you are unfamiliar, they are special order custom handbuilt, take about 6-8 months to get after you place your order and come in at around $1200 PER DRUM.

Well yesterday I stumbled across a 10" and a 12", today I returned and bought them, $300 for the pair. I simply tightened the heads a bit in no real order and they came to life with so much tone, it seems impossible, totally amazing like the kit I played on 5 years ago, absolutely the greatest sounding drums I have ever heard. african mahogany inside with maple re-rings and an exotic Birch on the outside. Built in 2007

Could not wait to get home, at the office photoing and posting.


11b6ivk.jpg

a4pz0k.jpg

2lwlmaw.jpg
 
Now I guess you want us to look for the rest of the pieces. :) Nice finish.
 
Thanks No Diggie, can you believe this was a rental kit at Steve's in Toronto? Steve's is one of the major music shops, so if a major promoter needed gear, this would be a common place to shop. I wish I could find out where the rest of the kit went, guys at the store were not too enthused, just another drum going out the door to them.
 
I could not wait to complete the kit, had to try them out. As good as my Signia's sound, full and robust, these explode with presence, on video they cut through twice or triple what my Signia kit does, they just pop out of the mix, I love these drums.

mc5dl0.jpg


j0xp2b.jpg


I made some video, but am having some issue uploading, will get there.
 
Been searching ebay for a match, finally found a 14x12 from a guy in Florida, just did the deal, now waiting for it to be shipped. This is a 4 ply all maple shell, a little different from the 10 and 12, but the cool thing, same build date as my two toms and the serial number is 004142 and mine are 004169 and 004170, almost a numbers matching kit, re finish will wait until i find a kick drum, THE HUNT IS ON!.

vovo91.jpg
 
You have the know-how to do the whole lot from scratch. Any thoughts there? A different colour?
 
I say make the kick match the toms. Glad you could find the stuff. That is half the fun. The search and buy. Duncan has a good point. If you wait until you have all the pieces, refinish them all a new color. At least then they will all match each other perfectly, and you won't be chasing a specific color match.
 
Yeah, it is part laziness, i have so many other projects on the go, not having to strip and refinish the biggest drum (kick) would save a whole lot of time and effort. Learning from my builders site, matching will be close to an impossibility, so I am comtemplating a burst effect from the kick up, so bottom of the toms would be a similar red and then fade either lighter or darker upwards.
 
I've never heard of someone Frankensteining a kit like this. I'd be concerned about tonal blending but wood type is much less of a factor than heads and tuning. Very interesting project to say the least and I will be following its progress. It must be fun to score pieces of it here and there.
 
I've never heard of someone Frankensteining a kit like this.

What about Grunder'sDad's Bumble kit?

Also Check out Jim Messina's Franken-kit made to look like an original Slingerland Rolling Bomber

Sweet acquisitions Union. I love these pieced together kits so. The fun part of being so involved in the customization process is the close personal pride you have over your drums. I believe My next kit will be a Franken-kit like this one I want to find an old 28" marching bass drum then find two toms to match.

Can't wait to see how this kit is gonna turn out.
 
Thanks for the support RedMenace, tonal matching of a kit to me is a backwards idea. It often drives me bonkers because my toms sounds too similar, most noticeably during sound soundcheck. One of the reasons I often mix up my batter heads between the upper toms and lower toms, to give some tonal variety, rather than a repetive doon, doon doon doon down the kit. Makes sense? Does to me.

I am still casually looking for a 15 inch tom to go with this kit, but as it sits there is enough to get it done and take it out gigging.
 
Uniongoon, you have impeccable taste in shells. Do you happen to know the details on the shells?
 
Thanks, I may write Pearl to confirm, but I believe the 14X10 is a 4 ply all maple, the 10X8 and 12X9 are 4 ply, 2 inner African mahogany and the outer is either Scandanavian Birch or it is maple, grain looks "birchy" but I will know better either if I do hear from Pearl or I get into stripping the finish.

Played lightly they sing, and when you flurry into them and build the power the tone seems to multiply and the you can feel the pressure in the air, no drum I have had has ever done this.
 
I've never heard of someone Frankensteining a kit like this. I'd be concerned about tonal blending but wood type is much less of a factor than heads and tuning. Very interesting project to say the least and I will be following its progress. It must be fun to score pieces of it here and there.

What about Grunder'sDad's Bumble kit?

Also Check out Jim Messina's Franken-kit made to look like an original Slingerland Rolling Bomber

I believe My next kit will be a Franken-kit like this one I want to find an old 28" marching bass drum then find two toms to match.

tonal matching of a kit to me is a backwards idea. It often drives me bonkers because my toms sounds too similar, most noticeably during sound soundcheck. One of the reasons I often mix up my batter heads between the upper toms and lower toms, to give some tonal variety, rather than a repetive doon, doon doon doon down the kit. Makes sense? Does to me.

"Frankenstein"ing a kit has been common place in studio setups for a very long time. There are also quite a few guys out there who play out, tour and their regular gigging kit is a mish mash of different brand drums and wood types.

Dave Grohl used to play his big Gretsch BD with different toms for studio recordings.

Then of course the guys with maybe an old Radio King BD and some Rogers toms or whatever.

I love the concept. I have a maple kit with 22,8,10,12,14,16 and 18" drums and a mahogany with 18BD, 12 and 14" toms. I love playing the 18BD with a 10" maple rack tom and an old 16" Ludwig carbon fiber floor tom that is part of an old piece of crap kit at our rehearsal space. The finishes are all different but the drums sound great together.

Union's approach is a little more evolved in that not only is he going for the sounds he wants but ultimately with the same finish so it can be a good looking gigging kit.

I've got my eye on a used Ludwig 28x14 concert bass drum that I'm going to match up with a 14x10 rack and an 18x16 floor tom. I'm gonna try the big drum thing for a while. If I like it, I'm going to wrap the toms in black to match the bass drum.
 
Back
Top