Ludwig Vistalites

timma

Junior Member
Hi there everyone, I'm new here as of today.
Im sorry if this topic comes up all the time but i just wanted to ask for some quick help with drum muffling for the new re-issue Ludwig Vistalites. I am buying some brand new shells and for the 22x16 bass drum - what would people recommend i use for muffling if at all, i am thinking just a Evans EQ pad like i have for my wood shell kits. I have never played vistalites before but always wanted a set, so don't have much experience with how they sound and what not to use and so on.

For the heads? Evans clear g2's? Remo Emperor Clears? any suggestions?

Thanks a lot guys in advance for the help.
cheers.
 
I drove a Vistalite kit for 25+ years. Acrylic kits are bright, loud, and very live sounding. You can get many heads to work on them, it all depends on how open sounding you want the drums. I ran my kicks mostly with clear Pinstripe batter, and clear Ambassador reso. I had a EQ pillow (Dampillow brand) that I installed sometimes, along with reso. heads both ported and non. Another option is clear Powerstroke 3 batter and reso. Lots of punch with almost no overtone.
 
First off, I think most of us agree you have to run some kind of clear heads for the esthetic effect.

I've got a 70's Vista with a 24" kick.

On my toms I have G2 clears over G1 clears and I like that sound very much. I think a clear Emperor/Ambassador combo would work well, too.

On the kick I have a SuperKick 1 on the batter and clear Ambassador on the reso, with a Evans EQ pad just barely touching on both sides. I started with a Pinstripe on the batter, but it was a little too loose and open for me. I pretty much like the sound of the SuperKick, but I think I want to play around some more with it. I think I can get a better sound with a little experimentation. (Just gotta get some time to do it!)

Good luck with the new kit! Are you getting a Supra to go with it? Great combination...
 
Thanks for the ideas, yeah i want the kick to sound punchy, with not much overtone and i was thinking going with the clear Powerstroke 3 anyway. I will try that first with the EQ pad and adjust things from there.

I am getting a Black Beauty snare to go with it. i know its a cliche but i like the sound of those a lot. either a 14x5 or 14x6.5 (which is a new discussion in itself really). but still unsure yet which size.

I live in europe Im buying from USA and shipping may take a while and be expensive thats the only down side.
 
Hi there everyone, I'm new here as of today.
Im sorry if this topic comes up all the time but i just wanted to ask for some quick help with drum muffling for the new re-issue Ludwig Vistalites. I am buying some brand new shells and for the 22x16 bass drum - what would people recommend i use for muffling if at all, i am thinking just a Evans EQ pad like i have for my wood shell kits. I have never played vistalites before but always wanted a set, so don't have much experience with how they sound and what not to use and so on.

For the heads? Evans clear g2's? Remo Emperor Clears? any suggestions?

Thanks a lot guys in advance for the help.
cheers.
I use the THUMPERS inside my Vistalite 22" bassdrum and they sound GREAT
Tim
 
Try it with a Remo Powersonic batter head. Then you won't need a pillow.
 
new re-issue Ludwig Vistalites.

I know this is off-topic but where did you get your new "re-issue Ludwig Vistalites"?
I see Carl Palmer is playing them now and he has nothing but good things to say about them (latest ModernDrummer issue). I've been looking around on the "net" but my search engine keeps directing me to vintage Vistalites.
 
I know this is off-topic but where did you get your new "re-issue Ludwig Vistalites"?
I see Carl Palmer is playing them now and he has nothing but good things to say about them (latest ModernDrummer issue). I've been looking around on the "net" but my search engine keeps directing me to vintage Vistalites.

They can be found at any decent store that sells Ludwig products anywhere in the world, i popped down to my local music store here in Germany and i could order them no problem, but i am dealing with an american store at the moment (cheaper) for my set. Muscians friend and other USA stores are doing specials on 3 piece shell packs at the moment. Just do a google search for "Ludwig Vistalite 3 piece". Im making adjustments to my set (swapping the 13x9" for a 12x8") and i can still get a good price, and all the 'jellybean' colours are avaliable. Also, there is a section on the official Ludwig website that is worth checking, and getting product / colour codes for, for when ordering.
http://www.ludwig-drums.com/products/drumkits/vistalite.php
 
Here is a review of heads for RCI arcylics. I agree with this guy's assessment. I use the same heads on my Acrylics:

http://www.rcidrums.com/reviews/2008/apr/10/head-choices/

Thanks for the link. Good find! Very informative.

I'm sure the coated G2s would sound better, like he said. They are my tom head of choice for my mahogany kit. But, as I mentioned earlier in this thread, esthetically speaking, I think you need clears everywhere on acrylics. Sacrifice a bit of tone quality for the looks.
 
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