Video Demo of Spaun Jazz Kit

Robert, as I said in my PM, I love just about everything on this kit. I especially like the kick drum. Although generally regarded as deeper than required for jazz, I think it has a "tube" quality to the sound that I find very attractive. Nice articulate snare, great mounted tom, but I'm confused by the floor tom sound. I'm sure it's a tuning issue, or maybe deliberate. Either way, I don't get why you'd choose to tune the 14" higher than the 12". I'm not liking the sound of the 14" either. I'm getting a confused note from the drum that tells me the tuning is uneven. Not only that, but it sounds choked.

Now I can get these higher tunings from my Spaun kit. Give me coated G1's top & bottom, & I can get higher tunings than on this video, & with full sustain + clarity of voice, so I simply don't get what's happening to that 14"!

Overall, I think it's a beautiful kit, & I personally believe it makes a great sound for Jazz playing, but I'll defer to the jazz players here for that acceptance, or otherwise. I'm listening with rock ears, so I'm really not qualified to make that judgement. Crisp double 45 degree edges are not typically applied to jazz kits, as this format produces a more modern sound with greater sustain & attack. I would like to see more of this, as I believe it can offer an interesting alternative to the traditional warmer jazz sound.

Lovely playing BTW.

Are you going to buy one Robert? If I had any inclination towards playing jazz, this kit would be a serious contender. In ply drums, I rate the Keller shells very highly, & I can testify to the quality that Spaun put into their product. Super accurate edges, lovely quality low mass lugs, & attention to detail that places them above many boutique custom builders. Cool finishes too! Go on Robert, you know you want to.
 
the floor is really badly tuned and sounds terrible.

Yes, I noticed that too. There are moments in the video when the high tom sounds like it's pitched lower than the floor tom. Not good. The snare has no body. It all sounds very ringy and badly tuned. Overall I didn't think those were very good sounding drums.
 
Hmm. I did notice the floor tom sounded a bit odd, but it seems a lot of thumbs down here.

It disturbs me a bit that the company owner probably did the tuning and did the video--not a good way to market your kits for jazz.

Well, I may be back to square one--or, I may just consider a Gretsch USA Custom bop or a Ludwig Legacy Classic?
 
Well, I may be back to square one--or, I may just consider a Gretsch USA Custom bop or a Ludwig Legacy Classic?

Play them then choose!
As for the Spaun: a choked, cold, and dead snare sound; much too deep a bass drum. It sounded too punctual, and I prefer a more thin 'suggested' unresolved jazz bass drum sound, with some funky overtones!
Toms - just listen to 2:38! That floor sounds grossly higher than the rack, and they still sound lifeless.
Not a good jazz kit.
 
Play them then choose!
As for the Spaun: a choked, cold, and dead snare sound; much too deep a bass drum. It sounded too punctual, and I prefer a more thin 'suggested' unresolved jazz bass drum sound, with some funky overtones!
Toms - just listen to 2:38! That floor sounds grossly higher than the rack, and they still sound lifeless.
Not a good jazz kit.

I agree. The shells/bearing edges themselves may very well be fine {?} but the tuning based on the recording made this acoustic jazz players ears very unhappy. The tuning and tones coming from the drums just does not suit the blend for the music in question IMO. The bass drum sound first then take it from there as already covered.

Not my choice of a maple shell jazz kit based on the quality of sounds in the video that's for sure.... with a better presentation {not the playing} perhaps a different opinion from me.
 
As I commented earlier, I do believe this is mainly a tuning issue. That said, I can see how the jazz guys would regard the kick as too deep, & how sharp bearing edges are largely counter to the sound required for jazz. Spaun quality really is superb, but I think this video missed the point on so many levels. Higher tunings, coated single ply heads, & smaller sizes, don't convert a modern sounding rock/pop kit into a jazz kit. I like the kick drum, but I would, wouldn't I. As for the tuning of that 14" tom, well, let's just say I'd pull the video!
 
Tuning issues aside (I can tell they need a better tuning, and I know as a player, I'm going to tune them my way anyway), not a bad set of drums. They don't sound incredible enough for me to want them. And I know I can take a Gretsch Catalina jazz kit and make it sound good, so I don't know if I could justify a boutique high-end jazz set when a low-end one would do the job.

What I want is to be able to have my hair two-tone like the guy in the video. How did he do that? I've got gray hair but it's all over the place. How do you get in a strategic spot so it looks cool? ;)
 
As I commented earlier, I do believe this is mainly a tuning issue. That said, I can see how the jazz guys would regard the kick as too deep, & how sharp bearing edges are largely counter to the sound required for jazz. Spaun quality really is superb, but I think this video missed the point on so many levels. Higher tunings, coated single ply heads, & smaller sizes, don't convert a modern sounding rock/pop kit into a jazz kit. I like the kick drum, but I would, wouldn't I. As for the tuning of that 14" tom, well, let's just say I'd pull the video!

Just like i've said about cymbals in the past Andy you have to proceed with sounds you know will work in CONTEXT with other instruments and the music at hand. No bad instruments {cymbals/drums} just the wrong choice of sounds for the mix. This gets more tricky when you're playing in acoustic based situations covering a wide dynamic range for achieving a certain blend in mind with the other instruments. The wrong choice of sounds from a kit in this type of musical situation can clash and wipe out the tones and timbres of the other instruments around you is the plain truth of the matter.

Having said that if I showed up with my identical size 16x18 9 ply maple shell bass drum sounding like the one in the video a few things would happen. The first thing would be having the bass player look over and tell me square out to deal with the tuning of the bass drum pronto. Why? Because it would totally obscure the sounds coming from him. Second.... if in the studio the rec. engineer would take me aside and tell me what's up with the bass drum sound Stan? I'm sure he'd proceed with the sounds from the rest of this kit from there.

Before anybody things i'm knocking Spaun i'm not. A good buddy of mine is one of top latin jazz kit players on the planet and he's a Spaun endorser and his kit sounds fantastic in context.

For me the sounds and presentation from these drums clearly miss the mark for the intended musical application at hand...that's all.
 
It needs some glow-in-the-dark powdercoated lugs and some gaping holes or shell-within-a-shell action.....
 
I'm confused by the floor tom sound. I'm sure it's a tuning issue, or maybe deliberate. Either way, I don't get why you'd choose to tune the 14" higher than the 12". I'm not liking the sound of the 14" either. I'm getting a confused note from the drum that tells me the tuning is uneven. Not only that, but it sounds choked.
Before I read your post I watched the vid with headphones on.
That was the first thing that I noticed too.
I even walked over to my 12x14 maple floor tom and played it to compare the sound.

I liked the snare. It sounded much like my 5.5x13 maple Black Panther.
I didn't have a problem with the bass drum. I liked it.

Great kit though and Im sure that it was just a tuning issue.
 
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