Lugs, how important is the aesthetic?

I like my lugs small and smooth, with no detail lines or ridges (like Ludwigs large classic and imperial lugs) for instance) that are hard to polish.

Andy, if the lugs are isolated from the shell...
You've said many times that everything needs to vibrate as a whole. I would think that if the lugs are isolated from the shell, that a rimshot might not sound as good because the vibrations imposed on the rim goes down the tension rod to the lug, then from the lug to the shell to get the added shell sound from a rimshot. If the lugs are isolated from the shell, how are the vibrations transferred to the shell? Is this a non issue?
Great input Larry! It's both an issue & a non issue at the same time. I won't go into detail here, that's for another day, but the entire drum resonating as a whole is a very important consideration. In fact, so important, it's the foundation consideration in our new design. The lugs are an integral part of that.

As a side note, our isolation of the lugs is way beyond rubber grommets, washers, or other largely pointless gaskets between a standard lug & a shell. It's usually better in a standard drum construction, IMO, to bolt the lug directly to the shell. Gaskets just add mass without any benefit, in fact, I think they just make things worse by adding non resonant mass.

Anyhow, science crap out of the way, keep those aesthetic opinions coming, it's really helpful!
 
My favorite lugs have been the Classic Ludwig, Yamaha 80's Tour Custom, and Pearls Masters lug.
Gretsch is a nice lug also.

Basically they all have the same shape haha!

I kinda like Tube lugs. Craviatto's tube lugs look nicer because of the diamond shape base.
I like those "Shark tooth" lugs that are on some of those OCDP GC kits...again, kinda that same shape!

I really like Black Nickle plating.

DW's lug is OK, but, on smaller drums, it's just to big. I liked their small button lug a lot, and I like the new Performance lug a lot.

Don't dislike Mapex's lug, but it doesn't really add anything to me for a "wow, look at that kit" (other than in Black Nickle). It's nice, but not wow. Not a deal breaker though, their finishes are cool, and the lug doesn't take away from the drum at all.

Sometimes the shape of lugs make them look like plastic to me.
The lugs on Crush drums for example. Real nice looking kit, but for some odd reason, that lug looks like chromed plastic to me.
The lug Gibraltar used on their Legend snares had the same effect on me.
Ddrums lugs look really cheap-o.

I've always loved Yamaha's RC long lugs, and Ludwig's Mach lugs too.

It all adds up in the sound of the drum, and "resonance" is not a problem on any of the drums I have with the long lugs at all.
 
You know Andy,I just rememberd this.It was 1972,my freshman year of collage,and my band and I were in a rehersal studio,and a drummer who worked there had a serious drug problem.He wanted to sell me a 6 piece set of Camco's in natural maple with 6 Zildjians for 200 dollars US.As good as that kit sounded...I turned him down,because I just hated the turret lugs on those drums.You live and you learn thankfully,but that was one colossally stupid move on my part,but it illustrated how at the time....I was listening with my eyes.Cheers mate.

Steve B
 
I either like simple and understated like Yamaha or functional like Ego's quick release lugs:

http://www.egodrumsupply.com/quickrelease.html

On the other hand I also like bold and daring like Sonor's mock tube lugs, although I really don't care for the offset look, or of course the rope-tuned look of my Crazy 8's snare.

I'm with most everyone else in not caring for the DW lugs, although I did see a member's kit on here in Campaign Sparkle that look sexy. Those lugs worked just fine on that baby.
 
Lugs, to me, are every bit as important as the shell finish. I don't like small, wimpy, barely-noticeable lugs. I wouldn't buy a Harley and try to hide all of the chrome.

My favorite lugs (and drums) are Ludwig. Specifically, I like the big "classic" lugs best...not the smaller mini-classics. They're stylish and aggressive, like those big, pretty fins on a '57 Chevy.

My least favorite lugs are those tiny, single-point ones that are so minimalist, they're boring.
 
KIS, im a huge fan of functionality and i find great beauty in a product that serves a purpose to the point well it is evolved to that end alone.
As far as looks go, im not overly taken on ornate or ostentatious lugs. Something discreet and minimal is where its at. You dont want to go down the route of 'lugs with drums attached'.
 
I can't say that any lug out there has really knocked me out. I don't have a favorite. I envision a lug that has a small as possible simple design, like Spauns, except it is equipped with a way that would allow you to change the "facade" of the lug. The facade could wrap around and hide the entire lug, and since it attaches to the lug, could be made in any number of individual styles, so you could make a ton of coin on the facades. The sky is the limit as far as facades go, you could have them hand painted, they could be mirrors, they could be in the shape of crescent moons, they could be the same color as the drums, they could be miniature movie posters. They could be phallic shaped. They could be shaped any way you want. A whole industry could be built around the facades. It could be made of metal, painted ceramic or enamel, wood, leather, beer bottle shaped, diamond or CZ studded, they could have button battery powered LED's in them...Of course you don't have to have the facade, the lug should be able to stand on it's own.I think it would be a cool marketing move.
 
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Larry, the only thing I don't like about that idea is that the facades might catch on things when lugging or putting in the cases. I can easily imagine them being knocked off and lost at gigs.
 
Larry, the only thing I don't like about that idea is that the facades might catch on things when lugging or putting in the cases. I can easily imagine them being knocked off and lost at gigs.

Good point. I think they could be designed to not catch on things. For a conventional lug I would like to see a classic teardrop shape. Or perhaps a lug in the shape of Buddy Rich's head lol.
 
Ahh, tough task Andy. As a builder I have a hard time finding lugs available that I like. I've always loved the Sonor Link era big box lug, but that may be my feelings for the line as much as the lug itself. I also like the Classic ludwig in its 3 sizes and double ended snare. I like tube lugs, but they seem to have lost some appeal since becoming available from Worldmax and others. They certainly are not as unique as when we first started using them some 16 years ago.

Another point to ponder is cost to manufacture. Unless you are having a large batch die cast for you, machining lugs is expensive. We (when I worked for Goetz) used to make our own tube lugs and I spent more hours than I care to remember behind a buffing wheel.

Good luck...
 
I refuse to buy DW shells because of their lugs. No lie.

Pearl's Championship lugs on their marching tenors have always looked cool to me. I also liked those Unix lugs I saw a while back that were the hook-and-catch type, they looked awesome as well.
 
Ahh, tough task Andy. As a builder I have a hard time finding lugs available that I like. I've always loved the Sonor Link era big box lug, but that may be my feelings for the line as much as the lug itself. I also like the Classic ludwig in its 3 sizes and double ended snare. I like tube lugs, but they seem to have lost some appeal since becoming available from Worldmax and others. They certainly are not as unique as when we first started using them some 16 years ago.

Another point to ponder is cost to manufacture. Unless you are having a large batch die cast for you, machining lugs is expensive. We (when I worked for Goetz) used to make our own tube lugs and I spent more hours than I care to remember behind a buffing wheel.

Good luck...
Good meaty post there Latz, & I can assure you, neither Dean or myself have any intention of doing serious "buffing wheel hours" :(

These new lugs will look different no matter what style they're crafted in, because they function quite differently to normal lugs. They are going to be quite a challenge in the tooling & manufacture for sure.

One common theme through the members here, & as I suspected, lug aesthetic is a big deal, whether it makes sense or not.
 
I really like the Gretsch mini lug or the Keystone Epic lug. They are relatively small, simple and classy looking with the Epic lug having a nice understated art deco kind of look.

My 2 cents
 
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