Reasons Not to Buy Dixon Artisan Drums?

I've heard some videos of these kits, starting with the more recent Gregg Bissonette performances, and the Dixon Artisan kits sound quite good. This top-of-the-line series is also quite affordable (~$1500 or so for 4 pc).

The few reviews I've found of the Artisan drum series have been favorable. However, just wondering if anyone on the forum has had any experience with the kits, particularly if you think the drums are not worth buying. None of my local shops carry the kits.

Thanks for any input.

The youtube videos certainly portray them in a flattering light.

KamaK said:

The youtube videos certainly portray them in a flattering light.

Click to expand...

Those videos are rather pleasing IMHO. Sure, they're processed, I can hear that, but they've done so sensitively to keep a fairly natural overall impression. Most work obviously done on the bass drum, especially in terms of compression. I like the fact that the sound you're hearing is completely achievable in a modest recording setting.

Listening beyond the treatment, I can hear a good drum kit. Tom fundamentals aren't that strong, & the bass drums are a little flat tonally, but overall, nice balanced instruments for the money.

Also their snare drums are sourced from Brady so they should be good sounding snares

I have a dixon snare, i have a thread on it somewhere. The shell is the old artisan cherry and i cant say a bad thing about it. Superb drums!

I've got one of the Artisan/Brady Gum snares and I love that thing. I've pretty much parked all of my maple snares. It's a very versatile drum and the workmanship is as good as I've seen anywhere. It's a great way to get a boutique, not as much as Guru, drum at a production price. If you're saving up for a Guru but need something now the Artisan's are a good choice.

If nothing else, Dixon has been making drums for 35 years, so they are invariably going to get good at doing it. I know that their recent foray into a higher end line was as a result of some serious money and marketing sunk into the name. I have heard nothing but good from anyone who has tried out the Artisan line.

I think the tendency is to avoid the name based on it's past, Mapex experienced a similar rise to affluence.

Grolubao said:

Also their snare drums are sourced from Brady so they should be good sounding snares

Click to expand...

Err not quite. Chris Brady did a collaberation with Dixon to produce the Artisan series. It was during the time Brady drums were going through some dramas where Boris took control of the "Brady" company and as I recall Chris was not making drums for his "namesake company" at that time.

Chris is back at "Brady drums" ( not sure how long the "boris" period lasted).

Any how the Dixon by Brady do have a good reputation. The ones I have seen are made of rosewood....which is often used for the "shell" of top end classical guitars because of their tonal quality.

Thanks, everyone, for this very helpful feedback. As Andy notes, the Dixon videos are processed, but I think the Gregg Bissonette performance via Vic Firth's site shows off the Artisan kits rather nicely. I'm sure the video there might bear traces of processing as well, and the kit isn't miraculous or anything, but I was quite impressed with how resonant the drums were. It makes me feel a lot more secure about potentially getting one of their Artisan kits. The Artisan kits seem priced right around the Pearl MCX lines, Yamaha Live Custom lines of drums, but the Dixon Artisans at least offer a lot more finish options, which is nice to have if you are going to drop a chunk of change into a kit. And Dixon Artisan offers a yellow lacquer finish to boot! Gotta love Elvin Jones/Tony Williams Yellow!

Wombat: I have heard of the "Boris debacle" at Brady, but I thought that was a couple of years ago--and from what I read it was the actual high-end Brady snares that suffered from QC lapses, hence the Kelly and Chris re-take over.

Thanks again all for the feedback.

I heard somewhere awhile back that the Gretsch Renown Maple line of drums are made in the same factory as Dixon drums. Should that be true, you're definitely getting a high quality product.

Mikeberk1 said:

I heard somewhere awhile back that the Gretsch Renown Maple line of drums are made in the same factory as Dixon drums. Should that be true, you're definitely getting a high quality product.

Click to expand...

I think there are a number of lines made in the same factory or factories in Taiwan. Just like Keller and Carerra make shells to manufacturer specs, these factories produce drums to specs for different manufacturers. I just learned that Pork Pie outsources their lesser expensive lines to Taiwan too. It wasn't really a secret, but it was interesting to read about how they impressed the Pork Pie founder with their high standards. There's definitely some folks over there with experience making solid drums.