Question about Crush Acrylic Drums

TheIronCobr4

Senior Member
So recently I've really been thinking about getting an acrylic drum kit, and I stumbled upon Crush because of they're great price of $819 for a 5 piece kit. Yet at the same time I don't understand why the price for this kit is half that of Ludwig Vistalite. I love Ludwig, but when it comes to an $800 difference, I was hoping I could get some insight and potentially some help from the guys here at DW about whether these Crush drums are good and provide a great acrylic sound despite their price tag. Thanks as always!
 
Yeah I've played them. They have a lot of great features.They sound great too. I can't really say anything bad about them. It is a very nice looking kit. The one thing I would recommend if you get them is to put a Kick Port in the Bass drum. When I played them (and maybe it was how they were tuned in the store) I thought that the bass drum could use a little more projection.
 
Crush is a fairly new company. I saw one of their kits, not acrylic, at a drum clinic and the hardware was bad news. Brand new kit and the tom was being supported by something strange because the mount wouldn't hold the weight of the 12 inch tom. Maybe why they are half the price of the Luddys.
 
Do you mean the hardware as in the lugs and the legs for the floor tom and such? Because if so I don't plan on buying a kit other then just the shell kit. I have my own hardware that I would supply for the kit.
 
Crush is just another company selling cheap drums. The premier drum shop in Atlanta has cleared all of their top-end merchandise and replaced it with Crush. I DON'T KNOW WHY.

As much as I rant and rave about Ludwig's lack of customer service, I would still purchase a Ludwig kit if they had something special that I had a strong desire for.

As with all acrylic drums, you're going to have to worry about the shells splitting at certain points, such as where the bass drum spurs are attached. Splitting (or spider-webbing) is a huge problem with acrylics.
 
The problem with spiderwebbing and cracking hasn't improved at all over the years?

Ludwig has only reissued Vistalite drums in the last few years, so I don't know about any improvements in these latest ones.

Take care of the drums and don't abuse them - they should be ok. Heavy hitters beware of acrylic drums !!
 
I know this is a very old thread, but I just wanted to tell you all that I read through this while deciding to ultimately buy my Crush kit and I am totally in love with it.

I was able to search for a 22", 12" 13" 16" kit - it was a 2013 model with the X-brace hardware for mounting the rack toms to stands. I removed that garbage because I'm not interested in chrome and wanted the kit to be as 100% transparent as possible. I also was able to remove all of the Crush tags from the shells leaving only very small drilled screw holes. I've mounted the 13" rack tom on a snare stand and I've gotta say she looks very vintage without the headache and worry of a 40 year old piece of brittle plastic to worry about.

As for the sound - I'm very very happy. I only play this kit out live (otherwise I have a practice kit) and I get a compliment on the sound/look every single show we play. Without fail. The kick drum is deeper than the Vistalites, which was my first priority in buying a kit - most of those Vistalite kits have 14" deep kick drums so you end up with a huge attack but not much for explosive resonance. My Crush kick is 18" (I think) and it's a world different. Very very big, full of body.

The only thing I'm not in love with is the snare - but that's to be expected. The floor tom has locking/memory legs - the lock is a big oversized and makes it tough to get past the rims when taking apart, but big deal... Oh, and the only other thing I've noticed is that the lugs and sleeves are a bit looser than I'd like, so they detune a bit - but I also tune very low...maybe that's not a problem if you're tuning them higher.

Okay, that's my review. Peace out!
 
I have had a Crush Acrylic kit for 10 months now and have gigged it out 3 or 4 times a month. To be honest, I'm not sure why they are so cheap compared to Ludwigs, since they have a seamless shell. From what I understand, most companies use industrial tubing cut to length, but the Crush shells are injection molded, so no seam cracks. They sound awesome in about every room I've been in. I have also recorded them extensively for my YouTube covers, mic'ed with a Zoom h4n. My only complaint is that while they look cool, the acrylic bass drum rims feel really flimsy. I have a single Vistalite floor tom, and in comparison, the Crush drums look like way better quality. If they ever had any hardware issues, they have been completely solved by this point.

Here is my most recent soundcheck/review - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TGsan4RMK4

Check out my channel (linked in signature) and you will find about 50 videos using these drums in various configurations.
 
I bought the six-piece Crush acrylic set last summer, and I LOVE it. I was really surprised by the price and the overall quality - I paid $1000 CAD for the five piece kit, and added a 14 x 13 floor tom for $200.

So far, I have no complaints and I expect to play this kit for a lot of years. I would echo escapists' comment on the detuning, but I've been adjusting the tuning a bit higher and have noticed that with a bit more tension they don't tend to detune as quickly. Also, in support of RedeyeSPR's comment, I really don't care for the acrylic kick drum hoops - they look cool, but they really flex when you pick up the drum.
 
Buy DW acrylics if offered for sale,will cost twice as much.Crush uses a prorpietary process for their acrylic shells.Ludwig Vistalite and others use RCI shells,that are actually ,welded,and not glued at the seam,like others have been.

Steve B
 
My buddy has a kit, and it sounds great. Great hardware too.

One of his shells split recently, though. I don't know if it was due to a manufacturing defect or improper handling. I don't think he's had them for more than a couple of years, though, which raises a red flag for me.
 
, I just purchased a used acrylic 12,16,22 with all hardware, pork pie brass snare and ZBT cymbals for… $600. Put hydraulic heads on, kept the original reso heads and tuned her up with a tune-bot. Played my first gig with her last night, abd all I can say is…. GAAAAAAA DAMN! This thing brings the house! Tons of complements on my kit, and it’s sound. I purchase it with spider webbing around lugs throughout the kit. No one but me can see them, and they don’t seem to affect the integrity of the drums. If you find one of these reasonably priced, and you want to dip your toes in the acrylic world, I highly recommend. The lugs, tension rods, hoops, and other components are of much higher quality than I ever expected from a crush kit. Granted I’d never played a crush kit, so this was new for me. I have however owned a Vistalite kit in the past. And I feel like the toms sound better, but the bass lacks a little. (I will be fiddling with the head selection) currently EMAD Front and back. All in all, I feel happy to have an acrylic kit I can comfortably gig without too much fear of losing a large investment.
 
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