Ludwig Epic Reviews

caolte

Junior Member
I hope I'm not being redundant but I have searched around and found very few actual first person reviews about the Ludwig Epic. Is there anyone that owns these or has tested them that could tell me how they sound/how they like them and for what kind of music? I'm not interested in tastes regarding color of hardware etc. At present I am leaning toward buying a set out of all the other brands. It appears all the brand make good sets and people tend to prefer one to the other based on brand loyalties and individual preferance to subtleties or previous experience with a certain brand. Particularly, how does the thin shell of the epic sound? Does the hardware stay tuned (Like Sonor?)? I like that the toms mount to stands and not onto the bass drum - I have pearls at present and have never been able to get the toms where I want them. Your input is appreciated.
 
Here are some videos I found via You Tube that will serve as first-person reviews of the Ludwig Epic kits:

1. Full Ludwig Epic kit sound:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-_qqwpZMO0&feature=related

2. Ludwig Epic tom sounds:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtuuDvacStU

3. Full Epic kit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yNhuDwXIfk&feature=related

You could probably contact this fellow via You Tube and ask him more detailed questions about the kit in order to get more of a first-hand account.

Personally, I've never been a fan of Ludwig kits. My friend had an old late '70s Ludwig kit that I played on in the '80s sometimes--it was fun, of course, but I think Ludwig is second-tier regarding their drums (drums, not snares).

If you are really seeking thin, resonating shells, then also consider Tama Starclassic Maple, Yamaha Maple Absolute, Taye StudioMaples, and Pork Pie. Each of these companies makes super thin 6-ply shells (Tama: 5 mm/6 ply toms, 7 mm/7 ply bass drums; or Yamaha/Pork Pie: 6 mm/6 ply toms, 7 mm/7 ply bass drums, though Pork Pie is different: they do 6 ply/6 mm for 8" to 13" toms, 7 ply for 14" and up, and 8 ply, I believe, for bass drums). If you really want the birch/maple/birch sound, I suppose the Epics are the way to go--I'm not aware off the top of my head of another company doing a similar b/m/b sandwich shell. Taye StudioMaples are thinner than the Tama, Yamaha, and Pork Pie kits: 6-ply/4.5 mm shells for 8" to 13" drums and 7-ply/5.3 mm shells for 14" to 24" drums; snares are 10-ply, 7.5 mm thick. The Taye StudioMaples are much more affordable (and perhaps lower quality) than the Yamahas, Tamas, and Pork Pies, but they still sound quite good (I've played some in the past).

Of course, if you want super thin shells, then talk to forum member Wavelength about his Kumu drums. Scandinavian birch shells that are 3.6 mm for 4-ply toms and snare drums and 5.5 mm for 5-ply bass drums. To protect the shell, they add a "very thin SoulRing" as reinforcement hoops. I think those are the thinnest shells on the market!
 
You always need to check them out in person, and unfortunately different heads are usually a necessity. The price on them looks great. Seems they're new enough that no one's reviewed them yet. I almost bought a downbeat Epic as a gigging/practice kit.... but went with an Element SE cherry/gum kit that I got for a steal (just need to pick them up!).

The Epics are sortuva mid-level range of drums. Somewhere in between the warm maple and punchier birch.

A lot of really cool kits in this range from most manufacturers. Asian made, IIRC. Fortunately, "Asian made" doesn't mean what it used to. Hardware should be on par with other stuff in this price point.

I'd ask your friendly neighborhood Ludwig dealer if they can get a kit in for you.

-Ryan
 
Well, from what I've seen, heard, and read, "Asian made" is a good thing if you are talking about drums made in Japan: high-end Yamaha, Tama, and Canopus. Top quality there. "Asian made" only becomes suspect when the location becomes Taiwan, China, etc. That's when people start to worry about quality issues, cheap labor, etc.
 
Modern techniques seem to help make the classically bad Asian drums of the past not-too-bad. Seemingly most of the mid-range drums out there are all of Asian origin. If the original poster is after the Epic series, nearly everything in that price point will be from the East and Far East. Even the high end Japanese companies have factories in Taiwan and Indonesia. Though, there are lots of *pretty good* kits out there for the money.

-Ryan
 
I just bought a "Downbeat" set up and love them especially for the money I paid, The finish looks sweet also I know you said that isn't. important but they really look & sound great I changed the toms & snare to coated ambassador's and a coated emperor for the bass they were out of PS3's damn. I also put puresound snare wires on the snare just doing that really made a difference they sound very bright but warm at the same time very happy with them I went with the natural to black fade and with the bronze rims & lugs they look very nice on stage & with the bronze hardware you don't. have to worry about fingerprints LOL.

I know they don't. have the 3-ply shells but they kinda have that vintage sound could be the bearing edges I'm not sure they sing nicely through very resident but i'm sure that because the shells are so thin.

As I said in another post I was looking for a nice cheap tuck-away gig kit and Ludwig did this nicely.

Bonzolead
 
I know it's a long time later, and I plan on starting a new thread for this, but I just bought the Ludwig Epic Pro Beat Shell pack and couldn't be more pleased. Here's the review I wrote for Musician's Friend

I had purchased these as a replacement so my old 3 ply Maple Blue/Olive badge kit could be retired.

After initial confusion with the sales rep on whether or not the mounting bracket was included, I found that it was bundled with the shell pack, along with a tuning key AND a pair of 7a sticks. Not too bad I'd say. Used the kit last night for a session with a metal band (not my usual thing) and they sounded big and full, but didn't drown out anyone.

The hybrid birch/maple shells accomplish exactly what they were after. Thunderous boom of maple with the focused cut of birch. I even got my kit scratch and dent for $225 less, but had I paid full price, it would have been well worth it. The high gloss lacquer finish is absolutely gorgeous.

Also, the kit came with a 6.5x14 snare as opposed to a 5x14 as listed. Extra win for me.

This will be my main kit for many years to come.

Epic_BB_PROBEAT_LCEP24BXBB.jpg
 
I know it's a long time later, and I plan on starting a new thread for this, but I just bought the Ludwig Epic Pro Beat Shell pack and couldn't be more pleased. Here's the review I wrote for Musician's Friend

I had purchased these as a replacement so my old 3 ply Maple Blue/Olive badge kit could be retired.

After initial confusion with the sales rep on whether or not the mounting bracket was included, I found that it was bundled with the shell pack, along with a tuning key AND a pair of 7a sticks. Not too bad I'd say. Used the kit last night for a session with a metal band (not my usual thing) and they sounded big and full, but didn't drown out anyone.

The hybrid birch/maple shells accomplish exactly what they were after. Thunderous boom of maple with the focused cut of birch. I even got my kit scratch and dent for $225 less, but had I paid full price, it would have been well worth it. The high gloss lacquer finish is absolutely gorgeous.

Also, the kit came with a 6.5x14 snare as opposed to a 5x14 as listed. Extra win for me.

This will be my main kit for many years to come.

Epic_BB_PROBEAT_LCEP24BXBB.jpg

I'm very glad with mine also I went with the downbeat config. I wanted a small gig kit and they're perfect for that.

Look out everyone Ludwig is taking over the drum market once again.
either you love it or hate it...............I love it LOL.

Bonzolead
 
I have the 13, 14, 16, 18, 24 setup. I must say, the kit looks incredible with the bronze hardware and black/natural fade finish. However, I wasn't really happy about the sound. I think the maple/birch/maple hybrid shells are a good idea, but it didn't necessarily "do it" for me. The maple warms up the drum, but the bark of the birch is dead because of it.

Heads used: Remo Pinstripes on toms, Remo clear Ambassador on kick, Remo Ambassador on snare.

I wasn't a big fan of the sound, but I've heard many say they like the drums. To each their own, though. It's hard to find good samples online, so I trusted what the people said about the drums. I was disappointed, but didn't know until I tried it. I guess the best way to know is to try it out.

If you like maple, you may like the Epics.
 
Unfortunately i don't have pics up yet but i got the original pro beat natural/black burst with vintage hardware.
14"x6.5" snare
10"x7.5" tom
12"x8" tom
14"x14" floor tom
16"x16" floor tom
24"x14" bass drum

I have also bought the 10"x6" epic snare and will be getting an 8"x7" tom. I like 3 up 2 down set ups and i love the side snare. As far as it sounds? Just swapped out the factory heads with Evans EC2s on all toms and G1s for resonant. ST dry and Hazy 300 for main snare, G2 and Hazy 300 for side snare and an EMAD for the bass....now it truly does sound EPIC (sorry). Fantastic sound from that kit, which is my first Ludwig. Bass drum is very deep and has a great punch though i have lined the inside with soft egg shell foam. To me, it's how a bass drum should sound. The snare has a wonderful crack with great projection but still sensitive. The toms just sing really, really nice tone from them but spent a good amount of time tuning. Defo recommend EPIC series though my kit isn't the most versitile kit, more rock orientated, but thats why they have various set ups
 
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Our band practices at a high school where our bass player is the band director. He bought an Epic Euro Shell Pack. This is a great intermediate level kit and used, our bass player picked it up for $800. It had only been used in a music festival so it was pretty clean when he got it.

Aside from the fact that the kids at the school can't tune drums (floor toms aren't meant to sound like you're hitting a milk crate) the drums have a nice birch sound when tuned properly (by me). The kick drum in particular has a great punch and the snare really snaps with a nice birch overtone with quick decay.

The hardware is Smokey Chrome and it looks nice, particularly so when compared with that of other brands of mid-level drums. Ludwig has done a great job of providing a wide range of mid-level drums in some nice woods. The Epics are birch-maple-birch, 2- plies each (6 total plies). If you like birch, this is a great intermediate kit.
 
I have a Black Panther 14x4.5 snare and I've been thinking in selling it in order to get a Ludwig Epic snare 14x6.5, what do you think about it? I'm upgrading my kit or not? Is it worth it?
 
http://i.imgur.com/g5bBS.jpg)

I have one, it kicks a lot of ass and is very loud. If you don't dampen the kick drum with anything you'll get a really awesome boom out of it, that's how I like it. The toms have a lot of tuning range too, it's a lot of fun to play with. Overall an excellent kit.

I have a Black Panther 14x4.5 snare and I've been thinking in selling it in order to get a Ludwig Epic snare 14x6.5, what do you think about it? I'm upgrading my kit or not? Is it worth it?
The snare is probably my least favorite part of the kit. That's not to say it's bad, I just don't care much for the range of sounds I've gotten out of it. It's very loud and cuts through awesome, but personally I'm probably going to get a new snare down the line. I can't personally speak to whether it's better than your current one or not.
 
http://i.imgur.com/g5bBS.jpg)

I have one, it kicks a lot of ass and is very loud. If you don't dampen the kick drum with anything you'll get a really awesome boom out of it, that's how I like it. The toms have a lot of tuning range too, it's a lot of fun to play with. Overall an excellent kit.

The snare is probably my least favorite part of the kit. That's not to say it's bad, I just don't care much for the range of sounds I've gotten out of it. It's very loud and cuts through awesome, but personally I'm probably going to get a new snare down the line. I can't personally speak to whether it's better than your current one or not.

Well i'm kinda looking for a sort of Dennis Chambers sound, like in Planet Earth, i always use low tunings for my snares so, do you think it would fit that sound?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edkn_v29l5A
 
I don't think I've ever gotten a tuning like that out of my snare before, albeit I've never really tried. I'm not very knowledgeable about snares so I can't really give a recommendation for a alternative. Sorry!
 
Well, from what I've seen, heard, and read, "Asian made" is a good thing if you are talking about drums made in Japan: high-end Yamaha, Tama, and Canopus. Top quality there. "Asian made" only becomes suspect when the location becomes Taiwan, China, etc. That's when people start to worry about quality issues, cheap labor, etc.

If you know how to hold a stick properly and hit a drum, who cares what kit you're playing. If Bonham or Buddy Rich were to sit onto one of these Epic Kits they would sound amazing. If you can't play drums, buying a $5000 USA made kit isn't going to make you play any better
 
If you know how to hold a stick properly and hit a drum, who cares what kit you're playing. If Bonham or Buddy Rich were to sit onto one of these Epic Kits they would sound amazing. If you can't play drums, buying a $5000 USA made kit isn't going to make you play any better
Well put brother. good drummers can make anything sound good not to say the Epic's aren't. good i'm very pleased with mine.

Bonzolead
 
Kind of a silly question, but does anyone know if I can get a 13 x 9" tom separately from Ludwig? Ludwig Epic. Does Ludwig do that separate ordering?

Thanks!
 
I've owned my Epic power series for about a year now. 22,10,12,13,16 and 6.5x14 snare. I agree with these posts, I couldn't find many reviews either when I was looking last year!! But after comparing these to all of the other competition's mid level kits, these seemed to have the most features for the price. Not to mention free hardware package and 10" tom. So all in all I'm pretty satisfied. They sound loud and with great tone, almost as if they are miked. Thanks to the toms being only a 6ply shell. They're nice and light when loading and unloading. The bass drum 22x18 sounds nice, boomy and big! I have found one or two minor flaws with the craftsmanship and sloppy serial/date stamping, but the hardware and features out-weigh that stuff. 10 tuning lugs for the snare and bass drum helps make it more comparable to an upper level kit. Eh, not too happy they are assembled in China and not U.S.A. like Ludwig's upper level, but I suppose this is the future with most of the other companies anyways. But being a part-time pro, I can't justify spending $3000.00 on a kit.
What do you other Epic players think of your kits??
 
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