First - I'm selling my set, and I'm trying to pick out a set to buy so I can buy it as soon as mine sells...
I prefer buying used, but I'll probably be with this next drum set for a good while so new is kinda nice. The only used set in my area that i can find that is good (6pc or bigger, not the lowEST end http://louisville.craigslist.org/msg/1066374207.html
my max price for a shell pack is 675ish, hardware raises it. I don't want to go over that, below is nice So with that max price i had it narrowed down to the Catalina maple or the pearl if the guy still has it (waiting to hear back). Today, however, i discovered the X7 from pdp and it really seems to be a nice set. The Catalina and Pearl are both maple this X7 is poplar. The Pearl and PDP would both be 650 no hardware (maybe less on the pearl) but the Catalina would be 750 with Ludwig hardware (from ebay). Hardware for both Gretsch and PDP is 2 stands, snare stand, throne, single pedal. The PDP is 780 with PDP hardware. Something the PDP has over both of these is the extra small tom. In terms of finish, my favorite on the Gretsch is the Amber, on the PDP the wraps are cheaper, but id really rather have one of the lacquers. I'm not really overly partial to the amber of the gretsch, the pearl finish, or a pdp finish (haven't chosen favorite) so their all pretty equal. If you figure in used hardware for the pearl, these sets all come out at about the same price. So with price out of the comparison, what set in your opinions would be the best?
And on the Gretsch, i hear 5-lug is the worst thing in the world to tune - no directly opposing lug - and i think to 2 top toms are 5-lug.
I prefer buying used, but I'll probably be with this next drum set for a good while so new is kinda nice. The only used set in my area that i can find that is good (6pc or bigger, not the lowEST end http://louisville.craigslist.org/msg/1066374207.html
my max price for a shell pack is 675ish, hardware raises it. I don't want to go over that, below is nice So with that max price i had it narrowed down to the Catalina maple or the pearl if the guy still has it (waiting to hear back). Today, however, i discovered the X7 from pdp and it really seems to be a nice set. The Catalina and Pearl are both maple this X7 is poplar. The Pearl and PDP would both be 650 no hardware (maybe less on the pearl) but the Catalina would be 750 with Ludwig hardware (from ebay). Hardware for both Gretsch and PDP is 2 stands, snare stand, throne, single pedal. The PDP is 780 with PDP hardware. Something the PDP has over both of these is the extra small tom. In terms of finish, my favorite on the Gretsch is the Amber, on the PDP the wraps are cheaper, but id really rather have one of the lacquers. I'm not really overly partial to the amber of the gretsch, the pearl finish, or a pdp finish (haven't chosen favorite) so their all pretty equal. If you figure in used hardware for the pearl, these sets all come out at about the same price. So with price out of the comparison, what set in your opinions would be the best?
And on the Gretsch, i hear 5-lug is the worst thing in the world to tune - no directly opposing lug - and i think to 2 top toms are 5-lug.