No, the DW's are more than capable of doing whatever you need them to do. I don't want to give the impression that they're not capable. This is more of a "It's not you, it's me" thing. For the amount of money I spent on them, they were so pretty and beautiful, I was naturally afraid something would happen, all the time. Drums for me, believe it or not, are tools, and I don't want to have to worry about them. Ludwigs do that for me, especially considering some of the older ones I've owned. And my brand new ones feel broken in and I'm not worried should some show choir kid bump into them while they're dancing around. Maybe it's just that I've seen Ludwigs being repaired numerous times over my lifetime and feel comfortable knowing that whatever happens, it's fixable. When I see those spectacular DW gloss finishes, heck, even their FinishPly drums, I fear a good ding would not allow itself to be repaired. I just consider Ludwigs more solid for me - I don't subject them to abuse, but I don't worry so much about them getting abused!