New Club Date club member!

[bermuda]

The only thing about the Stratas is that pretty much nobody stocks them, they'd be a special order. But they're well worth the wait!

Bermuda

[KnuckleBuster]

Originally Posted by bermuda

The only thing about the Stratas is that pretty much nobody stocks them, they'd be a special order. But they're well worth the wait!

Bermuda

Yeah, kinda figured that....kind of like some of the Aquarian heads. The local shops in my area have lots of Remo and Evans standard heads. Only one shop in my area stocks any Aquarian and its a pretty limited supply.

[bobdadruma]

These drums really light up after the stock heads are off and the good mylar goes on.
I went with Aquarian Super2 Coated with a clear G1 underneath and I couldn't be happier with the tone.

[KnuckleBuster]

Originally Posted by bobdadruma

These drums really light up after the stock heads are off and the good mylar goes on.
I went with Aquarian Super2 Coated with a clear G1 underneath and I couldn't be happier with the tone.

Cool bobdadruma, I've used the Response 2 on my 12" tom and Super 2 on the 14" floor for my Gretsch kit so I'm at least familiar with those heads. I see that you ordered the matching snare for your Club Date...how do you like it? I ordered the 6.5x14 with mine.

[bobdadruma]

The snare is still on backorder and it should arrive in a few weeks.
I can't wait until it arrives.
It really is like Jon said when he mentioned that the 60's vibe was alive and well in these drums even though the shells are not the same as vintage.

I love to crank them up tight like Bonham and wail away on them with full hit big sound.

[KnuckleBuster]

Originally Posted by bobdadruma

The snare is still on backorder and it should arrive in a few weeks.
I can't wait until it arrives.
It really is like Jon said when he mentioned that the 60's vibe was alive and well in these drums even though the shells are not the same as vintage.

I love to crank them up tight like Bonham and wail away on them with full hit big sound.

Nice! Well if my snare arrives sooner I'll let you know how it sounds. I can't wait to hear it for myself!

[bermuda]

Took my kit on a gig Saturday, and it killed! It's absolutely the best "cheap" kit I own!



As with most lower priced Asian-made kits, the budget heads need to be replaced. ALL of them. My heads of choice are Evans, Strata 1000 batters and G1 clear resos on the toms, and EMAD on the kick. Currently I have a Ludwig reso on the kick, but that will become an EQ3 soon.

I found that the toms sing when tuned high, and have a resonant growl when tuned low, but get a bit boxey in the middle. So if you play jazz, or want a nice deep growl, you won't be disappointed. Also, due to the rounded bearing edges, these drums will respond best with 1-ply heads. The kick has a nice old-school thump, the pillow shown was actually a bit much, I pulled it out and got a nice short boom. It also likes to be tuned either high or low.

These are a real joy to play, I get a nice vintage vibe from them. Definitely my new kit of choice for acoustic gigs where I want a nice, round sound!

Bermuda

[KnuckleBuster]

Originally Posted by bermuda

Took my kit on a gig Saturday, and it killed! It's absolutely the best "cheap" kit I own!



As with most lower priced Asian-made kits, the budget heads need to be replaced. ALL of them. My heads of choice are Evans, Strata 1000 batters and G1 clear resos on the toms, and EMAD on the kick. Currently I have a Ludwig reso on the kick, but that will become an EQ3 soon.

I found that the toms sing when tuned high, and have a resonant growl when tuned low, but get a bit boxey in the middle. So if you play jazz, or want a nice deep growl, you won't be disappointed. Also, due to the rounded bearing edges, these drums will respond best with 1-ply heads. The kick has a nice old-school thump, the pillow shown was actually a bit much, I pulled it out and got a nice short boom. It also likes to be tuned either high or low.

These are a real joy to play, I get a nice vintage vibe from them. Definitely my new kit of choice for acoustic gigs where I want a nice, round sound!

Bermuda

Cool! That's nice to hear. Looks like you were kinda stuffed in the corner for this particular gig....sure looks familiar. Did you have any elbow room! :) That's a nice clean set up with the single braced stands. I did order the Strata's for the toms, I wanted to try them. I'm going to use a Aquarian Modern Vintage Medium on the snare. I wonder how similar the Modern Vintage is to the Strata, both being 10mil coated heads?

[bobdadruma]

Originally Posted by bermuda

I found that the toms sing when tuned high, and have a resonant growl when tuned low, but get a bit boxey in the middle. So if you play jazz, or want a nice deep growl, you won't be disappointed. Also, due to the rounded bearing edges, these drums will respond best with 1-ply heads. The kick has a nice old-school thump, the pillow shown was actually a bit much, I pulled it out and got a nice short boom. It also likes to be tuned either high or low.





Bermuda

I agree 100%. I use two ply coated batters on the toms but I went with Aquarian Super-2 because they are a 7 and 5 mil ply combination and not as thick as standard 2 ply. I tried a coated Emp on the high tom and I didn't like it.
I tune tight on both the toms and the bass. I tune the bottom head slightly higher than the top.
I use a clear PS4 bass batter. I ported the stock reso with a 4 inch hole and I used a felt across it to dampen for a nice solid thump with a hint of boom. Again I tune um up tight.
I love the bass drum!

I don't think that I ever tuned any of my ~round edge~ kits loose. I have owned both vintage Slingerland and Gretsch. I reserve looser tunings for my sharp edge kits.

[KnuckleBuster]

bobdadruma,

I was looking at your kit from the other thread. I like the BD mounted cymbal arms! Are those Ludwig hardware or? Where did you get them? I think I would like to add the mount for a ride cymbal.

[NerfLad]

Bermuda,
Taking into account your bias, would you say that these are leagues ahead or merely far better than the Gretsch Catalina Club kits? I've been really unhappy with mine lately, especially the fidgety hardware.

[bobdadruma]

Originally Posted by KnuckleBuster

bobdadruma,

I was looking at your kit from the other thread. I like the BD mounted cymbal arms! Are those Ludwig hardware or? Where did you get them? I think I would like to add the mount for a ride cymbal.

Gibraltar makes the ones that I have. I bought them from Musician's Friend.
I have one of those cymbal mounts on another kit that I own. No problems with them. I have had that mount for years on my Tama Stagestar jazz kit.
Ludwig also has their version. The Ludwig ones are more expensive.

[KnuckleBuster]

Originally Posted by bobdadruma

Gibraltar makes the ones that I have. I bought them from Musician's Friend.
I have one of those cymbal mounts on another kit that I own. No problems with them. I have had that mount for years on my Tama Stagestar jazz kit.
Ludwig also has their version. The Ludwig ones are more expensive.

Thanks Bob, I'll check those out by Gibralter from MF. Appreciate the heads up.

[KnuckleBuster]

OK, as promised. A couple of pictures. I have not had a chance to set anything up. These are the same color as Bermuda's. Just got to open the boxes for a quick inspection. First off, I haven't found anything wrong with the build. Wrap is great, all the hardware is there, no blems at all. Bearing edges are round and smooth. Yeah!

[bobdadruma]

Nice pics Knuck, They really show the quality of the build.

[KnuckleBuster]

Originally Posted by bobdadruma

Nice pics Knuck, They really show the quality of the build.

Thanks bobda, It's funny, the shells smell good. lol
This kit reminds me of the set I had back in high school. As a moderately priced set I wasn't sure what they would be like. Yours and Bermuda's set looked great which is part of what prompted me to buy them, plus I was looking for a 4 piece in these sizes. That fact that these look somewhat like these:



made up my mind. I loved that kit.

[audiotech]

Originally Posted by bobdadruma

Gibraltar makes the ones that I have. I bought them from Musician's Friend.
I have one of those cymbal mounts on another kit that I own. No problems with them. I have had that mount for years on my Tama Stagestar jazz kit.
Ludwig also has their version. The Ludwig ones are more expensive.

And the DW bass drum cymbal mounts are more robust, have two memory locks, toothless tilters, unique cymbal tightening hardware and are manufactured in two different lengths, but again a bit more expensive.



Dennis

[KnuckleBuster]

Beautiful kit Dennis!

[bobdadruma]

We did some home studio recording with my band last Sunday. I close mic-ed my Club Date.
https://soundcloud.com/bob-paquette/breathe-mix1

[RealDrummer]

Thanks for all the information. Very helpful! Very much appreciated!

[RealDrummer]

I have had my Ludwig Club Date SE shell pack for several months now. Great build quality on my drums. I like the near-vintage sound this low cost kit. While I was never that fond of the "old school" extra long t rods, the silver sparkle wrap (sort of) hides the look of the long rods. For functionality, I strongly prefer this over rods and hardware from the '60s. The modern steel is strong and light in weight! Two thumbs up as a great low cost kit.

For any of you who want longer spurs, try this temporary solution. I used a steel coupling nut and a three-inch threaded steel rod to extent mine. Gibraltar air suspension feet went on the three-inch rod. Some teflon tape on the threads to get a tight fit. Save the Ludwig feet in order to return it quickly to the stock configuration. Worked well for me.

While I do not have a pic of the extended spurs, here is a pic of my Ludwig Club Date SE shell pack. Sizes are: 13x9, 16x16, 22x14.