vyacheslav
Senior Member
Greetings,
I had owned a Breakbeats kit a few years ago in the Black Sparkle finish. I recently came across several "orphan" Breakbeat drums, ironically in Black Sparkle, for a good price, so I picked them up. I've noticed a design change on certain "Elements" of the Breakbeats kit, so I wanted to compare/contrast those changes with you all, and to see if I am missing any changes that took place.
As you can tell by my thread title and other "Elements" in these paragraphs, I am giving a nod to the new-ish Ludwig Element Evolution drums, because I believe the Breakbeats have been subtly re-designed and now match up exactly with the Element Evolutions.
Here are the changes I noticed on the Breakbeats Kit 2.0 vs the Original Issue:
1. Tom Holder/Receiver on bass drum is square. Original was round.
2. Brackets (rack tom and floor tom leg) are now rectangular. Originals were round.
3. All wing nuts are now new "Atlas" style. Originals were "heart shaped". This would included the wing nuts on the brackets, spurs and tom receiver.
4. The wrap seam is now in-between the lugs. Originals had the wrap seam under the lugs.
5. The snare strainer/throwoff has a thumb style lever that flips downward to turn the snares off and mounts with smaller hole spacing. Originals had a P-85 Type strainer.
6. In regards to the Black Sparkle finish, it seems a little more "plain" and "basic" now. The wrap also feels a little thinner than "real" drum wrap. On the ones I owned a few years ago (originals), the Black Sparkle wrap would show hints of gold and even some subtle green when in direct sunlight. The new Breakbeats Black Sparkle wrap is more plain, and doesn't show those subtle colors, even in direct sunlight.
7. This one is speculative, but it seems there may be an actual badge now instead of just a sticker badge as on the originals. The reason I say this is speculative is because of the three orphans I picked up recently, the bass drum had all the new "Elements" I listed above, but still had a sticker badge. The other two orphans are just bare shells, no hardware or badges. However, on both bare shells (FT and SD), there are two tiny holes on the outside of the shell (that do not go all the way through to the inside) where a badge would have been. I know these are Breakbeat shells also. I was thinking that maybe they actually could've been Element Evolution shells (since everything about them is exactly the same--see below), but the FT shell is 13" x 13", and that size is not offered on the Evolutions; it is only offered on the Breakbeats, so it definitley is a Breakbeat shell. It's hard to tell from online photos if it's a sticker or a real badge.
As far as I can tell, all the changes I outlined above are present on the Ludwig Element Evolution series. Same brackets, same wing nuts, same tom receivers, same lugs, same shells, same everything. Even the wraps are the same (Wine Red/Maroon Sparkle, Black Sparkle and Silver/White Sparkle--only the Aqua/Azure Sparkle is exclusive to the Breakbeats).
Am I missing any changes? Please feel free to chime in. I think this was more of production decision from Ludwig, so they didn't have to keep making two kinds of brackets, wing nuts etc. Ironically, the Ludwig website still shows the Breakbeats kit with all the original appointments I mentioned above. However, if you look online at retailers, you will see the new design "Elements" I have listed.
I had owned a Breakbeats kit a few years ago in the Black Sparkle finish. I recently came across several "orphan" Breakbeat drums, ironically in Black Sparkle, for a good price, so I picked them up. I've noticed a design change on certain "Elements" of the Breakbeats kit, so I wanted to compare/contrast those changes with you all, and to see if I am missing any changes that took place.
As you can tell by my thread title and other "Elements" in these paragraphs, I am giving a nod to the new-ish Ludwig Element Evolution drums, because I believe the Breakbeats have been subtly re-designed and now match up exactly with the Element Evolutions.
Here are the changes I noticed on the Breakbeats Kit 2.0 vs the Original Issue:
1. Tom Holder/Receiver on bass drum is square. Original was round.
2. Brackets (rack tom and floor tom leg) are now rectangular. Originals were round.
3. All wing nuts are now new "Atlas" style. Originals were "heart shaped". This would included the wing nuts on the brackets, spurs and tom receiver.
4. The wrap seam is now in-between the lugs. Originals had the wrap seam under the lugs.
5. The snare strainer/throwoff has a thumb style lever that flips downward to turn the snares off and mounts with smaller hole spacing. Originals had a P-85 Type strainer.
6. In regards to the Black Sparkle finish, it seems a little more "plain" and "basic" now. The wrap also feels a little thinner than "real" drum wrap. On the ones I owned a few years ago (originals), the Black Sparkle wrap would show hints of gold and even some subtle green when in direct sunlight. The new Breakbeats Black Sparkle wrap is more plain, and doesn't show those subtle colors, even in direct sunlight.
7. This one is speculative, but it seems there may be an actual badge now instead of just a sticker badge as on the originals. The reason I say this is speculative is because of the three orphans I picked up recently, the bass drum had all the new "Elements" I listed above, but still had a sticker badge. The other two orphans are just bare shells, no hardware or badges. However, on both bare shells (FT and SD), there are two tiny holes on the outside of the shell (that do not go all the way through to the inside) where a badge would have been. I know these are Breakbeat shells also. I was thinking that maybe they actually could've been Element Evolution shells (since everything about them is exactly the same--see below), but the FT shell is 13" x 13", and that size is not offered on the Evolutions; it is only offered on the Breakbeats, so it definitley is a Breakbeat shell. It's hard to tell from online photos if it's a sticker or a real badge.
As far as I can tell, all the changes I outlined above are present on the Ludwig Element Evolution series. Same brackets, same wing nuts, same tom receivers, same lugs, same shells, same everything. Even the wraps are the same (Wine Red/Maroon Sparkle, Black Sparkle and Silver/White Sparkle--only the Aqua/Azure Sparkle is exclusive to the Breakbeats).
Am I missing any changes? Please feel free to chime in. I think this was more of production decision from Ludwig, so they didn't have to keep making two kinds of brackets, wing nuts etc. Ironically, the Ludwig website still shows the Breakbeats kit with all the original appointments I mentioned above. However, if you look online at retailers, you will see the new design "Elements" I have listed.
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