So I couldn't pass these up. Especially considering the price. These are those DW Design series piano black drums that were a special for 2020, and now dealers that still have them are kinda' blowing them out. So I picked up all the drums you could get - the shell pack which consists of 8x10,9x12,14x16 toms, and 18x22 bass drum, and the add-on 7x8 rack tom, and 12x14 floor tom. I'm using my Collectors 6.5x14 nickel over brass snare with this.
Being new to these Taiwan-made DW drums, I must say I was completely surprised. The piano black gloss lacquer finish is perfectly done. The bearing edges are well-cut, and the wood shells are just pristine. I was always a fan of the bigger Collector's turret lugs, but these little turrets lugs aren't bad - I think the shells sing a little better with less metal on the drum. The one pet peeve that doesn't work right is the memory locks for the floor tom legs. I normally put the locks on the legs down at the bottom, and when I find where I like the drum set, then I slide the memory lock up and clamp it against the bracket. Well, the drag is is that you can't do this. The memory lock doesn't clear the rim when the leg is tightened against in the bracket. After some inspection, the brackets work well without a memory lock, so I just took the memory licks off.
The heads that come on the kit are basically clear ambassadors top and bottom, with a clear Powerstroke 3-type head on the bass drum. I immediately installed some coated Evans G2's and an Aquarian Force I bass drum head head. Another pet peeve is that the little muffling pillows they supplied with the bass drum are WHITE. I know DW makes them in black, so I can't fathom why you wouldn't include black muffling pillows with a piano BLACK lacquer kit.
Here's a thing I LOVE about this kit - the tension rods, although not regular rods still, have less threads than the ones they put on the Collectors kit. So it takes less spinning to tighten or loosen the tension rods. I was beginning to complain about changing heads on my Collectors' kit because if you don't use a drill, it takes FOREVER to remove all the rods. This one doesn't take that long at all - and I did it by hand with two drum keys. So for this improvement alone, it's worth it to check out the Design series.
Over the last day or so, I've been having alot of fun with this kit. I have a gig with it this Friday so that will be the maiden voyage. This kit even made me re-think that "reverse angle" cymbal thing that so many people do. Since I now have three rack toms, I didn't want to position my cymbals higher so I can access the toms, so I tried just angling them up and away from me, and lo and behold, that works for me! I feel like an old dog learning a new trick - it's kinda inspiring.
So after only playing Collector's drums all these years, I think this lower line is great. And of course, knowing these are now discontinued, I'm semi-unique in the DW Design world with a finish that fits everything. My cherry wood Collector's kit doesn't really fit in well with the Devo tribute band, but solid black will - and it's a black that can survive sitting in the sun if it has to.
