Dixon's new North American maple kit for $850??

Hi
I have a Dixon Artisan Maple (North American) purchased in 2017. Up to the Dixon's distributor here in Italy its prize for the same new kit is 2,535 $.
Cornerstone is not their top product however such prize seems very attractive.
www.playdixon.com

Cornerstone - Dixon Drums

CORNERSTONE series embodies Dixon’s commitment to drummers in the spotlight. On stage, in studio, or trending on social media, quality features elevate your look, sound, and performance in standout fashion. A choice of a super responsive hybrid or classic North American maple shell let you to...
www.playdixon.com www.playdixon.com
 
10 lug bass drum, 2.3 hoops; seems to be a great bang for the buck. Hope my local GC gets one of these in so I can check it out.
 
gish said:
10 lug bass drum, 2.3 hoops; seems to be a great bang for the buck. Hope my local GC gets one of these in so I can check it out.
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Looks like a direct shot across the bow of the Pearl Decade ($859) .... and the Pearl serves 8 lug bass drum and 6 lug floor tom. Hopefully this will raise Dixon's profile here.
 
It's all an insidious plot by all the major drum makers to make an affordable "maple" kit to get drummers hooked so they'll eventually upgrade to a more expensive fix-I mean high end maple kit. They take advantage of GAS-since there is no known cure. Bastards exploiting a disease-man that's a timely observation.
 
Interesting. It says it's made in Taiwan, and there have been a lot of great kits coming out of there in recent years. I don't know how many drum factories there are in Taiwan, but there can't be that many. So I'm sure it's made in the same place that makes drums for Pearl, Gretsch, Mapex or one of several other more mainstream brands. Therefore, I imagine quality should be roughly on par with those.

Also, at the top of that GC page, it says they'll take off $100 for purchases over $499. So really it only costs $750.

BTW, I'm kinda liking the darker bass drum hoops on that gloss natural finish.
 
TK-421 said:
It says it's made in Taiwan
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Yep. It's still cheaper to send wood to Taiwan, have them make the shells and do the build, then ship them back to the US, than it is to make them in the US in the first place.

Bermuda
 
What is the current cheapest kit you can buy with North American maple shells? The DW Design Series? Something from Barton drums?

For comparison, the 4-piece DW Design Series Frequent Flyer is $1350, and although the drums are smaller, it's the closest apples-to-apples comparison I could find. Dixon is selling their kit for $500 less than the competition, that's crazy!

Hopefully they'll do something about those ugly badges though. I can't get over how over-designed they look. I guess it's "cool" that the badge spells out Dixon, but at what cost?
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It's a new kit as can be seen by the new Dixon logo. Great price. They should move a lot of those.

CORNERSTONE is the direct result of Dixon’s focus on the fundamental needs of the working drummer – look, sound and performance. These stunning drum kits feature a cool new brand image, warm woody tone and quality Dixon craftsmanship, powered by a Maple/Red Silkwood hybrid shell finished in gloss natural or gloss piano black.

Some of the uses of Red Silkwood. Boat building, Cabinetmaking, Decorative plywood, Decorative veneer, Domestic flooring, Fixtures, Furniture , Joinery, Light construction, Turnery, Balusters, Bedroom suites, Building construction, Building materials, Canoes, Chairs, Chests, Concealed parts (Furniture), I see no issue with the shell build.
 
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GruntersDad said:
It's a new kit as can be seen by the new Dixon logo. Great price. They should move a lot of those.

CORNERSTONE is the direct result of Dixon’s focus on the fundamental needs of the working drummer – look, sound and performance. These stunning drum kits feature a cool new brand image, warm woody tone and quality Dixon craftsmanship, powered by a Maple/Red Silkwood hybrid shell finished in gloss natural or gloss piano black.

Some of the uses of Red Silkwood. Boat building, Cabinetmaking, Decorative plywood, Decorative veneer, Domestic flooring, Fixtures, Furniture , Joinery, Light construction, Turnery, Balusters, Bedroom suites, Building construction, Building materials, Canoes, Chairs, Chests, Concealed parts (Furniture), I see no issue with the shell build.
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I think that's the description of the OLD version of the Cornerstone before they switched to all NA maple. The new version doesn't have Red Silkwood.
 
IBitePrettyHard said:
I think that's the description of the OLD version of the Cornerstone before they switched to all NA maple. The new version doesn't have Red Silkwood.
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Actually from the web page, they are sold in all maple, and hybrid , maple and red silk wood.

Cornerstone All Maple
Cornerstone’s all North American maple shell brings pure classic warmth to our gig-ready shell packs. North American maple is the most recorded drum sound on the planet and Dixon takes this classic tone a step further with the addition of its innovative TMS™ Tom Suspension. Cornerstone Maple is designed to be your go-to drum kit. FREE Drummer’s Pouch (click) Included!
Cornerstone Hybrid Maple
Cornerstone’s North American maple hybrid shell features a super responsive Red Silkwood core with a hard poplar inner for balance in clarity and tone. The result is ultimate versatility, giving you full control of your sound by responding to the multitude of drumhead options available today. Cornerstone Hybrid is all about what you have in mind. FREE Drummer’s Pouch (click) Included!
 
What's silkwood GruntersDad-I could Google but I figure with your woodworking skill you'd know?
 
I saw a MINT condition Greg Bisonette signature model (something like that) go on Ebay for $300???? I almost got in on the bidding, but I didn't think there was anyway it would go for less than $400.
They seem like most other drums in that category--sound nice, and they're well-made.
 
I've never seen a Dixon kit in person, but I suspect they are high quality. Everything I've seen from Taiwan over the past 10 years has been high quality, even the cheaper drums, and the fit and finish is perfect.

@GetAgrippa , from what you said in another thread I think you're absolutely right...it appears an Asian competitor has figured out how to make high quality shells like Keller. For years we've seen cheap Asian shells made of Poplar and Asian Maple...now they're starting to use NA Maple shells, and we're just starting to see the savings.
 
Yes indeed, the badge design deprtment at Dixon is clearly into 'word-search' puzzles. If you look hard enough, you can find the letters in their logo. Cute....not.
 
I don't mind the logo itself. I would prefer the badge to be smaller. Bugs me on the newer Mapex drums also. At least the Dixon one is... uh, transparent isn't the right word... what's the word I'm looking for? Not solid, reveals the finish through the spaces.
 
I admit I’m a little intrigued by some of the new Dixon offerings. The kits look good and have some nice finishes and some of the new snare drums look really nice. I’m a sucker for wood hoops and they have a few kits and snares with them. I don’t even mind the new logo. It’s a little on the big side but it’s nicer looking than a lot of other brands logos. Having said that, I have no idea how they sound other than a few snippets in videos. And since my only experience with Dixon stuff was some really poorly made hardware 15 or 20 years ago I won’t be rushing out to buy a kit. But I’m hoping the reviews of the new stuff are good cause it’s nice looking gear.
 
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