Hi guys.
I bought a pre-owned DW collectors kit from a well known distributor in the summer.
I decided to add an 8” tom so contacted the same distributor to order it to be made by DW. I had to supply the serial numbers for the tom to be made.
A few months passed and the tom finally arrived but I noticed that the label inside the tom said ‘Collector’s maple standard’ whereas the rest of my toms are ‘Collector’s maple VLT’ (vertical low timbre) so it wasn’t the same construction as the other toms.
I contacted them explaining the situation and got a reply saying:
“the original kit is standard build and they also said that they wouldn't make an 8" tom in VLT only X Shell.”
I knew this was lies because I have seen 8” x 7” toms in VLT before.
Here is an example:
https://reverb.com/item/11246177-dw...k-oyster-glass-finish-w-protection-racket-bag
I contacted them again to show them the above link and they replied requesting proof that the kit is VLT, which I did.
They responded:
The reason the 8” is an X shell (which lowers the tone) and the next bigger toms are VLT, is because, the tonal interval between an 8” and 10” tom are greater than between the 10”, 12”, and 13”. Therefore, John Good Chose to lower the pitch slightly on the 8” tom (X shell) to create more even tonal intervals between all the toms….
Here is a video explaining it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVbLqfGgF6c
It starts on the exact 8” X shell explanation at around 30 seconds to 1 minute in.
Now, the eagle eyed among you may have noticed that in all their correspondence they have said that an X shell is the correct construction for my kit.
The tom I received isn’t an X shell or VLT, it’s a Collector’s maple standard, which is a different construction altogether from either of those.
DW don’t even seem to know what tom they made for me let alone what is the correct construction for my kit.
What should I do?
It might sound like I’m being picky but I have spent the equivalent of almost $1000 on a tom that doesn’t match my kit.
I bought a pre-owned DW collectors kit from a well known distributor in the summer.
I decided to add an 8” tom so contacted the same distributor to order it to be made by DW. I had to supply the serial numbers for the tom to be made.
A few months passed and the tom finally arrived but I noticed that the label inside the tom said ‘Collector’s maple standard’ whereas the rest of my toms are ‘Collector’s maple VLT’ (vertical low timbre) so it wasn’t the same construction as the other toms.
I contacted them explaining the situation and got a reply saying:
“the original kit is standard build and they also said that they wouldn't make an 8" tom in VLT only X Shell.”
I knew this was lies because I have seen 8” x 7” toms in VLT before.
Here is an example:
https://reverb.com/item/11246177-dw...k-oyster-glass-finish-w-protection-racket-bag
I contacted them again to show them the above link and they replied requesting proof that the kit is VLT, which I did.
They responded:
The reason the 8” is an X shell (which lowers the tone) and the next bigger toms are VLT, is because, the tonal interval between an 8” and 10” tom are greater than between the 10”, 12”, and 13”. Therefore, John Good Chose to lower the pitch slightly on the 8” tom (X shell) to create more even tonal intervals between all the toms….
Here is a video explaining it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVbLqfGgF6c
It starts on the exact 8” X shell explanation at around 30 seconds to 1 minute in.
Now, the eagle eyed among you may have noticed that in all their correspondence they have said that an X shell is the correct construction for my kit.
The tom I received isn’t an X shell or VLT, it’s a Collector’s maple standard, which is a different construction altogether from either of those.
DW don’t even seem to know what tom they made for me let alone what is the correct construction for my kit.
What should I do?
It might sound like I’m being picky but I have spent the equivalent of almost $1000 on a tom that doesn’t match my kit.