Garden variety DW Maple shells. Deal or no deal?

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I can get into a kit like this in a trade for my Renown kit that I paid $800 for and an additional $800. Seems like it's pretty cheap for Collectors kit. Are their run of the mill maple shells any good? 2014 mfgr date. Excellent condition. I'm thinking I can't lose money even if I hate them and want to turn them at some point.
https://reverb.com/item/36872918-dw-collector-s-ebony-satin-oil-drum-set-22-10-12-16-so-1193435 $3700 or so MAP price for same spec kit new.

Here's the ad for the actual kit in the trade.

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DEAL OR NO DEAL! Choose!
 
I love the satin finish on those DWs, very classy.....but the Renowns sound way better.

$1700 is a pretty good deal for that Collector's kit, but I think that DWs are inherently overpriced to begin with.

I think most kits in the $1500-2000 price bracket sound better than the DWs to be perfectly honest.
 
In return value. Most likely DW.

In sound/feel value. A personal preference, as there is no “better”.

To add.

You can’t say Collector’s sound boxy, dull, or soul-less.

Those specifics fastly depend on heads, tuning, space where they are played, the player, sizes, materials (Collector’s come in a plethora of different woods and builds), etc.
 
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Man drums sound like drums. At this price point, If you can tune them, they'll sound good. If you want some DWs, go for it. They hold their value pretty well too so if you want to sell them you won't lose much.

I'm not a huge fan of DW's looks or their over the top marketing but to say that they're all boxy and dull sounding is just silly.
 
Trigger said:
Man drums sound like drums. At this price point, If you can tune them, they'll sound good. If you want some DWs, go for it. They hold their value pretty well too so if you want to sell them you won't lose much.
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I agree, if you have the cash and want DWs who are a bunch of strangers to stop you. Personally I find the martkeing a lot OTT too.

www.sweetwater.com

Gretsch Drums Renown RN2-E4246 4-piece Shell Pack - Burnt Orange Sparkle - Sweetwater Exclusive

4-piece Maple Shell Pack with 12" Tom, 14" and 16" Floor Toms, and 22" Bass Drum - Burnt Orange Sparkle
www.sweetwater.com www.sweetwater.com

If I had to choose I'd get this.
 
You could do worse. It’s a great kit, but I find the finish to be a little boring. It won’t sound boxy and dull if you tune it. Do you like it?
 
$3700 for a 4-piece kit with a dull finish and hubcap lugs.

No Deal.
 
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I say no deal. I just dont like the finish, that's all. I have no other qualms with the kit.
 
Icetech said:
Are the reknowns THAT good are is this just fanboi stuff? $1500 for a kit that sounds better than overpriced DW's? come on...
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I don't own either. The Renowns just sound amazing.

I see Gretsch doing all the right things here (they're a subsidiary of DW ironically), and for the right price. The only reason it's not selling for a lot more is it's not made in USA and doesn't have a video of John Goode blowing out of his arse about he sourced the wood in the stomach of a dead whale and found the acidic contents of the whales stomach gave the wood a unique timbre ;)
 
I'm kind of torn in that I have the Renown kit up for sale too. I have two other kits that I like a lot. I actually like the finish on the DW kit but the idea was to sell the Renowns and get down to two kits. I'm not that familiar with DW shell construction. Are they thin, medium, heavy? I think they have re-rings. The thing is, it's hard to sell anything right now and if he's having a hard time getting $1700 for them I might be stuck with them for awhile myself. That and I have to dig up another $800 having just bought another snare.

Ugh. Decisions. (Voice in my head: "you don't need another kit ya bozo!"
 
Darth Vater said:
I'm kind of torn in that I have the Renown kit up for sale too. I have two other kits that I like a lot. I actually like the finish on the DW kit but the idea was to sell the Renowns and get down to two kits. I'm not that familiar with DW shell construction. Are they thin, medium, heavy? I think they have re-rings. The thing is, it's hard to sell anything right now and if he's having a hard time getting $1700 for them I might be stuck with them for awhile myself. That and I have to dig up another $800 having just bought another snare.

Ugh. Decisions. (Voice in my head: "you don't need another kit ya bozo!"
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I don’t remember...what other sets do you have? I think the DWs are great drums, but if you have a couple of other good sets, they may not bring anything new to the table in terms of sound.
 
incrementalg said:
I don’t remember...what other sets do you have? I think the DWs are great drums, but if you have a couple of other good sets, they may not bring anything new to the table in terms of sound.
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Sonor Prolite 6 pc and a Sonor SQ1 4 pc. I think you're right in that having done some research this AM on the DW maple shells, they're too similar to the Prolites. Thin shell w/ re-rings. I've been reminded by one of our astute members @David Hunter that the Renown kit I have is a pretty damn nice kit regardless of what I paid and that it's more of a medium straight walled shell that is different from my other two kits. I doubt I'll ever sell my Prolites (love 'em) so buying the DWs would be kind of redundant sound wise and that's being generous to the DW kit. Ultimately I'd end up selling them. If the DWs were cherry or cherry/mahogany I'd probably give them a try.

I've decided I'm going to stand pat and keep what I have. Thanks for the replies and hey if someone is looking for a Collectors Maple that's a pretty nice price!
 
Icetech said:
Are the reknowns THAT good are is this just fanboi stuff? $1500 for a kit that sounds better than overpriced DW's? come on...
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They really are great drums man haha. Maybe not better - but more on par than you'd imagine.


Having said that - I love the finish on those DWs and I'd probably go "Deal" on that kit. It's a great set.
 
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I have 2 DW Collectors kits and a Renown kit. They are tuned and headed differently. Both sound great.

That's a good price on the DW kit, and if the seller would come down on price, it would be an even better deal. I got my first used Collectors kit for $1500 and it was a 6 piece, 2-up, 2-down config.
 
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