Mullins Custom Drums?

O

openhanded

Member
So, I am looking into buying a custom drum kit soon. I've been looking through a few different brands and I did notice that they get a bit pricey. I looked through Spaun, C&C, SJC, Truth, Shine, and a few more. Then I remembered one of my favorite band's drummers (Scale the Summit's Pat Skeffington) plays Mullins Drums and I LOVE his sound. In the studio and especially live, they sound fantastic. I looked into their prices and they are pretty reasonable for the modest set up I want. I want to buy a 18x20 kick, 12x9 rack tom, and 14x14 and 16x14 floor toms. Anyways, are there any opinions on Mullins drums I can get? Any other brands that could be recommended for good custom drums for the set up I want?
Thanks!
 
With Custom drums it depends on what you are looking for,I could not find any details on the drums to compare to other companies custom or not.Remember that if you want to sell a custom kit, with small boutique companies resale is not in general very good,I have seen kits selling really cheap in the used market from Spaun and Gms,both good companies with some history and a fairly high profile.I have an Eames kit that I outfitted with used Ludwig lugs which kept the cost down considerably,and I might get half of what I have in it back if I chose to sell it,but I am happy with the drums and enjoy the fact that mine are unique,and enjoyed putting them together,although it got much more involved than I originally thought.Some people like to put down keller shell drum builders,and you can pay to much for drums that are really more assembled than custom built but I have heard a couple of keller builds that I thought were terrific for the money,one was by Ah Ha Drums,another was by Acoustic Woods,and another by Maryland drums.Hell, my 1967 Rogers were keller builds and I love those.Right now the Majors are offering really good kits in their mid priced (1500.00 to 1700.00 dollars) Lines.Everybody's needs are different but if I was looking for another modestly priced custom kit this is what I would be looking for #1,sizes and depths,I love the Ludwig Keystone and Tama B and B kits,but thay come in a limited number of sizes and depths to keep costs down, neither offers a 14 or 16 depth kick,which is what I would want,or a 15 inch floor tom,to get that I would have to move up to the premium lines.#2 finishes,most of the good small builders offer a decent amount of finish options.You might take a look at http://www.eamesdrumshells.com/ Joe does shells and drums with lug casings now,and might be able to work with you within your budget if you are open to a birch shell,he actually builds them himself and has owned the company since 1977.Another good builder is Rob Kampa of Magstar custom drums, he builds "customer inspired drums" does great work,and is excellent at working with people within their budgets to get them the sound and look that they want.Good luck with putting your lit together,Have fun with it.
 
openhanded said:
So, I am looking into buying a custom drum kit soon. I've been looking through a few different brands and I did notice that they get a bit pricey. I looked through Spaun, C&C, SJC, Truth, Shine, and a few more. Then I remembered one of my favorite band's drummers (Scale the Summit's Pat Skeffington) plays Mullins Drums and I LOVE his sound. In the studio and especially live, they sound fantastic. I looked into their prices and they are pretty reasonable for the modest set up I want. I want to buy a 18x20 kick, 12x9 rack tom, and 14x14 and 16x14 floor toms. Anyways, are there any opinions on Mullins drums I can get? Any other brands that could be recommended for good custom drums for the set up I want?
Thanks!
Click to expand...

One thing to remember about studio recordings is that drummers rarely use the kit you see them with when they cut an album.

Sometimes they will use 2-3 different kits and different cymbals, some artists even use full marching bass drums for parts .etc .etc.

The best way is to play them yourself, or get the company to send you some video of a kit being played.
 
I hadn't heard of Mullins before, and because they're online only - not even a web site, but MySpace! - there's obviously no way to hear the drums unless you happen to be near their office.

There are plenty of terrific kits out there from Ludwig, Tama, Mapex, Taye, Pearl, Yamaha, PDP... that don't cost too much, and you can try them at your local stores. Consider the resale value as well. Most of the 'custom' brands don't retain much of their value, mostly because they're not well-known. But drums from the 'majors' are always in demand.

Bermuda
 
Some time ago I saw Mullins drums on eBay - they were selling snare drums. They didn't look outrageous, just visually solid-looking snares. I had considered it when I was searching for the 'ultimate' snare, and then what Bermuda said kept popping up in my mind.

If you like them, and the company stands behind you, I can't see you going wrong with them. It will definitely be unique in a sea of players using Ludwig, Yamaha, DW, etc.,....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top