Opinions on DW collectors brass.
- Thread starter mrmike
- Start date
Fred D
Pioneer Member
DW metal drums come in a couple of different confogurations. Some shells are rolled and welded and others are cast. The cast shells have more body. The shells are thicker and heavier.
That said, I have a 14 X 5 rolled shell and it's a great drum. One of these days I'll replace it with a cast drum.
I have a 14 X 6.5 BB too and that snare is hard to beat. In the end it's all about the sound. I have several DW snares and I love every one of them. I've had Dunnetts, Bradys, et.al. IMHO they just don't compare.
YMMV
That said, I have a 14 X 5 rolled shell and it's a great drum. One of these days I'll replace it with a cast drum.
I have a 14 X 6.5 BB too and that snare is hard to beat. In the end it's all about the sound. I have several DW snares and I love every one of them. I've had Dunnetts, Bradys, et.al. IMHO they just don't compare.
YMMV
mrmike
Silver Member
I guess I have been looking at a rolled drum.http://www.dwdrums.com/snares/coll-metal.asp I did not find anything on DW cast snares. I do know the one in the store sounded freakin' awsome so I should'nt worry about it but now you have peaked my interest.
Fred D
Pioneer Member
I'm not exactly sure when the cast shells were produced. Possibly a couple of limited runs.
Like I said before. My drum is rolled and it's a great drum.
Go with your ear.
Take care.
dxtrinc
Member
Hey mike
We have one of these drums at my shop and i tuned it up a couple of days ago for a customer and it was awesome. The DW site says "The sound is distinctively brass, but with more body and fatness at low mid range frequencies and a beautiful high end crack" It's pretty close. Pretty fat with the classic warm brass ring to it and a decent crack. The one nice thing about it is the tuning range, as i started from finger tight to cranked up to test its range. Seems like a very versatile drum and could be used for most everything you could think of. I personally prefer the black beauty but I'm also a huge Ludwig fan so you can't totally listen to me.
Hope that helps.
God Bless,
dxtr
We have one of these drums at my shop and i tuned it up a couple of days ago for a customer and it was awesome. The DW site says "The sound is distinctively brass, but with more body and fatness at low mid range frequencies and a beautiful high end crack" It's pretty close. Pretty fat with the classic warm brass ring to it and a decent crack. The one nice thing about it is the tuning range, as i started from finger tight to cranked up to test its range. Seems like a very versatile drum and could be used for most everything you could think of. I personally prefer the black beauty but I'm also a huge Ludwig fan so you can't totally listen to me.
Hope that helps.
God Bless,
dxtr
KarlCrafton
Platinum Member
The DW is going to sound different than a BB, by a bit I'd think.
The "Brass character" is going to be there in both drums, but the DW shell is straight, and the bearing edge is different too. Those two things alone are going to make the drums different.
The BB is great (I have 3), and the DW is a great drum too, so you're not going to go wrong with either one IMO.
The DW may be a heavier drum too (depends on the shell thickness), which will give a very solid, beefy sound, especially for rim shots.
The BB is a spun shell with no seam, the DW has a seam....but in reality (and not living in Ludwigville haha!), as long as the seam is done well and the shell is in round, it's not going to make an audible difference.
If you can get a great price on it (look it over to make sure its not somehow a "second" if they are blowing them out with a really cheap price), I'd say go for it--and post a review on it (after you stop looking at it, wipe the drool off, and play it that is haha!).
Good luck!
The "Brass character" is going to be there in both drums, but the DW shell is straight, and the bearing edge is different too. Those two things alone are going to make the drums different.
The BB is great (I have 3), and the DW is a great drum too, so you're not going to go wrong with either one IMO.
The DW may be a heavier drum too (depends on the shell thickness), which will give a very solid, beefy sound, especially for rim shots.
The BB is a spun shell with no seam, the DW has a seam....but in reality (and not living in Ludwigville haha!), as long as the seam is done well and the shell is in round, it's not going to make an audible difference.
If you can get a great price on it (look it over to make sure its not somehow a "second" if they are blowing them out with a really cheap price), I'd say go for it--and post a review on it (after you stop looking at it, wipe the drool off, and play it that is haha!).
Good luck!
I have a cast DW brass 5.5 and a newer Supraphonic 6.5, don't have a black beauty.
To my ear they are very different sounding drums. The DW has way more lower mid or punch to it, the Ludwig breaths a bit more.
The DW is 20lbs + has a pretty wide tuning range but I found it a little choked when tuned real high. It took a while to tune it to where it is ( could be my skills ??) but it is pretty magic now. I found the Ludwig a little more forgiving with tuning.
If I had to keep one only it would likely be the DW.
To my ear they are very different sounding drums. The DW has way more lower mid or punch to it, the Ludwig breaths a bit more.
The DW is 20lbs + has a pretty wide tuning range but I found it a little choked when tuned real high. It took a while to tune it to where it is ( could be my skills ??) but it is pretty magic now. I found the Ludwig a little more forgiving with tuning.
If I had to keep one only it would likely be the DW.
Fred D
Pioneer Member
After reading this thread I got my DW brass snare out and played it for a couple of weeks.
It was set up with die cast hoops, an Ambassador batter, Hazy Ambassador, and Puresound Super 30 wires. I played it like that a few times and decided it was a little too focused.
I put triple flanged hoops on it this morning along with a fresh batter head and that opened the drum up and increased the overall volume. The drum had a crisper sound without the die cast hoops.
After an hour of playing it and letting the batter head settle in, it started sounding really good. The rim shots rang out, the center of the drum was dry, and playing off center produced a pleasing over tone after the attack.
These are great snares and playing it again only reinforced what I had already posted.
HTH
It was set up with die cast hoops, an Ambassador batter, Hazy Ambassador, and Puresound Super 30 wires. I played it like that a few times and decided it was a little too focused.
I put triple flanged hoops on it this morning along with a fresh batter head and that opened the drum up and increased the overall volume. The drum had a crisper sound without the die cast hoops.
After an hour of playing it and letting the batter head settle in, it started sounding really good. The rim shots rang out, the center of the drum was dry, and playing off center produced a pleasing over tone after the attack.
These are great snares and playing it again only reinforced what I had already posted.
HTH