Pacific Platinum OR Ludwig Centennial?

jondrumming

Senior Member
The prices are roughly the same(ish), and one of the big questions I have is: are either lines of drums made of North American Maple? I believe both advertise as 100% Maple, but they don't specify...

I think the Centennial line is relatively new, right? I don't know anyone who has one, have any of you played them?
 
The prices are roughly the same(ish), and one of the big questions I have is: are either lines of drums made of North American Maple? I believe both advertise as 100% Maple, but they don't specify...

I think the Centennial line is relatively new, right? I don't know anyone who has one, have any of you played them?
IMO I'd go with the Centennials they have North American Maple shells, 20" deep bass drums and the sparkle finishes look great. I seen a kit up close and they look great (edges, construction,etc.).

The Platinum's are nice also I believe they're North American shells too, Either kit would be nice to have, I just think you get more for your money with Ludwig.

Bonzolead
 
The Platinums are made in Mexico. I played one out last month, the kick was hugh sounded, but the toms were real flat. They may have just needed new heads on them though.

Anyway, I would Platinum. I never got into Ludwig stuff, used a kit once live, and it sounded good, but the hardware is a little cheap.
 
I've played the Plat's and they are nice, decent sizes to pick from, drums sound nice, comfortable playing, but a couple things will make me say the Centennials are nicer.

The style of the Centennial's floor tom legs allow for easier drum and stand placement because they don't span as far out.

The finishes on the Centennials are done nicer IMO than any of the different Platinum finishes I have seen.

The lugs on the Platinum's seem a little cheap to me, and the spot where the rubber of the mounting band touches the shell CAN rub the finish off (been told it's happened a few times by my drum shop guy's). The mount itself is pretty nice though, and I do like how it's close to the shell (possible finish problems aside) for placement.

The wood on the Centennials is the same wood/grade of Maple used in the Classic Maple (& Legacy) series. I have no idea what grade of Maple DW uses for the Pacific line.

I personally would prefer the 20" deep bass drum (it's a magic sounding size for me on any diam bass drum) but it might not be for everyone.
There's no mount on the Centennial bass drum which I like--The Platinum can come either way, but if you had to order a Virgin kick separate, but your shop has a kit with a mount....you could be waiting or just end up getting something you may or may not want.

The Centennial is a shell pack, so you can use whatever hardware you want, and the lugs and screws Ludwig uses is a heavier grade compared to some other brands I have taken apart. I have no reason to believe the Centennials would be any different, and Ludwig is good on the 'beefiness' of all their parts--and Ludwig's tom mount/ft bracket is actually a little bit thicker than a DW or Plainum mount.

Ludwig also has a pretty extensive parts catalog and Centennial parts are in it now. Should anything happen to a part, it'd be under warranty (for quite a while) and the part would normally be in stock--not that I'd expect anything would be wrong with a Centennial purchase.
Their delivery time is pretty quick, I've no waited longer than 2 weeks for anything that was a "part" like lugs, floor tom legs, mounting brackets or claws when I ordered them for my various projects.
Add-on drums in the Centennial series are VERY reasonably priced.

The Platinum's do sound good, and I doubt that if I did have a Platinum kit, that it wouldn't sound nice, but all things taken into consideration, and the great sound of Ludwig's maple shells, I'd go with the Centennial's.

Yes, I admit that I am big on Ludwig, but it's because in the 30+ years I have been playing Ludwig stuff (AND other brands, not JUST Ludwig), I've said it before, & I can honestly say that I have not had one problem with anything I've gotten from Ludwig other than one floor tom that wasn't as Black on the paint job as my other drums, but they took care of it pretty darn fast. I remember it maybe took 3-4 weeks.
There are other great sounding and looking drums out there, but Ludwig has never given me a reason to really want another brand.

Sorry for the book.
 
PLEASE don't apologize, that was actually the best post about it yet! Thanks so much for taking the time to write all of that, I'm definitely going to eliminate the Platinums from the possibilities :)

Thanks again!
 
Here's what I am taking about on the "heft" of the parts.
A Ludwig mount & a Pacific mount.

Both have memory lock 'slots'.

I do like the look of the Pacific mount a lot, and I doubt it would EVER fail in any way, but people seem to have the idea that Ludwig's parts are "cheap" or something, and it's not the case AT ALL.

P6110108.jpg


Here's a regular Ludwig lug (it's old, but the new ones are the same). I'd be surprised if a Centennial lug was any different (other than being smaller) in the wall thickness.

P1010300.jpg


Here's a Ludwig Long Lug. It is a beast (need a weapon in your car? JK!), but even though it's substantial, I haven't had any loss of resonance on any of the (many) long lug drums I have.
Between the separate Classic Lug and the Long Lug on drums, the Long Lug has a bit more punch in the attack compared side by side.

P1010288.jpg


P1010281.jpg



Just wanted to follow up, glad the last post was helpful.
 
The cheapest place I've seen to get a Centennial is from Shane (who posted below) at www.justdrumsonline.com. I think they're even having a 10% off sale on them. Plus, it's an independent shop with great service. I ordered a Centennial kit from them last year and received it within a few days. As I said, great service. Although I later traded it for a different kit, I was very impressed by what you get for that price. Well-built with a quality finish (mine was silver sparkle). Don't know as much about the PDP kits, but it's tough to beat the Centennial for the quality to price ratio.
 
Wow. Just wow.

Seriously, nice call on the Centennials. This video sounds so much more alive to me than any PDP I've heard.

If you happen to stop by the thread again, Just Drums, I have a question on the configurations in your shop. I love the 5 piece PowerDrive setup but was wondering if there was some way to swap the 22" bass for a 24". Sorry, the video really blew me over :D

EDIT: NEVERMIND XD

A better question would be what you feel about the 22" versus the 24". I like the boominess of the 24, but I'm worried it'll be harder to play and more of a one trick pony.
 
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