Vistalites Worth Owning?

bongoman said:
Acrylic is more affected by temperature than you might think, it expands and contracts a lot. It’s less affected by humidity, so that’s something. Maybe a kit with shells of steel, aluminum, or temperature-compensated carbon fiber instead?
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But steel, aluminum, or temperature-compensated carbon fiber ain't iconic Vistalites lol.

I get along splendidly gigging my inexpensive thin shell Tama Superstar Classic Maple. Lite and easy to get in and out of house. I'd make some accommodations by storing Vistalites in garage. I've read from real Vistalite owners that temps don't affect them at all.
 
They're woth it if they're what you like. They definitely have their own thing. I played a vintage set for a few years, it was tons of fun, loved the look of them. The toms were warmer them I expected but I could never get the bass drum to sound good. I always sounded boxy to me. In the end, I sold them. I still like the look of some of them but I've scratched that itch.

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Rattlin' Bones said:
Resurrecting my thread. I still have the Vistalite bug but never pulled trigger.

Now finding amber (which looks orange to me) and lemon yellow bop size kits which for me are gig-able.

I like those colors - are they desirable colors?Fig
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Collectable and rare. If you're talking vintage, easiest (and most affordable) to find are gonna be blue (east cost popular) and clear (west cost popular). That's the info. Bill Ludwig gave me at NAMM 'bout 20 years ago. I've no reason to not to believe him.:LOL:

After blue and clear, seems like red might be the 3rd most plentyful color. Amber next. Then maybe smoke. Yellow and green seem to be the rarest of the solid colors, and then there's all the various patterns. All extremely rare.

And "oh my lord" ..... an 18 ?????? Did they ever make an 18 or a 20 ?????? I've never seen either. I haven't spent a ton of time searching catalog scans ...... but I haven't found mention of an 18 or 20 offered. Probably vintage ...... that's a no.

Steve Maxwell has a special deal with Ludwig it seems. The 18 and 20 offered up by him seems to be an exclusive. So I'd jump on one of those if those are the sizes you prefer.

Currently, looks like Ludwig only offers 22, 24 & 26 inch bass drums. My clear bass drums were 22x14 and 22x16 (two each). And I had a red kit that was 24x14, 13x9, 16x16.
 
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harryconway said:
Collectable and rare. If you're talking vintage, easiest (and most affordable) to find are gonna be blue (east cost popular) and clear (west cost popular). That's the info. Bill Ludwig gave me at NAMM 'bout 20 years ago. I've no reason to not to believe him.:LOL:

After blue and clear, seems like red might be the 3rd most plentyful color. Amber next. Then maybe smoke. Yellow and green seem to be the rarest of the solid colors, and then there's all the various patterns. All extremely rare.

And "oh my lord" ..... an 18 ?????? Did they ever make an 18 or a 20 ?????? I've never seen either. I haven't spent a ton of time searching catalog scans ...... but I haven't found mention of an 18 or 20 offered. Probably vintage ...... that's a no.

Steve Maxwell has a special deal with Ludwig it seems. The 18 and 20 offered up by him seems to be an exclusive. So I'd jump on one of those if those are the sizes you prefer.

Currently, looks like Ludwig only offers 22, 24 & 26 inch bass drums. My clear bass drums were 22x14 and 22x16 (two each). And I had a red kit that was 24x14, 13x9, 16x16.
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For gigging, the yellow or amber 18/14/12 from Maxwell's might be best choices. I think there may be a 20/14/12 out there too in green. That new old stock blue/green/clear pattern for $2,500 is a steal, but it's 22/16/13 so would be a basement beauty for me - too big and heavy for me to gig.
 
bongoman said:
Acrylic is more affected by temperature than you might think, it expands and contracts a lot. It’s less affected by humidity, so that’s something. Maybe a kit with shells of steel, aluminum, or temperature-compensated carbon fiber instead?
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Oooh! Good idea!

Aluminum!

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Copper!

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no but it's a double-value word score in scrabble

try Fibes
 
 
RickP said:
I joined the Vistalite fans yesterday when I picked up this 50th Anniversary Vistalite Fab kit . I had never played an acrylic kit in earnest before and was really surprised how much I like the sound .
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Wow!! Even though I sold mine, I still have a soft spot. Enjoy!
 
I regret selling my Amber Ludwig Bonham kit. That thing was an absolute weapon, and absolutely fun to play. I was kind of over playing 26" bass drums though. I missed the tighter, more controlled punch of my 22" bass drums. I would totally recommend picking up a Vistalite kit if you can swing it. I love how punchy and clear the toms and floor toms sounded. I had the more modern Vistalites. They offer great sustain too! I tuned the big tubs up a bit and they could clearly cut through and sound good doing it. I would love to get another kit with either a 22" or 24" bass drum to align with double pedal beats more articulately. I remember doing a side by side at the Chicago Drum Exchange a couple years ago to compare the 22" to the 24". Both sounded great with plenty of punch, low end, and volume. I would probably order a 14" tom, 16" (maybe 18") floor tom to go with a 22" bass drum. Not totally sold on curved spurs. I made a bass drum brake out of a 4x4 wood block drilled into my Home Depot rubber bottomed entrance mat. I never had to rely on the spurs to keep the BD planted. If I ever buy another kit, it will more than likely be a Ludwig Classic Maple or Vistalite.FLUX.1.jpg
 
I house sat for a Bonham reissue kit for about 8 months while a buddy was on deployment.
The sound was definitely a beautiful hair raiser (nothing booms like a 26-incher).

But…they were LOUD!!! And other than your own dynamic prowess, they’re nothing but loud.

Not to mention you HAVE to have bags (at minimum) to transport them due to scratches and other blemishes that WILL happen during transport without them.

One issue with owning them is the constant stress and anxiety worrying about them getting scuffed.

If you’re fine with all this…they’re worth it to have. Nothing looks as good as an acrylic kit under stage lights. 😎
 
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