I just saw a DW video and it made me start thinking about the fact that their drums are so over priced. Yes they are great drums, yes, they are made well, but, you can get a great drum set from other makers for way less. I’ve got a top of the line Trick custom made drum set that ran me way less than a DW top of the line kit. And my kit is virtually indestructible considering all the shells are made of aluminum.
I’ve always considered DW the Nike of drums. Good stuff, but you are paying a lot just for the name.
Maybe because:
1 People pay premium
for what they think is of good quality.
2 Maybe they (DW) are pricing accordingly
if they have American workers working in the US (clearly they can't pay them minimum wages)
3 If the drums are made in the US with US workers and US taxes but maybe imported wood.. then there's your answer.
4 Maybe they follow the Roland model: Make cheap drums with cheap components,
make them reliable and sell them for 10 times what they are worth. DW will follow the Roland model because Roland now owns them....
I don't see a huge difference between a $1000 drum set and a $10000
other than the price tag. Don't tell me "Oh but the top of the line drum has better hardware"
Better or prettier? Remember we are not talking entry level and I am talking about ONLY the drums, no cymbal stands, or snare stands, just the drums.
Most of those drums (before any hardware is installed) are going to be made with pretty much the same techniques with the same wood by the same workers. Now they might sell it to you by saying
"Oh but the $1000 drum is 5 ply and the $10000 is 8 ply"), so
3 extra ply layers and prettier lugs and a prettier finish justify you paying $9000 more???
The answer is NO. but
people will pay because they want the name. it's the same as the Harley Davison fans, are there better bikes out there? yes
Indian makes better bikes and they are cheaper. (not by much but still). but god forbid you don't buy a Harley, then you don't ride a "real" bike...
Same for guitars, what makes a guitar $10000 vs a $1000? if it is made from the same wood, the same finishes
(even if different finishes, a finish alone is not going to justify a $9000 price increase), better pickups? the most expensive pickups
any of those guitars have are around $300 so that also doesn't justify the price increase, Evertune Bride? No, that maybe adds another $500 to the price but still not $9000,
unless someone found a way to clone the extinct threes that they used to make the Stradivarius violins then what the hell? Same goes for Roland pads which are probably (what costs them to make) around $100 or less each.
The drum modules yes, all the tech is expensive but once the final product is developed,
mass producing it is much less expensive. In reality Top of the line drums should not be more expensive than $3000, 4000 if they include all the top of the line stands, pedals and stool. Top of the line guitars maybe $2000,
Maybe. But once prices reach those stupid levels, there is NO WAY companies are going to bring back them down.
