Your personal least favorite set you actually owned.

[crashtest drummy]

I used to have a Set of Sonor Lite drums throughout the 90ies that I never really liked. It was my first and only professional kit back in the days, and probably it was just the fact that I didn't have a clue about decent tuning. But I almost never felt like mastering my drum sound. In addition to that, I found it more and more unattractive with its deep shells and the brick-shaped lugs.

After some years of almost not drumming at all, I felt I had to sell the whole thing and bought something new. And what can I say, I got plenty of fun for free with my new stuff And a good reason to improve my tuning skills with DTB and other ressources.

 

[Morrisman]

Yamaha Tour Customs are good, but the Gretsch Renowns are much better. They sound as good as kits costing $4,000 IMO.

In Australia a Gretsch Renown does cost $4000 ! (=US$3000)

 

[iCe]

The Osan Runner i had for 10 years or so. Bought it in 2001/2002 and sold in 2014 or 2015. The black PVC wrap was too thick and set too high to set the new Aquarian heads i bought in 2004/2005-ish. Couldn't seat the heads properly and had to cut away some of the wrap so they would seat on the bearing edges. But what did you expect from a €300 kit... Didn't had problems with Remo heads on them, but the tuning range on this kit was limited. The bass drum was amazing though, had an Evans clear G2 on it with a Remo muffler. Great kick sound. Eventually replaced it with a Pearl Vision because it was starting to (literally) fall apart.

Still am amazed with the sound a quality of my Pearl Masters BCX i got in December 2014, so never going back to anything that sounds worse haha

 

[PorkPieGuy]

Still am amazed with the sound a quality of my Pearl Masters BCX i got in December 2014, so never going back to anything that sounds worse haha

The guy who owns a practice space where I play has a BCX kit, and I'd be darned if that thing doesn't sound decent. I wish it had a 12" and 16" floor tom. I just play the 10 and 14.

 

[rebonn]

My 70s Ludwig single side head Power Plus set with a Black Beauty snare. I ordered it custom with a 26 bass and 20 floor tom. The clip mounts left a lot to be desired and the 6 and 8 tom plys were coming apart and warped. The snare sounded like it had no shell, very very wet sounding. In fact, just about everyone who played it didn't care for it. I played it for years.

 

[AsbaSakae69]

May this serve as a head up to those who obsess on whatever is vintage. My very first kit was jazz style 1969 Asba (a French brand), which I found in 1979 in a shop where I would not afford a Tama, let alone, Ludwig or Slingerland. The shop had it as a trade in and added a no-name tinplate snare which I eventually turned into a timbale! With the toms and bass, I tried and tried desperately all sorts of settings, single, double, hydraulic heads and back... I never came even close to the sound I would hear on records or live shows. Of course I was listening 70s and 80s music.
Asba had a good reputation in that time, so I thought the problem was me, (and maybe it was). Yet, whenever I found myself on any in-house Tama, Pearl, Yamaha kit, I would finally be happy with my playing and my sound, even for jazz.
In the hindsight, I was unwittingly owning the perfect vintage drums: 3 ply mahogany with reinforcement rings, heavy die cast hoops, impossible tom mounts, spurs that let you run after your bass drum as you play ... Eventually I committed the heresy to have them drilled for a YESS mount kit (unthinkable and shameful by today's standards) and settled for Remo black dots. My point is, there were reasons in the first place why drum makers evolved to 6 plies, triple flanged and modern design. By then Made in Japan was a cheap label, mere copy of the noble US make. It took less than 10 years for the followers to bring down their masters.

 

[Rattlin' Bones]

Newest Made in USA Ludwig Club Dates. Very cardboard dull sound. No music they didn't sing.

 

[Andy]

An old Pearl made "Maxwinn" drum set. Sounded absolutely awful and somehow looked even worse.

I owned one for about 5 minutes around 1982. Compulsive purchase on the day for a specific gig I'd been booked for. Decided to set it up in the store directly after paying for it to check it all worked. It went back in the boxes in under a minute & a refund was arranged.

Absolutely the worst built drum I've ever encountered was a brand new Gretsch USA custom snare brought to my workshop by a touring artist because he couldn't tune it up. I took the heads & hoops off both sides, & started by putting the shell batter side down on my inspection plate. At first, I thought they'd assembled it upside down with the snare beds on the batter side, but no, the batter edges really were that bad. I then tried the reso side. Edges just as bad, plus snare beds out of alignment. Not only that, the shell was out of round by 3/8". Overall, the shell was super poor quality. Voids everywhere, & really nasty quality inner ply. Considering it's a Keller production, I was surprised. Lugs were cheaply made & inconsistent. Internal fixings were the cheapest possible quality. Given the price paid, I was shocked.

The edges were so bad, there wasn't enough wood left to machine out the issues. I couldn't even conceive how a drum could be built this badly, even if you tried to. I ended up lending the player a snare for the gig, & the Gretsch went back to the store the following day. I can only now tell this story since I can no longer be accused of commercial bias. There's more too, but many would get others into hot water, so I'll wait for them to move endorsement deal

 

[IBitePrettyHard]

Newest Made in USA Ludwig Club Dates. Very cardboard dull sound. No music they didn't sing.

Isn't that how Club Dates are SUPPOSED to sound? Dull and thuddy?

I've always hated the sound, but I guess some people dig it. To me, Club Dates are the exact opposite of drums that "sing."

 

[PorkPieGuy]

Absolutely the worst built drum I've ever encountered was a brand new Gretsch USA custom snare...

People look at me cross-eyed whenever I tell folks to be careful whenever ordering new Gretsch USA drums. Granted, if you get a good set, they are fantastic; however, I've been reading about QC issues for year on their expensive USA drums. If I was to ever get a set, I'd open the box in the store and going over everything with a fine-tooth comb before taking them home.

 

[sixteenthnotes]

Ludwig Questlove Breakbeats kit. Simply AWFUL. Stickers instead of badges. Horrible bearing edges on ALL of the shells. Plastic (not real mylar plastic) heads. Sloppy wrap job. I tried replacing all of the heads and went through numerous tunings and the kit always sounded like a cheap kid's toy. Sold it within 3 days of buying it.

All-in-all, I was in shock that Ludwig would put out such a poorly made kit. A kit that is overpriced as well. There are far better compact kits like the Sawtooth bop kits and the SPL bop kit....both of which I have owned personally.

Sonor Martini AQ2 kit... bass drum rattled no matter what heads I used on it. Hours and hors and hours spent tuning it.... never got rid of the rattle. Sold it a week later.

Mapex Rebel kit. Out of round bass drum. The whole kit was very cheaply made. Obviously this is a budget kit, but even so, I've encountered far better sounding and performing drum sets that are in this price range.

 

[Peedy]

Some well meaning church member bought me an entry level PDP at a garage sale for 50 bucks when we formed a praise band. I set it up and played it one time. The next day I bought my current Premier XPK kit and relegated the PDPs to storage. When I left, they stayed behind.

Pete

 

[SnickSound]

Tama Superstar Hyperdrive Birch

The short toms were too quiet and the 10" sounded like a toy. The 20" long kick took tons of room yet sounded dead (sounded like there was a big pillow inside when it was empty). The snare was decent.

It was very solid and well built though. Just no life in the tone.

 

[Craig J]

People look at me cross-eyed whenever I tell folks to be careful whenever ordering new Gretsch USA drums. Granted, if you get a good set, they are fantastic; however, I've been reading about QC issues for year on their expensive USA drums. If I was to ever get a set, I'd open the box in the store and going over everything with a fine-tooth comb before taking them home.

I'll add one more vote to this. I ordered a full Grestch USA custom kit. Saved up for years. The bass drum was killer but the toms had no life to them. I changed heads, tuned them with every method, and they were just awful sounding. And yes, I hear the good ones are great, but QC is definitely an issue. Due to the high expectations, my first new kit in 10 years, and the reputation of Gretsch USA, I could not have been more frustrated and disappointed. As a result....worst kit I've ever owned.

On the flip side, I recently picked up an open box Pearl Session Studio Classic for $500, which included a 22x16, 10x7, 12x8, 14x14, and 16x14. Best kit I've ever played hands down, both live and in the studio. Redemption!

 

[sixteenthnotes]

I'll add one more vote to this. I ordered a full Grestch USA custom kit. Saved up for years. The bass drum was killer but the toms had no life to them. I changed heads, tuned them with every method, and they were just awful sounding. And yes, I hear the good ones are great, but QC is definitely an issue. Due to the high expectations, my first new kit in 10 years, and the reputation of Gretsch USA, I could not have been more frustrated and disappointed. As a result....worst kit I've ever owned.

On the flip side, I recently picked up an open box Pearl Session Studio Classic for $500, which included a 22x16, 10x7, 12x8, 14x14, and 16x14. Best kit I've ever played hands down, both live and in the studio. Redemption!

I'll add a third vote to this. I bought a Gretsch Brooklyn USA kit last year. The finish was absolutely stunning. But, the kit sounded lifeless. Tried numerous heads and tuning-- was, all-in-all, very uninspiring. Sold it a month later. I'd rather play on my USA 1960's Kent kit any day...and the whole kit cost only $500.

 

[PorkPieGuy]

I'll add one more vote to this. I ordered a full Grestch USA custom kit. Saved up for years. The bass drum was killer but the toms had no life to them. I changed heads, tuned them with every method, and they were just awful sounding. And yes, I hear the good ones are great, but QC is definitely an issue. Due to the high expectations, my first new kit in 10 years, and the reputation of Gretsch USA, I could not have been more frustrated and disappointed. As a result....worst kit I've ever owned.

On the flip side, I recently picked up an open box Pearl Session Studio Classic for $500, which included a 22x16, 10x7, 12x8, 14x14, and 16x14. Best kit I've ever played hands down, both live and in the studio. Redemption!

I have a friend selling a set of these, and they sound absolutely killer. I was really impressed with them.

 

[Supraman5x14]

I have a friend selling a set of these, and they sound absolutely killer. I was really impressed with them.

I love my Session 6.5x14 snare from 2014 with the birch/kapur shells. Just enough cut, with good amount warmth and sustain. Thinking about getting a whole set now!

 

[Tamaefx]

I owned a brass Pearl free floating, 14x6,5 : nice looking drum. But I couldn't get it sound good long enough, it detuned very very fast and sounded good only when I bashed it . At medium or low volume, I couldn't get no sound. No sensitivity. Pretty disappointed I was.

 

[PorkPieGuy]

I love my Session 6.5x14 snare from 2014 with the birch/kapur shells. Just enough cut, with good amount warmth and sustain. Thinking about getting a whole set now!

I’m afraid to play my friend’s set because I’m afraid that I will want them. They are the birch kapur.

 

[TJK]

Die cast can be a real sustain killer