I agree with you about the Dunnett snare. I had a Dunnett titanium snare at it was a terrible drum. It did have a nice, deep tone for backbeats. But it was the most unresponsive snare I've ever played. And the snares would work themselves loose at times. I've had different experience with my Ludwig Classics though. I have a 4 piece Sky Blue kit that have the best tone that I've ever played. I have an Aquarian super-kick on the 14 x 22 bass and it fits and sounds great. I have a larger Ludwig Classic that has two mounted toms and two floor toms. The bass drum is 18 x 22 and I have a Remo Powerstroke on it and it fits sounds great. I agree that the older Vibra Bands tom holders are terrible. But my newest Ludwig classic kit has the PMO048 tom holders and they are outstanding! I've always had great luck with Ludwig snare drums. With the exception of that Dunnett Titanium.For me, Dunnett titanium snare and a Brady stave snare. Didn't like either. Then there's the Ludwig classic maples. Bass drum hoops don't fit non Ludwig heads which are impossible to find. Big ass ugly rims type mounts, and the rest of the hardware on the drums gives me the impression they are toy drums. In fairness they sound OK but my Collectors and Absolutes will do so much more.
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.
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.