DW Drums Collector's Series

DW Collectors series drums in a silver sparkle finish ply.
Sizes: 10x8 rack tom, 12x9 rack tom, 14x12 floor tom, 16x14 floor tom, 22x16 bass drum.

All maple shells with reinforcement rings.

Ok, DW drums are interesting and differenet than other drums I have played. First there is a lot of upfront attack that almost distorts upon being struck that provides their great attack, followed by the long resonance that seems to be what DWs are famous for.
It took me awhile to get accustomed to how these drums need to be tuned. I had always tuned my kits with the batter head tuned just above distorting and my resonant side a fifth higher. Imagine the opening notes of 'Here comes the bride'. This gave me immediate attack with a bit of distortion, and nice long and low resonance.
When I tried this tuning on the DWs, the result was anywhere from bad to just ok. I finally settled on tuning the batter and resonant side heads to the same pitch with loose to medium head tension and have been very happy. As a note I do tune differently for recording, which is most of the time, versus live. I tune lower for recording as I can boost the signal level later. I tune much higher, almost uncofortably high, for live shows, mic'd or unmic'd as that gets the drums to project.
ON that note, think about the last time you to a live show. Suring sound check the drums sounded great, but when the whole band kicks in the drums disappear, excpet the snare and the engineer is scrambling to EQ the sound and the audience gets lost.
What that is, is most drummers are looking for that deep and low punch with long low resonance. In a live show that all goes away unless you have great mics and lots of power to push that sound out beyond the competing bass guitar and distortion of the guitars. The best way to deal with that is make your drumer louder and move their sound into a frequency range that projects more. The best way to accomplish that is to tune higher, much higher than you are normally comfortable with.

Great drums. What I like about these drums the most is the hardware. It is solid, easily adjustable, and once set it does not move. Also the tuning stays longer with these drums than other kit I have had due to their lug design.

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I have had these drums for 3+ years. I have recorded with them and taken them out live on a monthly basis and it has held up perfectly.

I have been playing for 17 years and have owned:
Pearl Export - early '80s mixed woods
Ludwig Super Classic - '80s all maple
Rogers Holiday - '60s composite
Premier - '38 all maple I think
Tama Superstar - '80s all birch. I still use these for live and recording - My second favorite drumset.
Pacific drums - '2000 Maple

Would I buy them again? I don't think so. I got an incredible deal on these brand new from GC in KC, and I wouldn't be able to buy them again at that price. Also I like to try new things and Tama's bubinga and bubinga/birch kits sound incredibly good.

My kit is a 2006 Collector's Series in 13-16-18-24 sizes with a 14x7" snare. Shells are maple with reinforcement rings. Wrap (or DW FinishPly I guess) is Gold Glass sparkle. Has the cool DW lug style and suspension mount for the 13" tom. All hardware has memory locks and is very sturdy. I've got Remo Ambassador coated heads on the toms and Emperor X coated on the snare (I suppose they come with DW's fancy-shmanzy heads which I haven't tried). Good basic setup for just about any music style.

With the heads and tuning I have, the drums have a nice warm character to them. The maple seems well balanced and compares a lot to vintage Ludwigs in sound (in my experience with both). The bass drum has tons of attack but lots of boom with the big size. The 16" floor tom in particular has a great musicality to it.. I seem to have found it's sweet spot in tuning. Tune them up high and they sustain a TON... tune them low and they balance out; depends on what sound you need I guess. The snare is big and has lots of power; IMHO it sounds HORRIBLE with a single ply head so try an Remo Emperor... an Ambassador coated on it sounded all kinds of awful no matter how I tuned but now it's to my liking.

I have drug these drums around some with no cases and I'm pretty sure they're indestructible. The wrap is very well attached and finished and seems to resist damage quite well. Tuning seems to stay pretty well except for big changes in weather surroundings when I take them outdoors. Hardware is great.. no worries there.

I lost a small rubber grommet around the suspension mount for the smallest tom and went to a local DW dealer who said they couldn't order me one. I emailed DW... they responded quickly and mailed me the part free of charge. It doesn't get any better than that.

This kit has performed great for me. I've been playing for three or more years (more of a guitarist but drums are cool too). I've also had vintage Tama, Premier, and Ludwig kits. This is the cream of the crop but it's also pricey... whatever you do, don't pay list price for a DW. The dealers will eat you alive... be smart like me and buy an almost-new kit on eBay for half of what you'd pay at a dealer. There's nothing the kit really needs or has problems with.. you hit them and they make nice noise. I couldn't say that they're a ton better than any other high-end kit... I just like the looks of the DW and they have great customer service and a good reputation. Buy them, don't overpay, and you'll enjoy them.