Ludwig Accent Combo

Mine is set up as a four piece. 22x16 kick. 12" rack tom. 16" floor tom. Pork Pie 6x14 maple snare (rocks!) Sabian AA Metal-X cymbals (also rock!) Evans EC2 on toms. Evans EMAD on bass drum. Evans G2 coated on snare top. Evans Hazy 200 on resonant side.
The features are very basic. Nothing fancy. No memory locks. I'm not sure what the wood is, but it's not maple!
The stock Ludwig hardware that came with the kit is pretty poor. All the stands are either stripped or falling apart, but hey, Ludwig has to save cost somewhere! Bass drum spurs aren't the best, as the drum will slide forward under a heavy foot. The biggest problem I have is with the rack tom holder. It simply can't withstand heavy hitting. The rack tom starts to sag after only a few hard hits. I put the rack tom on a snare stand to alleviate this problem.

These drums can sound excellent with proper heads. The Evans EC2 heads work quite well for the toms. The toms sound best when tuned low. They're not particularly loud, but get the job done. If you know how to tune heads, you'll be pleasantly surprised. The toms lean toward the "dark" sound. Definitely not as bright as my friend's birch Gretch.
The bass drum is much better. I have a Pearl Export 22x18 with the same heads (Evans EMAD), and the Ludwig simply sounds better. The low end is more focused and cuts through far better. It's not as loud as the Export, but tunes better and stays in place more consistently. I bought mine used and it didn't come with the stock snare.

The hardware is where this kit suffers. I've had to replace all the stands. The stock cymbal stands are single-braced and quite flimsy. Any heavy cymbal will pose big problems. The hi-hat stand moved around too much and didn't have good pedal feel. My cheap Tama equivalent is far superior. A rivet in the snare stand broke, causing the snare to spin freely. Like I said before, the tom holder can't withstand heavy hitting.
The drums themselves are holding up just fine. The wrap hasn't bubbled. They stay in tune fairly well. The hoops have stayed true. I am confident that the drums won't let me down. The hardware I'm not so sure about.

I've never contacted customer support.

This is an excellent first kit or as a backup. With proper tuning you can gig and record with it as well. This kit is over 5 years old and is holding up well. Since it's so inexpensive, there's no worrying about some drunken idiot falling and breaking it. I've played shows and haven't been let down. You will want to replace the hardware before playing shows.
I've had other low-end kits (CB, Maxwin) and the Accent is far superior. It feels like a "real" drum set, not a toy.
The kick drum is the highlight of the kit. Tight, focused low end that records well with minimal eq.
The tom mount is the most frustrating part.
If it were stolen, I would probably upgrade to a maple kit.

*This is a review for the Ludwig Accent Combo. There are many levels of Accents out there, so whatever the designation is today, this review is for the lower-end basswood/mahogany shells that come in wrapped finishes; typically this includes hardware and is often packaged with Planet Z cymbals. Chances are if you paid around the $350-450 mark for the 5pc kit, this is the one you have.*

Shells: This kit started out as a 7pc gigging kit to save my 1979 Ludwig Maple Rockers from the bashing that club shows present. Quickly, this kit became my first choice for everything due to the lightweight and more comfortable sized shells. The quality speaks volumes of the current standards of Ludwig, and they sound incredible, even fooling a studio engineer into assuring me they had to be birch. The finish is a decent PVC wrap that resists nicks and dents very well (floor tom was dropped in parking lot with no marks), but they are easily warped by heat. Keep these shells covered and cool in the car, and keep them out of direct sun when possible while playing outdoors.

Hardware: The included hardware is tubular and double braced in design. Nothing fancy, but dependable enough. One major fault is how thin the tom arms are, and they are too easy to compress when used in rack clamps. The kick pedal is simple and single chained, but it is a very large and sturdy chain, no worries about breaking. The lack of a base plate on either the kick or hat pedals is disappointing, but expected at this price. All shell mounting brackets work well, but need the occasional tightening to keep them from shifting. Memory locks are included and work as well as any could. I do wish they would have included mem locks for the floor tom legs and kick spurs. Spurs are a simple curved design with little adjustment options, there are rubber feet that screw back to reveal pointed anchors for rugs. Hoops on the kick are hollow metal, which can be a problem for pedal claws that clamp down real tight. I suggest using hoop guards to keep this from happening.

As of Jan 2008, I am still using these, for more than 5 years now, in a monstrous 13pc double bass configuration, and I love them. These are truly the best in budget drums I could recommend.

As I said before, these have been mistaken in a commercial studio as birch shells. But to get great sound you will need quality heads and tuning skills. The stock ambassador ripoffs are not very good for batter, but work fine for resonant heads. I would suggest getting a set of batter heads when you purchase the kit.

Tuning hardware isnt the best, but works fine if you tune by ear. Torque wrenches that tune to present tensions on the screws wont work well with these lugs and screws.

I use Ebony Pinstripes, which allow a deep but broad tuning range. The heads do most of the work, and stay in tune over long periods of time.

This is my A kit right now, saving the vintage heirloom Ludwigs from being beaten to death. I play at least twice a month out at various venue with these, and continue to play and record at home with them. Tuning is needed rarely, but I like deep and low tom tuning anyway.

No dealings with Customer Service with Ludwig yet.

This is an excellent kit for beginners, with 5pc and expansion shells available. This is also a wonderful choice for people who are looking for a throw around kit for shows or practices. Against kits that I have played on that are in the <$600 range, from Tama, Yamaha and Pearl, the Accents win on all fronts, but the entry level Tamas are pretty much the same quality.