We have similar tastes...Ludwig and Gretsch. Soon to be getting my 60s Roundbadge progressive jazz...and have various 60s Ludwig kits. :)

you only need one set ,one snare and a set of cymbals if you like vintage then great play em the set I am playing now is not vintage made in 1988 but it will stand up to any vintage kit out there bar none! the way I have it tuned, the head selection and the drums themselves Ludwig 6 ply's sound as good as any set i ever played and i played what i consider the very best American drums Rogers for over 40 years and I have only ever played one snare drum the supra... in other words play the drums that sound right to you for the music you are playing if you are a session drummer then fine own a ton of snares but if you are playing in a band having a conglomeration of snares ,double pedals remotes triggers etc etc IMO is all gimmicky horse $hit.... music is so messed up not most bands don't even have a lead guitar and you never hear good guitar players anymore.... some with drummers they are so corralled into click tracks and triggers and double pedals they have no imagination.... this is just all of my opinion and what do I know I am just a old rock and roll drummer.

My son used to have a Mapex set back in the 90's. They were a nice natural finish and they sounded pretty good. I can't remember if they were maple or birch. But they were nice shells. The only other modern comparison is a set of 2005 Ludwig Accent we bought for our daughter. Out of the box I was pretty impressed with the sound, mainly the bass drum. The wrap is paper thin but the hardware is memory lock and heavy duty. Decent stands and pedals. That's been the set I played on the last several years until I decided to get back into playing again on a regular basis. Pretty good workhorse kit and has been through the paces here. A friend of our boys has a newer Gretsch Catalina in a sunrise stain finish. I have to say those do sound very good!

I run both modern and vintage rigs. My reasoning is always sound first, then vibe... some songs call for a vintage sound, some call for a modern sound. Same thing with gigs. I like to take vintage gear to small, intimate venues.

My modern kits are Yamaha Recording Custom and Legend (Kaman pre-Gretsch). The birch shells of the RCs offer a distinctly different sound to the 8-ply maple shells of the Legends, but they both put out a very contemporary sound. I also have a modern custom kit that is built to vintage specs using Keller Vintage Mahogany shells, round-over bearing edges and Radio King repro lugs.

My vintage kits are an Astro (Pearl stencil) kit with luan shells and an early 80's Tama Superstar with birch shells. Although the shell material and construction is similar with the Superstars and the RCs, the Superstars have a certain vintage twang in them that lets me know I'm working with older wood.

I enjoy having a variety of sizes and shell materials available, which allow me to tailor the sound to the project I'm working on. I have 20, 22, 24 and 26 inch bass drums and toms ranging from 10 inches to 18 inches. Somewhere in all that I know that I can find whatever sound I'm looking for at any given time.

Cheers,

Ryan

I use and love my modern Sonors. Let me tell you why.

My first set, which I gigged with for about two years, was the most lowly chinese P. O. S. I've ever had the bad luck to stumble upon. I will not even try to describe all the horrible construction fails it had.

Then I ran across this beautiful Sonor Amber fade birch set with complete hardware, nearly untouched, for half it's usual price. I immediately grabbed it. It's got nice, sturdy hardware, wide tuning range and holds tuning nicely. I can make it sound vintage, if I want to, or it just sounds like nice modern drums.

In my country, practically only vintage drums aviable are Amatis, which bear a significant charm and some of them even sound good, but they have bad hardware and often very shoddy edges. I have two sets of them and I love them as much as my Sonor kit, they have unique sound, much more original than Sonors do, they have "personality" and mighty mojo, but those Sonors are much more versatile, they tune better and have more projection. For oldschool jazz or 60s/70s rock, I'd choose Amatis, but Sonors are just a great all-around kit and I also have this personal attachment to them, as they were my first set that actually worked.

I've currently got my '69 Ludwigs and set of modern Sonors.

VERY different sounds and feels to them which is what I like.

The Sonor's project much more and are louder and are just really fun to bash away on, its a high energy kit.

The Ludwigs have that classic sound and a very intimate feel to them when being played, more conducive to intricate grooves IMHO.

Cool thread!

I had two vintage kits when I first got back into playing live shows. A Gretsch kit I had since I was a kid (and didn't want to gig out with), and a set of Radio Kings that sounded great, but took a little extra time to setup. For most shows, the extra time wasn't a big deal, but for "commando raid" type shows like festivals (where gear can literally be sitting in the dirt backstage) and shared-bills (where you have a short time to get your gear on/off stage), I wanted drums that were easier to muscle around and I wouldn't be as worried about (rain, sun, stage-hands, other drummers playing them, etc.)

Since I already had two "big" kits, I decided I wanted to go with be-bop sized drums (for variety and to meet the goals outlined in the previous paragraph). For big festivals and venues, the kit is normally mic'd, so size isn't as important. But I was surprised to learn how expensive vintage be-bop kits were! I don't know if it's because these kits are sought out by jazz players, or because so many of the smaller (more portable) kits just got played to death (and so there are fewer of them around).

So I test drove a few modern kits locally... namely a Gretsch Catalina in be-bop sizes. The kick was definitely lacking to my ears, but in hindsight, this was probably due to head selection. I was concerned that in smaller venues, where the kit would not be mic'd, I might have trouble competing with four other amplified instruments (bass, 2x guitars, and organ). The band played 60's-style instrumental music... Memphis Soul, Surf, New Orleans Funk, etc. Since there were no vocals, we didn't use PA. So, I wanted the kick to be able to cut through the mix unamplified.

I stumbled on a very cool, retro-looking kit on the Phattie Drums website. The company was based in Asheville, NC (about 4 hours away from me). The kit was for sale and some of the pieces had already been sold off. So Dennis Stauffer offered to build me the other drums in custom sizes and wrap them to match. So, I was able to get an 18x16 bass drum and the extra two inches of depth really made a difference. And while the tone of these drums is distintively more modern to my ears, they also cut through the mix better than my vintage kits, especially when unamplified (which was one of the goals).

Now when I say the kit looks retro, I don't mean from a construction/hardware standpoint. But the drums are a silver glass glitter with inlaid, vertical GT Le Mans stripes in blue-glass glitter. It has a very distinct look that just screams SIXTIES, which was exactly what I was going for.

[IMG]http://straight8s.com/Site/Murph_files/IMG_0771.jpg[/IMG]

I have gigged the living daylights out of that kit and they still look/sound amazing. I'm actually looking forward to playing them tomorrow for a dress rehearsal with a surf band (playing a gig in a few weeks).

-murph

love the racing stripe and "Moon Eyes"

Reminds me of a Shelby GT350

Yep me too. Very cool and looks like the 67 Shelby Super Snake stripes. Moon Eyes a nice touch as well.