I asked Clyde Stubblefield once what kit was used,as I had heard Rogers,and he said,no,it was a Ludwig..

Blair

Nice comments here! I was kind of thinking Acro as well. I have some 60s Ludwigs all with 22" bass drums. I may consider getting a kit with a 20". I have so many drums but no 20"!!! On the other hand, it might be possible to still get close with a 22x14 I suppose...

I'm assuming this would be a Downbeat? 20, 12, 14 sizes??? I know, I know...details are important!

The actual sets used on most Motown records were thrown-together kits of different brands.

Here's a great article about it: http://www.moderndrummer.com/site/2009/06/secrets-of-motown/#.T3Xs69kYn-s

Exactly! Thank you for that. Not sure where the one drum kit (or even two drum kits) thought originated, but that was certainly not the case.

That's why I had stated "You wouldn't do wrong with a Gretsch, Ludwig, Slingerland, Rogers, Camco, MIJ, or most any other 50s-70s kit." It could be most any of those kits to get the Motown Sound.

Heck, there were two drummers playing at the same time on some of those tracks. When you consider the variety of drums available and the condition of said drums ... there's no way you could nail the sound exactly. Just run with a good old vintage kit and you'd be fine.

Whatever bass drum, the heads were always cranked! Check out "I Second That Emotion" by Smokey and the Imperials. Wow!

Dave

Some of this may be redundant, but I'll post it anyhow:

In the book "Star Sets" by Jon Cohan, it lists the Motown kit circa 1967 as mixture of red sparkle Ludwig and Slingerland drums with either a Ludwig or Slingy metal snare. In a footnote, it also states that, according to Uriel Jones, there was a mixed WFL and Rogers kit in BDP that was used infrequently in an isolation booth for overdubs.

Thanks for the original post AtlantaDrumGuy. I spent the evening listening to and enjoying Motown's greatest. Focusing in on the drums too. :rolleyes: Some of those recordings have drums that seriously resonate. For example, Martha and the Vandellas - Heat Wave.

- Tim

Thanks for all of the replies. You guys rock!

I finally grabbed a Ludwig Downbeat 60s set. These should do the trick! Can't wait for them to arrive.