If I won the lottery, I would consider DW, sure. But I would also consider Yamaha and Gretsch, among others.

I'm not a huge fan of DW's finishes, just because many of them remind me of hotrods and motorcycles. The work they do for Neil Peart, however, is sublime. If money was no object, I have an idea for a relatively sedate design that they would probably execute beautifully.

DW hardware is designed for drummers who have other people move their drums. No matter what new drums I buy, I would have them mounted on Yamaha, which I've found to be rock-solid and relatively light.

I think that this has a lot of truth to it. When you're playing a rock show in an arena in front of 20,000+ fans, you want the sturdiest, heaviest stands you can get so you're guaranteed not to knock one over with your crushing blows of rock drumming. Flat-based stands that weigh half a pound won't cut it...

I use Yamaha 600 hardware...sturdy, lightweight, AND it collapses so small that I can fit all of my hardware (minus my high hat stand) in a small suitcase.

CHRIST LETS BEAT A DEAD HORSE????????? LAST TIME FOR ME on this DW HAS AN ENTIRE LINE OF DRUMS,PEDALS,HARDWARE, FROM LOW COST TO HIGH END, THEY HAVE LIGHTWEIGHT TO HEAVY DUTY HARDWARE, HEY JUST LIKE ALL THE OTHER MANFACTURES.. HONESTLY NOT ANY OF YOU HAVE A KIT. SO IT'S ALL HOT AIR, Oh i played one hey good for you, i could say that about every brand that exist, i have heard bad sounding drums from every brand that exist, ok i'm done!!!! time for a beer???

I find them quite easy to tune. It's really hard to slap heads on them and have them NOT be in tune, actually. It's all in the bearing edges. But, that's mostly for rock tuning.

They have innovated the hardware scene with their RIMS-style mounts that fit around the lug casings themselves. You can have the wonderful fully-resonant sound of a suspension mount without having to mess with putting it back on the tension rods when changing heads on a drum. The floppiness lets you know that the drum is unencumbered and allowed to fully resonate to allow for a more woody tone, unlike traditional mounts that attach straight to the shell which stifle the shell vibration, usually right in the center of the shell where the most resonance occurs. But, that's just my opinion gathered from my own experience gained from experimentation...

Yeah, Camcos are pretty fugly...

My DWs (3/16" thick shells) resonate more than my vintage Ludwigs (1/4" thick shells), but I attribute this more to the bearing edges than the shell thickness. The thinner shell is just able to move more freely and therefore "color" the sound more with woodiness.

...all of that said, I still prefer the sound of my vintage Ludwigs to my DWs for most gigs--but the recording engineers I work with still want the DW sound. Who knows if they've been exposed to the hype or if there's some quality to the sound that I'm just not hearing myself.

caddywumpus; man thank you, and i agree completely, i would rather play one of my vintage kits also, but i have the dw's for modern applications, and to not destroy my vintage gear!

...oh, and by the way, I have some of their heaviest hardware set up at my house. I don't ever pack it up for gigs or sessions, though. If I did, I might hurt my back eventually...

WHY ALL THE YELLING?!?!?!?! AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!! Laughing H

Sorry starting to get hot under the collar, i have been defending dw for 3 pages on this thread!! do i get royalties from dw??, heck they don't even pay their endorsement people. so no dollars for me!!

Bingo! I actually originally bought my vintage Ludwigs so I could have a great-sounding, cool vintage kit that I wouldn't mind getting beat up on a gig (to save my DW$). But, since I've owned them, I've found them to be more "magical" than the DWs.

I think DW has done a fine job of bringing quality control back to American drum products. I think they have been very creative with shell formulations and hardware innovation. Their product range supports jazzers and rockers.

They seem to be responsive (perhaps to a fault) to trends.

My own gear is nice old Ludwig and Gretsch. So I only get to play DW's when sitting in. Nice kits. I think they have done the drumming community a service. And they have made money doing so. Good on 'em.

Patrick

I'm not tired of seeing DWs, strictly for the fact that I don't give a rip what OTHER people are playing. When I see a DW kit at a high-profile gig like the Superbowl, I think "good for them--their marketing is working". I play DWs, but I don't feel the need to defend them, or any other gear that I play. If there's something wrong with them, I'd mention it in a heartbeat and discuss it, but nothing so far, except that they don't sound that good for jazz, but that's why they have their other lines now. However, when there's misinformation being spread about them, I feel compelled to dispel it, as it's not true in my experience...

I find it odd that people knock the sturdy, albeit bulky, hardware. I've had more problems with vintage hardware from other brands (stripped screws, lost rubber feet, worn-down teeth on the cymbal tilters, etc...) than I've had with DW (which I've had no problems with yet).