I haven't tried all three, but I have a late 60s Slingerland...but the rack is a 13. I haven't put the 12 together and used it yet. Anyway, the 20 has a great low-pitched punch - I've got an Aquarian Super Kick II and a white Classic Clear reso with a folded hand towel laid against it. As for the toms, not my first choice of heads - they were what came on it and it's my practice kit for now. One of the reso heads is no-name and the two batters are well used, but they still sound good. The 14 tunes pretty low and boomy. I'm happy with them, but I understand the desire to try several.

Good luck!

Lynn

I have (and have had at one time or another) several examples of all three. Currently I am running a 65 Rogers jazzer. I've also had Slingerland and Ludwig ... m/p/m, m/p/am and am/p/am builds. The Slingerland am/p/am build should give you the warmest, lowest pitch, and woodiest sound ... all things being equal. I recently let my Slingy jazzer go due to the spur placement ... another story.

The BEST sounding jazzer I've ever owned is the Rogers I currently own. It is amazing. If I had to choose between the Ludwig or the Slingerland ... I would choose the Ludwig strictly based on the spurs. The Slingerlands sound better to my ears, though.

Rogers Rogers Rogers. Oh yeah.

I have played a Progressive Jazz and Ludwig Downbeat side-by-side. I own them both, and have compared them many times with different tunings, etc. The Downbeat will definitely get you "there" as far as a lower tone goes. The Gretsch toms go "doom" while the Ludwig toms go "dome".

I also owned a Slingerland 12/16/20 which I sold when I got my Ludwig 12/14/20. There was not a big difference in how they sounded, except for the Slingerland tom not having a badge/venthole, which caused it to choke up a bit at higher volumes.

I played on a Rogers 12/14/20 once while considering buying it. While I didn't compare it side-by-side with the other kits, it DID have a distinctly "modern" sound (as you put it...). Overall, I like the sound of the Ludwig kit the best.

I'm lucky enough to own 20, 14, 12 kits by all makers you mentioned. I think the Ludwig kit is the lowest tuning kit and quite different from the gretsch. They are all great drums however...

There is a Rogers Tower kit with matching Luxor snare on ebay for somewhat of a fair price.I got a soft spot for the other model shells,other than the holidays.It is a complete "Delta" kit

One thing to consider is that getting into a Slingerland kit will most likely be a cheaper scenario than either Rogers or Ludwig. As mentioned previously, the Slingerlands will certainly be able to tune well in their lower registers and create a somewhat "woody" timbre. Of course, who doesn't like Rogers and Ludwig? I am just saying that you can try the Slingys for less coin and you may really like them.

Just go with the best drums ever made in the history of the known universe...

Slingerland

Don't forget the Slingerland and Leedy 3 ply maple/poplar/maple kits. I've just re-headed the 20/14/12 set pictured below with REMO Skyntone batters and Renaissance resos, WOW!

That is pretty fantastic. What can you tell us about those particular heads? ...or perhaps that is information for another thread. Sorry for the attempted hijacking.