In the spring of 2001 I bought a steel hoop set of Ray Day Ayotte Custom Drums, 1995 vintage, very good condition, shaded cherry lacquer, 22-12-16, and later picked up the 7x14 Snare that came with the kit. I bought the three drums in two different pawn shops to get the humes and berg cases they were in. I was buying a new set of drums. The cases were the right sizes. I never got the new set, and the Ayotte Customs are still with me. Everything else I have owned or plan to own, or do own, is almost exclusively vintage Rogers.

The Ayottes sing.

I haven't played a full Ayotte set but I can say that the Keplingers (especially with wood hoops) are killer drums. I rent a 6.5 inch when ever the budget allows and it is heaven. Always sounds great. A snappy sound with a full focused body. From what I have seen and heard, it is my favorite modern snare drum. I hope to own one soon.

I have a 6 ply with re ring, 6.5x14 with wood hoops in a natural gloss finish. Darn good looking drum. It's a loud drum. You'll need to actively manage that although it works well at low volumes. It strikes me as a good ballad kind of drum perhaps as opposed to a drier funk drum. If you like ring, there is plenty of that. If you don't, there are heads to control it, but then why bother with that particular drum. All in all, I like it. I'm pleased to own it. I'm always asked about it. Heck (and this is huge, trust me) even my wife said, "New drum?"

Regards,

Gary

Dix Hills, NY

Hey guys, I have owned a set of Ayotte's since early 2000. I have a five piece kit in african walnut satin with all wood hoops. The snare is a 24 ply wood hoop as well. I also have a Keplinger snare with steel and wood hoops. These are ( in my book) the best sounding drums i have ever been blessed to play or hear. Anyway i am a huge Ayotte ambassador so please forgive my ramblings. Peace, Randall

I know Greg Keplinger and he is a great guy. He's a wild drummer and a crazy inventor/tinkerer.

I have seen LOTS of Ayotte drum kits up here in the Pacific Northwest and they are very tonal drums with a seemingly infinite sustain. I guess that's what many people like, but I found them almost hard to control. I recorded with them in the studio and they sounded really nice, though. Maybe it's their "near-field" tonality that gets to me. The Ray Ayotte built drums were nice, but they appeared to be almost "over-built" to my eye. I know they are now highly coveted...but give me a set of vintage Ludwig or Rogers drums and I'll take them over an Ayotte kit anyday.

Couldn,t agree more,except i would have trouble choosing between R&L....But since i have my old Sonors i guess i dont have to worry about it:)