Poppy...those drummers are playing DW (most likely) because the drums are provided by a backline company...unless they are endorsers.

I would say there is a good chance that it is not the "Drummers Choice" to play those kits. (See what I did there??)

In every situation that I have been forced to play a DW kit in a fly in situation or festival backline type of deal... I have hated it...especially if the stock heads are stiill on there! Did I mention how HORRIBLE their stock heads sound??

I just have DW as an option on my equipment rider because I see them as "acceptable" they are definitely on the bottom of the list, but I throw them on there so that i don't end up with a Pearl Forum or something! Top of the list you might ask? 1970s Ludwig or Slingerland 22/13/16!!!!

:2Cents:

-Ad

Ludwig-Dude....honestly I was just trying to be a little positive by giving their old hardware some credit. FYI I think it is all garbage!

Flame away!!

-Ad

Adam,

I replaced the head on my DW solid shell snare with a Evans ST Dry Coated Snare Drumhead with the little holes around the edge and built in muffling ring. It definatly made a hell of a lot of difference. It is a incredable sounding snare, but its the only DW I own. BTW I replaced all the heads on my jamhole drum kit to your recommendations. It's amazing how much difference heads can make!!!

L-D I used NP because he used to be known as a discriminatory when it came to choosing his sound and the drums he played... Hell, I'm sure he has either sold off or long forgotten the snare he had me build for him....

Thats cool about the heads Poppy! Glad I could help! Walking

As far as the super solid goes...I would love to hear it! Like I said...that seems to be an example of a great innovation that DW has brought over the past few years. I bet it sounds awesome!

How much did you pay for it? How thick is it?

-Ad

Head choice is subjective, but stock heads are usually sub-par no matter who makes them. One minor exception to that I think is the Ludwig weathermaster line of heads. Those tune up easy and do sound good.

Now, with that said, my personal brand of choice for heads is Aquarian (although I have weathermasters on my 70's black panther kit). I find they tune up very easy no matter what sub-series I use and they USUALLY fit the drums I own. I have a minor exception to that and that is my late 80's Ludwig kit which has had head fitment problems, especially on the 12", since day one and they are not out of round at all. Aquarians will fit them, but you have to work at it to get them on. Once on they tune up nicely. Ludwig's own heads fit no problem and certain series of Remo fit without issues. I'm not a fan of Evans heads, so i don't know if they fit or not, but to be honest I don't care if they do, as like I said I am not a fan of them. Roy Burns himself even confirmed with me that they sometimes have fitment problems with Ludwig toms from that era, so its not the heads its the drums. Either way, they sound fantastic with Roy's heads on them! :D

Ok back to the DW debate.....The Band

Not that I'm an expert or anything....I have been playing since age 11 and am now 51.I've played 1 DW set.It was tuned up well and sounded good.But my circa 74 Gretsches sounded better.And I can't really pin down why.The DW's just didn't have a sound that was uniquely it's own.But it was good.NO WAY to justify the price-sorry.I'm positive a Starclassic would sound as good or better.Can't say that about newer Gretsches-my 1989 set was crap-voids in the plies-unacceptable.

I didnt think to measure it when I was replacing the head. I gave about 1/2 new price for it from a guy on craigslist. It really does sound awesome, especially with the evans head on it, no matter what all y'all think of DW.

LD we have a snap on man that comes by my shop every week. The warrentee is not what makes them better. They just fit better and are more of a precision tool. I personally dont like to pay the price for them, but they are definatly better than any other tools. back to the debate now

I realize stock heads all suck, but thats just another thing that DW doesn't do to impress me. They put all this sonic research and hype into their product and how great it is supposed to sound compared to other drums and then they put em out on the floor sounding absolutely horrible no matter how they are tuned. It just seems like bull to me. Those heads are the worst! Especially on kick drums!

I just don't get it... you would think they could put SOMETHING decent on there. Every "custom" company out there at least has standard REMO heads as an option! It just seems like they are trying to make the biggest buck off of the cheapest options and that is another thing that turns me off.

Just for the record, this stock head is not even close to a serious issue for me. Lets get back to the overpriced soul-less nature of their drums, endorsers and marketing!

-Adam