There is a thread on here: Ludwig Pioneer and JazzFest Shells - that covered this a bit. Search it out and give it a read. It helped me quite a bit.

I can't find an article that compares the two. I did find one that has been archived and won't show up on a search. But it compares the Jazz Fest to the Super Ludwig.

Here is the archived article:

http://www.vintagedrumforum.com/archive/index.php/t-336.html

There is a little trick I use to search forums.

Google this

"whatever you want to search for" site:http://www.vintagedrumforum.com (or whatever other site you want to search on)

If someone can find the thread that mcjnic is referring to, please post a link.

I can't find the other thread either...

So, to sum up what it probably said, the Pioneer was a "student" model. They used the same shells, but the Pioneer had less hardware, so it cost less. I've owned a few of each of them, and I can say from experience that the Jazzfests do, in fact, tune much easier and sound a lot better.

Go to search and type in " ludwig jazzfest and pioneer shells " and you will find it. Sounding better or worse is in the ear of the drummer. I would not say a jazzfest sounds better, just different. My pioneer has a broad tunning range. I can get it snappy and crisp, open and woody, ringy etc. I think it comes down to which head you choose.

In short, it is my opinion that the Pioneer is the better sounding drum. Of course, the JazzFest is more valuable. Also, the Pioneer was never included with a drum set, as far as I know. The JazzFest was an option on some kits.

I think they did offer the Pioneer with the club date series and some of the early budget lines that they offered before the standard series came out......

I am working from a handicap here - I own a Pioneer, but not a Festival. The pioneer has had so many compliments and is easy to play and tune. The lack of a lot of hardware makes it a very open sound. The Festival is very expensive and I have yet to hear rave reviews. But I'd like to - anyone?

The Pioneer is a very "open" drum. It really sings, but I have never been able to tune the singing out of it. The JazzFest is nice because I am able to tune it to an open sound AND a drier "crack-y" sound. I guess you could toss some moongels or muffling rings on the Pioneer to achieve this, but I don't like to use that stuff because it takes some of the character out of the drum. Maybe some die cast hoops would do it too? Hmm...

Rave reviews on a Jazzfest? Um.....ask Ringo, I'm sure he'll give you a rave review.....can't get any more positive than that..... Yes Sir