Re: Maple or poplar
A little over a year ago, I did a side-by-side sound comparison of two of my 9x13 toms.
One was a late 60's B/O badge vintage Ludwig...the holy grail for Luddy fans. It was 3ply Maple/Poplar/Mahogany (as many were that were wrapped). It had re-rings and the wrap was removed. It was stained and treated to a clear lacquer finish. 1.6mm hoops, clear Ambo reso, coated Emp batter.
The other was my late 80s Pearl Maxwin tom made in Taiwan from Luan (the proverbial Ford Pinto of the drum world. It also had the wrap removed, stained & lacquered, 1.6 hoops, clear Ambo/coated Emp.....virtually identical except for the wood and shell construction.
For curiosity, I tuned them to identical pitch (both heads), placed them side-by-side and did a sound check. To my surprise, they sounded ALMOST identical. Admittedly, the old Ludwig did have a touch more brightness...BUT, it was so slight that I had to play them both up close for 20 minutes to make the assessment. I had my son play them at random while I stood at the other end of the room with my back turned. Without knowing, and from 20' away, I could not tell the difference. True story.
Now, if I were to compare my Maxwin to my brand new PDP Maple or Ludwig Centennial, I'm fairly certain I could tell a difference....but I thought that the last time too!
Last edited by N2Bluz; 07-31-2017 at 07:40 PM.
-Brian
"Too many crappy used drum stuff to list"
Play the SONG......not the DRUMS!!!
"I think that feeling is a lot more important than technique. It's all very well doing a triple paradiddle - but who's going to know you've done it? If you play technically you sound like everybody else. It's being original that counts." ~ John Bonham
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