I have been playing drums from the time I was 10 and I am now 44 I
have worked with James Brown, George Clinton and Tony Franklin and
two more lugs on the rack tom is not going to make a drum tune any
better or sound any better, only in ones imagination. What it does
do is take up more space if you want to ad a tom mount. All these
bearing edge things and custom cuts are another thing that drummers
beliebieve will make the drum sound better. John Bonham Ginger
Baker, Buddy Rich, and Krupa didn't have all that crap and their
drums sounded fantastic! Know why? They knew what they were doing
and didn't just talk about it. As long as a drum head fits evenly
and is tuned right bearing cuts are all preferance.

As for the Rail mount. It's not about how could that mount hold a
drum, it did, it's the same as asking well why would a major Hendrix
fan wanna use all the stuff he did instead of just electronic
effects? It's the concept, you build a Bonham kit to be just that,
not something else. Adding lugs and parts that he did not have are
not a Bonham kit. As for destroying a drum kit, a good drummer does
not beat the living hell out of a kit to try and show off how hard he
can play, he takes care of it and plays it not beat it to death!
It's all in the wrists not the arms.

However you wish to have your rack tom is your choice, for me it's
just another stand to have to set up. And a tom on the kick has -0-
to do with the tone or volume of the bass drum.

Maybe what your not seeing here is that this kit is not my main kit.
It is a collectors kit that if done right will one day be worth a lot
of money. Personally I endorse and have used DW's for 14 years now,
I helped to design the Delta 5000 pedal with the footboard that
raises up for a short drummer.

As far as drum heads are concerned I do not use Evan's because
they "Choke" the sound of a good drum. I tend to use the standard DW
heads or Remo emporer's or Ambasadors top and bottom. I match tune
top and bottom, with bottom just a little tighter.

John used either Black or silver dot heads or Ambasador heads, they
are not too thick and have a nice tone without making the drums sound
like a cardboard box.

Another thing drummers don't realize is....when playing out, miked or
with a band that "Ping" or "Ring" is not heard. If a drummer does
not like that sound using a 9 ply birch wood shell with double ply
heads is the way to go. Then you get that warm sound instead of a
loud cannon BOOM!

Funny thing is I am 4' tall and walk on crutches so a 26" kick drum
looks like a 30" with me.

The whole idea is sort of like restoring a car or if they re-issued
the 1969 Camaro RS/SS and put a 327 in it. That was not what the
original came with. I would pull that junk out and throw in the
Muscle. Not because I wanna go race it but because it's what "I"
like and what was original.

Bottom line to each is own. You say tomato I say tomato.

Peace

Kurt~~

> I play Vistalites and Zickos drums, among others, and I have to say
> that the 6 vs. 8 lug tom issue is a total non-issue. In either
> configuration they sound fantastic, and nobody except for die-hard
> Bonham worshipers would probably be able to tell the difference in
how
> they look. I do agree that putting together a vintage kit is way
> cooler, however, as there is something special about playing 30
year
> old drums that sound better than anything made today. But for
gigging
> I'd take the new kit any day because when it fell apart after 5
years
> of banging around, who cares? Kill a vintage kit and you are doomed
to
> eternal damnation (playing Tama Rockstars in hell for all eternity
I
> guess).
>
> I saw recently a set of Bonham copies from Spaun - they are making
> acrylics now just like everybody is. I bet those sound great - they
> have the double 45 bearing edges and solid brass hardware. I also
saw a
> vintage Bonham kit that had the bearing edges redone, and a nice
> consolette holder added, and it made me think, 'why would anyone
prefer
> that dinky little holder to a nice solid snare stand?'. Yea, I know
how
> Bonzo had it setup, but I have played kits in both configurations
and I
> much prefer the snare stand: no mount attached to the drum, no
stress
> on the bass drum, more readily positioned... My Ludwig maples have
the
> rack tom on a snare stand and it is solid as can be. And there is
> nothing extra on the bass drum, just pure clean BOOM!
>
> I guess there is the 'gotta be as close to JB as possible'
mentality,
> and then there is the 'gotta get that killer JB sound' mentality -
I
> fall closer to the latter; it is all about that huge booming sound,
not
> the details of how many lugs or what kind of tom holder or how
thick
> the spurs are.
>
> So, what heads did Bonham use, anyone know? I'm using Evans G2
clears
> on my Vistalites now.
>
> Cheers!
> - marc
>
> On Nov 28, 2004, at 1:55 PM, oidrummer wrote:
>
> >
> > Well, I already made the mistake of buying them.  I got a great
deal
> > on them thogh, I will just sell the tom shell and rebuild that
part
> > of it, I will pull the badge and make a tom like Bonzo's.  I mean
> > honestly, I have looked for Bonham kits and it is very very hard
to
> > find one with no scratches, the mount's placed correctly and
with the
> > right hardwarre.  I have even made mistakes in buying the correct
> > Cymbal stands before.  John used the 1st generation "Atlas"
stands
> > with the "Crimped" legs.  I think they were only in production
for a
> > year or two.
> >
> > I know I can always come here for parts to!  There is a place
called
> > RCI that builds a replica but there are no seams and no Ludwig
> > badges, that is really one reason I went with Ludwig.  Does
anyone
> > here know if there are any other things about this damn kit that
I
> > need to know other than the rack tom is an 8 lug?  So far the
other
> > drums seem to be in the corect configuration with the same
amount of
> > lugs.
> >
> > Why the hell did they use 8 lugs on that tom!?  What's the point?
> >
> > Kurt~~
> > --- In ludwigvistalites@yahoogroups.com, dlgarlock@a... wrote:
> > > Kurt:
> > >
> > > Don't buy the new Ludwig 'bonham' Drums. Hold out for the real
> > ones. If you
> > > watch they will come along. Check the Vintage Drum sites. Or
buy
> > them piece at
> > > a time on ebay. It may take a longer but you will be spreading
your
> > $$ among
> > > fellow Drummers instead of a big greedy conglomerate out to
take
> > advantage of
> > > our past.
> > >
> > > D
> > >
> > >
> > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
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