Drummerguy
Published on 04/01/08 at 07:54
These drums are wonderful drums. I've owned a set of four for 2 years now and absolutely love them.
I personally only think there are three better sounding drums out there today- The vintage Gon Bops era drums, drums by Isla percussion (http://islapercussions.com), and the Giovanni drums by LP.
The Classics give a very warm and round sound that is great for both popular music and in folkloric settings. The heel toe is very dark and rich and the slaps on these drums can cut through anything (even the slaps on the tumba!). I think they're the best drums in their price range- whey you look at sound versus affordability they are really unbeatable.
Older Gon Bops drums are much more expensive and difficult to find (and not always in the best of conditions!). The drums at Isla are also very expensive, although they are easily available, but they're each made to order and you have to wait for them and put down a deposit. The Giovanni drums sound much better to me than the Classics (they're made of Ash as opposed to Oak) but they cost a lot more (roughly $500 as opposed to $400 for a conga) and if you're like me and you're on a budget then they're just a little to pricey.
The only thing I don't like about these drums are the colors- there's not a really nice stained natural finish. LP has a 'natural' finish, but its very white looking to me and looks particularly ugly with the gold hardware (again, just my opinion). The only thing closest to a nice stained wood color is the red wine, (which I own) but they can look a little red from drum to drum.
These drums price and availability coupled with their great sound make them my most recommended set of drums.
I personally only think there are three better sounding drums out there today- The vintage Gon Bops era drums, drums by Isla percussion (http://islapercussions.com), and the Giovanni drums by LP.
The Classics give a very warm and round sound that is great for both popular music and in folkloric settings. The heel toe is very dark and rich and the slaps on these drums can cut through anything (even the slaps on the tumba!). I think they're the best drums in their price range- whey you look at sound versus affordability they are really unbeatable.
Older Gon Bops drums are much more expensive and difficult to find (and not always in the best of conditions!). The drums at Isla are also very expensive, although they are easily available, but they're each made to order and you have to wait for them and put down a deposit. The Giovanni drums sound much better to me than the Classics (they're made of Ash as opposed to Oak) but they cost a lot more (roughly $500 as opposed to $400 for a conga) and if you're like me and you're on a budget then they're just a little to pricey.
The only thing I don't like about these drums are the colors- there's not a really nice stained natural finish. LP has a 'natural' finish, but its very white looking to me and looks particularly ugly with the gold hardware (again, just my opinion). The only thing closest to a nice stained wood color is the red wine, (which I own) but they can look a little red from drum to drum.
These drums price and availability coupled with their great sound make them my most recommended set of drums.