DW Collector's vs. Ludwig Legacy Maple

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To be clear, DW Collector’s shells are thinner than Ludwig Legacy Maple?
 
Treviso1 said:
I am a big fan of the Ludwig Legacy line. Big, fat, beefy, juicy drums that sound great at any tuning. That said, I also love the Classic Maple line, which are more modern sounding, crisp, precise. I would choose either/both lines over DW any day of the week. Ludwig bass drums smoke DW bass drums, which always sound like the weakest drum in any drumset. My knowledge and impressions are first hand.
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My Ludwig bass drum is a Dudwig!
 
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jfleck1956 said:
The Covington or the Cleveland -- which is intended to be the classic Rogers? I can see the differences but not sure aside from that.
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I'm honestly not sure. They aren't very clear about what differentiates the various models. They all seem to have the same shell, but the hardware and finish options are different.
 
FLratrodder said:
I'm honestly not sure. They aren't very clear about what differentiates the various models. They all seem to have the same shell, but the hardware and finish options are different.
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Yeah, I’m not even sure if the number of plies differs.
 
If you want that original Ludwig big sound, go with the Legacy. It’s their reference for a reason, it’s their “original” staple sound. The Classic maple is an entirely different animal, and sounds much more like a DW in many ways.

The Collectors series is astounding, gorgeous, and u probably won’t get the feedback you’re looking for on that kit on this forum. These peeps are big Ludwig fans, and for good reason, on these boards. And yes, the DW in this case is typically thinner.

As for DW Collector series bass drums, they are truly fantastic. There is nothing they cannot cover , and the maple is beautiful.

As a sidenote, you can’t buy a bass drum that will outperform a DW collectors exotic Purple Heart bass drum , it’s oak on steroids, but can be tamed in a heartbeat - the tone , pitch and detail is perfect.

I’m going to drop my 24” x 13” DW exotic collector series purpleheart bass drum right “in the middle” of here when it arrives.


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Mapex Always said:
If you want that original Ludwig big sound, go with the Legacy. It’s their reference for a reason, it’s their “original” staple sound. The Classic maple is an entirely different animal, and sounds much more like a DW in many ways.

The Collectors series is astounding, gorgeous, and u probably won’t get the feedback you’re looking for on that kit on this forum. These peeps are big Ludwig fans, and for good reason, on these boards. And yes, the DW in this case is typically thinner.

As for DW Collector series bass drums, they are truly fantastic. There is nothing they cannot cover , and the maple is beautiful.

As a sidenote, you can’t buy a bass drum that will outperform a DW collectors exotic Purple Heart bass drum , it’s oak on steroids, but can be tamed in a heartbeat - the tone , pitch and detail is perfect.

I’m going to drop my 24” x 13” DW exotic collector series purpleheart bass drum right “in the middle” of here when it arrives.


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Thanks. I do have a soft spot for DW, and unless I go for an exotic finish (as opposed to one of the Finishply wraps, which is what I would do), they are not too much more $$$ than the Ludwig Legacy Maples. And the thin shells appeal to me. Thanks again.
 
I've had two Legacy kits (Maple) and many Collectors over the years. Love my Luddy's but you can't go wrong with the DW's if you're going for the low and thud. I prefer the look of the Ludwig's of course as I have a Classic Maple in my stable but no DW's. That's saying something. It's a matter of personal preference.

Legacy Maple
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Legacy Maple
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DW Collector (Joe Morello's last kit)
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My 90's Collectors
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My current Classic Maple
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jfleck1956 said:
I'm in Eugene, OR and even Portland isn't great for music stores. But I do go to Chicago a couple of times a year, including in two weeks. Chicago Music Exchange is pretty good, and of course Maxwell's. as well as the city's GC. So I may have to avail myself of those.
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What about revival drum shop?
 
jfleck1956 said:
I'd also forgotten about Jeff's Drumsation in Junction City, near here. But that's not a big place.
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If you can drive up to Seattle, West Coast Drum Shop is amazing and an old staple (formerly Donn Bennett’s)
Basically them and revival are my 2 favorite shops, for modern and vintage respectively. I grew up in the northwest so I’m biased but I’ve never been treated better than these shops. These places truly treated me like family.
 
Having owned both, I can say they are different animals as far as sound goes. You can't go wrong with either one, just a matter of taste.
DW offers more finish options, especially exotic woods but Ludwig takes a backseat to no one with their Birdseye maple finish.
Here's my Legacy Maple in Birdseye and a DW Keller shell Collectors in Tamo Ash.
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Wouldn't Legacy maple compare to maple-mahogany DW? I always liked those in soundclips/comparisons.
We're getting into the zone of "what difference does the wood make?". One aspect you could quantify is how fast the tone develops. With dw Collector's I hear a slow, swelling attack, compared to say Gretsch USA. Not sure about Ludwig, CMs seem to "start" rather fast as well, but I haven't checked Ludwigs out as much, I have to admit.
 
DanRH said:
I've had two Legacy kits (Maple) and many Collectors over the years. Love my Luddy's but you can't go wrong with the DW's if you're going for the low and thud. I prefer the look of the Ludwig's of course as I have a Classic Maple in my stable but no DW's. That's saying something. It's a matter of personal preference.

Legacy Maple
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Legacy Maple
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DW Collector (Joe Morello's last kit)
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My 90's Collectors
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My current Classic Maple
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Amazing, simply amazing.
 
nlabodin said:
They've even got their own Ludwig kits. Nothing crazy spec wise, but they are cool in their own right
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They had a used Ludwig Legacy kit too, used and for a good price, though that was a while ago and may have sold. That one is/was a 12/24/20 and matching snare (in some kind of exotic wood fade type finish), so you'd need to be into that. Seems like it might be worth making a trip there anyway to see what they have...
 
Seb77 said:
Wouldn't Legacy maple compare to maple-mahogany DW?
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The Legacy maple is maple/poplar which DW does not offer afaik but I am pretty sure they would make it no problem as they seem to have many hybrid shell options.
 
Rhyma Hop said:
The Legacy maple is maple/poplar which DW does not offer afaik but I am pretty sure they would make it no problem as they seem to have many hybrid shell options.
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Thanks! I sometimes mix things up in a strange way. Ludwig also uses Mahogany instead of maple before, but always with poplar in the middle, right?
I think I need to go try some of these out in person, Legacy intrigues me, as do those mixed-wood DWs, not to mention Phoenix etc. Some day...
 
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