Ludwig Epic Kit - from £1125 - www.ludwig-drums.com

The best of both with the Epic’s birch/maple/birch sandwich shell...

The Ludwig Epic series isn’t brand new, it has been around for a couple of years now. But when Ludwig offered us one of these for a closer look, we couldn’t turn it down. The intermediate semi-pro category features many kits that are either birch or maple, but not many that fuse the benefits of both. The classic looks, the interesting shell hardware, the vintage name … all make this kit very much worth the once-over.

In detail

We have a six-piece ‘Funk Kit’ with 8x7”, 10x7.5”, 12x8” toms, 16x15” floor tom, 22x20” kick, and 14x5” snare. Each shell is six-ply and thin, with birch outer, maple core and birch inner. The bass drum is undrilled (no tom mount), and the snare drum is of the same shell material. This kit is finished in attic white (this is a spray, not a wrap), which looks authentically old when you stand back and look at it from a distance. Up close you can see the finish is new and that the edges aren’t actually aged or faded at all, but the look is right. The quality of the finish can’t be faulted either. The shell hardware is finished in vintage bronze. While this finish is very classic-looking, and will look right on many of Ludwig’s kits, I’m not certain it’s the perfect match for the attic white finish. But it’s not completely out of place either, and you don’t notice it so much after a short time. The toms are suspended via RIMS-style mounts, and the hoops used here are triple flanged – these are not flimsy, but nice and solid. The snare drum throw-off is off Ludwig’s classic design and allows sensitive, gradual adjustment of the snare tension as well as letting you ‘feel’ how tight the snares are on the head when turning the snare on. Ludwig have supplied their 400 series hardware here (the kit is available as a shell pack, in various configurations), which is double braced and as sturdy as most will need. The only issue here is with the kick pedal, which needs a drum key to tighten the hoop clamp and is a bit clumsy and fiddly. The rack toms are suspended by supplied ball-joint arms with in-built clamp, and the cymbal stands are hefty enough to support the weight of the toms without a problem.

In use

It’s not too often you see 8” toms included in a shell pack, and it makes a nice addition here. The punchy, higher pitch of this mini-yet-mighty little fella makes for some lovely accents and great funk/soul/R&B-style fills. The 10” and 12” toms are more standard sizes, although the slightly odd depth of the 10” tom (7.5” deep) adds just a touch more depth of sound and presence than a typically shorter drum. The same can be said for the floor tom, which has a depth of 15” – right in between the truncated sustain of a 14”-deep floor tom, and the deep, booming growl of a 16”-deep floor tom. I’ll confess, I love deep bass drums. Even though there is an emerging trend to go back to shorter kick drums, you can’t help but like the full-on punch, weight, depth and sustain that this 22x20” drum delivers. The snare drum, at 5” deep, is punchy and has great initial attack, with a tight ‘crack’, especially when played with a cross stick. It does, however, lack a little bit of body, and an extra half-inch to an inch in the depth would probably help with this. Overall, the tone of each drum is warm, but the birch really delivers plenty of attack, especially with the clear, single-ply, 10mm Remo-made-for-Ludwig heads. We actually mic’d this kit up and recorded it so we could listen back to it, and the results were fantastic: clear as a bell, punchy, warm and aggressive attack, with just about the right amount of sustain. This configuration is sold as a ‘Funk Kit’ – it sure is!

Conclusion 

Ludwig are a classic brand with great heritage, and it’s great to see them produce a shell pack that is modern and suitable for different styles, and a little different to what is usually ‘the norm’. With this shell pack you have the range of toms you need for different set-ups: from one-up one-down indie/punk, to the full six-piece set-up for funk/R&B and gospel, and even heavy rock. The deep bass drum is awesome, though I would admit to this size not being quite so universal. It would be complete overkill with jazz, for example. The weakest link in the kit is the snare drum, but it’s not bad either, it just lacks a little body – but that said, different heads will deliver different results. The birch/maple/ birch sandwich shell works really well, and this also helps the kit to work in different environments. The price point is very competitive too, especially when you consider the build quality and the kit’s practicality for that money. The shell hardware finish might not be to all tastes, but this will work better with the other finishes available. I really ‘get’ the attic white look, though – it’s got a vibe similar to a vintage, or road-worn, Fender guitar, which is cool. That’s the word to sum up this kit … cool.