Ludwig has been one of the best drum brands in the world for decades at this point. So many of their products are used by high-tier drummers playing with huge artists. Ludwig products have become known as powerful, reliable, and very high-quality.
In this review, we’re going to hone in on the Ludwig Classic Maple drum set. It’s a professional set with great features, but we’re going to explore a bit more to see how it sounds. We’ll then explain how beneficial all of the features are.
The biggest feature of this set is that it has 7-ply North American maple shells. These are very high-quality shells that produce premium tones.
Each shell has 45-degree hand-sanded bearing edges, which help the drums vibrate freely.
Ludwig uses their RFST molding process to construct these shells. It’s a shell molding process unique to the Ludwig brand, and it makes their drums stand out nicely.
There are a few different configuration options with these Classic Maple drum sets. The Fab is our top pick, as it’s the most versatile setup.
It has a 13” rack tom, 16” floor tom, and 22” kick drum.
The sound quality is the most notable aspect of any Ludwig Classic Maple drum set. These drums just sound so good every time you play them.
Since they’re made from maple shells, they deliver warm and balanced sounds that fit within a variety of contexts. They sing very nicely, ringing out for a few seconds after each stroke.
We also like how wide the tuning range of each shell is. You can tune this kit low to sound big and powerful. You can also tune it higher to get more of a jazzy sound. That’s why a lot of drummers love it as a gigging kit. It can do everything!
The shells are made with Ludwig’s RFST technology. RFST stands for Radio Frequency Shell Technology. It basically means that the drum shells have been molded as evenly as possible to create reliable tones.
The maple shells are North American Hard Rock maple. This is one of the highest-quality woods that gets used for drums, and it’s the reason why most Ludwig kits sound so good.
A small thing to mention that we like about the kit is the triad floor tom leg design. It’s not much different from what you get on other floor tom legs, but we noticed how strong it made the floor tom feel.
As we said earlier, this kit can pretty much do anything you want it to. It’s such a reliable gigging drum set.
In a large venue, it sounds big and powerful on stage. You could play some amazing rock beats and it will sound massive.
For smaller venues, you just need to put a bit of dampening on the drums to cut down the bigger sounds. It will then sound tight and distinct, which is perfect for environments where you need to keep the volume levels lower.
The build quality also makes it feel quite durable when taking it around to different performances. You just need to make sure you keep the shells in protective cases to be safe.
The price of this kit is where a lot of people may question it. We completely think that the price tag is justified considering how good the set is, but spending just under $3000 on only three drum shells may be a bit much for many people.
That’s why we’d mostly say that this is a professional gigging kit. If you’re someone who needs the best sounds, the price tag is worth it.
If you’re more of a beginner or intermediate drummer, you could easily find something more affordable that you’ll be just as happy with.
Overall, we strongly recommend getting the Ludwig Classic Maple drum set. It’s such a good instrument with top-tier sounds and build quality.
It may just be a bit pricey for many drummers. But check what your budget allows!
Drum Teacher
Brett Clur has a Drum Performance Diploma from Trinity College London has been playing drums for over 20 years. He is passionate about advanced concepts and uses his years of experience to teach his students about them. While he is a full-time drum teacher, he is also working on growing a YouTube channel where shares his insights. You can see him playing there, or on Instagram where he posts daily videos.
Find useful lessons, tips and reviews for any drummer. From beginners to professionals there’s always something new to learn and improve. Join our Newsletter for exclusive advice!
11407 SW Amu St Suite #ABM436 Tualatin, OR 97062
There may be affiliate links on this website, which means we may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to our readers.
© All rights reserved Copyright 2024
Subscribe to our ninja mailing list and get a Free E-book!
Subscribe to our ninja mailing list and get a Free E-book!
