DW Performance Series 5-Piece Shell Pack White Marine

Comments about DW Performance Series 5-Piece Shell Pack:

I have been touring now for about four years and have recorded albums since I was 16 years old. I am endorsed by TRX cymbals and play around 200 shows a year NOT INCLUDING anything I do with my church when I am not on the road.

I have had these drums for about 3 months now. I have used them in about 30 shows so far and I can not complain for the most part. I have been touring with both a Christian band and a Country band for the past few months. This set delivers in both cases!

Pros: Great tone especially in the toms, Kick when mic'd well is very nice, good tick to it with a nice amount of punch (I use a Shure BETA 52) and the toms accent well and cut. The floor toms tend to ring REAL good when you first break them out and slap heads on, so it will take some tweaking. Finishes are beautiful, I have the Pewter Sparkle. Looks PHENOMENAL under lights on a stage.

Cons: Don't have a whole lot of them to be honest. The ring goes erck me a little but I use in-ears and don't hear it a lot. Kick isnt deep and dark, but if you mic it on regular basis it isnt much of a problem.

Now for reference, I do own and tour with an Orange County Custom kit (not pre-made series kit, but truly custom) and also have had high end Pearl kits (MCX, and Masters). I love this kit over all of them!

14' Snare - Cracks and cuts but also has good sounds for snare work and rolls

10' Tom - Nice and punchy with good tone
12' Tom - Takes time to tune but sounds good
14' Tom - Good low end but enough resonant to make a difference
16' Tom - Sorta flat sounding but does its job

22' Kick - Sounds wonderful!

I use Remo Emperor Clear on my toms, Aquarian Superkick 10 batter, Evans EQ3 on front of kick. Evans Genera Dry on snare, Evans Hazy on bottom of snare.

Comments about DW Performance Series 5-Piece Shell Pack:

First off, I'd like to say that these drums are stunning. I've read some other reviews on this site and some people say that they have had bad experiences with these, but I would honestly say they are one in a million mess-ups. I have had these drums since March now (so 4 months) and they still look fantastic other needing a little dusting.

Secondly, when I was looking for a new kit, my main concern was exactness of pitch. Being a music student that also plays bass and sings, pitch was important to me, even if they are still considered "un-pitched percussion." What I can say is that it although took me a little while to understand where these drums wanted to be tuned, once I learned that they showed me their true voice. I'm using the word voice hear because I truly think that these drums SING!!! You can always hear a good Bass and Snare, but RARELY do you find a kit that has a fantastic sound all the way around.

As a 5 piece kit, it truly is one instrument, not 5 different instruments, however I decided to buy an extra 8" tom, which sounds AMAZING, but has given me some issues as far as tuning the kit as a whole is concerned. What I mean by this is that it forces you to tune your snare outside of it comfort zone and kinda spoils it's sound a bit.

While on the subject of the snare, when tuned at medium tension, the only word I can come up with to describe the sound is "sweet." A smooth buzz roll will sound more like a gentle hum. When playing heavy funk back beats, it is responsive, warm and fat.

What I would like to stress is that if you get the 5 piece, then you will be perfectly happy. If you wanted to buy add-on's, however, I would make sure to buy both the 16" and the 8", rather than just one, just because of the cadencial nature of the drums, the 14" always leaves you hanging and wanting that extra floor tom, but the 8" tom cannot be described simply in words, it's a tom that needs to be experienced.

Overview:

Bass is extra low and very round.

Snare is "sweet"

8" tom cuts more than any other tom I've experienced.

10" and 12" take authority over a mix

14" is sonically matched with the snare drum and bass drum, to produce a harmonic sound when played incorporated with basic funk beats

Comments about DW Performance Series 5-Piece Shell Pack:

I can't say enough good about this shell pack. The best drums I have ever owned, and I have owned several.
The finish is perfect and the sound exquisite.
I had a few kits in my shopping cart, and after sweating the idea of going for a top quality kit, I am thrilled that I purchased this and confident that I made the right choice. No shock that DW drums are absolutely incredible to play. At first, I was a little unsure of what this kit would be like. Even though they are DW's, they are the lowest priced kit they offer.

Rest assured that these drums as just as every bit as good as any top quality DW kit I have played. If you are are looking at drums around or slightly lower than this price range, do yourself a favor and try to stretch your budget a bit and pick up this shell pack. You will not regret it.
Perfect finish. Small details that make for a great kit.
Made in the USA and top quality. Put our own people to work!

Comments about DW Performance Series 5-Piece Shell Pack:

Da Boss
Ok so these drums cost a pretty penny. Big whoop. I ain't going to buy them any day soon but if I wanted a DW and didn't want to shell out for a Collectors, this would be my pick. To any of the neigh-sayers, these drums sound great. They come off the same assembly line as the collectors in Oxnard after production was shut down in Mexico at the plant where the platinums used to be made(yeah they moved the plant, if you watch the market then you would have seen the $500 jump in the price at most retailers).
These drums are the mass produced DWs rather than the custom made tailored kits so theres less colors but all the same features (except DWs new hoops and a smaller lug). They use the HVX technology (so they don't have reinforcement hoops) which gives each drum a nice sweet spot for tuning.
So...what you are paying for is a mass produced USA made drum kit which is hard to come by these days other than the Ludwig Keystones (which are also pretty killer drums). The mapex saturns are great drums as well but lack the features of the DW and of course are not made in the USA. So. If you want a cheap USA made kit. DW is an innovative company.
If you ever get a chance, go to one of John Good's seminar/clinc where he explains what goes into making these drums. It'll change your opinion on drum building forever.
Excellent build. Made in the US!
Cheaper than most other kits made in this country (and some japanese drums too). A Gretsch USA Custom could run you about 4000 for a five peice and they don't even make their shells anymore.

Comments about DW Performance Series 5-Piece Shell Pack:

These are great drums, but don't let anyone tell you that there isn't better to be had for the money.

For considerably (I'm talking nearly a thousand dollars) less you could get a Ludwig Keystone or Mapex Saturn kit in these sizes that sounds equally as good (and has no reinforcement rings, so there is less mass at critical points on the shell, resulting in greater sustain) if not better, due to the thinner blended shells of the aforementioned drums, and the proven positive impacts of their design.

Make no mistake, you are paying a high premium for the DW badge and surrounding hype, and I think it's very irresponsible of them to market this as a kit that every intermediate player NEEDS.
The PDP Platinum line was a little cheaper and sounded better than these drums, in my opinion, and that of many pros as well, as you could see some DW Artists opting for Platinum kits instead of Collector's Series, etc. such as Thomas Pridgen.

Comments about DW Performance Series 5-Piece Shell Pack:

These drums are fantastic in every imaginable way. Easy to tune, a joy to play. Suitable for any style of music. The only possible downside is that you have to wait a few months for these as every DW kit is handmade to order, but as for myself, I'd rather wait to have an instrument of this quality than get something tomorrow that was just thrown together and of questionable quality, at this price.
These drums are absolutely exquisite. The craftsmanship is outstanding and they seem to tune themselves. The finish looks unbelievable, especially under stage lighting.
Everything from the craftsmanship to the sound to the finish is second to none. I slapped some Aquarian after-market heads on them and the sound is almost orgasmic. Even the stock heads sounded decent after some tuning. I'm keeping them for excellent backup heads in case I break my Aquarians.
You will not find a better drumkit at this price. Period.

Comments about DW Performance Series 5-Piece Shell Pack:

The DW performance series is amazing. The craftsmanship is fantasic. I believe this series is being produced now in the USA (used to be made in Mexico) I own the 5 piece - 10,12,16, 22 bass drum and 14''x6.5''. These drums tune up so easy and sound great with the stock remo DW heads. Currently i have coated ambassadors on the toms....these drums resonant and SING! I put an Evans EMAD on the bass drum. You really feel the bottom end hitting you in the chest. If you put these drums next to the DW collector's series you would have a hard time telling which kit sounds better. You be the judge, check out all the sound sample of this kit on youtube. Yes, this kit is expensive but, you might spend more on a collector's series. I've owned a Tama Starclassic, a Yamaha Recording Custom and a custom made GMS kit. The DW performance series blows each one out of the water.....BUY IT!

Comments about DW Performance Series 5-Piece Shell Pack:

Very bad...
I bought these as a spare to my 5 other giging kits. I work with several touring bands. I played 250 shows last year and recorded 5 studio albums. They're a basic drum kit you hit with sticks.

DW couldn't give me free drums if they wanted too now. See quality issues below.
First off... the bearing edges had nicks in them straight from manufacturer. I had to have them recut by the local drum shop. The stock edges are horrible and make the drums untunable even with nicks. A single 45 edge sucks. The local guy put a rounder edge on to get all the ringing out. The finish was OK... the bass hoops had basically no finish on them... I still cannot tell if the hoops are raw wood or have any finish on them.

The lugs look OK but the plating is all brownish around the edges. I think they nickel plated them but the chrome doesn't cover the entire lug. Weird brownish spots??? and it's chipping off. I got a chrome sliver from them. Ouch!!
Expensive drums that sound bad and need new edges are not a good value. I'd give them a 0.

Comments about DW Performance Series 5-Piece Shell Pack:

Little expensive but is THE BEST 5-piece drums you'll find!
This exquizid DW drum set will have your seats rocking and your head banging. Once you're behind these babies, you are basically a proffesional drummer already. A DW-piece kit is the absolute best drums to start with for anyone. Even if you're experienced, you'll still enjoy your wisely spent time behind these. This wise investment will get you very far in your drumming career.
Also a great sound quality for sure! Best drums out there!
A little expensive for some people but if you can afford it, GO FOR IT!