Presentation of a DrumCraft Series 5 kit
DrumCraft are no newcomers in the drumming world, and have already established themselves as a producer of good-quality instruments. Danny Gottlieb, Mike Terrana, or Poland’s very own Paweł Jaroszewicz wouldn’t be travelling the globe with this equipment if it didn’t meet their requirements. However, those musicians play live and do studio sessions using Series 8 drums, i.e. those from the premium segment of the German manufacturer’s offer. It is, therefore, only natural to ask whether a budget kit (Series 5 falls into that category) is also able to meet the expectations of the drumming kind. Let’s try to answer that question.
The distributor delivered a five-piece kit in the DC513-22FU configuration, with a 22″ bass drum and a 14″x12″ floor tom. Tom sizes are 10″x7″ and 12″x8″, whereas the snare is 5″ deep and 14″ in diameter. DrumCraft offer two more shell sets with18″x16″ and 20″x16″ bass drums, as well as a 16″x14″ floor tom and a 8″x 7″ tom. The shells are a birch/poplar hybrid construction consisting of 6 plies in total. 45° bearing edges close the list of shell features. The laquer finish is very tasteful ebony colour, which the manufacturer describes as Hard Coal. The hardware pack belongs to the discontinued Series 4, but has a major advantage, which is two boom stands (usually, competitors offer only one boom stand accompanied by a straight stand). Two ball tomholders can be called Yamaha’s distant cousins, both because of appearance, design and functionality. The Zero Gravity Mount, in turn, gives the necessary rigidity and provides a player with stable rack toms, even when hitting hard. The bass drum mount offers the possibility to a third device (e.g. a cymbal holder), which is a very practical solution. The shape of the mount, however, doesn’t allow for lowering the toms all the way down to the bass drum shell. Obviously, this disadvantage doesn’t disqualify the set, as those who prefer to mount their toms low will solve the problem by using cymbal stands for that purpose, thus “freeing” the bass drum.
As mentioned before, the shells are built from poplar and birch. It is no wonder that their sound can be characterised as bright and focused. This refers to the smallest tom in particular, but partially to the bass drum, which lacks a tiny bit on the low end of the spectrum. The 12″ tom 12″ and 14″ floor tom sound consistent with the rest of the set, although they offer a little more of low end for raw meat lovers (like some of us). The power of the floor tom makes us wonder what kind of monster its 16″ brother must be. The snare projects very nicely, has a strong signal and a warm, woody tone. The DrumCraft Series 5 kit sounded really good when recorded through our microphones, too. The general impression is a very positive one. We can safely say that in this price range (the equivalent of 920 – 930 US dollars) it will be money well-spent, both for a drummer, who can’t afford a pro kit, and for a professional musician looking for a back-up set to use in the practice room or at low-profile gigs.
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