BeatIt presents: Ludwig Signet GigaBeat
BeatIt have recently received a LudwigSignet GigaBeat kit from the Polish distributor of the brand for us to have a bash on. As most of those interested in drums probably already know, it is the youngest baby in the Ludwig family, which has been created to meet the demand of many drummers looking for a chance to play an instrument with a Ludwig label on at a price considerably lower than in the case of the Classic Maple or Legacy series.
As the video clearly shows, the kit we have been sent is the Macassar Ebony finish. It is sized 8×12″, (rack tom), 14×14″ (floor tom) and 15×20″ (bass drum), which means we are talking jazz sizes. We have good news for all the rockers out there, though. The producer also offers the Signet TeraBeat model, which is sized as follows: 7,5×10″, 8×12″ (rack toms), 16×16″ (floor tom) and 16×22″ (bass drum). No matching snare has been added but this doesn’t have to be treated as a flaw as their sound qualities usually leave a lot to be desired. Our friends from AVANT DRUM SHOP were kind enough to lend us a nice snare from their vault (http://drumshop.pl/4590-dw-werbel-z-litego-debu-ludwigms-custom-14×6-.html). The Ludwig Signet GigaBeat and TeraBeat are also available in the Alpine Blue and Indian Teak finishes.
The 5.5 mm shells are made from 6 plies of cross-laminated North American maple. Each drum’s bearing edge is cut to a dual 45-degree inner-outer with slight flat at apex. This edge is hand-sanded to the craftsman’s touch to assure a smooth, even, flat surface for easy head seating. The condition of the edges was spotless. How do we know that? No, no… We didn’t have to unscrew all the tension rods to take the hoops off. As most of those interested already know, the set is sent to customers in a form borrowed from a known Swedish furniture manufacturer, i.e. a self-assembly, DIY kit. No need to be afraid of that. It’s not as time-consuming as kitchen-furniture assembly. The perfectly sized lug holes and the lugs themselves (the Insta-Lite screwless lugs) as well as the SNAP-IN assembly method (a truly revolutionary idea!!!) make the assembly proces an easy one, taking up no more than an hour altogether.
The remaining hardware includes::
– The TRIAD suspension mount – known from the A.T.L.A.S. hardware series,
– STILETTO bass drum spurs – offer no adjustment options, which could be seen as a disadvantage, however, it must be pointed out that the default spur angle was exactly the way it should be,
– Low mass, die cast CLAWHOOKS – make tuning the bass drum an effortless proces from the mechanical point of view,
– Thick, 2.3-mm hoops – solid, with no sharp edges,
– Tension rods – perfectly threaded, work very smoothly.
And now it’s time for the most important part, namely, the sound characteristics of the kit. Both toms and the bass drum display the classic, fat, oily sound Lugwig is famous for – one we expect instruments coming from Monroe, NC to have. And this is only the smaller GigaBeat model. Just think about how much pleasure a rocker’s ear can get out of the TeraBeat kit… It was all achieved with Ludwig WEATHERMASTER heads. Putting skins from one of the leading manufacturers should only increase the sound qualities. We will only remark that the quality offered at the price asked gives Ludwig a chance to achieve a huge market success. Whether it’s going to be similar to the one recently enjoyed by the competitor from Oxnard, CA, only time will tell…
Drummers and Drummerettes! We give you Ludwig Signet GigaBeat!
Special thanks to:
Ada Music (http://www.adamusic.pl/) for sending us the kit and a Zildjian cymbal set
Artur Lutyński (http://www.blackcatstudio.pl/)
