Ludwig gig lite

[blikum]

Love my Gig Lite kit! Whenever I'm doing a local bar or club gig, I'll toss these in the back of my Mini Cooper and show up to the gig. It was tricky to find an SKB case for the kick, so I used a pan / steel drum case and it works perfectly! They sound great! If I'm not mistaken, these were available in late 90's early 2ks.

 

[DrummBumm89]

I feel like the issue with the ultra compact kits is typically the floor tom.

Why more companies don't do a 16x8 is beyond me. I want shallow depths, 2 more inches of diameter isn't going to kill the stage space.
I bought the PDP Daru Jones kit only because the Gig Lites, Yamaha Hip, and The Premier Artist Heritage all use 13" floor toms. The PDP is at least closer with a 14".

 

[ludwigfire]

Some one in Austin had a blue gig lite for $500. Sold before I saw it….luckily. I don’t really need one

Ha! The blue ones were actually mine before I bought the black ones you had! I sold them through Tommy's after not using them for a while. Then I decided I wanted a gig lite again and found the black ones. Shoulda kept the blue, they were better looking.

Now I have 2 sets, the black 2nd version and a silver sparkle 1st version and I don't use either one!

 

[dingaling]

Ha! The blue ones were actually mine before I bought the black ones you had! I sold them through Tommy's after not using them for a while. Then I decided I wanted a gig lite again and found the black ones. Shoulda kept the blue, they were better looking.

Now I have 2 sets, the black 2nd version and a silver sparkle 1st version and I don't use either one! View attachment 574286

Why don’t you use them?

 

[blueshadow]

I couldn’t really get along with the shallow sizes. I also have quit on 18” kicks. The 22 just sounds and feels better

 

[ludwigfire]

Why don’t you use them?

Honestly, the 2nd generation with both toms mounted off the bass drum can be a PITA! If you don't set the "floor" tom just right, the whole contraption wants to roll on it's side. I use a small hoop mount spur on the batter side and it helps.
A previous owner of my 1st generation set drilled the 13" tom for 2 more Classic mounts, essentially turning it into a real floor tom. This is actually more convenient. I use Tama Classic stands and would have to carry a heavier cymbal stand to hang the tom from in the factory configuration.

The drums do sound good for their sizes, and space and weight savings is substantial, but at the end of the day, I just prefer "real" drum sizes. I will admit, I am a little spoiled, and have 12,14,18 sets of Austin Fibes, Ludwig Classic Maples, and I am finishing up a circa 1975 Ludwig 3 ply jazzette for my smaller gigs.

 

[bassanddrum84]

Let me get those lol

 

[dingaling]

Yea, they aren’t gonna sound like full size deep drums but I’ve had shallow kicks before and I do like the quick reaction they have. More of a “doh” than a “boom”.

Plus it was sub $1,000 so will be good for gigging in case they get bumped or bruised. I hate to say it but when ever I take out my “pro” kits that are $2,500 I worry way too much about someone scratching them up or knocking into them.
I’m sure we’ve all had the sound guy who clamps the house mic’s to the kit and isn’t very mindful of the drum finish or how tipping the snare into the high tom will dent the shell or give snare rash. Or a beer on an amp falls off and splashes onto the kick drum, and the bass player just says, oh, sorry buddy. :/
I’m sure the list could be it’s own thread.

 

[dingaling]

They arrived. Although one of the bass drum hoops was cracked so haven’t messed around with it. I asked for a partial refund to get new hoops but the seller said they would look into having someone make new hoops for it. Maybe they think they can find someone to do it cheaper?
Makes me think I shouldn’t of bought them. More stuff, more stress.
I’m only buying anything through Amazon from now on. It shows up broken and they send you a return label and let you return it no questions asked, no stress.

 

[ludwigfire]

I was looking on the Ludwig site to see if they had the same black finish available. Doesn’t look like it. Would prefer a 14 floor tom.

The finished used on the Classic Birch series were not available on the other lines. Also, the cobalt blue and charcoal black finishes used on the gig lites are wraps! They look like stained wood but are more like a formica material. I bought 12" and 13' classic birch power toms to go with my black gig lites and the do not match. Close from a distance but you can tell one is a wrap and the other is a satin stain.

 

[dingaling]

The finished used on the Classic Birch series were not available on the other lines. Also, the cobalt blue and charcoal black finishes used on the gig lites are wraps! They look like stained wood but are more like a formica material. I bought 12" and 13' classic birch power toms to go with my black gig lites and the do not match. Close from a distance but you can tell one is a wrap and the other is a satin stain.

Yea, I think this is called ebony shadow. Looks like a stain. Don’t think you could get an exact match. But I’d be fine with black hi-gloss hoops which is still very Ludwig looking.

Just kinda sucks to get something new and it arrives broken. Plus decreases re-sale value. It was likely the box they used. I won’t go into details but I would of never shipped a drum the way this seller did. You alway take a chance when buying drums online which I get. I knew when it showed up and I saw the box that something could be wrong. It was a really terrible box.

Although these are hard to find so going to keep it as long as we can work out the new hoops. I can always send back if needed, I’m protected under PayPal.

 

[dingaling]

Here’s the finish. Hoping they can get the new hoops gloss to be as high as Ludwig does so that matches. This is more gray than black.

 

[dingaling]

Opp, I did it again…
Found this one in mahogany (I believe these are composite finish veneers) for a fair price.

I absolutely love mahogany finish so I couldn’t resist. I always have that Roy Haynes Ludwig mahogany kit in mind.

These lite kits are really great sounding. I don’t have much room for them but good news is they fit in the closet!

10, 13, 20x10, and 13SD.

 

[foxy_shazamtastic]

I'd like to see more companies do a set with sizes like the frequent flyer (20x12 kick or 20x10) as opposed to these ridiculous "micro" kits with 16", or smaller, bass drums and 13" floor toms. I'd specifically like to see Gretsch do one in the renown series or brooklyn. I think one could be custom ordered on their high end sets, but under USD$1500 is important for that kind of kit I think. When I get sorted out, I may just get a custom kick/snare from Gretsch in versatile, portable sizes.

to the OP - I've looked at the giglite, but used prices on those are waaaay too high. Last two I saw on reverb started at USD$1k. Inde make the wayfarer and Tama make the neomod. You could also just consider a bass drum and snare to cover those types of gigs & farmer foot drums offer a reasonably priced 20x8 kick, but I have never played one (so not an endorsement, just an observation)

I had the C&C superflyer. While the kick was pretty good, the toms were pretty meh. Super hard to tune. Sold it. I would most likely not want a kick shallower than 10". Also, for this kind of kit, just having the kick/snare would suffice for me. Perhaps hang a cowbell/tambourine off the kick or a stand if needed.

Dude, 16” bass drums are super useful. Don’t knock it. Not every gig is amplified rock n roll

 

[dingaling]

Set it up for rehearsal in an hour. Jazz guitar trio. The kick and 13 as a low tom work great. Can’t really feel the 10” for Jazz so switched it out for my 12x8 and now it’s perfect.

 

[TheDrummerFromAmsterdam]

Premier had the Artist Heritage Club back in the day with 10/13/20/13 sizes.

They recently released a reissue of the set.

I personally prefer larger sizes than 18” for anything else than jazz.

And after owning the 22” deep daxdad I prefer shallower sizes too.

 

[GretschMan61]

Premier had the Artist Heritage Club back in the day with 10/13/20/13 sizes.
View attachment 585598

They recently released a reissue of the set.

View attachment 585597

I personally prefer larger sizes than 18” for anything else than jazz.

And after owning the 22” deep daxdad I prefer shallower sizes too.

I owned a silver sparkle lacquer Heritage Club Artist Birch kit . I loved the Tom’s and snare the bass not so much . Too thin sounding .

 

[dingaling]

Premier had the Artist Heritage Club back in the day with 10/13/20/13 sizes.
View attachment 585598

They recently released a reissue of the set.

View attachment 585597

I personally prefer larger sizes than 18” for anything else than jazz.

And after owning the 22” deep daxdad I prefer shallower sizes too.

Is Premier still in business?

 

[JimmyM]

Is Premier still in business?

They have a website and Facebook and are owned by Gear4Music. A very recent FB post shows the Premier logo and a hashtag comingsoon.

 

[cribbon]

They have a website and Facebook and are owned by Gear4Music. A very recent FB post shows the Premier logo and a hashtag comingsoon.

Lately I've been seeing a lot of FB postings focusing mainly on the former glories of Premier, nothing really about what they're doing now - doesn't bode well.