Neil Peart and the Ludwig era...

[APelletier]

I've never seen footage of Neil using the Ludwigs live. They sound every bit as good as his Tamas and dare I say, tons better than his DWs, IMO.

 

[bellbrass]

Fine-sounding drums! Were those Super Classics? 4-ply maple/poplar? Of course, they had fiberglass on the insides of the shells, so no other drums will ever sound like those.

 

[Mcjnic]

Nice!
The only thing I didn’t like about the Ludwig move was the finish.
He had gone from a couple of simple yet very distinct looking kits to a washed out white.
It was disappointing to me.
Now, I get why ... album graphics and such. But I didn’t like it.
The sound is great. Seriously cool.

I really didn’t like the DW move with all those over the top looking kits.
They were like the ultimate self absorbed statement ... and I know they weren’t, as it was Neil.
Again, I realize the kits and albums ties.
Just really didn’t like them.
And the sound was not as inspiring to me ... probably due to the looks, if that makes sense.
They just sort of became generic arena sounds at that point.
I missed the nice simple finish with the cool bass heads look.
Oh well ... just one guys thoughts and opinions.

 

[KingLudwig]

In my humble opinion Neil's best drum sound was during his tenure with Ludwig. Both live & studio applications were outstanding!

 

[sixplymaple]

They sound pretty thin, especially the kick. Could be the mics or mixing though. I can’t tell.

I like his Tama and DW sound way better.

 

[Trey Gray]

I agree....love the sound, also the cymbals sound great!

Cheers and blessings, Trey

 

[dje31]

Tama Artstar prototypes and Ludwigs were my favorites, best-sounding to my ear. In a blind test, I'd probably give a slight edge to the Ludwigs.

Re: finish, the Roll the Bones kit was finished in a deep blue--transparent?--and I think may have been refinished to a deep purple during Counterparts, but feel free to correct me on that. I'd guess they were the same shells, more or less, throughout. No real need to tweak them, they all sounded great.

The DWs seemed to get worse with each subsequent iteration, despite umpteen cross-laminations, drum sorcery, and magic wood.

 

[WesChilton]

My all time favorite drum sound was Neil's Candy Apple Red Tama Superstar kit, with his original Slingerlands a close second. The Ludwigs sometimes sound cool and sometimes sound weird to me.

Absolutely hated the DWs, both look and sound.

 

[wflkurt]

In my humble opinion Neil's best drum sound was during his tenure with Ludwig. Both live & studio applications were outstanding!

I agree with this. One of my favorite RUSH tunes is Marathon Man. I think he played Ludwig when he recorded that. I saw the presto tour in 1990 and the Ludwig's sounded great. I never cared for his DW sound, but that's just me.

 

[CigarScott]

Just remember that pre-DW, Neil's kits, Ludwig & Tama were heavily modified by the Percussion Center in Fort Wayne. The drums had that fiberglass lining added to the inside of the shells and his hardware was Macgyver'd together from a half dozen different companies.

 

[CigarScott]

I agree with this. One of my favorite RUSH tunes is Marathon Man. I think he played Ludwig when he recorded that. I saw the presto tour in 1990 and the Ludwig's sounded great. I never cared for his DW sound, but that's just me.

Marathon was on Power Windows which was still Tama. He switches to Ludwig for Hold your Fire.

 

[wflkurt]

Marathon was on Power Windows which was still Tama. He switches to Ludwig for Hold your Fire.

Thanks! I did like the TAMAs too. in fact I liked all of Neil's drums but for some reason, I didn't care as much for the DW sound.

 

[highmileage]

The Ludwig kit was white, but metallic and with a little bit of pink. I saw that tour but not quite from the front row. It was too subtle for cameras during a live show in the mid 80’s. That kit was refinished after Hold Your Fire, I think dje31 might be right.

Killer sounding kit, that and the last Tama were my favorites.

 

[thejohnlec]

Marathon was on Power Windows which was still Tama. He switches to Ludwig for Hold your Fire.

I actually think that the drum production on Power Windows was the best out of all their albums. Big and full but not over-powering, and his performances were stellar. Clockwork Angels is a close second production-wise.

 

[NobleCooleyNut]

Tama Artstar prototypes and Ludwigs were my favorites, best-sounding to my ear. In a blind test, I'd probably give a slight edge to the Ludwigs.

Re: finish, the Roll the Bones kit was finished in a deep blue--transparent?--and I think may have been refinished to a deep purple during Counterparts, but feel free to correct me on that. I'd guess they were the same shells, more or less, throughout. No real need to tweak them, they all sounded great.

The DWs seemed to get worse with each subsequent iteration, despite umpteen cross-laminations, drum sorcery, and magic wood.

I have seen the Roll the Bones kit in person just before the Pandemic hit . It was owned by Seppo Salminen of TRS Custom Drums . He sold it shortly after . It had the gold plated hardware too . Gorgeous drums . They were never painted a different colour .

The Cotton Tail kit he used with Buddy Rich is also in possession of Seppo and it is staying with him . Seppo also has one of the Plum coloured Ludwig drums as well .

I loved the blue Roll the Bones it the most of Neil’s kits . It looked and sounded great .

 

[drummingbulldog]

Wow! I thought it was just me. His Ludwig kit from Hold Your Fire has been my favorite live sound & Moving Pictures is my favorite of his recorded output. I saw them line in 92 Roll the Bones tour which was the first time I had seen him with the single kick kit. I kinda stopped following him/Rush after that. What I have seen & heard since with DW was ehh. I think DW are great drums but sound kinda vanilla in a good way.

 

[Christopher]

Prior to Neil going with Ludwig, he was ready for change and had a demo day where all the major drum manufacturers sent kits in his config to be checked out by Neil in a giant warehouse or airplane hanger. It is documented in one of his Modern Drummer interviews. I remember he described Ludwig as always being a “dark horse” in his mind, but at that time they won the day and he signed with Ludwig. I never dug the lite pink finish he chose, but they sounded excellent.

 

[LRod1707]

I've never seen footage of Neil using the Ludwigs live. They sound every bit as good as his Tamas and dare I say, tons better than his DWs, IMO.

Watch the whole entire "A show of hands" performance if you haven't already. The video you posted is a little piece of that live recording. It's all Ludwig!
In my opinion, Neil's best sound was during his Ludwig era. I still don't get the DW thing. His worst drum sound came during his DW days.

 

[latzanimal]

What's most disappointing is that the video cut off the 2nd part of his solo on the "back" kit. I always liked the timpani sounds with the horn blasts.....

I also think the pearl in the white kit reflects the lighting nicely...

 

[hsosdrum]

To my ear Ludwig drums have much more inherent sonic personality* than DWs, which always sound like "McDrums" — the essence of what a drum is supposed to sound like but with all the individual personality removed.

In the video it looks like Neil's drums may have Ludwig's Arctic White Glitter finish. Whichever finish it was, it did a great job of reflecting the stage lights.

*Which is why I've been playing Ludwig for the past 30+ years.