I had Ronn Dunnett build a custom George H. Way kit for me q few years ago. It's a gorgeous silver sparkle lacquer finish - not the wrap we are used to seeing. Due to Ronn's recommendation, drums are walnut instead of maple. Walnut is amazing. I think the drums have a deeper tone, and they have a more natural EQ than maple. Walnut is a lot lighter weight than maple. 14x24 kick, 9x13 rack tom, and 14x14 & 16x16 floor toms, qnd lastly a matching 6.5x14 snare drum. I HIGHLY recommend George Way drums. I've owned more drums than I deserved in the 50 years I've been praying, and these are some of the best sounding/recorded drums I have ever played. The stock heads are REMO, designed by Dunnett. Great sounding, NOT throwaways!!
Very impressed with the sound (and looks) of the Rogers kit. Preferred the toms at lower tuning, but that snare at higher tuning ❤.... was just fantastic!
Detamore vs. Dunnett, eh? 😁 BOTH kits sound GREAT, yet DIFFERENT. To my ears, the Rogers have more midrange "bark" (which was always a Rogers hallmark) and hence, more "cut". The Way kit is "meatier", with a comparatively-reduced attack. My personal taste leans toward the Rogers, but I wouldn't mind BOTH. Great kits from great builders. 🤘
They were both good sounding kits for the money, but I would lean towards the Rogers kit more for my taste, but I didn’t think either kit would be disappointing to play! Thanks as always for your informative content! 🥁
Bought a George Way Walnut tuxedo kit from you guys a few years back. It's a work of art. Looks and sounds incredible and is extremely well built. I have since acquired a Ludwig classic maple kit and a Gretsch Broadkaster kit as well. (I am only mentioning the gretsch and Ludwig for reference.) I love the Ludwig kit, like the Gretsch, but I would NEVER part with the George Ways. There is something very special about that kit. an absolute beauty
Try the GW mahogany tuxedo set too. I bought mine at DCP and I also have a Broadkaster and Brooklyn set I got from DCP last year.....but I ALWAYS come back to the GW kit. DCP is the only store I go to for expert service.
Both great kits! This video demonstrates greatly the differences between a 12 and 13 tom. 13s have much more girth to the sound. At least for rock and blues.
Grt vid!! Love them both for diff reasons. And that tom groove at 9min was a cracker. Drummers must come out of t 'Largest drum retail shop in t Worrlld' with Cheshire cat smiles.
I agree. He's be the one to make the deal for me for either of these kits. The way he played and the way the drums were tuned. Not so much with the other guy, sorry to say.
Both sounded good, couldn't pick one over the other, but the Rogers snare and bass drum surprised. They both sounded deeper than what they are. Not a fan of such a long tension rod that is needed with a center mounted lug. I just feel like it could be more easily damaged in transport unless you were using hard shell cases.
Great demo as always from DCP. I bought a George Way kit in part due to some of the earlier videos DCP did on George Way. I have the natural Acacia Tuxedo kit that was available a few years ago and it's absolutely stunning. It's like fine furniture. 20 and 24 kicks and 12/13/14/16 with a few George Way snares in the mix. They are as high quality as any other drums I've played, including the big brands, at an incredible price point. The acacia has some punch to it while still being able to dial in vintage tones with the slightly thinner shells. I highly recommend George Way drums and I'm so happy DCP is shining a light on this brand. The history of George Way (the man behind the brand) is amazing.
Cant help but wonder what that Rogers kit would do with the heads on the George Way kit. Sad that they are charging that coin and can't include legit heads from day one. I'm actually surprised by how much I liked the "funky" S-dark cymbal setup.
Ohhhh, man! That George Way kit blew me away. Open, crisp, tight, controlled booming bass drum. The kit sounded effing fantastic at both tunings. I'm not overly fond of that green shade, though. And those Zildjian S Dark cymbals! As George Takei is fond of saying, "Oh, MY!" 😂. I just might have to look into buying some of those. The clang on that Ride cymbal was heavenly. Thanks, DCP, for another great video.
George way really sounded special. Playing of course is 90% of the quality i hear but still. I am interested in the mics, preamps, eq, compression, etc. did u guys do a video on that yet?
Both nice sounding kits. I'd like to try a 22" x 10" kick drum, not having to push that column of air too far seems like it might be less effort on the player (just a thought)? I liked the sound of both snares. If I had to choose, I'd probably select the Rogers over the George Way, but it's a close call. Visually, I preferred the Rogers. Thanks for the video, look forward to the next instalment. And as usual, great playing.
There's one big problem with a 22x10" kick though, it will be much quieter than the rest of the kit. It won't project. (you can't tell this from the video because it's been EQ'd and mixed) Also, once you port the head, you lose 50% of the oomph and low end. The only way to get the most out of it is to keep it unported, or mic up the kick 100% of the time.
High quality shell construction on both kits. Love the clear lacquer finish on the inside of the Rogers drums..reminds me of the tinted clear finish applied to the inside of the wood shell Dynasonic snare drums years ago. Both very classy high end kits and great players. Glad to see the vintage name drum lines back on the market with modern improvements. Not so keen on the cymbals though..never have been a fan of lower-end Zildjian cymbals I'm spoiled by the A and K series Zildjians.
George Way all the Way, this Company is fanatic about Integrity. I wish Rogers would revive & Refine the Swivomatic Hardware, they sound great too, they have that Beautiful Vintage Sound, the Cymbals Sound really good when you have Dudes like this Playing , they know how to Work them!
They both sound good, but the Rogers is the one I’d buy. There’s a little more complexity to the sound of the Rogers toms and snare, and that shallow kick with the tom mount would be easier to gig with.
Would love to see these compared to some of the C&C kits. It seems like C&Cs vision was "what if Gretsch or Ludwig had a localized worm hole to the present that would throw better quality wood and better machinery at them? And then they kept building the same style of drums but with better stuff?"
The George Way sounded like it would be really good for jazz and the Rogers I got a late 60’s 70’s vibe classic rock maybe funk…I picture that one being used by The Osmonds or Tower Of Power. I’m still green in the whole sound department so someone check me if I’m wrong. Loved them both for those reasons and was surprised how deep the Rogers kick sounded being only 10” deep.
Kinda weird the GW set is actually cheaper, those drums are like some of the most top of the line drums in existence imo. I'm really loving the cool sizes of the Rogers set though.
That first kit, George or something like that, didn’t sound very old or period correct, but it sounds amazing! Old drums sound like shit to me. I often wonder how some of the old favorites were done on better drums? The rogers still sounds better than a lot of old drums, but it’s not close the George thing.
love the drumsets, great vintage tone. But I'm really not fan of the S dark zillies. I usually like everything Zildjian puts out, but these ones are a miss to me.
