Wendy and their team got me the color choices and ultimately the one I wanted. Great communication and the drums are so nice. Loving playing them. Buy with confidence they will make things right and at a great price.

Upon opening you'll first notice that PDP's Packing is superb, well thought-out, and practically bullet-proof. Nothing is left loose to rattle around during shipping, and every part and piece is well protected. The first step after unpacking was to inspect the top and bottom bearing edges of each drum. I'm happy to report that they are perfectly shaped and finished...every inch, top and bottom. No flea bites, no dropped edges, no flat spots, no delamination...just perfection. In my opinion bearing edges are one of the most important considerations when determining the quality of any kit, so again I'm pleased to report that PDP gets an A++ here. The next step was to check for out-of-round shells. I was prepared to spot some small degree of variation, but all seven ... MoreUpon opening you'll first notice that PDP's Packing is superb, well thought-out, and practically bullet-proof. Nothing is left loose to rattle around during shipping, and every part and piece is well protected. The first step after unpacking was to inspect the top and bottom bearing edges of each drum. I'm happy to report that they are perfectly shaped and finished...every inch, top and bottom. No flea bites, no dropped edges, no flat spots, no delamination...just perfection. In my opinion bearing edges are one of the most important considerations when determining the quality of any kit, so again I'm pleased to report that PDP gets an A++ here. The next step was to check for out-of-round shells. I was prepared to spot some small degree of variation, but all seven shells were spot on, top and bottom. The finish on this particular kit (clear natural) is nicely done and they didn't skimp on the lacquer...beautifuly clear and reflective. The lugs are solid, well designed, of good quality and should survive many years of consistent play. The tom suspension mounts on the kit are considerable, but maybe not quite as heavy-duty as what one finds on the big brother DW kits. More than adequate without a doubt, but not quite as beefy, and not as heavily chromed. Same minor short-coming concerning the hoops. Solid and well formed, but somewhat lacking mass and chrome. Having said that, this is a small price to pay for top-shelf quality everywhere else, and one needs to understand that in order to provide a kit of this quality at this price, some corners have to be cut. In my opinion PDP cut exactly the right ones. Setup is easy and efficient. The ball mounts are rock solid and hold as well as any I've used and even better than some. Tuning for each drum is pretty typical, and with the maple shells one can achieve pure tones in low, medium, and high tunings fairly easily. The rack toms are wonderfully musical and do absolutely sing, making it a real pleasure, even inspiring to incorporate them into ones playing. The floor toms deliver excellent attack coupled with ample sustain, and tune flex-ably enough to offer a full range of tones from tympani to bass drum-esque "thud" (dampening required). The snare has fairly typical attributes for a maple of it's dimensions. It can tune high and medium very well, but low is a bit tricky. Also, expect some ringing...again maple typical, but of course there are various ways from head choices to dampening gels that can be utilized to calm ringing and overtones. Spend some time with it and the snare will sound fantastic. The "Mag" snare throw-off is brilliant, built like a tank and the best design I've ever seen, period. It's fast, quiet, holds position, and is consistent in it's operation. The tension rods are a high-thread count, and so precise detailed tuning is far more easily achieved as compared to typical rods. This turns out to be a lot more useful than one might immediately think. The overall sound of the kit is very well balanced and each drum can easily tune to complement the others. If I were asked to choose a single word to describe the sound of this kit, I would honestly choose, "astounding". As far as sound goes...that is to say, coloring, timbre, attack, decay, sustain, body, etc, I think anyone would be hard-pressed to hear a difference between the PDP Concept Maple, and a comparable DW kit. Best I can tell, the only real differences are slightly less beefy hardware, one less ply in the shells, limited finishes, and them being cut and assembled overseas. My sincere opinion is that the PDP Concept Maple kit comes closer to true high-end, even boutique than anything else in it's price range. As compared to possible contemporaries such as Gretsch's Catalina Maple, Tama's Superstar Classic, etc, I think the PDP kit offers a bit more quality for the buck. One last note...when kit shopping it might be prudent to consider the quality of heads that come with the kit, and what it might cost to replace the full set if the stock heads are junk. The accompanying PDP branded heads are of a good quality whereas the heads that come on most production kits are more often than not worthless and need to be replaced straight away...something to think about. Bottom line - I would be very surprised to hear of anyone purchasing this kit and being disappointed in any way. Great quality and DW/PDP's second to none service, both in an affordable package...Bravo!

Overall:If you're having any doubts just read all the positive reviews. I was torn between Tama and PDP. After much research I chose PDP and I am glad I did. The sound, laquer finish, and quality is amazing for the price.