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All of the shell hardware on Epic kits is bronze-coated for what Ludwig describes as a 'vintage' look

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Ludwig is one of the most recognisable brands in the history of drum manufacture, with many a great player having plied their trade behind a Ludwig kit. This year marks the company's 100th anniversary and the centenary is being celebrated with the launch of a host of new lines. Their latest kit is from the Epic series.

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Ludwig's product portfolio features no less than nine different ranges of kits, with the Epic series being located at number three on the list. Slotting in below the Centennial series but above the Element and Accent ranges, the Epic series is split into two sections: Epic Standard, which offers five shellpacks, and Epic Modular, which contains only one kit.

Our review kit is an Epic Standard Funk kit. Although five kit options sounds restrictive, Epic Standard kits cover a wide variety of diameters, with bass drums in 18", 20", 22" and 24" sizes. The Funk kit is made up of a 22"x20" bass drum, 14"x5" snare, 10"x7 1/2" and 12"x8" rack toms and a 16"x15" floor tom.

Full marks for noticing that the kit pictured totals six drums - the extra 8"x7" rack tom is part of a promotion called '6/4/5' that Ludwig is running while stocks last. Anyone buying a five-piece Epic Standard shellpack will find a sixth tom thrown in for nothing. As a five-piece, the kit is already competitively priced so the gratis tom brings further value.

Epic drums are made in China in a dedicated Ludwig manufacturing facility alongside Element and Accent kits. Epic Standard drums feature hybrid birch and maple shells.

Snares and bass drums are 8-ply, with birch making up the two outer and inner plies. In between the birch is a 4-ply central section of maple. The toms are six plies thick and are made with a similar sandwich of two outer and inner birch plies framing two middle plies of maple.

While there is no shortage of hybrid-shelled drums on the market, recent trends have seen exotic woods being paired with more everyday drum staples (such as bubinga and birch). There are very few examples of birch/maple shells in production, so Ludwig is clearly coming at hybrid shells from its own angle.

Maple and birch are often defined by what separates them (in terms of sound characteristics) and tend to be presented as opposing choices of drum material. Combining them seems like a reasonable idea, assuming that their pooled strengths are greater than their constituent parts.

By contrast, Epic Modular drums are made exclusively from birch, though they follow the same overall ply thicknesses as Epic Standard. The only Epic Modular kit currently available is a novel seven-piece shellpack that features two 20"x8" twin kick drums that can be used individually or joined together to make one longer drum.