written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . september 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message drum workshop dw type private founded 1972 ; 44 years ago 1972 in santa monica california usa headquarters oxnard california usa key people don lombardi founder chris lombardi president and ceo john good coo products drum kits cocktail drums snare drums hardware divisions pacific drums and percussion subsidiaries kat percussion gretsch drums ovation guitars latin percussion toca percussion gibraltar hardware 1 website www.dwdrums.com external video oral history john good talks about the start of dw drums and the company emphasis of having fun while making the best possible instruments they can . interview date june 30 2015 namm national association of music merchants oral history library drum workshop 2 also known as dw drums or simply dw is a drum kit and hardware manufacturing company based in oxnard california . contents 1 history 2 expansion acquisition and new methods 3 endorsements 4 drums 4.1 drum lines 4.2 speciality drums 5 snare drums 5.1 collector s wood 5.2 collector s metal 5.3 collector s specialty 5.4 limited edition snares 5.5 other snares 6 hardware 6.1 hardware lines 6.2 pedals 7 see also 8 references 9 external links history edit drum workshop was founded in 1972 as a teaching studio by don lombardi . it originally offered private lessons and the occasional workshop . however lombardi along with student and current senior executive vice president john good began a small drum equipment sales operation to cover the facility s operation costs . this operation soon created the first ever dw product the height adjustable trap seat which was envisioned by lombardi . the demand became so great that after accepting an offer to purchase all of camco s manufacturing equipment the primary focus of the dw operation became drum hardware manufacturing . dw s camco origins can still be seen on their drums today in their unique round turret tuning lugs which were designed by george h. way and originally featured on george way drums . following this the next big product introduced by dw was the 5000 series nylon strap bass drum pedal which was essentially a camco pedal with the dw name placed upon it . the pedal was soon joined by the double bass pedal the rotating base and cable remote hi hat stands . after additional growth and expansion the first full dw endorser was found in tommy lee of m tley cr e after he tried out a prototype dw drumset when he came to the shop to get his pedals adjusted . expansion acquisition and new methods edit dw expanded into larger facilities in oxnard california and grew to oversee a new company pacific drums and percussion 3 a value oriented company offering quality lower priced drumsets for any individual . dw pioneered the timbre matching technique of grouping a set of drumshells together by listening to the note each shell holds before it is sanded . each shell that comes out of the oxnard dw factory is stamped with the note of that shell on the inside . dw offers pre made standard sized sets as well as custom drums made to customer specification . for a brief period dw opened a facility in ensenada mexico to manufacture its value line of drums and at the same time dw entered the drumstick market with the 3 drumstick lineup . what made the 3 drumstick lineup unique was that they included three matched drumsticks in their offering unlike other manufactures that sell pairs of two . when dw closed operation at ensenada facility they ceased the drumstick line . in 2015 drum workshop inc acquired and licensed american music instrument brands gretsch drums ovation guitars latin percussion toca percussion gibraltar hardware and kat technologies . 4 endorsements edit tony royster jr. many highly regarded drummers endorse 5 dw including tony royster jr. jay z chad smith red hot chili peppers jonathan sugarfoot moffett michael jackson aaron spears usher gerald heyward chris brown thomas pridgen the mars volta cora coleman dunham derek roddy serpents rise dave grohl stephen perkins dominic howard muse luke holland the word alive alex gonz lez man de la tierra steve jocz sum 41 brooks wackerman avenged sevenfold scott travis judas priest scott phillips creed and alter bridge abe laboriel jr. paul mccartney sandy gennaro neil peart 6 of rush nick mason of pink floyd danny seraphine chicago will berman of mgmt zak starkey nickelback and martone drummer daniel adair thomas lang terry bozzio the late troy penland roger taylor max weinberg jos pasillas from incubus band and atom willard angels & airwaves . others include jason bonham black country communion led zeppelin tommy clufetos black sabbath ozzy osbourne rob zombie alice cooper ted nugent kelly keagy night ranger bruce becker david becker tribune victor loyo luis miguel and studio session drummer eric moore suicidal tendencies and infectious grooves rex hardy jr. mary j. blige cobus potgieter matt greiner august burns red and venzella joy williams beyonce . eagles drummers don henley main drummer and scott crago backup drummer are well known users of dw and are endorsed by the company . mick fleetwood of fleetwood mac is also a dw artist as is marco minnemann . tico torres of bon jovi switched to dw drums and hardware after using pearl for over 25 years in april 2013 during their because we can tour . drums edit most of dw s drums can be custom ordered to suit the customer s needs with a wide array of shell sizes from 6 to 28 drums finishes exotic lacquer satin oil hard satin graphics and finishply wraps and hardware color chrome nickel satin chrome 24 karat gold and black nickel in any of dw s custom shops . citation needed unique to dw s drum kits are its true pitch tuning rods tension rods with finer threads dw s coated clear drumheads made by remo stm tom mounts and specialized shell configuration ssc which allows the customer to choose between x vlt vertical low timbre or vlx shells for a unique sound . they also have cocktail drums a junior drum kit bass drum woofers and effect toms like rata toms and gong drums available . drum lines edit collector s series dw s flagship line of drums made from north american maple birch cherry or oak . a wide array of finishes are available including exotic lacquer specialty lacquer satin specialty satin oil hard satin and finishply . collector s series drums can also be ordered with maple mahogany or cherry mahogany shells . jazz series dw s drum line made exclusively for jazz drummers . these drums are made with a gumwood core combined with inner and outer plies of maple cherry or mahogany and feature die cast hoops in chrome only and coated heads as standard equipment . classics dw s vintage drum line made from poplar and mahogany with maple reinforcement hoops to create a vintage sound . these drums also feature a white bass drum head with a vintage style logo and beaver tail bass drum rods for a vintage appearance . they are only available in finishply wraps . eco x project 7 drums made with bamboo birch x shells . they are available as a five piece kit with add on toms and bass drums available . performance series officially launched in november 2010 performance series drums were originally manufactured in dw s ensenada mexico facility but production was moved to the main oxnard ca facility when the ensenada facility was closed in 2011 . performance series are made with dw s hvx maple shell technology which provide superior sound quality in live and studio situations by combining wood layers with grain orientations that run horizontally vertically and diagonally . these drums feature a unique outline logo on the bass drum resonant head new turret lugs which is a scaled down version of the famous dw round lug on toms and bass drums new tub style lugs on the snare drums and redesigned badges . this series along with the eco x project is not considered custom as most of the other dw series drums can be made to order . currently there are four shell packs available which include a choice of four different hand sprayed lacquer finishes . all performance series components are available for individual sale as well . for 2011 four new finishply wraps were made available for the performance series . design series design series the lowest priced dw drum line made from north american maple . the only series manufactured in taiwan reduced production costs then shipped to the us for quality control . shells are available in a limited number of standard sizes . the use of hvlt shell manufacturing technology vertical low timbre shell with a horizontal outer ply results in a thick and deep sound . also included in the series are acrylic shells . limited edition series this series includes john good s limited edition hand selected wood which is made into a very small amount of drum kits . known as timeless timbre this kit is made of speciality selected maple and birch wood . speciality drums edit dw offers a special line of drums that are very different from standard drums and are generally used in situations which call for a new sound . cocktail kit this drum kit combines the use of dogbone clamps smaller drum sizes and the sidekick offset pedal in order to greatly reduce the size of the kit . with shallow toms and the bass drum pedal operating on the floor tom lower head this 4 piece kit plays like a 5 piece and takes up the space of a 2 piece . gong drum a large single headed 10 ply maple drum with a 21 or 23 diameter mounted on a stand and intended to be struck with a drumstick . it aims for a sound between a tom and a bass drum . it is available in all hardware colors and finishes . this drum was developed with the input of drumming great marco minnemann who helped dw make their model unique from other drum companies gong bass drums . woofer an 8 deep by 18 to 28 wide drum mounted in front of the bass drum . it amplifies the low end punch of the bass drum and includes a pre installed akg d112bd internal mic . piccolo toms 2.5 deep steel toms available in 8 10 and 12 diameters . these drums were designed with the drumming legend terry bozzio who used four of them in different pitches on his first kit with dw drums . rata toms similar to octobans single headed toms made from north american maple with a 6 diameter and largely varying depth options . it produces a loud crack and is available in all hardware colors and finishes . 8 snare drums edit dw manufactures an assortment of snare drums . available are made to order snares which can be completely customized or mass produced snare drums . all dw snares come standard with true tone snare wires 3.0 mm true hoops remo batter resonant heads and true pitch tension rods . introduced in 2009 was the dw mag throw off which is a snare throw off system that uses a three way butt plate with three different settings loose medium and tight . this system uses magnets to keep the snare throw off in the on position and makes changing the sound of the snare wires much easier . other throw off systems include the dw universal throw off which is a simple on off design and a swivel throw off which can be turned 180 degrees in any direction