DW Drums - Factory Tour
First of all, this is a real tour not like some of those beer tours you may have taken in the past. It's an awesome real-time walk through the factory meeting the craftsmen and women and a must stop if you are in Southern California on a Thursday afternoon when the tours are scheduled, reservations required.
I have been playing DW for about 15 years after playing Slingerland kits since the late 70s. My 1977 Slingerland kit went from "new" when I purchased it at Terminal Music on 48th St in NYC to "Vintage" in 25 short years.
I started with DW like most people on the hardware side, pedals, stands etc...and purchased a 6 month old DW Collectors series with full flight cases on eBay around 2002. Loved them ever since so going on the factory tour has been on my bucket list ever since.
The tour runs about 2 hours most Thursdays with a maximum of 12 people at a time. You literally are walking through the manufacturing process and meeting the men and woman who are crafting, sanding, shining and tuning shells, many of whom have been there for 25 years or more. One of them is Jose, who has touched virtually every drum made in the Oxnard facility and helped create the custom molds which are in use today. He likely created my shells in the early 2000s. A great craftsman and a wonderful man.
Walking through the Oxnard facility you are struck at the hands-on approach which is taken for every drum as they turn out between 100 and 120 shells per day (The hardware is manufactured overseas). These are real craftsmen who love what they are doing and love working together.
It was also fun stopping into the paint 'department' (two men) who have created custom drums are art for artists such as Chad Smith, Neil Peart and Tommy Lee. The work is second to none.
As the tour continued, you have a chance to see shells in various phases of development, from raw plywood sourced from around the world by the 'wood whisperer' John Good, to basic shells, painted shells and you might even catch a custom kit being made for your favorite artist in process. (which I did but were sworn to secrecy and no pictures allowed on that one!).
At the end of the tour, you go into the DW Showroom, basically a collection of new or hot drums on the market and I got a chance to play the 45th Anniversary set and the Tasmanian special edition set, both of which I never would have had the chance to play at my local music store.
One funny thing is, you can't purchase any drums, hardware or logo merchandise in the showroom, but it is an idea they are working on.
All in all an amazing way to spend an afternoon - even my wife enjoyed herself! I have a grater appreciation for the art of find drum construction and newfound respect for those who have worked for DW all these years crafting some of the best sounding instruments on earth.