Vistalite Drums
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Vistalite drums were a line of acrylic drums produced by the Ludwig Drum company, introduced in 1973. They were popularized by rock drummers like John Bonham of Led Zeppelin. A multitude of professional drummers used vistalites or similar acrylic drums in the '70s and '80s as well. Jazzmen like Billy Cobham and Lionel Hampton were well known acrylic kit players. The name Vistalite refers to the translucent plastic that the shells were made out of. The kits were initially available in clear, smoke (black), blue, green, red, amber, and yellow, with clear and blue being the most common. The company later introduced Rainbow Vistalites with multicolored shells - Tequila Sunrise (red, orange and yellow striped) was probably the most famous combination. Several other variations included bass drums without tom mounts (often referred to as "virgin" bass drums) and concert toms (toms without lug holes or a rim on the bottom of the shell).
In 1978, Ludwig created the Tivoli Vistalite by inserting small light bulbs into the shells. The kits looked fantastic but were plagued by electrical problems - Bill Ludwig II is reported to have said that everything they made on Vistalite was lost on Tivoli. There were also problems with the shells cracking under the pressure of over-tightened lugs and exposure to freezing temperatures. The Vistalite line was eventually phased out due to declining sales, the rising cost of oil-based plastics and changing market in favor of wood-shelled drums.
Ludwig reintroduced improved Vistalite drums in 2001, with the company enjoying decent sales of its John Bonham replica amber Vistalite kit. The shells are thicker, stronger, warmer sounding and more resonant than the originals. In 2006, a multitude of drum companies like Sonor (X-Ray), Tama (Starclassic Mirage), RCI International (Starlite), Fibes (Crystalite), and DDrum (Diode) now make acrylic drums thanks to a big increase in popularity since 2001. Zickos of Canada has made acrylic drums since 1969. Zickos also owns the patent on acrylic drums (U.S. patent # 3,626,458 filed in 1960).
Rockers and jazzmen alike enjoy the wide tuning range of acrylic drums, and the dry, but punchy and projecting sound. A criticism of Vistalite and acrylic shells in general is that some feel they sound artificial, and lack the complexity of their wood counterparts. Vistalite are louder with less overtones than wood or metal.
Recently, drummer Mike Portnoy of the progressive metal group Dream Theater used a Tama drum company built acrylic kit for a John Bonham tribute, and for parts of Dream Theater's 2005 Octavarium cd and dvd. This underscores the rising popularity of these shells, and brings them into the public eye. Jeff Ocheltree included a segment on tuning the new Vistalite drums in his dvd "Trust your ears." He describes them as having a very "live" sound. Originally, drummers favored single-ply drum heads with a center dot for these drums. But as Jeff Ocheltree describes, the sound improves with the use of two ply drum heads. Austrian superdrummer/clinician Thomas Lang has toured with Sonor's new designer x-ray acrylics to rave reviews not just for his playing, but for the sound of these drums. DDrum has enjoyed very good word of mouth over the sound and power of the diode acrylic drums. Sonor updated their lineup in 2006 to include the SQ2 (formerly designer) series. The promotional video refers to acrylic in terms of what a maple shell would sound like. Acrylic was described as "intensified upper and lower frequencies with reduced midrange frequencies."
Given the advancements in polymer technology, acrylic drums may be here to stay this time around. Vistalite and acrylic offer a synthetic alternative to wood shells. The quality and demand for acrylic drums is poised to reach an all time high by 2007. The original Vistalites are a collectors item, and usually command a decent price on eBay.
