Noble & Cooley Drum Set Shootout! CD Maples vs. Horizon

[@tylerjohnson-martin7871]

Wow. Those might be the best sounding drums I've heard. The rack Tom's are incredible!

[@danmayo9182]

I had the exact same reaction. So fat and punchy at the same time. They sound as good as they look!

[@DerekHundik]

i agree but snare

[@marcdemell5976]

@@danmayo9182 DW eat your heart out!

[@commuterbranchline8132]

Take my money, take it now!

[@Drumguy48]

I own a Horizon and CD Maples kit. Both are superb drum lines, my personal slight preference is for the CD Maples

[@jametz66]

WOWZERS! Both sound amazing, but I'm a sucker for warmth, so the Horizons for me. They sound VERY similar, but if you really pay attention, you can hear the mahogany in the horizons, especially w/ the 16. Thanks guys!

[@dancalabrese3523]

Well I can say as a new owner of a Noble & Cooley set that I purchased from DCP and picked up at the factory, I sat on the fence deciding between the two lines but finally went with the CD Maples in the Hematite finish. I love their sound, response and amazing quality of construction. They are the best drums I've ever owned (that includes previously owned kits like Sonor, Yamaha and Ludwig). I'm sure I'd have been just as happy with the Horizon line. Noble & Cooley drums are expensive but not any more so than higher end DW, Sonor or Ludwig's and they are worth every penny. The Cool Mount System is not only super convenient, but I think it enhances the overall visual look of the kit. Great video to start 2020!

[@drumtavo]

TOTALLY AGREE. I bought the Walnut Classic 5 piece kit and could not love it more. Noble & Cooley seemed to be expensive but not anymore as you state. All the other mass production companies put their prices up and, can even be more expensive than NC. When it comes to the purest and absolute quality tone, no company beats Noble & Cooley.

[@footnotedrummer]

WOW! The recorded tones of both sets are incredible. I've known about Noble and Cooley snares forever. I guess I never knew that they made drum sets. Thanks for this!

[@spyderpaul314]

My Noble and Cooley CD maple bop set is phenomenal. These drums sound like drums twice their size and are a joy to play. I’m currently using them on gigs at crotched mountain ski area and could not be happier with the spud and feel. The maple snare has to be played to be believed and I’ve had a drummer friend tell me that the kick and toms sound like drums twice their size. I love this kit. Thanks to Shane and the guys at DCP for turning me on to N&C drums!

[@spyderpaul314]

“Sound” not “”spud”, drums not potatoes 🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪

[@Chickboom34]

Beautiful craftsmanship. Shane makin’ those babies sing!

[@danmayo9182]

I slightly prefer the roundness of the tone of the CD Maples, but OMG do they both sound amazing. Thank you DCP for being the resource that you are!

[@thomasmoye664]

How does this channel not have more subscribers!? Always great content and great drums! Keep it up!

[@davidsuprenant893]

To me this is probably the finest drum kits out there in this price range.The craftsmanship, the fit a and finish is nothing but top shelf.These folks been doing this for a very long time.There snare drums are some of the finest in the world.$3500 is a lot of money, but your buying a lifetime kit. If you spend a round $2500 check out British drum company. Amazing drums.!!! There quality and sound is incredible in that price range.

[@32toddv]

That blue horizon sparkle finish, daumn... love that

[@timmyjohnslats]

Wow!! They both sound amazing!!

[@georgepelekoudis]

Those sparkle finishes were hypnotizing! Both sounded amazing...and that snare. Have a good weekend :)

[@drumcenternh]

Thanks, George. You too!

[@onalyd]

I'd love to see a Horizon vs. Walnut shootout, or hear someone's perspective on the differences in sound

[@remygaron8311]

Both are perfect for their genre

[@yourdrummer2034]

And not to double post, but the finish on the Horizon drums is incredible and they sound just as good! I like how there's a trend towards blue drums too..

[@copperlineconnectors2455]

They both sound great! Couldn't go wrong with either kit!

[@shotgundrums]

Love the mahogany. I love the full body of dense woods like walnut and mahogany. Noble and Cooley are the Rolls Royce of drums. But it’s because of their painstaking and meticulous shell construction. With this, coupled with heavy, tight-grained wood, you have a drum with a unique voice.

[@memopadilla5931]

American Walnut and African Mahogany are actually pretty soft but sound great obviously...... and the shells are constructed by Keller.

[@dancalabrese3523]

@@memopadilla5931 Shells are constructed by Keller to Noble & Cooley's specifications.

[@memopadilla5931]

@@dancalabrese3523 C'mon Dan.. You need to express exactly why you feel like adding info to many peoples comments.... LOL

[@memopadilla5931]

@@dancalabrese3523 You know what I love about Noble Cooley the most??

[@michaelcavazuti3270]

Yes and I have 2 Ferrari's in my studio!!

[@joejoegunn45]

I liked both, but I already have a solid maple kit. So I'm drawn to the Horizons for the warmth that the Mahogany adds. I'll be ordering my kit later this year. If we survive hurricane season unscathed here in Houston. Beautiful drums and they sound amazing!

[@remygaron8311]

Thank you for your awesome drumming👏👏👏👏🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁👏👏👏👏

[@steviedavidson7028]

My favorite drums beautiful craftsmanship and sound!

[@thesneakygamer4343]

I feel like the horizons would be better for studio recordings and the CD maples would be better for live. CD maples sounded brighter and more “processed” than the horizons. Both excellent!

[@drumcenternh]

Spot. On.

[@marcdemell5976]

If only I could afford one set ,too bad because they are stupendous ,wow!DW has nothing on these guy's

[@kevinhindman9943]

I just priced out a set in CD Maple before seeing this video. 8x8, 10x10, 12x12 13x13 14" Floor and 16" floor with 2 22x18 Bass drums. I now will be requesting the Horizon series as I felt they had a tighter resonance and warmth on the bottom end. I could really hear the difference. Thank for that demo DCoP you really reenforced my decision on buying Nobel & Cooley.

[@AceVenturaXii]

My goodness. Nothing sounds like a good maple drum set. Those CD Maples are just everything I love in a drum sound. I’ve got a set of Studio Classics and I still love them.

[@johnbertasius2612]

Absolutely beautiful.

[@joelbrown9780]

Bold sound. Very nice!

[@wenosaracheno3942]

Shane, "Have a great 2020!" Famous last words.

[@stromghouls]

both had amazing sound, but i prefer the horizon. it has a slighty bigger and warmer sound and that blue sparkle with chrome hardware is glorious.

[@matthewpaluch777]

That's gr8...I'm still waiting 4a 4 3/8x14 Copper snare drum!

[@fraserpeterkindrums9764]

I'd own either or amazing sounding drums..... Buuut the horizon just edged it for me a tiny bit more warmth..... But both jaw droppingly beautiful sounding and looking sets.

[@RorRiiZzLE]

I still have just my Pearl Decade Maple snare that comes with the kit, but multiple dream snares of mine are N&C. I love so many things about them. Oak, Tulip, and Cherry are my top wood selections (without any wood combinations) and I mainly go for brass for metal, but idk, their whole metal lineup sounds good.

[@ericlaureanno1952]

Noble & Cooley are fantastic so much history not to mention some of the best made and sounding drums on the planet personally the maple the tone and sustain not to mention the very short attack which immediately gets taken over by the wonderful Noble and Cooley tone the mahogany was awesome just a little too quick for my taste although the mahogany has a equally Rich tone it just seems to be taken over by the quick in your face attack

[@dancoffman4336]

Great kits...just a touch of extra warmth out of the horizons....But.........OMG.........gimme that Terminator over your right shoulder!!!

[@drumcenternh]

Distracting, right?

[@jeffballou2940]

That blue sparkle is amazing. It is not your ordinary blue sparkle, it shows reds, yellows, different colors as you walk around it and stare at the finish.

[@studiosadkoficial6705]

me encanto el tom 10 de maple. el tom 12 y 16 y el bombo del horizon suenan bestiales por default el horizon tiene una profundidad bestial ...

[@zendean5207]

The difference between the two are one is amazingly incredible and the other is incredibly amazing. Both are yead epinningly beautiful.

[@StarrbrightTV]

The blue horizon kit sounds like a Sonor heavy beech kit to me. Awesome!!

[@yourdrummer2034]

I dream of making the 5 hour drive to the store. I think I may do that this Summer!

[@danmayo9182]

We'll worth it. It's an amazing place! If you can combine it with one of their great clinics, even better.

[@drumcenternh]

...and we're 10 minutes from the seacoast!

[@yourdrummer2034]

I've been thinking about a tour of sorts when I visit friends in the Boston area.. Noble and Cooley, Vic Firth, Zildjian and Drum Center!

[@dancalabrese3523]

For a drummer it is the ultimate drum "shop" to visit! Stay in Portsmouth, eat lobster rolls and buy drums. It doesn't get any better than that!

[@dugjay]

Horizon! I felt it had a bit more punch on the low end and a better tone.

[@andreasjonsson8075]

Best sounding kit I ever heard

[@aarthoor]

I preferred the blue one, has a livelier sounds. Snare is fabulous too.

[@hamadbernes1980]

Blue sparkle has a lower frecuency , the mahogany wood of course..

[@hippydippy]

To my old drummer ear's, they sounded basically the same. The Maple was a bit deeper, but not enough to make that much of a difference.

[@James1623]

The Horizon is absolutely awesome! Love the floor Tom probably the best I’ve heard 😊

[@peak905]

Great video AGAIN! They both sound incredible. As good as anything out there. Although the mounting is "cool" in the ease of use, I'm not so sure the looks are that becoming. I feel like my focus goes to the metal around the drum than the drum itself. It is uniquely theirs tho

[@michaelcavazuti3270]

That 16 just growls!!

[@munton5150]

That first kit-seriously?!! That may be the best sounding kit I have heard on the channel.

[@jlchd]

Horizon! More low sustain.

[@blueavadis22]

To me CD Maples has that magic sound, toms have a bit of timbale sound. I was amazed when I saw first time a N&C kit back in 2003 at a local band. I got mine after that ,a 7 piece kit. I thought that I’m biased, but I still believe that they are the best sounding drums in the world.

[@drumsticksusa]

Congrats on that matched tuning job between the two kits. For me, the 16" floor is where any nuance is found because a head that wide is almost at the limit of a round tone from cylindrical drums. I think few 18" floors can be tuned roundly. You need kettles from there upwards. Here, I think the maple shells deliver more of the fundamental. The rack maples sound lower (to me) at the same apparent tuning, but with the same sustain. Maples get my vote.

[@terrydonegan1622]

My brother owns a Horizon!! I'd choose it too. Fab review

[@christopherdonegan1631]

That Horizon kit is just glorious

[@metothemoon1227]

This drum is my future dream but for now I'm happy with my Tama Slp Spruce fat in 20/12/14 Believe it or not the sound is beautiful and extremely versatile for jazz, rock, blues, rnb soul pop funk, old school, African music, really top notch.

[@christiancanalita6487]

I like both but I prefer the CD Maples but with the Horizon floor tom and bass drums. Can buyers order like that?

[@GregVasso]

I dont want to speak for DCP but I can speak for my experiences with N&C directly and the answer would be yes. Any drum, any line, any size, any finish....... whatever suits your fancy. They truly are "custom" drums - they make each kit ONE at a time!

[@Foundationcases]

Love the blue

[@drumtavo]

I have the Walnut Classic. The purity of tone these drums deliver is absolutely unbelievable. The HORIZON on this review is punchy and fat. Great set.

[@snapascrew]

Something sounded strange on the maple 10” but the 12 and 16 are totally comparable. Overall I dug the blue kit more but the maple kits kick kinda had less sustain and more attack and the metal head in me likes that.

[@tasteapiana]

There is something very special about that Horizon kick. What mic is that (the big dish shaped one)?

[@drumcenternh]

That's the DW Moon Mic!

[@tasteapiana]

@@drumcenternh Thank you! It does a really good job of dropping off below 100hz without phasing badly with the other condenser. That's always a pain when double micing because mic sensitivity changes like voodoo with power input, and lower hz = more power. You might have done some post processing but I can tell it's a ruler smooth drop off. Also those upper mids capture really nicely, too. Good job micing that kick. That might be the first time I've ever said that to anyone other than on a festival date under thunderstorms lol.

[@fokkedejong7954]

I think I would go for the Horizon. But what the vid does not tell, is if there is any difference in volume. I suspect that the Horizon (because of the mahogany) has less volume?

[@terrydonegan1622]

My brother owns a Horizon kit. I'm so jealous

[@markmainchannel]

Slight edge to the Horizon series but wow, both are beyond description.

[@matt_ling]

I love the side by side comparison starting at 7:45 but I'd just respectfully suggest turning off the snare next time :) Thanks for the video.

[@petermasalsky8844]

Huh. Both sound awesome, but the CD maples sounded a teeny bit better. Was not expecting that.

[@bradanderson1442]

Amazing! Both sound fierce. Ambassador's on the tom's?

[@SunchildRecords]

Please, Please tune Bot settings. Thank You

[@chillpillology]

amen! (im not even religious)

[@robertsala8031]

Both are great sets: Noble and Cooley make some of the finest instruments available. For me the Horizon bass drum edged out the CD Maples - warmer with a slightly more pronounced low end. I would not turn up my nose at either kit, though the CoolMount system, while an excellent piece of hardware, exhibits too much movement for me (i.e. the toms bounce around too much).

[@footnotedrummer]

To my ears... the floor toms and kick are almost identical sounding. The 10" and 12" toms however sound different. If you want more attack... it sounds like the CD Maple is the way to go. If you want a slightly warmer tone with a little less attack... I'd go for Horizon. Both are very nice sounding.

[@supmet2]

Horizons get my vote. Smoother.

[@garyjohnson4988]

lol you guys are funny! They both sound really good!

[@gt3065]

OMG! these are insane sounding. really very small differences. drums of the same size spec and heads made with great craftsmanship will sound more the same then different but there was a little more focus on the horizon for me, the maple got a little untamed on the floor tom for my liking.

[@drumcenternh]

Glad you like it!

[@maxwellbrewer8637]

Bass drums sound great! What kind of muffling in them?

[@ohrid59mk76]

Dr.Tony , please can I have tune - boot settings for the maple kit ?

[@cuznred]

I want a Noble and Cooley CD Maple so bad. I have a custom DW Collectors on order that I wish I could cancel and get the Noble and Cooley.

[@paulbartlett9054]

I have three CD Maples sets, and I wondered what the difference was between CD and Horizon. Not much. They both sounded great! What was the price difference?

[@steoriggi]

Please which is the tune bot setting?

[@drumcenternh]

We'll get them posted ASAP!

[@jeffwaters2470]

I think I would go maple- toms sounded great. But really don’t think you could go wrong. Tough decision

[@centralscrutinizer8571]

Are these drums ventless? Through the room mics, they both sound pretty punchy and dry, which I like. However, I'd give a slight edge to the Horizons as the overtones are in a lower register and the attack has more of a "thwack" to it.

[@bigbejar]

Awesome sounding kits but they remind me of the brady bunch days. They have to have other selections for colors.....

[@drumcenternh]

You can literally get any color you want.

[@ramonkey2939]

The Horizon is my choice - My other kits are a 60's Black&Gold Badge Slingerland Maple Mahogany, A Canopus RFM, and A INDe Maple

[@SteveOuimette]

Love the tones and the kicks sound massive and punchy! What sub kick are you using to mic it up? I've never seen that one before.

[@StuartJrBarrett]

Those drum sound AMAZING! How do you guys tune??????? And what mics are you using on the bass drum???

[@phillamoore157]

Don't know what they're putting in the water in Massachusetts's, but the drum companies in that state are putting out some of the best drums on the planet.

[@michaelaugust9021]

What are your tunebot settings please

[@FlamaFlanga]

CD Maple rack toms and Horizon FT/Kick get my vote.

[@MyDyerMaker]

Maybe it's my speakers but the toms on both sets sound pillowy and not differentiated. I guess I don't get it.

[@remygaron8311]

So much care of the details now a days wonder why old lud worth so much they are most of them out of round😳😳😳🥁🥁🇨🇦🇨🇦

[@Grilla25]

Cd maple had that punch needed for live gigs!!!!!🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

[@NEALBABBITT]

Both sound good but I prefer the maple, they sound bigger and fuller to me.

[@Monsterdrumma]

Horizons, fatter and warmer also with more attack.

Horizon sound better, can U compare N&C vs Sonor ?

[@scottyh1509]

I prefer the deeper tone and longer decay of the CD maple.

[@bruceyork6405]

The silver sparkle seemed to have a deep, richer tone…..slightly.

[@andreasjonsson8075]

I liked the Horizon,

[@TrackDrums]

But... That snare!!!

[@JulianFernandez]

that snare tho

[@GregVasso]

I am a biased N&C Player but IMO, these are some of the best sounding drums on the planet. Not just the tones, but to me they have their own “voice” over many other kits. I was surprised to see how close these two are overall. I agree with other comments that the CD Maples have a little more brightness to them. Hard to go wrong with either IMO. And if by chance you are looking for a deeper/dirtier tone, check out their Walnuts - also ridiculously good sounding, the Kick especially: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZK5ioFomt6jsJo

[@terrydonegan1622]

Horizon has the edge methinks

[@DerekHundik]

NiCE

[@angelboyman]

I'm lucky enough to own an original Horizon from 1991 - it's still the best sounding kit I've owned and can bury most kits even today. Why would I want anything else?

[@BobbyJetty1502]

You have to had the kick drum up much more in the mix on the first kit. If not, God help us all.