The dampening and detuning needed to achieve that sound rendered the actual sound of the drum somewhat non existent. At least to the point where a manufacturers badge would have made a big difference in sound. Any drum of your liking could have been used.
Let's see, drums...wooden shell with 2 heads, tuned properly in order for the tone to resonate or "sing" when hit. Keep in mind there are some who tune drums to the key of the song that's being recorded. That requires tone. That 70's sound was the anti-tone.
We're being rather specific with this 70's sound but that sound required a single top head only, detuned heads and dampening to taste. Defeated the entire purpose of hearing the tone or resonance of the shell. You ended up recording a thud more than the tone of the shells "singing".
You want to buy drums that sound good and offer versatility. I really like the DWs. I still have 2 Yamaha kits and they are used in the studio frequently. I owned an oversized set of Gretsch in the late 70's. Always liked Gretsch. I'm not sure on the build quality today as I'm not shopping. My guess would be there are many excellent manufacturers and sets to choose from. Besides aesthetics and perceived quality of a manufacturers sound I feel the important points for me are:
- Roundness of the shell
- Lugs
- hardware
- Durability
Beyond that it's really a matter of the player and/or the guy tuning the drums.