On drums...

Well, here's the idea I mentioned in a different thread:
- to discuss about drum companies,
- their drum/hardware design

I'll cover three aspects - looks, level of detail, innovation.
I will not talk about sound - I leave that to everyone that has tried the drums...

http://www.mapexdrums.com/home.html

1) ORION and SATURN - top series from MAPEX
On first look, they don't "stand out", as top lines should. When You look at them (in a picture), there's nothing spectacular.
A shell lacquered very ordinary, a badge that is very simple and unattractive, and decent hardware.
The clever details are revealed when You stare at them for a while -
the floating tom mount I.T.S system, and
the floating floor tom legs (a clever detail which certainly adds to the sound) L.T.S. system.
But, the most important thing is missing - a clear signature/sign (apart from the bass drum logo) that these are MAPEX drums...

2) Black Panther series - they certainly have authority. The badge is nicely done, too. One can tell those were manufactured in every detail. Plus, they try to mix woods, which is a bold idea by itself...

3) The lower series simply don't move me. Nothing to see there. They all look like high school kits.


My personal favorite is the Retrosonic - http://www.andertons.co.uk/pages/i/94_1.jpg
Single lugs (stylish, but don't kill the single-lug lover ), hoops bent inward, and topped with a beautiful mate finish. What more could a guy dream for?!? The only down side is the undrilled tom - they should have used R.I.M.S - and if You don't like it, then take it off...




Fire away....

_________________
Goki - short from Goran

Let the good drums roll!!!

Why does Mapex marketing wing think that drums look best photographed from below, as if viewed on a high stage, or is it trying to encourage a sense of massiveness? In any case, the drums look distorted, and none of those pictures is alluring.

If engineered veneer is what you want, there's plenty of it to be had on Saturn.

Badges look a bit silly, and not particularly distinguished. Lugs... I don't respond.

The name "Mapex" is about as bad as it gets. It has no onomatopoetic virtue, and it sounds cheap to boot. Too close to "moping," "moped," or "maybe," and way too close to "apex," which is a bad joke in advertising. A watch company named "Rolex" could have developed such cachet only by virtue of great marketing, with an assist from Ian Flemming.

Black Panther is so well marketed that, if I were looking, I would check them out. Still "Mapex," and now "Black Panther," but intriguing nonetheless. The videos are great, and the studio/recording/microphone information gives confidence. What are the prices on those drums?

As I understand it, Mapex has become responsible for a huge portion of US and European drum production. It should not be a surprise, then, that Mapex has become the repository of all the world's best drum-building minds and techniques. An interesting and profound consequence of using the cheapest manufacturer.

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Gregory

Here's a Meridian bop set photographed by someone with a more balanced eye.

http://www.drumforum.org/index.php?/top ... manhattan/

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Gregory