Mapex
Drums Review
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- July 2000 -
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This is
not a full review, just a "second date" review. I am doing a master
class May 4th at Guitar Works in Indianapolis for Denny Dixon's 120
students and a clinic open to the public and will be playing Mapex. How
about that for eating a little crow ? (Boy, there's no meat on those
crow legs!).
I hadn't
touched a Mapex drum in probably five years and was asked by Josh Touchton of
Mapex, Artist relations and National Accounts manager, to give their
products a fair shake, since I had basically been calling them the lowest of the
low. I went by the Nashville headquarters and received a warm welcome from
Josh and also from John Rush, an old friend of mine who I was pleasantly
surprised to find working there. Josh explained to me how the company
has developed over the last decade from a purely entry level
manufacturer to the stature of a full line professional quality
manufacturer. The instruments that I heard are proof of this.
Josh
pulled out raw shells and 10" drums of all their lines to demonstrate the
quality of their sound. The finishes were beautiful especially the gold
fade. Starting with the least expensive drums;
The Pro M,
M , and V shells are shells that use either basswood or combinations of basswood
and maple. I like the sound of Basswood and am enthused to see that
their entry level and semi-pro offerings are incorporating this better
sounding and better looking wood than Philippine mahogany (lauan?).
There is a Pro M micro set (short toms) at Fork's that has a whomping bass drum
sound and has received the nod from all the locals here.
The
Saturn Pro Series occupies the middle ground with a thin shell that is made from
alternating plies of maple and basswood. Very resonant.
the
Orion Classic and Orion Birdseye Maple are the 6 ply maple top of the line
models (7 ply with the additional birdseye maple veneer). Again a well
made resonant shell with perfect bearing edges.
It was
nice to see that 18" bass drums were offered in all the lines.
I
also played three Black Panther snare drums at Fork's that more than surpassed
my expectations of a professional drum. I'll spend more time with these and
other Mapex snare drums and give my reviews after some practical experience with
them. I especially liked the prototype cast iron drum at the Mapex office;
should rival the concrete drum. :-)
There are
some other innovations that appealed to me since they seemed to be based on
solid engineering that affects the end sound; Floor tom and hanging tom
ITS mounts, bass drum spurs and tom mount that are integral with the lugs, not
the shell; the floor tom legs are spring loaded; nice rubber cymbal "felts" that
protect cymbals, low mass lugs.
I also got
to check out one of the Janus Transmission hi hat double bass pedal systems
(left pedal operates either hat or left bd. beater via a shifting
derailleur system). Nice. I want it.
I didn't
have time to check out a lot of hardware but did see enough to know that the
problems I had noticed years before have been addressed and improved. Mainly in
the "rattle" department and adjustability areas. All of the stands, pedals and
mounting hardware are not only state of the art, they are actually cutting edge,
new path blazing stuff, like the triple mount stand.
My opinion
of the Mapex sound was based on experience with drums six and seven years ago
before all these drastic improvements were implemented. I am thoroughly
impressed with the sound of these drums. I'm glad they dropped the long
tube lug design and went with the low mass lug.
George
 George Lawrence,
Nashville TN
Drumset
artist, teacher, author
http://www.drumguru.com
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