I used one of these not too long ago for a studio recording at a pal’s studio in downtown LA. I have to say this unit was the biggest piece of trash I ever used in my life. I’ve seen and used chinese garbage before, but this thing bent one of the arms while i was recording and put a hole through my snare bottom head. It took me about 45 minutes to repair and replace the drum head. I took the unit out and told my buddy to never use mapex stuff again. I’ve never had such a horrible experience with drum hardware before. It cost me 200 dollars of wasted time in the studio fiddling with repair.
The one nice feature I did take note of on this unit was the tilt lever was thick and seemed like it would hold well. I suspect this was partially the reason the arm bent and broke, because it was overtightened so much that who ever tried to tilt it bent it too far. Either way, I cannot recommend this stand, and I will not stand behind it’s use for studio stuff, or even for rigourous events like touring or live venues as a snare stand.
It did seem like it folded up nicely, but again there is no point to using this thing when the arm breaks under pressure. I did not attempt to contact Mapex for a replacement or service, but I am sure they would not have been of help beyond recommending purchasing a new unit.
All in all, I cannot recommend this Mapex snare stand to anyone since my experience it was a horrible burden and cost me more money than the thing was worth. I sue DW hardware, which while is not the lightest equipment, the trade off is much better. That trade off is for reliable, unbreakable, good use, long lasting stands that will not break and damage equipment, like this Mapex XLS stand.