Mapex

Okay, I would be very surprised to find a better entry-level kit especially after seeing that you can buy these for $200!! I originally bought mine for drummers to come over and jam with me on guitar.….I replaced the original snare with a 1960's Slingerland snare and I use a DrumDial to tune the Remo Coated Ambassadors….they are booming!! I also have some 1976 WMP Ludwigs and with the same heads, all tuned up they are neck and neck…..and like previously mentioned by other reviewers, this kick drum really slams…When it was time to record, I would go to C.A. House Music in St. Clairsville, Ohio to buy new heads and have Tim Siedler tune it up….Tim is a legendary drummer in that area and every time he was done tuning them he would give them 2 or 3 really hard whacks and mention how good they sounded….

well here goes about mapex dont be fooled by shiny colours - i love my drums BUT mapex mmmm 1 the hardware is poor quality 2 the ply quality are poor uneven cheap cuts 3 the maple rings for the bass drums poor cheap ply cuts they ll break/snap easily if your not careful the hardware is pretty cheap and not interchangeable. avoid anything below a saturn. - even so the lugs are still the same cheap quality as found on the m and pro m. and the maple rings too. new - buy - gretsch catalina / or pacific these are pretty good cheap new models. grooovy saul. My advice is, if you want cheap and great buy a secondhand premier - APK. rock solid ! or pearl MLX, or a 70s rogers! all about £400 for a good one -many to be found on ebay and great sounding drums! This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I started playing a set of pearl drums in church when I was four, which gave me twenty years of ups, downs, embarrassments and great times. I got to spend many hours in the house band playing live, making memories and praising God. I am still doing the same today, with a Mapex set. I play gospel music, contemporary, and praise & worship, which my 3 kids love. Two of them play the drums. My son and my daughter are wonderful drummers who make me very proud to be able to pass down what I have learned. For years I had played an old, beat up set of pearls, which did the trick, but you could tell that they had been through the long haul. I started talking to the pastor of my church about finding something new, and one day I walked in the church, and in the place of the pearls, sat a gorgeous, shiny, wine colored Mapex set, which I had to jump on real fast. I was fourteen, and it was a terrific day. The pearl set was traded in, and two thousand dollars was paid to a local music shop for this beautiful setup which I look forward to playing everyday. They have been well worth the price. I love the sleek look of the paint with the bright hardware. The tone of the toms and snare is incredible. The arms of the toms rotate so easily that you can put them in just the right place. The gibraltar hardware is very durable and road savvy. The set is easy up and down, while holding up on travel dates and outside singings. I have become almost personally attached to them. Not too long ago I was out of town, and the bass pedal came apart when some kids were playing with it. The Paiste Alpha cymbals are getting a little tarnished, but other than that I have no complaints. Lovely. Durable. Tough. The paint has held up great without bubbling up or chipping, and the hardware hasn't turned in color or has any sign of rust or future damage. The snare strands have not needed replacing. The legs on the bass and floor tom are not wobbly. The inside of the toms haven't been splintered. The true quality will be known in the years to come. I have considered the playability, the sound, how it holds up inside and outside, on carpet floors or on an inch thick osb, packed up in the back of the van, in the light or in the dark, its been exactly what I've needed, and will continue to be a great asset in playing the music that I want to play in the future. Very near perfect. How long will they last? How far will they go? Miles and smiles, let's find out. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Hi, I am from the Czech Republic and I've been playing drums for about 15 years and I've just bought the Mapex Saturn kit. I like almost all kinds of music but I think the jazz style influenced me most. I bought it from a local drum shop for about $1350 (the bassdrum and 4 tom-toms, no hardware except for tom mounts). I like everything. They look amazing and sound even better. I just had to replace the tom heads which were very bad, I put the Remo Ambassador Coated on and it just sounds great. The tom-toms really sing, have a warm sound, and the bassdrum has the typical deep, punch sound. Very versatile. Can be loud when you need it. I've Played top lines of the Yamaha, Pearl, Sonor, Tama, but the Saturns really got me, even though Mapex is not a real brand for me, but they make good sounding drums for less money than the others. Probably just the tom mounting system. It's a bit hard to adjust, needs strong arms. But it's heavy, very sturdy and it will last. Don't know about pedals and stands. And of course the original heads - just crap - but that's nothing. It's all made very well. Before putting new heads on I was quite afraid of the bearing edges, but they are perfect. And the high-gloss finish is also very nice, I have them in transparent black and some black burst over it and I have to say I've never seen more beautiful drums, maybe just exotic DWs. Great drums for a great price. They are versatile and great for gigs. But you can use them in the studio as well and you won't be disapointed, that's for sure. So if you want something special and don't want to spend money on DWs, go for a Mapex. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Hi, I am 15 and live in Australia. I have been playing fr about 7 years and love it. I take alot of notice of gear and really love it when my kit is sounding good (which is most of the time). My first drumm kit was a mapex venus kit in rock size's. after a few years i got in a band and started to play more and more, at this timei was saving for some cymbals as i was using the ones suplied with the kit. so after about eighteen months of saving i had about $1800 and was ready to by i spoted this kit on ebay. i bougt it for around 1500 dolars (australian which is around 2000 US. This kits versatility is really great, In the time Ive owned it My styles and preferances have chnged many times(from pop-rock, prog-rock, blues now to Jazz.) The tom sing, easy to tune (if you know how to) and have good ranges. The snear is great, i dont have the money to buy a second snear yet but im starting to thing i dont need to, the doubble snear tightener is a dream, lookd good sounds great. The Haredware is very versitile I took the toms off the bass drum annd put them onto the cymbal stand so now i have my toms almos level with my snear. the snear stand gives plenty of hight an is very stable. hi-hat stand is as good as i could wish for, great construcion very solid good tri-nodle cymbal base, great. The cymbal stands have bll joint tilters which are cool but dont ofer as large of an angle and conventional type. The cymbal stand have "dicky" single braced bases, these dont ofer as much stability as doble braced stands and seems like a stupid way to cut corners and bring down the feeling of qulity. Note; I have two tom toms and a crash "boomed" on these single braced stands and they dont worrie me. the ball joints are hard to tighten at first but i got use to them fast. I also like the Pearl, DW or PDP and Tama's I.S.O mounts more than the one found on mapex kits, the Mapex ISO is attched to the under side of the lugs and aouve the plastic couvers. othere have "Less" contact or it is not as close. I found that the majority of the kit is bulit to really GREAT STANDERDS, shell finish and main hardware. HOWEVER, some small things in hardware let this kit down. like stand bases, "power hoops" (for this money I would want die-cast) This kit didnt sound GREAT untill I bought new skins, I admit that I bought it second hand and it did not have origanal skins. but now it is awsome and all i want, The walnut is awsome and maple strong. I have friends who bought kit in similar price range (rrp $3500-$4000 new) new like the pdp LX i think which are all maple bla bla bla and i find my kit far superior. all in all you will not be let down with this kit nd when it comes down to it i find there are no other brands ofering walnut anywarenear this price, and now ive got it i would not go without. I belive in Mapex and have recomended the to my friends, those have bought a Pro M (just awsome value and no real fualts besides skins.) The only kit I fancey abouve this kit are TH gretch USA coustoms and i donthve that money. Buy this durm kit with cofidence. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I recieved this set secondhand and only slightly used from my father (most likely from eBay. My set came in a rare, "special order" Transparent Purple Laquer with a 22" x 16" bass, one 13" x 11" rack tom and a 16" x 16" floor tom. A 5 1/2" x 14" snare was also included. My kit came with all of the 500 series hardware (boom stand, straight stand, snare stand, hi-hat stand), a 300 series throne, a Mapex P-380 double bass pedal (bought separately, said the owner) and a custom cut Mapex boom stand and a off-brand boom stand (both of those I don't use). Okay, first I'd like to clarify that this set, for its wood construction, looks and sounds fantastic. I tune down with my drums (considering mine only came with a 13" rack tom and a 16" floor tom...deep sizes), so the bass drum gives off a bantastic boom and the toms emit rounded but deep overtones that are powerful yet versitile enough for any style of music. I heard complaints about the snare giving off too many overtones, but considering the construction (which I will get to in a little bit), all I had to do was tune the snare head high up to get a fantastic pop. The hardware is great. The P-380 Pedal is also fantastic, as it is my first double pedal. Honestly, I got more than what I bargained for. If any complaints, mine is mainly a hardware complaint. The doublew pedal just needs better beaters. I plan on saving up to some Tama Iron Cobra beaters for some extra bounce. Now, this is the part that gets a lot of people confused. My version comes with non-matching bass drum hoops and gold badges. What does that signify?...that this model is constucted of a 8 ply Maple and Basswood combo. The inner 7 plies are of basswood, while the guite large outer stave ply is of maple. The maple adds warmth, sustain, and attack (also helps to the tranparent lacquer finish); while the basswood adds the tone, clarity, and projection (gives off a sound similar to a stronger form of birch, in my opinion). Many have said that this model is either the new M Maple (made of 9 ply 100% Maple) or the new M Birch (made of an 8 ply Maple/Birch combo), but this is an opled model made from around 1999 to about 2003 or so, so don't be confused. Everything is well built and sturdy. I have yet to break a part or ruin the finish on these babies. Honestly, I love my Mapexes. They may be old, but they sound fantastic for their construction and layout...and plus, considering the finish, only a select few were made, so I got a rare set (~GO ME!!~). Don't be confused with this model and the new Mapex M's. These are entirely different and discontinued. Nevertheles, I love mine, as I use them for live and studio work. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Erm, I can't remember the exact name of this pedal, it's just the standard Mapex double pedal. I managed to get it for £75 (half price!) from www.drumshop.co.uk. Well, it's amazing for the price. It's sturdy, easy to adjust, reliable, with decent beaters with felt and plastic so you can choose different sounds. Unlike some pedals, it was hard to find really good settings. There are no bass plates, but they don't make enough difference to fork out another £40 for. The beaters are light, and don't punch the drum very hard, so stamp harder. Good. It hasn't broken, it doesn't fall apart, and it came with a Mapex key for all the nuts and stuff. Well, if you need a standard double bass pedal, get this one. www.nottinghamdrumcentre.com do them for £99 (correct on 30/03/03) so if you hurry, you can get one there. But if you want a really good one, get a DW or a top rang Pearl one, though you will need to spend a bit extra This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

This is a snare that I was not expecting to like very much at all. I was involved in a studio recording with one of these snares, and I first tried to not use it. I have been let down by Mapex before, but in 2010 I helped my nephew setup a Mapex set and liked the stock snare. I figured it was a one-off, because back in 2005 I played a Mapex set with a wooden snare that I hated. This snare comes in various sizes, and if i recall the studio had a 5x 13 snare version. I was going to settle for a piccolo snare thin body just because I didn't want a brass snare sound, but the recording engineer recommended otherwise. I could not argue, it was his call and I conformed. This snare had a crack and a snap to it that required very little power or force. I was pleasantly surprised by this. I expected after a few hours playing on it it would die down but it didn’t. The more I played this snare the more impressed I was with the sounds I was getting. Sure the hardware itself, the snare fastner felt like garbage aluminum bent into shape, but the thing functioned fine. I was completely impressed, as I am a drummer and musician who cherishes in good purchases for little money as possible, and this snare certainly delivers. The only thing I didn't really like was lifting the snare up, it was very heavy. This is definitely a good thing for a professional recording atmosphere where the set stays in one location at all times, but if you are a traveling drummer out on the road a lot or just like to transport your set around a bunch, you might not want this snare. I would say this snare is not for the beginner, but for the experienced drummer who is looking for a big band drum sound. The brass brings this snare into the classic marching drum realm of sound, while it is heavy and solid and has the crack and snap of that of any American band like Bruce Springsteen’s Max Weinberg “big room snare” or other artists of that era and genre.

I was recently shopping for a beginner set for my nephew. He seems like the kind of ten year old that will not give something up easy. That’s important for a drummer, because giving up the drums is a pain, not to mention expensive to purchase and depreciated value is astronomical. To minimise risk, I decided to focus on cheaper, common drum sets with standard hardware, that incase he quits, can be resold or integrated into other sets or different hardware can be changed out. For this I settled on a Mapex Voyager 2010 Jazz 5 piece drum set. Thus far, over a year or so, he has stuck with the drums, and is doing really well. I attribute this to a good set, that can take the abuse a ten year old can dish out, while not being intimidating, or too big for him. MY first set was a ludwig parts set, which was huge, old, and falling apart. I told him he was lucky, but I think he realized it when he went to school band and saw the imported garbage sets the school uses, he apprechiated his Mapex. As he should, because the build quality of this set is remarkable. For such a cheap price, (under 500 dollars US) you get comparible build and sound to a low level DW. I do not kid, yes there are some trade-offs, save cheaper woods, and yes to an expert this would matter, but for someone just starting out on a budget, or older but looking for something nice yet cheap, this is a great set. It came with a DVD instruction setup video which was nice but I was there and we didn’t bother with it. He picked out a black set, but I liked the Burgundy myself. Standard set sizes, 22x18 bass drum, 12x9 and 13x10 tom toms, 16x16 floor tom, 14x5.5 snare drum. I like the snare sound, although it took some time to get the resonating to settle. The hardware like kick pedal feels cheap, but functions fine. All in all, i think this is a great introductory set and wouldn’t think twice about picking up another one for a young player or someone who is on a strict budget.

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.

The Mapex Black Panther 13x5.5" Maple/Cherry Snare features: - 13" x 5.5" - 5.1mm shell - 1:9 bearing edge - Premium snare wire - 2.3mm Power Hoops - Natural finish I bought this snare as a replacement for my Pearl Joey Jordison steel snare. What I was hoping in buying this snare was to get a similar power as the Pearl had, but with the body and warmth the steel shell couldn't provide. Unlike the Pearl snare, this snare sounds really great at all tunings (the Pearl sounded good, but it really excelled at high tunings), and while I usually crank my snares almost to the max, this one sounds great at a more medium tuning. The snare does have significantly more ring than the Pearl did, but I also have a different batter head on it, and this snare is also 1.5" shorter in depth. With a drum dial, I tune this snare to 75 on the bottom, 80 on the top with the original head on the bottom and a Remo Coated Powerstroke 3 on top. The tone is fat with a punchy attack. Like I said earlier, this snare is fairly ringy, maybe a bit more than I'd prefer, but I find the natural ring of a snare really gives it a lively sound, people who dampen their snares a ton really choke the life out of them - I think with an Evans Genera HD Dry or a Controlled Sound head, it will really bring this snare to life (not a huge fan of Remo). The ping on this snare isn't as powerful as it was on my Pearl snare when hitting close to the rim of the head, and on rimshots, but it more than makes up for that with the overall fullness the cherry and maple combination give the snare. This snare isn't quite as loud as the Pearl, but instead sits in the mix much more nicely, it matches the maple drums on the rest of my set MUCH better. This snare was made more with versatility in mind, being able to play a large variety of music. Unlike the Joey Jordison snare, which mostly only extreme highs cut through, making the snare sound a bit one-dimensional, the Black Panther is much more well balanced in the lows, mids and highs, which allows for a fatter sound that is much more full and overall pleasing to the ear. Unless you're playing Death Metal all the time, this snare is a MUCH better choice. I would definitely recommend this to any drummer looking to upgrade their snare. The 13" size of the drum allows you to more easily play double bass, as your legs aren't riding right up against the drum, that extra inch makes a HUGE difference! This snare, while not quite as pingy on the rims as the Pearl, which I loved, has given me a new appreciation for the snare. Before, I thought that I needed that huge ping to sound how I wanted, but this snare sound AMAZING without it. I really couldn't recommend this snare enough. I was going to go with a DDrum Dios snare, OCPD or a Pork Pie all in 13x7" configurations, and I'm glad I didn't. This snare puts those 3 to shame!

The Mapex Chromium is a big and deep snare drum that I believe is sold on it's own and not part of a kit that I'm aware of. We have this snare drum at the studio where I work, and it's one of the ones that gets used the most from what I can tell from my own experience working at the studio. It's not your typical, tight crack sort of snare, rather it's a deeper, grittier sort of sound. You can probably tell this just from looking at the drum, as it's pretty deep in terms of it's physical characteristics. I don't know exactly if this drum is actually made out of chrome or if it's just in the name, but it's definitely a sturdy drum. The last session that I used this drum on, we were switching this drum back and forth between a Yamaha snare drum with a tighter sound. It was definitely a nice contrast between the two of them, as they are two totally different sounds and worked well both in their own ways. I wouldn't say that the Mapex Chromium would be the best choice if you only had to choose one snare drum, but it's the perfect compliment drum to your tighter, more high pitched snare drum that drummers would normally use. I don't know very much about Mapex and I don't know much background information in general about the Mapex Chromium, as I don't know if I would even know about it if we didn't have one at the studio. Having said this, I can't really comment on the price or availability of the drum - I just know that it sounds great for what it is and is an awesome snare to have around the studio for getting some contrasting snare sounds...