New kit in waiting for Christmas

[dingbat]

Ok, got sucked in and did it again, yes, another kit, but before I get the 3rd degree on how many I've bought in the last 2 years, I sold my PDP CX and Sonor 3003 within the last few months. Have a very lightly used excellent condition Mapex Saturn in electric blue sparkle lacquer on the way from an ebay transaction I completed yesterday. The "buy it now" sales price with free shipping and no tax was too good to pass up, alot of shops are trying to get that last bit of holiday sales before Christmas passes and I noticed a price drop and took advantage of it. Shell pack in fusion sizes 10X8, 12X9, 14X14FT, 14X5.5 and 22X18. The photo of the exact shell pack purchased is from the ebay auction, the other photo of the kit with hardware is a Mapex promotional pic. I'll give a nuts and bolts review with some more pictures when I receive it in the next week or so.

[Salicete]

That blue sparkle is killer, though you get minus points for selling the Sonors. (Just kidding). ;)

Nice kit; post pics when you get it all set up!

[maddrummr]

OOOO that blue makes me smile!!!! It must suck to wait for something that good.

[Drummer Karl]

Oh god, you lucky guy! ;-)
Great kit bro, I`ll soon record with my band in studio...I think on an...ORION. I`m pretty impressed of Mapex` Hi-end sound.

so congrats to this awesome kit man!

Karl

[d.c.drummer]

ANOTHER KIT???!!!?????

Just jk, i'm jealous because i'm still on kit 1. The blue sparkle on that looks amazing. Lucky you!

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

Nice work Dingbat. Suddenly three kits in four years doesn't feel as bad.

Why is it everyone is going over to Mapex? They're getting somewhat ubiquitous now. My guess is the lower price point against features opportunities offered by Mapex. They're nice drums, but I'm not entirely sold yet.

[outtastix723]

The blue sparkel = amazing.
MAPEX is a nice looking brand of drums. My music shop's stock of drums is half MAPEX. Once in a while you see a Ludwig in there, but mostly MAPEX. They have some great looking drums!

[dingbat]

Nice work Dingbat. Suddenly three kits in four years doesn't feel as bad.

Why is it everyone is going over to Mapex? They're getting somewhat ubiquitous now. My guess is the lower price point against features opportunities offered by Mapex. They're nice drums, but I'm not entirely sold yet.

I know that I said in earlier posts that I would not sell the Sonor 3003, but I was able to recoop most of what I paid for it. In the end, as nice of a kit as it was for the price point, my tastes have gravitated towards a thinner shell that promotes more resonance and lower frequencies, the 3003 shells are fairly thick, and tend to promote a higher frequency sound with a shorter decay. The 3005's are definitely much thinner than the 3003's, but knowing now what I have been finding out about the different types of maple being advertised and used in various kits, I guess you can label me a "North American/Canadian" rock/sugar maple snob, which I am not convinced that the 3005's use, they are very likely maple of an Asian variety, which is not as dense or hard and will be reflected in the sound. Once I got the RMV's, I sold the PDP CX, as the wrap finish was close between the two being a silver sparkle and the fact that there was no contest in sound, the RMV's absolutely smoke the PDP CX (as well as the 3003's) in sound, ease of tuning, keeping in tune etc... I like to try alot of different kits out, and I manage to scope out good deals on close-outs/promotional/used kits, so in the end, if the drum does not tickle my inner ear anymore, I can sell without losing much money. The Mapex meets the requirements of a thin shell, with North American maple plys (and two inner plys of walnut), it was priced right and could be sold to recoop most or all of what I paid if I decide to sell in the future, good tom/kick mounting/isolation hardware for the all important resonance, 2.3mm hoops, true and well finished bearing edges (from the reviews I have read) and a very tasty looking blue sparle lacquer that is a different color to add to the drum finish palette. I have played them before and enjoyed what I heard, but did not get to really tinker with them as far as inspecting edges, tuning at various head tensions, trying out different heads, etc... There are two extensive reviews on the PDF forum by members who have the Saturns, and they are informative and well written, one of the reviewers also has a DW collectors he compares the Saturns to, the other has a Pearl Masters, the Saturns were compared competitively and favorably against those two kits given their high end status, this definitely helped in considering the Saturns. So, thin shells are in for me as exemplified by the tom shell thicknesses of the kits I have and will receive shortly -

Taye SM- 4.5mm
RMV - 4.0mm with 2.0mm reinforcing rings
Mapex Saturn - 5.1mm

[Fat Elvis]

you had to -- you just had to win. :)

very nice saturn -- quite a step up from the 3003 and i know exactly what you are talking about. The 3003's are nice, but a pro kit really shows their flaws (which i think have a lot to do with their wood, but are still an unbeatable kit for that price).

i still have not played a mapex, but they do look very nice. I made a super low offer at GC the other day on a Bonham sized used vistalite. They didn't bite, which i think was good for me in the end.

I think I am going to rewrap my starclassic to try and put off my kit-buying frenzy. Bought a new ride last night.... that did help a little, but it was probably akin to a bottle of Jack for a Heroin addict :)

[Class A Drummer]

Man you are sure lucky. That looks like a great set, and that finish is sweet!

[nhzoso]

My god Man, You ever thought about just renting them?? LOL, I still like my 3003's and will not upgrade for atleast another year if that. I only been playing a year so I don't really notice a big difference in kits yet.

Anyway that is a very nice kit I love the look of Mapex although have not heard one yet.

[dingbat]

My god Man, You ever thought about just renting them?? LOL, I still like my 3003's and will not upgrade for atleast another year if that. I only been playing a year so I don't really notice a big difference in kits yet.

Anyway that is a very nice kit I love the look of Mapex although have not heard one yet.

Renting, nah, it would cost more in the end than buying and selling :-) I remember when you got your 3003's, a few of us chimed in, and I still stand by the statement that it is a good kit and a kick*** deal that we got them for (you, me, Fat Elvis et al...). But as you go up the food chain in drums, you start to really key in on the things that make kits higher end. When you cross that bridge, you will know, and if you can get someone you know that has been playing a while and has a high end kit, have them go over the kit with you, the details are alot clearer to see and hear than to try and conceptualize from a posting on a forum.

[dingbat]

you had to -- you just had to win. :)

very nice saturn -- quite a step up from the 3003 and i know exactly what you are talking about. The 3003's are nice, but a pro kit really shows their flaws (which i think have a lot to do with their wood, but are still an unbeatable kit for that price).

i still have not played a mapex, but they do look very nice. I made a super low offer at GC the other day on a Bonham sized used vistalite. They didn't bite, which i think was good for me in the end.

I think I am going to rewrap my starclassic to try and put off my kit-buying frenzy. Bought a new ride last night.... that did help a little, but it was probably akin to a bottle of Jack for a Heroin addict :)

Hey FE, Larlev is still in the running ;-) Rewrapping in what color, and what method, contact cement, high bond tape from www.jamminsam.com or the full sheet adhesive backing on the wrap as offered by www.drumfoundry.com? Even with the rewrap, I think you are going to succumb, I see the signs and symptoms of "bohnamitis" festering and weakening your immune system! What ride did you get? Merry Christmas.

[Fat Elvis]

Hey FE, Larlev is still in the running ;-) Rewrapping in what color, and what method, contact cement, high bond tape from www.jamminsam.com or the full sheet adhesive backing on the wrap as offered by www.drumfoundry.com? Even with the rewrap, I think you are going to succumb, I see the signs and symptoms of "bohnamitis" festering and weakening your immune system! What ride did you get? Merry Christmas.

i like the gold sparkle wrap with jamminsam, but i do want a wrap that sticks to the entire drum, so maybe i will get the adhesive from drumfoundry.

as for the ride, i bought a sabian 21" AA Raw Bell Dry Ride.

[Exident]

Hey,

completely right, blue sparkle is a great color for drumsets....and it is not very often used ;) It is more something unicat i guess.
This mapex is remembering me at my Sonor 3005 special edition....by the way i could post some new pictures too.

Nice work

MfG
Toby

[dingbat]

Hey,

completely right, blue sparkle is a great color for drumsets....and it is not very often used ;) It is more something unicat i guess.
This mapex is remembering me at my Sonor 3005 special edition....by the way i could post some new pictures too.

Nice work

MfG
Toby

Hello Toby, please do post pictures of your kit, I would enjoy seeing the blue sparkle!

[driver]

Lovely kit in many ways. Theres something holding me back from getting a really nice Saturn. I just cant explain it. Its like Mapex lack the soul of some other kits. Thats really silly but you know how it is with some kits. Your review of the kit may sway me!

[dingbat]

Lovely kit in many ways. Theres something holding me back from getting a really nice Saturn. I just cant explain it. Its like Mapex lack the soul of some other kits. Thats really silly but you know how it is with some kits. Your review of the kit may sway me!

I understand, I think there are two things that hold people back a bit from Mapex, first is the name. For some folks it just sounds wrong, I don't know why the thought exists, but it seems to be powerful enough to turn people off from buying their products. I read a comment somewhere on another forum where somoene proclaimed the name to be stupid sounding, enough to turn someone off from buying a kit from that manufacturer, they questioned what does "Mapex" even mean; I could have retorted and said, what does a stupid name like "Tama" mean to prove a point, but that's not me and we all have our buttons that we like to get pushed. The second is the company being a younger player in the market, making drums for only the last 15 years (KHS Musical Instruments, the parent company, was founded in 1930), with admittedly shoddy drums in the beginning (I remember them when they were introduced to market back then, not very good). Some of this "historical" rememberance still lingers in the minds of the drumming public. Since those early days, Mapex has done an outstanding job of growing and building itself into a world class drum manufacturer and is only one of a handful who can claim ISO9000 certification in musical instrument manufacturing. Here are the links to the two reviews on PDF that I ran across, hope they are informative and helpful -

http://www.pearldrummersforum.com/showthread.php?t=132747

(the following review is in a zip file format when you read the first post in the thread, needs to be opened)
http://www.pearldrummersforum.com/showthread.php?t=141086&highlight=saturn+review

*update - a professional review from the Mike Dolbear site - http://www.mikedolbear.co.uk/story.asp?StoryID=1031

[Fat Elvis]

well thought out, dingbat. I think you are close to the mark here. I know that here in vegas, mapex are non existent. I think a big reason (besides what you mentioned) is that neither GC or Sam Ash carry them. And thats all anyone would go to here, as there are literally NO good independant music stores here -- sadly.

For me, I personally do not like the name.... its so...... Tampax sounding. ;) But even more so, i hate the logo. And being a graphic designer, i hate looking at bad logos. Which is maybe why i tend to buy more Zildjians than Sabians (bad logo) and more Vic Firths than Vaters (bad logo) and tend to want to use Remo over Evans (bad logo).

i do like your kit though -- although i would replace the logo head the same day. heh.

[dingbat]

well thought out, dingbat. I think you are close to the mark here. I know that here in vegas, mapex are non existent. I think a big reason (besides what you mentioned) is that neither GC or Sam Ash carry them. And thats all anyone would go to here, as there are literally NO good independant music stores here -- sadly.

For me, I personally do not like the name.... its so...... Tampax sounding. ;) But even more so, i hate the logo. And being a graphic designer, i hate looking at bad logos. Which is maybe why i tend to buy more Zildjians than Sabians (bad logo) and more Vic Firths than Vaters (bad logo) and tend to want to use Remo over Evans (bad logo).

i do like your kit though -- although i would replace the logo head the same day. heh.


In your honor then, I'll have to go to the trophy/plaque shop and get some new metal logo plates to screw onto the toms and bass and have them inscribed proudly with "TAMPAX" (no offense taken all in good fun), which btw make great compression bandages for open wounds when sterile gauze is not available ;-) Logo head will most likely be replaced with a ported Aquarian SK Resonator.

[Fat Elvis]

In your honor then, I'll have to go to the trophy/plaque shop and get some new metal logo plates to screw onto the toms and bass and have them inscribed proudly with "TAMPAX"!, which btw make great compression bandages for open wounds when sterile guaze is not available ;-)

hah. well, i certainly hope you were not offended. I think it is a fantastic kit -- no matter what the name plate says.

and should i ever need to (lets hope i won't) i will keep the bandage thing in mind. Maybe the next skinned knee my 8 year old daughter gets, i will sent her to school with some tampons strapped to her knees.

[dingbat]

Checked the tracking numbers with the shipper, countdown to January 2nd...

[driver]

Very good points dingbat and thanks alot for taking the time to find those really helpful links for me. Enjoy your kit!