My brand spanking new Mapex Saturn - Now with 100% more ROCK and 46% more ROLL

Very nice, but why did you put the bass drum port hole dead center?

Dennis

Thanks mate. Just trying it out; seeing how I like it. So far it's making my bass player complain about the huge puffs of air he feels on his legs, so I'd say it's working nicely :)
 
I had originally ordered a Black Panther Brass Cat snare to go with the kit, but that part of the order got lost somewhere in the supply chain. Oh well, I guess my Black Beauty will have to suffice for now

Soooo yeah, update on the Black Panther. Someone did indeed mess up, but it wasn't who we thought. Turns out the snare arrived in the store back in early July and has been sitting there ever since!

So I'm back to my original plan: Use the Black Panther as my main workhorse and use the Black Beauty as my studio snare and modding project. The Beauty sounds amazing, but the hardware is a big load of "meh" (lug splay, crappy strainer and it detunes at the drop of a hat). I'll probably start experimenting with different hoops, tension rods and strainer mechanisms and see where it all leads me. Fun times :)
 
Mmmm. I just want to lick them. Gotta love nickel hardware. You do realize cutting a hole in the center of your kick reso head is like having no head at all right? I'd be unporting that tone monster.
 
You do realize cutting a hole in the center of your kick reso head is like having no head at all right?

I didn't know that. My kick has a stock head with a big hole in the middle. I find that changing its tuning makes a difference, but not as much as a side port?

Naige, I will forever associate Mapex Saturns with Sticks. If these are as good as you say then maybe our dearly departed was on to something and has been unfairly judged? All I gathered from chats here is that Mapex were a lower-to-mid level brand but many budget brands have made the step up, eg. Pearl, Tama, Yamaha so it's no surprise that other brands follow suit.
 
Naige, I will forever associate Mapex Saturns with Sticks. If these are as good as you say then maybe our dearly departed was on to something and has been unfairly judged? All I gathered from chats here is that Mapex were a lower-to-mid level brand but many budget brands have made the step up, eg. Pearl, Tama, Yamaha so it's no surprise that other brands follow suit.

I've never seen Mapex referred to as a mid level brand, at least not for the last 10-15 years. Their top lines are definitely up there with anything from comparable brands (Tama, Pearl, Premier, etc). These Saturns, along with the couple of Orion kits I've played, are easily some of the best sounding kits I've sat behind.

You do realize cutting a hole in the center of your kick reso head is like having no head at all right?
That's not what I've heard, and it definitely doesn't sound single headed to me. I've never noticed a difference in sound or feel based on where I've placed a port hole; it's only ever been determined by the hole size.

Like I said though, I'll be replacing this head anyway (never been a fan of the black glossy kick reso, and with a white kit it looks even more out of place), so I'm just experimenting for now :)


Nice kit, Naige. So do you let go of your Sonor? I used a Mapex kit for years, but it was
an Orion. I loved it. Funnily, now I play a Sonor :).

Nice finish, and I'd love to see how 24" BD and 18" tom sound and feel!! The BD sure
is deeper than those vintage kit BDs that are 24x14 mostly I believe.

I'll put the Sonor up for sale. The market for used midrange kits isn't exactly huge here though, so there's a strong possibility I'll end up hanging on to it. If I ever do get a soundproof room in my home I'll at least have a kit to put there :)

The kick is a powerhouse for sure. I haven't found the sweet spot for the 18" tom yet, but it sounds thunderous even now. As with my Sonors, I'll need to screw around with the tunings of the floor toms to find where they sound great and at the same time don't set eachother off. Right now, the 16" rings out whenever I hit the 18", so I'll have to move their tunings a bit further apart.
 
You do realize cutting a hole in the center of your kick reso head is like having no head at all right?
Yes, & not quite. A small port to one side certainly retains much more reso head involvement & head sustain than one in the middle, but a middle ported reso head offers a more rounded focus & more tone in the attack than a bass drum with no reso at all. A centre hole means pretty much relying on the batter head for any sustain, but that can work well in both recording & live mic scenarios in higher powered music.
 
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Beautiful set! Congrats!
 
Very nice Naige. Clean & workmanlike.

When do the other 27 drums arrive?


funny thing is, having remembered sticks had a website, if you check, he just bought a 4 piece kit, I'm pretty sure I can hear hell freezing over, or wait, was that the Eagles getting back together :)
 
Yes, & not quite. A small port to one side certainly retains much more reso head involvement & head sustain than one in the middle, but a middle ported reso head offers a more rounded focus & more tone in the attack than a bass drum with no reso at all. A centre hole means pretty much relying on the batter head for any sustain, but that can work well in both recording & live mic scenarios in higher powered music.
Yup. I just came back from a Mike Mangini clinic and all 3 bass drums were ported in the center.

Nice drums BTW. Congrats!!
 
Love the drums and the white on black chrome! I am having my church order me the same kit and finish for me in a few months. Saturns are awesome! Enjoy.
 
So how much did this kit end up costing as opposed to the 6-piece shell packs Mapex sells for around $1600? Looking to buy one myself but if my desire for a 20" bass drum and 15" floor tom will cost me big bucks, I'd rather buy the Birch/Walnut pack and be done with it...
 
So how much did this kit end up costing as opposed to the 6-piece shell packs Mapex sells for around $1600? Looking to buy one myself but if my desire for a 20" bass drum and 15" floor tom will cost me big bucks, I'd rather buy the Birch/Walnut pack and be done with it...

I got it for a very good price, among other things because I've helped the guys at the dealer out with some stuff before.

However, the list price on a custom configuration is definitely a fair bit higher than a pre-configured setup. The list price for my toms and kick are about the same as a Saturn Studioease shellpack, which has one more tom and also comes with a snare.

It was definitely worth it for me though. Taking the step up to a pro kit, I didn't want to compromise on what sizes I wanted.
 
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