Thoughts on Mapex MPX and Premier Hi-Fi Snares.

W

WolfLeBlack

Junior Member
Hey-ho everybody,

Right, I'm still shopping around for a new snare. The only conclusion I've really come to so far is that drummers shopping for snares are arguably far worse than girls shopping for shoes. Just sayin'.

At the moment I'm using an ancient Session Pro metal snare. I've got it tuned as well as I can and it has some decent heads to help give it a better sound, but it still has some pretty horrible overtones to it. Still, it's passable. After years of using it I've finally gotten a bit fed up and am hunting down something new.

Now, here's the problem: due to where I am, I mostly have to play with pads on the kit to keep everything quiet, and thus I'm wondering if I can really justify getting a more expensive snare if I'm rarely going to get to hear its true sound. In short, I'm trying to justify purchasing a Mapex Black Panther Hip-Cat for £179.

So, what I'm wondering is this: what's everyones thoughts on the Mapex MPX snares? They're a great price, but are they worth the cash? Doubtless, even at such a low price it'd still be a big improvement over what I have. Or do you think that even if I'm rarely going to hear it I should just fork out the cash and go down the Black Panther route?

And also, ahs anyone got any thoughts on this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINTAGE-P...ents_Drums_Percussions_MJ&hash=item4ab8ce85b8

For the price, I'm seriously considering it.

Cheers ya'll!
 
http://www.vintagedrumguide.com/images/premier_drumsets/1960-premier-catalog-8.jpg

I've been on eBay and have seen that snare on there a number of times. Premier always made excellent snares and I think that their metal snares are particularly good. It will be quite a focussed-sounding drum with the die-cast hoops but thoroughly professional.

The only concern that comes to mind with that specific drum on eBay is the condition of the outer layer of chrome. That's not very common on Premier snares because the chroming process was probably the finest that has ever been used on drums - they really nailed it. However, I would personally be tempted by the old Premier snare myself.

With that said, the Black Panther is an excellent drum and people consistently tout how good they are on here. It's a case of wood against metal against the Premier and that's a personal choice. Both will deliver very well.

The old Premier's main disadvantage is the archaic throw-off lever. Old throw-offs aren't generally as good as modern units and you may find yourself wanting to replace it. Provided you can find something with the right hole spacing, it's probably another £30. I could live with the old throw-off personally, provided it were in good working condition.
 
I've been using an MPX Maple (14x7) for about a year now.
Its a pretty decent snare for the price.. but i personally dont like its snare throw-off as it seems kinda weak.
 
You might just want to go ahead and bite the bullet. Get the best snare that you can reasonably afford and wait for that golden day when you can take the mutes off and lay into that thing. I've had both Black Panthers and MPXs and I'd say go ahead and get the Panther. They sound fantastic and they're both beautiful and sturdy. These are drums that will last you a long time. I like Premiers but finding parts down the road would worry me. The WorldMax drums are sweet as well. They make the shells for the Pork Pie BoB, PDP Ace and others so they put out a quality product. You've got some big fun ahead of you.
 
Sorry for the time it took me to get back here. Thanks for the advice, ya'll. I've gone ahead and just ordered a simple MPX in the black. Nothing fancy, but it'll suit my needs :)
 
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