Got my Safari!

[pearlygates]

Some of you know the ordeal I recently went through when I placed an order for this shell pack back 4-5 days ago.. No need to regurgitate that mess..

Without further adieu..











The kit came in FLAWLESS! Edges were very good, wrap is beautiful!..
Black galaxy wrap is just beautiful! I haven't had a real chance to lay into them yet, but I did tune them up and they are everything everyone here on these boards has been saying!

Just a great kit!! Highly recommended. Thanks to Bo, bobda and others for their recommendation. Love this kit!.

BTW, I have ordered a REMO PS4 kick batter and am planning to re-head the toms as well. I haven't even unpacked the snare drum.. I may keep it as a spare or sell it. Unsure at this point.

[bobdadruma]

Are you feeling better now?
The kit looks great!
I see that you ditched the stock snare already ;)
You are the first to use a KickPort that I have seen.
Please put up some samples soon.

[pearlygates]

Originally Posted by bobdadruma

Are you feeling better now?
The kit looks great!
I see that you ditched the stock snare already ;)
You are the first to use a KickPort that I have seen.
Please put up some samples soon.

Yeah.. I sure wasn't feelin' it with the natural wrap kit. This did change my mind a complete 180deg. I do plan to do some YouTube vids with this kit soon. Tomorrow I should be able to make some noise with them!

The snare isn't even out of the box.. I'm using my ddrum black chrome snare.. I haven't decided if I'm keeping the Safari snare or selling it as of yet.

[dmacc]

Congratulations. It's a wonderful looking set for sure. Looking forward to the videos.

[bobdadruma]

Im glad that you are a happy camper.
Im off to play my Safari at Jazz band practice tonight.
I leave the kit there and Thursday is the only day that I play mine lately.
I look forward to playing it every week.

[pearlygates]

Originally Posted by dmacc

Congratulations. It's a wonderful looking set for sure. Looking forward to the videos.

Hey..thanks! The quality is amazing for the price.. These drums look like they could cost a lot more than the $340 I paid! Actually,
with the ordeal I went through with the first shell pack I ordered, Chicago Music Exchange credited me $40 off and paid for all shipping incurred.
Sweet deal!

Originally Posted by bobdadruma

Im glad that you are a happy camper.
Im off to play my Safari at Jazz band practice tonight.
I leave the kit there and Thursday is the only day that I play mine lately.
I look forward to playing it every week.

This kit will be my at home (apartment) practice and small stage gig kit. I would even take these little monsters on a bigger stage. I can tell from the initial tuning that they are gonna mic up most excellent! Amazingly easy to tune!

[Bo Eder]

I'm glad they were able to take of you! Congratulations! We want videos now ;)

[nickjd]

that looks very well finished indeed! nice

[pearlygates]

Thanks guys. I will have some video up pretty soon..

[Stixnergard2]

The kit looks great, glad it all worked out!

[pearlygates]

Thanks man.. very happy the way things turned out.

[evilg99]

Congrats, Pearly. Glad to hear it all worked out!
Before writing off the snare drum ( and no one could blame you ) , tighten up the snare side head up to the point of crazy...and then some more- that's the only way I could make the Safari snare sound normal.
In a 'normal' tuning range, it just sounded dull and lifeless...no snap, no crack, no sensitivity.
BTW, I also have a 16" kick with a kickport in the one version of my Force 3007 Jungle kit ( also have non ported and 2" hole ported) reso heads- but I haven't gigged with it enough to form an opinion so I'll be curious to see if you like the kickport.

Neal

[Mike Armstrong]

Ya, don't blow off the snare just yet :) The snare that came with my 1007 kit had been on display and as Neal said it too was cranked up something awful but what a crack! It sounds great and that's with stock heads.

[pearlygates]

Yeah, just a great little kit! The KickPort was kind of a ploy to wring some more low end out of this tiny drum.. So far. boobs on a bull. I am replacing the kick drum batter with a REMO PS4 coated tomorrow, and prolly either coated Ambassadors or possibly smmoth white emps.

The snare drum is in limbo for now..
I will probably pull it from the box this weekend and check it out.

Overall I'd say this kit is very nice for just a little cash. Its gonna take some aclamating for me due to the small kick.

[bobdadruma]

I wouldn't recommend a PS4 as a batter head on such a small bass drum.
I would go with the PS3 coated instead. The stock head is also excellant.
For the reso I recommend a smooth white Ambassador or a thin Fiberskin.
If you port the head I recommend a small 3 or 3.5 inch porthole.
Don't try to make the 16" bass drum sound larger.
Let it sound like it sounds. Let it sing a little too.
Don't dampen it too much.

[areFish]

Looks great PG! I like the cymbals too. Congratulations.

[pearlygates]

Originally Posted by bobdadruma

I wouldn't recommend a PS4 as a batter head on such a small bass drum.
I would go with the PS3 coated instead. The stock head is also excellant.
For the reso I recommend a smooth white Ambassador or a thin Fiberskin.
If you port the head I recommend a small 3 or 3.5 inch porthole.
Don't try to make the 16" bass drum sound larger.
Let it sound like it sounds. Let it sing a little too.
Don't dampen it too much.

Thanks for the advice bobda! I wasn't able to change my order for the PS4 batter. It arrived this morning. I still haven't installed it as of this post. I admit the 16" kick is a bit of a switch considering my 22x20 ddrum alder kick! I know this is an apples to hand grenades distinction. For what it is, the 16 sounds pretty flippin nice. Like a bass drum. and unlike the Yamaha Manu Katche kit I was using a few years ago which to me sounded flappy and without body. The lil Safari kick sounds like a small kick. I am growing to like it. I am probably going to replace the stock resonant head next week with a smooth white sumthin'. I am taking your advice on not over damping it. I will no doubt lose the KickPort and opt for a 2-3" HOLZ port just to let this lil sucker breathe.

Originally Posted by areFish

Looks great PG! I like the cymbals too. Congratulations.

Thanks Fish! The kit and cymbals are amazing!! Love Meinl!

[Mike Armstrong]

Originally Posted by Mike Armstrong

Ya, don't blow off the snare just yet :) The snare that came with my 1007 kit had been on display and as Neal said it too was cranked up something awful but what a crack! It sounds great and that's with stock heads.

Speaking of which, aren't the stock Remo Coated UX heads the same as Remo Coated Ambassadors and single ply AquarianTexture Coated's?

[pearlygates]

Originally Posted by Mike Armstrong

Speaking of which, aren't the stock Remo Coated UX heads the same as Remo Coated Ambassadors and single ply AquarianTexture Coated's?

No. The film used in the Chinese UX heads is of inferior quality. I believe the films used in manufacturing the USA REMO stuff starts out in liquid form VS the Chinese "Remo" being made from sheet material. As far as mil thickness.. could be similar.

Gonna take the Safari snare drum out of the box later today and see if I can work some magic.

[Mike Armstrong]

Originally Posted by pearlygates

No. The film used in the Chinese UX heads is of inferior quality. I believe the films used in manufacturing the USA REMO stuff starts out in liquid form VS the Chinese "Remo" being made from sheet material. As far as mil thickness.. could be similar.

Gonna take the Safari snare drum out of the box later today and see if I can work some magic.

Thanks. I have single ply Aquarian Texture Coated batter heads on my toms so just for aesthetics I wanted the snare to match :)

[pearlygates]

Originally Posted by Mike Armstrong

Thanks. I have single ply Aquarian Texture Coated batter heads on my toms so just for aesthetics I wanted the snare to match :)

You use your kit for jazz?

[pearlygates]

I just installed the Remo PS4 head and a Falam patch, tumed the thing up and BAM!
TOTALLY different bass drum! Punch, body and more projection! AMAZING!

[Mike Armstrong]

Originally Posted by pearlygates

You use your kit for jazz?

Not in particular, pretty much everything.

[pearlygates]

Originally Posted by Mike Armstrong

Not in particular, pretty much everything.

Im just checkin to see if Im the only one rockin these puppies.

[Korch]

Just got mine this week. I am still playing around with different heads. I am trying to figure out if the toms need 1 or 2 ply, and coated or clear heads? Also wondering if changing the kick reso will help much? The provided head seems pretty good.... but a coated PS3, or PS4 might be nice.

I changed the heads and the snare, and cranked it up, and it sounds pretty good. I like the snare so far, but don't like the way the strainer wobbles. I wonder if there is a good strainer I could install without drilling extra holes.

I was also thinking if putting S-Hoops on the snare and toms. I used them for snare batter side rims before, and they have always helped focus the drum. The only problem is I believe the 14" hoops only come in an 8 or 10 hole model. Maybe I'll just try them on the snare.

[Smatch]

Love my little Safari kit. I too have never even taken the snare out of the box but the toms and kick sound great. I still have all stock heads on the kit but am thinking white suede ambs and a coated ps3 when I rehead. For me the toms tuned up rather easily and have a really nice feel and tone. I play mine everyday and always get a kick out of how good this $330 kit sounds.

[BYUDOG]

They look really good. I have been thinking about getting one for my son. He is 9 and i think this kit would fit him.

[pearlygates]

Sold mine.. laying low on drums for now. In the process of restoring a vintage Pearl W5 kit from 1976.