How do you feel about drums made in Taiwan?

I let the sound my ears hear, not the words my eyes read, dictate my opinion on a singular drum and/or set of drums.

Unless my eyes read Pearl, then I don't bother ;p
 
For those who know about ISO standards and what they mean to manufacturing excellence. Boiled down it means the plants that make these drums are state of the art and have the strictest QC standards in place. What Taiwanese drums don't manufacture is "mojo".

Mapex - Mapex Drums is a drum brand manufactured by KHS Musical Instruments Company of Taiwan. They have been in the drum making industry for over 18 years. Mapex employs over 100 artisans who skillfully apply their talents to create some of the greatest drum gear around. Mapex has earned a reputation for designing, engineering and building the highest quality acoustic drums. In fact, Mapex is one of the only companies of its kind to have received ISO9001 certification, the world's standard for manufacturing excellence.
 
My Gretsch Catalina Clubs are made there & they're rock solid. For me, as long as they hold up under giging pressure, I'm good. Sound is important, but once a mic is placed on them, the original drum sound is always tweaked to something better. So I don't put too much emphasis on it.

Most companies use a standard method for shell construction so I can't imagine it differs much from brand to brand (other than Craviotto-type).
 
For those who know about ISO standards and what they mean to manufacturing excellence. Boiled down it means the plants that make these drums are state of the art and have the strictest QC standards in place.

please don’t take this the wrong way ... but “manufacturing excellence” doesn’t necessarily equate to “quality product”
 
I especially like Mair drums of Taiwan. They manufacture spun fiberglass, kevlar or carbon fiber shells at very affordable prices. Great quality, great sound and super durability.
 
My memory might be wrong but it seems like yamaha's early professional drums we're from Taiwan.
 
I prefer American made so you probably know who I voted for president. That said, I don't go looking for Taiwanese products, but as trickg above said........"So here's a question: if the place of manufacture wasn't on the label, would anyone be able to tell the difference?".......my opinion too. If you put American made next to Taiwan made and I was unaware of where it came from, my judgement would be solely on how the damn thing sounds. Might be made by midgets sequestered somewhere in a tent on the streets of New York. I don't care. Well I would care about the sanitation aspect but that's another thread. Or maybe not.

You do not care about your fellow man.

Shame on you.

You proud, shameful Idiot.

“Or maybe not.”

Best of luck with your 45 degrees summers ( yes, you redneck, celsius)

Note : I will gladly resign form this forum if my comments are judged inappropriate, then again I frown upon the use of pejorative terms such as “midgets” and other cheap shots and derogatory comments.

Johnwesley, you are as cheap as they come.
 
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Back on topic, I feel the same way about Taiwanese drums as I do about Samsung and other ‘non-Apple’ phones. They’re probably as good or maybe better than the iPhone, but there’s a content feeling you get when you have ‘the real thing’. Same with German cars vs. Korean cars - there’s a perceived extra value or refinement which makes people pay extra for a car with similar specs because the company behind it has a long history.

The larger US drum companies have been around for 100+ years, and have built a reputation over that time. Doesn’t mean Taiwanese or Chinese made drums are worse, but they don’t have the history. Japanese companies went through the same stigma, but after 50 years they’re held in high regard too. (Ironically, most of the Japanese firms now manufacture in Taiwan/China anyway.)

Which is why there is often a perceived bias in the comments you read online about drums which are not made in the US (or Europe).
 
Same with German cars vs. Korean cars - there’s a perceived extra value or refinement which makes people pay extra for a car with similar specs because the company behind it has a long history.

As of June 2019, the top 3 car manufacturers by sales are:
1. Toyota (1937)
2. Volkswagen (1937)
3. Hyundai (1967)

Mercedes is the world's oldest car company (founded as Mercedes-Benz in 1926, can be traced back to 1886 and Karl Benz [inventor of what is considered the first car]). It didn't even make the top 10, nor did BMW (1916).

People want value, something that works. German cars are electrical nightmares, way over engineered, and cost a small fortune to fix. My 15 year old Hyundai has over 200,000 miles, is extremely reliable, and everything in it still works. How many German cars can you say that about?

Oh yeah, as of 2014, vice president of engineering for BMW Albert Biermann moved to Hyundai. That's got to mean something.

The drum world reflects no differently. Pearl is the top selling drum company years over, yet is no where near as old as Sonor. Age is a number, quality and affordability dominate.
 
Right now, all of my drums are Mapex, and I really like them. Everyone needs to eat, so I do not care where they were made. Peace and goodwill.
 
Huge, massive, gigantic generalization here but: In my 17 or so years playing live music in clubs, bars, etc, I can't even begin to explain how many times I've seen a drummer absolutely owning the stage on a 4 piece kit of miss matched Craigslist drums only to be followed by a drummer with a brand new 8+ piece double bass kit made from some now extinct species of wood with the entire line of the highest end cymbals and hardware so heavy duty that each stand must weigh 50+ lbs on its own... That can't hold a simple 4/4 pop backbeat.

Player not the gear.

I may have mentioned this in my earlier posts but a great example is to side-by-side examine a Tama Chinese factory Birch shell and a Tama Japanese factory Birch shell. I absolutely guarantee that if you took off all hardware, labels, wraps, etc no one could tell the difference. Just like the car manufacturer analogy above... These companies want to save a buck on manufacturing, not throw their entire reputation for quality in the toilet, so they are very hands on in ensuring their vision is met. I also can't even begin to explain how many times I've read threads on this here forum saying "I spent $3k and waited 8 months for the highest end professional set from (Ludwig, pearl, gretsch, etc) only to have it arrive with (gouged bearing edge, cracked hoop, scratched finish, etc) and now I have to send it back!"
 
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Huge, massive, gigantic generalization here but: In my 17 or so years playing live music in clubs, bars, etc, I can't even begin to explain how many times I've seen a drummer absolutely owning the stage on a 4 piece kit of miss matched Craigslist drums only to be followed by a drummer with a brand new 8+ piece double bass kit made from some now extinct species of wood with the entire line of the highest end cymbals and hardware so heavy duty that each stand must weigh 50+ lbs on its own... That can't hold a simple 4/4 pop backbeat.

Player not the gear.

I may have mentioned this in my earlier posts but a great example is to side-by-side examine a Tama Chinese factory Birch shell and a Tama Japanese factory Birch shell. I absolutely guarantee that if you took off all hardware, labels, wraps, etc no one could tell the difference. Just like the car manufacturer analogy above... These companies want to save a buck on manufacturing, not throw their entire reputation for quality in the toilet, so they are very hands on in ensuring their vision is met. I also can't even begin to explain how many times I've read threads on this here forum saying "I spent $3k and waited 8 months for the highest end professional set from (Ludwig, pearl, gretsch, etc) only to have it arrive with (gouged bearing edge, cracked hoop, scratched finish, etc) and now I have to send it back!"
Good perspective.
I've been off the gear buying merry-go-round for about a year now. It's interesting looking at it from a different perspective. I never thought I'd reach a point where I would say to myself..."I'm good gear-wise. I'm done." I think it might be like quitting cigarettes for example where you think about it, but don't act on it.
 
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