Mapex Saturn V

Those are GREAT looking drums !

I play a cheap set of Mapex drums at a rehearsal hall once a week. I think they sound pretty good. I'm beginning to like Mapex more and more.

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Thanks Jim, 'ppreciate it.

I wanted a new kit what with my '71 Ludwig Walnut Thermogloss kit having gotten so beat up from many,many gigs in the 70's/80's. I'd read some good things about the maple/walnut hybrid shell. Tried out a set of these and a set of Renowns. They both sounded great but I thought the Mapex cut through a little better and looked more edgy.

It wasn't so much that one was "better" than the other but rather I just bought the one I liked more. It sure didn't come down to badges or logo design !! To me, that's just ridiculous unless you're buying as a collector.
 
I unfortunately used to think Mapex were in the cheap, poor quality and poor sound category. Then, one day I walked by a set of Saturn IV's, grabbed a stick and hit the floor tom. "What the...?" I grabbed the other stick and started playing. Ten minutes later I was still playing and really enjoying the sound. Changed my perception of Mapex forever. I just wish they would do something different with their badges :p
 
Wow. This thread is still going!

Try not to be defensive about Mapex. I've known they were good drums for quite some time, they're just relatively newer than other brands, and I thought our discussion on the Alpi finishes was legit. I still think drum makers should state that the outer finish ply is not a naturally-stained-and-lacquered finished if that is what it is and it appears to be otherwise. This is probably why I've always been a pearl wrap kinda guy. I was never really into natural lacquer finishes, and I'm always in some situation where my stuff would get bumped or there is the potential of damage being done, so likewise I was never a big fan.

I think every brand I've ever owned was a wrap, with the exception of my first Pearl Reference Pure, which was a piano black lacquer.

But no, you don't have to be uncool to play Mapex. I just think consumers should be informed of what they're getting. If it looks like a standard wrap finish, that's one thing. If it looks like a naturally lacquered wood finish, that's another.

I can't disagree with anything you state here. I researched both kits, and many others within my budget. I knew what I was buying. I'm your opposite in that I never liked wraps but I do dig your new Siegfried and Roy kit !! Those are off the chain !! No pun intended . :)

Cheers,
T
 
This thread really amusing to me mostly because of how smug people are towards Mapex. I saw Billy Cobham playing a Mapex kit and I doubt too many people in here would think he would be worried about the name, logo or where they were made.

That said, I bought these after having actually PLAYED a set of them. I think they look and sound great. I guess you have to be "uncool" to own a Mapex kit? Somehow, that's OK with me.

Cheers,
Todd


Great looking kit !!
 
I can't disagree with anything you state here. I researched both kits, and many others within my budget. I knew what I was buying. I'm your opposite in that I never liked wraps but I do dig your new Siegfried and Roy kit !! Those are off the chain !! No pun intended . :)

Cheers,
T

Thanks for the compliment on the kit. I do love it! I do like those Mapex' kits too. After reading about these new Saturn V's (I knew the IV's were basically the same), I had to seek them out at the NAMM show and they are indeed the real deal. Had I not already been involved with Pearl, I would've tried Mapex. The entire product line was well-presented, and nothing looked too cheap right down to their lowest line, and like I said, Russ Miller is an extremely nice man, and of course, Anika really does a great job representing them.

The badges don't bother me so long as the product is great. They'll just have to slug it out for a few more years like everybody else did. Their marching drums are top notch. Unfortunately, my first exposure to Mapex marching gear was at DCI in '07 at the Rose Bowl when some corps kid left his snare near the rear wheels of my corps' truck. The resulting explosion-implosion was quite impressive!
 
Thread revival time........... (good or bad :oops:)

Anyway, I bought this Saturn V Exotic last week. Beautiful kit but the metalwork (Black nickel coating) was dreadful. Very heavily tarnished.
Completely stripped it all back & soaked in a weak rust cure solution then, power polished everything. Has come out fantastic I think.
Mapex are actually sending me a complete set of replacement parts for the kit which should hopefully arrive on Tuesday :)

9Y0A8062 by Kevin Frost, on Flickr
9Y0A8045 by Kevin Frost, on Flickr
9Y0A8067 by Kevin Frost, on Flickr
4783676D-4516-4904-ADB1-84DC24E366F1_1_201_a by Kevin Frost, on Flickr
B57A3557-72C6-4C0B-91AB-B2446B8AFD05_1_201_a by Kevin Frost, on Flickr
43F10815-300F-4C93-9893-BE816B156F07_1_201_a by Kevin Frost, on Flickr
9Y0A8068 by Kevin Frost, on Flickr
 
Mapex are actually sending me a complete set of replacement parts for the kit which should hopefully arrive on Tuesday :)
He shoots! He scores! The crowd goes wild!

Is the replacement hardware courtesy of Mapex, or did it cost something?
 
Lovely restoration mate, but those "before" pictures are shocking. Had the previous owner left the kit outside in the rain or something??
 
Lovely restoration mate, but those "before" pictures are shocking. Had the previous owner left the kit outside in the rain or something??
I was thinking that. They were that bad :( Apparently, this is what happens to the early Saturn V Black Nickel Hardware. What's underneath though, is lovely & is like a smoky chrome with a tint of Brass. I actually think the polished metal suits the kit better than the original. Also, it won't tarnish again :)
 
I was thinking that. They were that bad :( Apparently, this is what happens to the early Saturn V Black Nickel Hardware. What's underneath though, is lovely & is like a smoky chrome with a tint of Brass. I actually think the polished metal suits the kit better than the original. Also, it won't tarnish again :)
I agree, the restoration looks fantastic and much more fitting (and interesting) than the original black nickel.
 
I was thinking that. They were that bad :( Apparently, this is what happens to the early Saturn V Black Nickel Hardware. What's underneath though, is lovely & is like a smoky chrome with a tint of Brass. I actually think the polished metal suits the kit better than the original. Also, it won't tarnish again :)
Are you saying that you polished off the outer layer of black nickel, and now it's a different color than it was originally?
 
Umm... who is Sticks?
Sticks4Drums was his original and most known handle here, there were others. Balto was one. Glen was Mapex Saturn's biggest unpaid endorser EVA.

He was famous for an outdoor pic of his Artic White Saturns. There were like what 98 drums in that pic?

And he pushed them at every opportunity. He's the reason that a lot of answers to question are "Mapex Saturn" So he made his mark on the forum.

I didn't mind Glen but he sure raised some hackles before he was shown the door. (Hence the other handles)

Duncan, Mediocrefunkybeat was a regular bloodhound in exposing his latest handle.

Very colorful guy. He has an Ah-Mazing practice barn with lots o' land surrounding. In Canada I think.

He is an electrician guy, like me.

That's the overview. There's a lot more info on Sticks contained in this thread.
 
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