Mapex Meridian Maple vs. PDP x7

Big_Al47

Senior Member
Hello everyone,

Looking to get opinions on which drumset to upgrade to. I currently play an old 5 piece Pearl export set. I'm looking to upgrade to either a Mapex Meridian maple set 6 piece or a PDP maple x7 7 piece.

Which do you think is better and why?
 
I have a Mapex Meridian birch. It sounds great, has a beautiful finish and has excellent fit and finish. I just don't like the way PDP kits look. I think the Mapex Meridians look like much more expensive kits.
 
I have a Saturn and love the sound. I have heard lots of people say many good things about the Meridans. You need to go try both and decide. Good luck.
 
I've got a limited edition Meridian Maple in 8 piece (22" bass, 8,10,12,13,14,16 toms and a 14.4" snare. It is an amazing kit! Practically the same shells as an Orion too, and the quality for the price is amazing! The bass drum sounds amazing aswell as the toms, I believe the snare is a black panther under 'Meridian Maple'. As it sounds like a Black Panther to me. also, the tom sizes and options are amazing! Also comes with pinstripes and the kit is REALLY easy to tune and the hardware is the sturdiest hardware I've seen on any kit (apart from Tama's).
Plus, the hardware you get is literally free!

I'd go for it :)
 
If it's between those two only, the PDP's sound nice, but the Mapex probably has better hardware. Even so, I don't know how much you're truly gaining over the Pearls. Exports are a lot of bang for the buck. I've owned 2 DW Collectors
kits, 2 PDP kits (FXR birch, & CX Maple), and a Pearl Export Select. The DW's sounded the best and had the nicest hardware, followed by the Pearls. I would check into some Pearl Sessions if I were you. Top quality for super cheap.
 
I would go with Mapex. PDP is too limited in their sizes, so if you ever decided you wanted a 13" rack tom or something like that, you couldn't get it for an X7 kit. The Meridians offer a much wider variety of add-ons than anything PDP has ever done.
 
I would go with Mapex. PDP is too limited in their sizes, so if you ever decided you wanted a 13" rack tom or something like that, you couldn't get it for an X7 kit. The Meridians offer a much wider variety of add-ons than anything PDP has ever done.

Mike.. you ever consider getting one of these ?? Have you played them in person ??
 
I am also trying to decide which kit to buy. My friend has the Pdp x7 and i tried the Mapex out in person (just hit the toms cause they were only stacked in GC) so im having trouble deciding which one sounds/feels better. I heard only good from both until i searched Mapex vs Pdp. Alot of people seem to feel Mapex is better quality but i think i'll repost in about a week with my views on the pdp because ill try it out in person. Mapex cherry red looks best to me btw. Also if anyone has the kit plz post a video with sound samples (thanks!)
 
I just bought a PDP X7 kit and I love it. I've been playing drums for 35 years, I've owned a lot of different kits and these X7's sound as good as any of them. The only thing I don't care for is the lug design, but the silver to black sparkle fade lacquer finish makes up for them. I know Mapex Snares sound excellent, I've never played an entire kit, so you probably can't go wrong with either.

Great price on the X7's as well.
 
I would go for Mapex, the PDP X7 sounds great, but DW's mounting system isn't all that great, it interferes with tuning sometimes.
 
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