Which would you keep?

Duck Tape

Platinum Member
Most of you know I am gear crazy, enough said about that.

So I have had a tama birch bubinga for maybe a bit over a year and it's a stunning kit, probably the prettiest kit I own, I have been using that kit as a gig kit for anything that my little bop kit can't handle.

The other week my compulsive gumtree searching yielded a mapex saturn, just like the one I play at home, except a 4 pce shell set in the usual 10, 12, 16, 22 (identical to sizes to the tama btw).

I changed the heads and took it straight out to a gig that weekend, then played another 2. I have played 3 gigs with them and I think I like them more than the tama.

Some negatives - the tama finish is much nicer and classier, the isolated floor tom legs and spurs do make the mapex a bit big for most cases (though I have cases that they fit in). That's pretty much it. The kick is much phatter and the toms just seem to tune lower, resonate more and with a more pleasing tone to my ears.

So now I'm tossing up which one to get rid of... and of course I'm totally in a position to compare them side by side when I get time... but I'm just curious, which would you keep?
 
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So I'm not rushing to do this but gear is at crisis point at my place and there is way too much sitting around so something has to move soon.

Pics of both kits
 

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Keep the ones that sound better to you.

The other ones will make you sound worse to yourself, and why would you do that?
 
I guess it's close enough that it's a hard choice, and I haven't got the exact same heads on them, so that might be skewing my impression.

b/b's have fresh g2's, saturns have some well used ec2's that I pulled off my home kit.
 
Sounds like it's another 1 up for the Mapex Saturn. I think they struck gold with that Walnut/Maple combo. I have never had a chance to get up close and personnel with with a set of Tama BB but my Saturn's are as close to top of the line as I will ever need. Your right they sound and feel good tuned low. I have had them tuned medium high once and they were great there to. I put a brand new set of EC2's on mine and went back to the stock Emperors. I had those black chrome heads on them for a while and loved it (talk about deep, dark and phat). But when I sold my Catalina's I put the black chrome back on them so they would not have the Saturn logo on them. I am going back to those as soon as I get the money.
 
I've never played either set, but if you simply must divest yourself of one, I would let the Tamas go and stay with the drums that you have fallen in love with.

But it's obvious you have a deep pocket of sentiment for the Tamas, so my question is, do you *have* to let them go? Could they be a backup kit, or kept at another location for rehearsals? Or have them be your home kit and your Mapex kit stay packed to go?

I too struggled with this issue (my Ludwigs obviously sound far better than my Yamaha Stage Customs), but in the end it made no sense to drop a set that I use quite often, am very attached to, and still has a lot of life left in it.
 
I like the look of the Mapex better but the Tama is a five piece, 4 to get rid of I guess. I like the more drum scenario as far as being able to do more, but then again for the same reason it may be easier to move.
 
Very different sounding kits. For live gigs, mostly classic rock and soul material, I use the Tama kit. Far easier to set up with the bass drum mounted tom mount. For recording and home practice I use the Mapex kits.
 
That Saturn added tom mount on the kick sure look like lots of added pain in the ... Wouldn't a cymbal mount be better/easier or a modified snare basket for 10" ??
 
I'm a Saturn guy too and personally I think the Saturn's you posted have a nicer finish than the Tama kit does. I don't need to tell you how great the Saturns are because you already own a set but they are phenomenal. You can't lose either way but it sounds from your post that you want to keep the Saturns so I'll just go ahead and second that notion. BTW your DW kit looks 10x nicer than either of those. I love that kit you bought.
 
I would try to keep both...or sell both and get a new set. lol. Tough call, I might not make it.
 
Gig each kit alternately for a month or two and give yourself some time to sleep on your decision.
 
My opinion is to keep the Mapex. I know what you mean about the floor Tom leg mounts but they'll happily fit into Stagg Pro Bags (the black ones with red script on them). To my eye from those photos the Tama finish is very bland and it has a different finish on the insides of the bass drum hoop, whereas the Saturn's hoop's finish matches the overall colour scheme.

However, this isn't my choice to make. Give yourself some time and I think it'll become clearer to to yourself which one you want to use more. Over the past few years I've sold my "dream" snare drum after picking up another that I quite fancied and then finding after a few months that I was preferencing this one all of the time over my dream snare. I was holding onto an ideal in my mind, the reality was entirely different. Likewise I'm currently trying to sell a "dream" drum kit. British made, 3 Power Toms, single lugs, a total return to the 80s/90s that I love so much. And yet the inexpensive Taiwanese made 4 piece with a shallow tom and made from an undisclosed wood type has been my go to kit since buying it in February.

Don't make a snap decision, allow yourself some thinking space I think the mists will clear for you.
 
Take the hoops off the Tama and put them on the Mapex. ;-)

Seriously, I totally adore the hardware on the Tama, but I love the finish and the tone of the Mapex.

I do not envy you this decision.
 
Thanks for the input thus far. To clarify they are both 10x8, 12x9, 16x14, 22x18 and the tams also has a 14x5.5. I don't think that pic does the tama justice, it's also a sparkle that's sort of a banana colour. Here it is again. And another mapex pic (best I could get on a cluttered stage). It thinks it's a dw... Actually it was the only ported reso I had sitting around.
 

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Can't seem to add more than 1 photo on my phone lately. I'll try again.
 

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Can't seem to add more than 1 photo on my phone lately. I'll try again.

Being they're the same sizes, I'd roll with the Tama. If the Mapex were short stack toms, I'd keep those. Tama's are just fantastic as that "kit in a bag/let's gig" type of set. That's what I use mine for. That said, of my 3 kits, it's my 3rd favorite. As far as me adding to the confusion........you're welcome! LOL
 
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