Mapex Snares / Basses

[MikeN]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29079632@N04/?saved=1

The school I taught at recently got Mapex snares and basses (gloss black wrap), so I got to get a hands-on, closeup view of the drums. I've linked to a photo album showing them.

Overall, they seem fairly sturdy, have a nice sound, and the basses have a few innovations that are long overdue. The snares ... honestly, I don't know what they've got that's going to differentiate them from the other snares on the market. They've got a good sound, borrow design parts from all sorts of other models, and seem to be in-line with price. That said, they're not any worse than the other models out there (they don't use Randall May carriers / attachments), but I really didn't see anything that blew me away, either. That said, the standard carrier adaptor includes a notch for tilting, which is nice. Oh, and the heavy duty strainer handle is attached to a sliding piece of *plastic*, which I see as the 1st thing to break.

The basses, though, are a high school's dream. The eye bolts for the carrier hookups are raised from the drum about 2" - making them a snap to get on and off. The rims are *metal* - which eliminates the need for rim savers and adds a ton of durability (and they didn't seem to affect the weight). The claws are very wide, especially compared to our previous Yamahas, and seem to be slightly easier to tension evenly. There are air vents all over the drum, which (to me, anyways), gives it a little more oomph / projection. And the whole drum seems slightly lighter than the 8100 series Yamahas of the same size that we had before.

Anyways, here's some close-up pics. Sorry - we didn't buy tenors, so I can't say about those. But overall, the snares are right in line with other models, I'd use these basses in a heartbeat, and if the tenors are above average, then as a line, these seem to be a *very* good investment for lines looking for new gear.

Mike