Mapex Saturn Pro ?!?
silen...@my-deja.com
opinions on them? I'm looking for a nice mid-level kit that won't break me,
and I think these drums are my ticket. Any and all opinions are welcome.
Thanks,
Jonathan
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
drumguru
Funny you should ask. I just returned from the Mapex office here in
Nashville and looked at all their gear. I'm going to eat some crow and
post some information and my reaction to the drums in another post, but
to answer your specific question;
The Saturn Pro shells are alternating plies of Maple and Basswood (4 of
maple and 3 of basswood). Basswood is being used instead of mahogany by
at least Tama and Mapex now, and I learned today that mahogany is
becoming a little endangered. I think the basswood sounds better than
mahogany and it is definitely more finishable (I bought my son a
basswood kit not too long ago). The shells are very resonant, very
pleasing and close to a totally maple shell and I like the iso mounts on
the toms, kick, and especially the floor tom. The hardware is all top of
the line stuff comparable to anything else on the market.I would
categorize this as a pro kit at a mid line price.
No, I am not an endorser of Mapex drums, but I am impressed with their
improvements since I last played them years ago..
GL
--
George Lawrence
drumset artist, teacher, author
Nashville TN
SEE ROCK CITY
(or my business website constantly under
construction at http://www.drumguru.com)
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"If thine enemy wrong thee, buy each of
his children a drum." Chinese proverb
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Rich B
>If any of you gurus here have these drums, can you give me your honest
>opinions on them? I'm looking for a nice mid-level kit that won't break me,
>and I think these drums are my ticket. Any and all opinions are welcome.
I played a set once...sounded nicer than my Pearl Sessions which are
in the same range. However, a kit like this could go for $1000+ with
hardware and you can get a used all-maple or all-birch kit for the
same price. Look at used stuff.
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Don Bartecsko
pay a little more you can go out and get an all maple shell, but I tell ya
the toms sing! :) In my opinion Mapex has turned itself around, and is
going on the up and up as a drum manufacturer.
I found it interesting that one of my favorites Mike Portnoy had played
Mapex just before Tama threw him a deal.
I'll give you the same advice that I got when I asked about the Mapex Saturn
Pro kit on here. Go to the store, and jam on it for awhile. Try a bunch of
kits, and look at the amount you are looking to spend. I did, and I went
with Mapex! : )
> From: silen...@my-deja.com
> Organization: Deja.com - Before you buy.
> Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.percussion
> Date: Fri, 03 Mar 2000 16:06:39 GMT
> Subject: Mapex Saturn Pro ?!?
>
> If any of you gurus here have these drums, can you give me your honest
> opinions on them? I'm looking for a nice mid-level kit that won't break me,
> and I think these drums are my ticket. Any and all opinions are welcome.
>
Dmfly69
them.
They sound great and i feel like they seem to use the best ideas from each
company and use them on their own kit and the satin finish seems to be easy to
keep clean ( That is if you like that finish ) Later, D
Benjamin Jacoby
: If any of you gurus here have these drums, can you give me your honest
: opinions on them? I'm looking for a nice mid-level kit that won't break me,
: and I think these drums are my ticket. Any and all opinions are welcome.
I have the Mapex Orions in Birdseye maple and they are awesome drums and
were an incredible bargain (new, but on sale at local shop). A couple of
us here got these kits for about the same price and love 'em. Construction
is very meticulous and strong. Sound is *awesome* (note, however RIMS had
to be added to rack toms due to energy-sucking mounts).
I have commented in the past that I didn't like the finishes on the Saturns
as well but other owners said theirs was just fine and it was probably just
the set in the store that I saw. I do like the all maple or all-birch sound
better than the laminated ones however.
Look for used or floor samples and you can find incredible buys on these
drums.
And hey, Drumguru, glad to hear you giving "OMs" on Mapex for a change....
Told you so! :-p
Benj
--
SPAM-GUARD! Remove "user.", if present, from address to email me.
drumguru
I must eat a big plate of crow.
Here I go . Crow Flambe~! Yum! Yum!
I hadn't touched a Mapex drum in probably five years and was asked by
Josh Touchton of Mapex, Artist relations and National Accounts manager,
to give their products a fair shake, since I had basically been calling
them the lowest of the low. I went by the Nashville headquarters and
recieved a warm welcome from Josh and also from John Rush, an old friend
of mine who I was pleasantly surprised to find working there. Josh
explained to me how the company has developed over the last decade from
a purely entry level manufacturer to the stature of a full line
professional quality manufacturer. The instruments that I heard are
proof of this.
Josh pulled out raw shells and 10" drums of all their lines to
demonstrate the quality of their sound. The finishes were beautiful
especially the gold fade. Starting with the least expensive drums;
The Pro M, M , and V shells are shells that use either basswood or
combinations of basswood and maple. I like the sound of Basswood and am
enthused to see that their entry level and semi-pro offerings are
incorporating this better sounding and better looking wood than
Phillipine mahogany (lauan?). There is a Pro M micro set (short toms) at
Fork's that has a whomping bass drum sound and has recieved the nod from
all the locals here.
The Saturn Pro Series occupies the middle ground with a thin shell that
is made from alternating plies of maple and basswood. Very resonant.
the Orion Classic and Orion Birdseye Maple are the 6 ply maple top of
the line models (7 ply with the additional birdseye maple veneer). Again
a well made resonant shell with perfect bearing edges.
It was nice to see that 18" bass drums were offered in all the lines.
I also played three Black Panther snare drums at Fork's that more than
surpassed my expectations of a professional drum. I'll spend more time
with these and other Mapex snare drums and give my reviews after some
practical experience with them. I especially liked the prototype cast
iron drum at the Mapex office; should rival the concrete drum. :-)
There are some other innovations that appealed to me since they seemed
to be based on solid engineering that affects the end sound; Floor tom
and hanging tom ITS mounts, bass drum spurs, and tom mount that are
integral with the lugs, not the shell; the floor tom legs are spring
loaded; nice rubber cymbal "felts" that protect cymbals, low mass lugs.
I also got to check out one of the Janus Transmission hi hat double bass
pedal systems (left pedal operates either hat or left bd beater via a
shifting derailleur system). Nice. I want it.
I didn't have time to check out a lot of hardware but did see enough to
know that the problems I had noticed years before have been addressed
and improved. Mainly in the "rattle" department and adjustability areas.
All of the stands, pedals and mounting hardware are not only state of
the art, they are actually cutting edge, new path blazing stuff, like
the triple mount stand.
My opinion of the Mapex sound was based on experience with drums six and
seven years ago before all these drastic improvements were implemented.
I am thoroughly impressed with the sound of these drums. I'm glad they
dropped the long tube lug design and went with the low mass lug.
This is not a full review, just a "second date" review. I am doing a
master class May 4th at Guitar Works in Indianapolis for Denny Dixon's
120 students and a clinic open to the public and will be playing Mapex.
How about that for eating a little crow ?(Boy, there's no meat on those
crow legs!).
George
--
-MIKE-
truth, instead of just being *right*. My kind of guy. :-)
Anyway, I've always been impressed with Mapex's snare hardware-- very, very
sharp! I guess I've shied away because of the name stigma. I may have to
join you for a plate of that crow. Save me a breast!
-MIKE-
> «?+¥«?+§«?+¥«?+§«?+¥«?+«?+¥«?+§«?+¥«?+§«?+¥«?+§«?
> ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
> "If thine enemy wrong thee, buy each of
> his children a drum." Chinese proverb
> _________________________________________________
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