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Hello folks,
Yes, that's correct - I won a new snare drum in a random draw from my favorite music store. It's a Mapex Black Panther Design Lab "Heart Breaker" 14"x 6" African Mahogany snare drum. Here's a stock photo of what it looks like, and the picture really doesn't do it justice:
I just picked it up on the weekend. First impression is that this drum is SO different from all my other snares. I wasn't sure I'd like it at first, but its growing on me. I generally prefer metal (brass or aluminum) snare drums because I haven't found many wood-shell snares that I really like other than a 5" deep maple snare that I also own. Most deeper wood snares just sound like toms with wires underneath and don't have the character or sensitivity I like. But wow - this drum really does that "throaty" deep tone that Mapex describes, especially at lower tunings, and those Puresound wires are very sensitive.... almost too much. I thought I was pretty good at tuning snare drums (I've been playing for 36 years), but this one seems a bit trickier. I think I finally have it set at a good mid level for tuning. I took the stock Mapex Black Panther logo head off and am storing it just in case I decide I want to sell the drum later. I just happened to have a brand-new coated Evans G2 that I put on it for now, but might experiment with other heads. I'm not much of a fan of that ultra-low "splat" snare sound that seems sorta trendy right now. I like a drum that will give me a good crack plus a fat tone for back beats, yet is also sensitive enough for articulate playing.
Does anyone else here have one of these? What do you think of them? What tweaks (if any) would anyone suggest?
Yes, that's correct - I won a new snare drum in a random draw from my favorite music store. It's a Mapex Black Panther Design Lab "Heart Breaker" 14"x 6" African Mahogany snare drum. Here's a stock photo of what it looks like, and the picture really doesn't do it justice:
I just picked it up on the weekend. First impression is that this drum is SO different from all my other snares. I wasn't sure I'd like it at first, but its growing on me. I generally prefer metal (brass or aluminum) snare drums because I haven't found many wood-shell snares that I really like other than a 5" deep maple snare that I also own. Most deeper wood snares just sound like toms with wires underneath and don't have the character or sensitivity I like. But wow - this drum really does that "throaty" deep tone that Mapex describes, especially at lower tunings, and those Puresound wires are very sensitive.... almost too much. I thought I was pretty good at tuning snare drums (I've been playing for 36 years), but this one seems a bit trickier. I think I finally have it set at a good mid level for tuning. I took the stock Mapex Black Panther logo head off and am storing it just in case I decide I want to sell the drum later. I just happened to have a brand-new coated Evans G2 that I put on it for now, but might experiment with other heads. I'm not much of a fan of that ultra-low "splat" snare sound that seems sorta trendy right now. I like a drum that will give me a good crack plus a fat tone for back beats, yet is also sensitive enough for articulate playing.
Does anyone else here have one of these? What do you think of them? What tweaks (if any) would anyone suggest?
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