What do you think about mapex?

[guten666]

I've always played Pearl cuz i think they have best hardware and sound, I've heard about mapex, so i checked out thier website and their kits look good, So if u've played both a pearl and mapex, which do u think is better?

[kewlkat]

Well I just bought a Mapex set and it is really nice. Whats great is I think all of their sets are maple un like Pearl whose drums come in poplar also. I would've said Pearl two weeks ago but Mapex are the best choice for me!

[Anono]

WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT??? QUESTIONING MAPEX? HOW DARE YOU!! JK!! Relax change your underwear I was kidding! Yes Mapex seems to only make top of the line kits. I started with the plasma vx and it was nice. Next the m maple, it was better. Then I went straight to the top with an orion and it was horrible... just kidding it was the best ever! Pearl has some competition with this little company that could that was based off of Tama. They just make high quality drums.

[cjcdrums]

To be technical: All of Pearl's Forum and Export series comes in Phillipine Mahogony. The Session series is available in North American Maple or Scandinavian Birch, the Masters series in North American Maple, Scandinavian Birch, or African Mahogony, and the Masterworks in the same as the Masters.

[morgenthaler]

Anything in the top end by all the major brands like DW, Pearl, Gretsch, Yamaha, Premier, Ludwig and so on and on and on,- will be great for you,- just use your ears!
Pick the set that sounds the best to you!

[Matus]

Well, I've tried virtually every kit on the Mapex catalog, even stuff that hasn't reached the stores yet... In my opinion it's a great brand on the entry and medium level market, the new V series are amazing, with real wood finihes and all and the M and ProM kits are nice too.
My only problem with this brand is the hardware, which is kinda poor for the price; I own the top hardware series and it's not that great at all, wing nuts are really noisy and some pieces on boom stands are starting to fall apart after 6 months of use. And the lack of REAL information; for instance, the ProM comes with 100% maple shells right? Well, where does that maple come from? What's its real quality? And why do they advertise it as if it was just as good as an Orion shell? The hardware on those kits is really cheap and the wood origin is fairly unknown so it's not really THAT great. Perhaps it is for the price but you get the idea, they're selling like "hey! we're making professional kits at really low prices!" and it's not any better than an ELX kit, let alone a Stage Custom Advantage one...
The Orion Orbitor series thing is what really bugs me of everything they've done lately. They put out a limited series called "Orion Orbitor" and it turns out they're ProM prototypes used test the market, yet they give the name of the highest line. It's that kind of thing what turns me down about this brand. It's not bad at all, but it's not one of the top ones when considering all things involved in a drum company.

[drummaman1]

I'm more impressed with the look and sound of the Mapex mid-line and intermediate series (V, M, Saturn-Pro, VX) than I am with the Pearl Drum equivalent. Pearl's drums in the beginner and semi-pro range are nothing to brag about, IMHO. Mapex drums sound consistent across all the lines.

The thing that is boggling my mind is... how can Pearl have its semi-pro kit with an ALL MAPLE SHELL and then have its Masters series kits??? Is it a different maple for those lines? Why can't they put that research into the Masters Series, bring it down in price, and watch those kits sell like HOTCAKES!!!! Is the Masters Series still thier flagship series, or is that now the Masterworks? Someone explain the logic of that for me, please...
Be that as it may, I can't stop bragging about Yamaha. I played my friends' Stage Custom, with the long lugs, and I must say...WOW! what a great sounding kit. and for a great price!
Buy with your ears, not your eyes. Pearl is ok, Mapex is great, but my vote is for Yamaha!

[Matus]

Basically the wood may or may not be the same but the construction is not, that's for sure. The Masters Hardware is better, the MMX series comes with reinforcing hoops, the finishes aren't the same either... You see, even if the wood is the same the drum isn't. Really, you get what you pay for, no matter the brand.
And I agree on the Stage Custom. My girlfriend recently bought a SCA with split lugs and I used it for a recording session along with a Dennis Chambers snare and a DW one. The kit sounded amazing without EQ or any kind of effects. I'd say it's the best kit on the market in that price range.

[jore]

To be technical: All of Pearl's Forum and Export series comes in Phillipine Mahogony. The Session series is available in North American Maple or Scandinavian Birch, the Masters series in North American Maple, Scandinavian Birch, or African Mahogony, and the Masterworks in the same as the Masters.

Actually you are wrong the exports and forums are poplar now. Changed about 2-3 years ago

[cjcdrums]

Hmm.. I'll be darned. What was the reasoning behind the change, do you know?

[C.J.]

Personnally I got pissed by Pearl, their hardware is cool and all, but it's so damn fragile (atmosphericly speaking) !!!

I get really ennoyed with the fact that their stuff rusts like I don't know what. It's costs quite a bit of money and then the thing just peals ! I've Had Yamaha harware for 5 years now sitting next to my drum set and they are in perfect state, same for my tama stuff. But my boom stands and my ol' Elims look like hell.

I think Drum company should like make a standard so that the metals and chormes have a certain degree of resistance.

There, I stop jibbering now.

Any Sonor 3005 news anybody :p ?

[C.J.]

Pardon my impoliteness, for the drum story, choose what suits you best. Both Mapex and Pearl have great stuff. Considering the fact that at equal range both brands sound cool, for the looks of the drums (beacause Exports make me vomit when I see them) my personal opinion is Mapex, wich look more "man-with-hary-chest-who-drinks-beer-and-watches-football" (as oposed to fragile, or "gay").

Cheers.

[alencore]

pearl or mapex.......yamaha.

seriously... i like pearl.

[davidseung]

my mapex hardware has given me SO much trouble in the past its not funny.


i wish i NEVER bought a mapex.

[vdreignsuponus1]

yamaha's the way to go!;)

[pcannon]

Sonor will give you a Bonor!

[C.J.]

LoL good one Pcannon.