Mapex Design Lab Cherry Bomb & HeartBreaker Snare Drums

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WWW.MUSICRADAR.COM/RHYTHM NOVEMBER 2017 |
PRICE
Cherry Bomb, £443.99;
Heartbreaker, £539.99
SHELL MATERIAL
Heartbreaker:
Mahogany;
Cherry Bomb: Cherry
Wood
CONSTRUCTION
METHOD
Ply
NUMBER OF
PLIES
Heartbreaker: 8-ply
(8mm) with 4-ply
re-rings;
Cherry Bomb: 8-ply
(9mm)
BEARING EDGES
45° SONIClear edges
with 3/8" rounded
back cuts
FINISH
Natural Satin SAS
HOOPS
Heartbreaker: Sonic
Saver brushed
black-chrome;
Cherry Bomb: Sonic
Saver chrome
SHELL
AVAILABILITY
Heartbreaker: 14"x6";
Cherry Bomb: 14"x6"
and 13"x5½"
SUPPLIED HEADS
Remo coated
Ambassador X batter
and clear Ambassador
snare side
LUGS PER DRUM
Heartbreaker: 20 Black
Panther single lugs;
Cherry Bomb: 10
vintage-style dual
tube lugs
SNARE WIRES
Puresound Custom
Series 16-strand, steel
with copper end-plates
CONTACT
Korg (UK) Ltd
01908 857100
[e-mail]
www.mapex.co.uk
Essential spec
VERDICT: Mapex has delivered again
with these distinctive, beautifully
made stand-alone snare drums.
Every detail has been considered in
order to produce drums that are full
of character.
BUILD QUALITY
PLAYABILITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
RATING
CHROME
The Cherry Bomb is fi nished
in high-gloss chrome while
the Heartbreaker features
brushed black chrome
HEADS
Both snares come as standard
with Remo Ambassador X
batter heads
LUGS
Heartbreaker snare drum
has heavy-duty BP lugs
while the Cherry Bomb opts
for vintage-style tube lugs
CONCEPT HYBRID
Each drum has been given a profi le
to describe its tonal characteristics
by the brushed black chrome hardware and
the classic Black Panther lugs look
particularly stunning in this fi nish. The paler
shade of the cherry shell is offset by
traditional tube lugs fi nished in the standard
chrome. Interestingly, there was already a
Cherry Bomb within the Black Panther family
and this new model is a “re-imagined and
optimised” version of the original. For those
familiar with the earlier model, you’ll agree
that this is a completely different beast.
Both snares are built to impeccable
standards, which helps justify the higher
than usual price tags – particularly the
Heartbreaker which retails at £539.99 (the
Cherry Bomb will set you back £443.99).
Although described as “ultra-premium”,
the Design Lab snare drums do not appear to
offer much more in terms of specifi cation
compared with the regular Black Panthers,
but then the Heartbreaker is one of the
most visually stunning drums we’ve seen .
In terms of sound, both drums are on the
drier side of the scale (certainly in comparison
to the lively all-maple Equinox), which makes
them a joy to tune and leaves fewer
overtones to manage. The mahogany shell
is the driest and also has the lowest
fundamental pitch. By my reckoning, it’s also
the louder of the two drums. As advertised,
the Heartbreaker feels right at home in a
rock setting, blasting through heavy guitars
and delivering a beautifully-balanced
backbeat in a medium-low tuning. When
cranked pretty much all the way up, the
drum becomes a force to be reckoned
with. Rim-shots become ear-splitting (not
necessarily in a bad way) and it aggressively
punches its way through the mix.
The Cherry Bomb more than lives up to
expectations in terms of being controlled and
precise. You barely have to tickle the batter
head to be rewarded with a full response
from the 9mm shell. A little more lively than
the Heartbreaker, it produces a warmer tone
and sounds particularly great through a wide
dynamic range.
RHY274.gear_mapex.indd 95 06/10/2017 10:58