Mapex Armory Series Kit

96
| MARCH 2014 WWW.RHYTHMMAGAZINE.CO.UK
GEAR REVIEW
nod in the vintage direction. Most modern
edges (including most of Mapex’s) have a
sharpish outer peak with a minimal
round-over. The SoniClear edge extends that
round-over half way and Mapex makes bold
claims for it.
Bearing edges have long been subject to
heated discussion. There is a continuum
from the pencil sharp 45°/45° centred peak
of, say, Spaun, to the completely rounded,
vintage style of, say, Ludwig’s Club Date or
DW’s Classics. By general consent the former
will give you a pinpoint response with good
sustain (more of the head), the latter a
softer, more woody timbre (more of the
shell). But in its enthusiasm to hype-up its
new edge Mapex claims that more typical,
sharper edges cause the head “to sit high,
resulting in tuning diffi culty, poor shell
resonance and lack of tonal clarity”. This is a
bit rich – are all Mapex’s other shells
therefore rubbish? I don’t think so.
The logic of the more rounded edge is
increased head-to-wood contact, garnering
more shell tone. I personally like rounded
edges with the resulting slightly softer,
darker, warmer timbre. And that’s how the
toms felt to me. Tidy, with their short shells,
woody and pleasingly mature. The bass
drum, with both full heads perimeter-
damped, was also a beaut. Having no
intrusive tom mount and only 16 lugs
opens it up to impressive resonance,
resulting in a loud and lively boom.
The Tomahawk snare drum feels
weighty, which is good for a snare. It
tuned up easily enough, functioning better
from mid to high batter tensions, less well
low, where it was sludgy and brutish with
reduced sustain. Steel is such a hard
material it can seem to lack complex
character, leading to a severe tone,
particularly at higher tensions. It really
came alive at mid-tension, after some
sustained playing, opening out with a
snappy, focused backbeat contrasting
with high-pitched ringing rim-shots and
a commanding cross-stick.
complicated, but no more so than many
others in the modern isolation-obsessed
drum world.
Taking their inspiration too from the
Saturn IV are the new, sharp-edged lugs and
fl oor tom legs with big sprung isolating
rubber feet.
Hands On
Two Studioease shell-pack confi gurations
are initially offered on UK release, with
choice of short or long toms. Our kit is the
shorty with 22"x18" bass, punchy 10"x7" and
12"x8" mounted toms, 14"x12" and 16"x14"
fl oor toms and 14"x5½" Tomahawk snare. If
you want a bit more low ‘oomph’ then go for
the full-depth toms: 22"x18", 10"x8", 12"x9",
14"x14", 16"x16" and 14"x5½".
Armory combines the two most
widespread shell materials, birch and maple,
hoping for the best of both – the focusing
wall of inner and outer birch plies, with a
core of brighter, warmer maple. It’s an
attractive mix, but probably of more
signifi cance is the SoniClear bearing edge. In
keeping with a number of recent trends it’s a
VERDICT: Armory presents yet another
signifi cant step in the impressive
onward march of Mapex. With hybrid
shells, rounded bearing edges and
superb fi nishes it will surely storm the
middle market.
BUILD QUALITY
PLAYABILITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
RATING
Also try…
1
TAMA SUPERSTAR
We say: “The Superstar
sounds superb and is so
well fi nished, and it’s
hard to see just how
Tama can deliver it at
the price it does.”
2
PEARL VISION
VBL
We say: “All-maple or
all-birch shells in a
selection of high-gloss
Artisan II fi nishes.”
What is different about
Armory?
“The whole kit is a new direction.
We learnt from the successful
development of Saturn IV and
through hands-on experimentation. The hybrid
birch-maple-birch shell embodies all the great
characteristics those materials are known for.
The result is a powerful, punchy tone that
speaks quickly and delivers awesome volume.
We also have a beautiful range of new fi nishes,
with the hardware colour chosen carefully to
best enhance the overall look of each kit.”
What is exciting about the kit?
“The SoniClear bearing edges. During
development we didn’t have an occasion during
A-B testing when jaws didn’t drop. It improves
tuning ease, widens the pitch possibilities and
improves resonance. When we applied it to the
hybrid shell, it just demanded attention and
had us convinced.
“The Armory also has key features from
Saturn IV – the SoniClear tom suspension
system helps toms resonate freely, the
SoniClear fl oor tom feet keep the drum
vibrating without losing energy through
to the fl oor.
“The Tomahawk steel snare is a premium
snare drum developed especially to ensure that
the kit performs way beyond expectations.”
Pete Havard is Mapex’s Marketing
Coordinator for British distributor
Korg UK
They say…
THE SNARE REALLY CAME ALIVE AT
MID TENSION, A SNAPPY, FOCUSED
BACKBEAT CONTRASTING WITH HIGH
PITCHED RINGING RIM SHOTS
HARDWARE
Fittings have an
electro-plated plastic-like
coating which is more
durable than powder coating
SNARE
Tomahawk snare has a 1mm
gauge polished black-chrome
shell with chrome fi ttings and
2.3 mm super hoops
RHY226.gear_mapex.indd 96 1/23/14 11:25 AM