Mapex M Birch Rock 24

In an attempt to hit the basics, I'm just going to answer all of the suggested questions so don't look forward to any continuity.

I love the sound of the birch shells. I actually placed this kit side-by-side with a friend's Yamaha Tour Custom that I respected for a long time, but ended up preferring the sound of my kit (at that point I had even only jammed with melodic instruments on it once or twice- not enough to pass judgment).

The double-braced hardware is very, very sturdy, but I find it to be a little bit of a pain to always adjust two things every time you want to make a simple move. It does a superb job at holding, but requires twice the patience of normal hardware.

The bass pedal is very stock, but you are able to rotate and choose your tone since the beater has three sides- wood, felt and plastic. I actually modified it to be a longboard, since I go home to be my father's farmhand between semesters and he is an excellent mechanical improviser. I won't replace it unless it eventually breaks.

I have the regular green finish and I think it's beautiful. I think it'll look a million times better with a white resonant bass head, though!

The heads aren't very good. I actually consider myself primarily to be a guitarist and a drummer buddy of mine was one of the first people to use my kit (out of convenience). He broke the snare head that night. Granted, it's single-ply and he's a very punctual, forceful drummer. Aside from that, the tones didn't seem to really grab my attention. I didn't really give them a shot, though, as I replaced them with Evans coated G1 and G2 by advice (I don't use the free tom). Together they supply very much thud. I like what a Powerstroke 3 does for the bass drum. I intend on getting another snare simply because I prefer the sensitivity of a 5". I have no qualms with the stock snare, though. In fact, after doing some swapping I find that it blends in nicely with the rest of the kit.

This section gets a nine for my impatience with the hardware.

As I said before- my love for this kit truly came from a side-by-side comparison with a kit that I already respected. I tapped the shells and to my surprise, my birch shells had a deeper, warmer resonance than his maple shells.

It goes without that the same depth and warmth can be heard when played. It is probably highlighted by my tuning. I can say with confidence that the tuning range is quite vast, because I spent a good day or two trying to find out where this kit shines. On every single drum except the snare, I ended up tuning all resonant heads to their lowest possible pitch with the batter heads a little higher. I prefer using rings on everything.

For me, that combined with the G1/G2s provides a really snappy attack, with a great depth that doesn't linger obnoxiously. I just love it!

I can't wait to get this kit on stage. Who knows when that will be, though. My most important projects require me to spend time with my guitar instead.

What truly impresses me is that I found my tuning, and have never had to go back. Once I found my spot, I have literally not had to retune once with the current set of heads. THAT's impressive to me.

I have not noticed any variations in tone.

As I mentioned earlier, the hardware performs very well. It is sturdy like a rock, and the bass pedal is basic, but fine. I have nothing bad to say about it, and I appreciate the tonal variety. Blah, blah, blah...

I haven't dealt with customer support, and am unaware of any kind of warranty.

I don't hate anything about the kit. I do, however, love almost everything about it. I love the tuning stability, the attack and depth, the sturdiness of the hardware, and the looks. The sound is my favorite part, but it would get really old if it wasn't staying in tune.

I would absolutely buy this same kit if it were stolen.