Mapex Saturn Pro

Bought a mapex saturn LA rock kit in white with black hardware for my 18th birthday. 12 x 9 and 16 x 14 toms and the 22 x 20 bass drum.

The finish is absolutely magnificent, i'm not a big fan of any other of hardware except silver or brass but the black looks really great on this kit, looks really great with the white.

I replaced the black resonant head on the bass drum with a "Remo powerstroke 3 coated white" head with the black "mapex" printed logo, put a black "bass drum o' " on it and not only did this make the bass drum sound better but it looks amazing.

When buying this kit i was torn between the "Gretsch Renowned maple" and the "Mapex Saturn" but for me, the sound of the Saturn had no comparison, it totally stole the show.

The bass drum has great tone and sounds just right, not clicky and not too bassy, just the perfect balance for me, you would need to hear it to understand what i'm talking about.

The toms are great as well, the only problem i am having is tuning them because i'm not used to there sizes. I keep the bottom heads moderately low and tune the batter heads accordingly, anyway. the tone is incredible, it resonates perfect as well, which most people would dampen the sh*t out of, but it sounds great when playing with a band or other musicians so i don't see the reason to.

if you are planning on buying the saturn, don't just buy it because it looks great and its affordable, go in and compare it with other kits you may like. but i would strongly recommend this to anyone.

stunning finishes, sounds fantastic, highly tunable (sounds great tuned up or down).

Great value for money. Top end features like isolated tom, suspension in the floor tom stands and an undrilled bass drum don't normally come cheap.

Only negative thing I can really think of is that the floor tom mounts are quite wide so wouldn't fit in my old cases. The mapex ones fit a treat though and were really affordable too so I forked out on some of those

If you want to hear a sound sample check out a short video I did here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUvXTXeifm0

Mapex Saturn is very professional drum kit, great sound, great price........what more can i say?

Overall the Saturn is an awesome kit especially for the price, when I first got mine, set it up and tuned I was playing it in the house and first I was a little disappointed with the sound, but once I got it out in a practice venue and let loose with the sticks the sound was incredible. The toms have a beautiful deep tone and the bass really kicks!

Fantastic sounding kit that is easily tuned to your preference. Sturdy and reliable hardware. A real eye catcher too, I got mine in Krystal Krush finish and never fails to impress when I take it ou of its cases!

There aren't any bad points really...heads are a personal preference and the kit does come with remo ambassadors, I replaced these with pinstripes.

I've had lots of top of the range kits, DW, Sonor, Yamaha etc. This is my first Mapex and I'm blown away by it. It sounds and looks absolutely fantastic. Sounds great at any tuning even with factory fitted emperors. I usually try different heads on new kits but no need to with this one.

Volume, Attack and playability are excllent but tuning is so sensitive, it needs tuning for every venue/performance. A very well made, good value for money kit.

I bought this kit for my studio and I'm glad I did. The tuning possibilities are endless! I generally spend time with the drummer before the recording date to find out how he wants to sound etc. Nine times out of ten they choose my Mapex Saturn Pro's, and leave their drum kits in the car. To me, It's all about the tone! This set can do anything! The bottom line is, you would have to buy 2 or 3 different sets in order to get the versatility of this one Saturn! I like everything about this kit.

I Think Mapex has the best drums for the buck and the Saturn and Orion series rival drums twice their price. Very high quality drums at an affordable price. I can play anything I want and I chose Mapex and I am glad I did. Jimmy Hunter