Sabian APX Performance Set with 22in Ride 18in Crash 14in Hats Review

The APX Performance Cymbal Pack includes one 22″ medium Sabian APX Ride, one 18″ thin Sabian APX Crash, and a pair of 14″ Sabian APX Hi-Hats (medium top cymbal/heavy bottom cymbal). Matched for optimum performance compatibility by the specialists in the Sabian Vault, sonically matched sets let you play a great-sounding set of APX cymbals right out of the box.

The medium APX ride cymbal has a balanced blend of bright stroke-definition and tonal spread for a ride versatile enough for all styles of music.

The explosive response of the thin APX Crash Cymbal is dense with high-end brightness and a razor-sharp projection that cuts with tonally cool, crisp attack.

The crisp stick and pedal response of the APX hats is bright and definite, for clean and cutting chick and stick definition at all volumes.

APX, a professional cymbal series, is from award-winning sound innovators: Sabian. The sheer attack of APX cuts through any music. To create this intensity, Sabian introduced new production processes that also result in a unique appearance for these cymbals. Featuring a ‘High-Decibel’ desig APX cymbals sound super-bright, tonally tight, focused, and aggressive beyond belief to rip through rock-heavy grooves and blistering power chords like a laser through darkness. With Sabian’s APX series, nothing gets in your way.

APX cymbals are ideal for cutting through the raging guitars, heavy riffing and high-powered output of hard rock and heavy metal bands. Top drummers already playing APX include Ray Luzier (Korn), Neil Sanderson (Three Days Grace), George Kollias (Nile), John Kelly (Type-O Negative), and Rich Beddoe (Finger Eleven).

Sabian APX Performance Cymbal Pack with 22″ Ride, 18″ Crash, 14″ Hats Features:

* 22″ medium Sabian APX Ride
* 18″ thin Sabian APX Crash
* 14″ Sabian APX Hi-Hats (medium top cymbal/heavy bottom cymbal)

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Great cymbals new from Sabian. These cymbals give a higher pitch and tone for a brighter sound. Great for Rock applications where the drummer needs to cut through the sound.

Remo 5-Piece Rock ProPack Review
The Remo 5-Piece Rock ProPack includes 12″, 13″, 16″ Pinstripe tom heads, 22″ Powerstroke bass head, and a 14″ Coated Ambassador snare head.

Remo 5-Piece Rock ProPack also Includes a FALAM patch.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Remo pinstripe heads are the classic, trusted drum head for rock style drumming. I’ve used these heads when playing in rock bands and they sound great. They give a great, punchy low end sound with short sustain and hold up very well to hard playing. A definite winner of a drum head in my book.

Pearl Reference 5-Piece Fusion Shell Pack Review

This shell pack includes a 22″ x 18″ kick drum, 10″ x 8″ and 12″ x 9″ rack toms, and 14″ x 11″ and 16″ x 13″ floor toms.

Pearl’s Reference Series: These are drums with a rich inner beauty crafted by the artful blending of the finest birch, maple, and African mahogany. Each drum is individually engineered to deliver tonal perfection.

The mission behind the Pearl Reference Series is a complete set of individually engineered, incredible-sounding drums.

To fully understand the Pearl Reference Series, you must understand that the desired tonal characteristics of a 10″ tom are completely different than that of a 22″ bass drum. Thus, to use the same material in both drums would result in a compromise.

The Shells
Pearl Reference Series drums use a combination of task-specific bearing edges and three time-proven woods: birch, maple, and African mahogany. Using maple as a sole material has long been the traditional choice for shells and for good reason. Maple provides smooth, well-balanced tone that is perfect for a 12″ tom. Subsequently, all Reference Series 12″ toms are composed of six plies of maple, the only single-wood shell in the series. The 10″ and 8″ toms receive four plies of maple with two inner plies of birch for cut and attack. For maximum response, all 13″ and smaller toms have rounded 45° bearing edges.

Beginning with the 13″ and larger toms, mahogany is added to the inner plies to increase the lower frequencies and accentuate the warmth of the maple. The 14″ toms and larger begin using fully rounded bearing edges for even more shell contact. 18″ and 20″ bass drums use four inner plies of mahogany with two outer plies of maple. As the size of the bass drums increase, so does the amount of mahogany. The 22″ and 24″ bass drums incorporate an amazing six inner plies of mahogany surrounded by two outer plies of maple for the ultimate in solid responsive bass frequencies.

With Pearl Reference, it’s not about compromise; it’s about every drum in your kit performing at its optimal capacity.

The Hardware The same tireless pursuit of perfection that goes into Pearl’s legendary drums is found in its hardware. This hardware was designed to maximize the sound of your drums. Pearl hardware has set a high standard for strength, durability, and innovation.

Lug design
Bridge-style lugs and floor tom brackets provide maximum resonance with minimal shell contact. Pearl’s revolutionary BRL lugs assure the ultimate in head seating and tuning integrity. The unique swivel function allows the tension rods to align perfectly into the lugs so there’s no lateral pressure against the hoops, thus assuring maximum resonance and sustain.

Bass drum claw hook
Pearl’s kick drum claws incorporate rubber hoop isolators for scratch prevention on lacquered hoops, to provide evenly distributed clamping force for consistent tuning. The key bolts are recessed for snag-free fit in carrying cases and to eliminate accidental detuning.

Floor tom leg brackets with air-suspended rubber tips
Full height adjustment with Pearl’s built in memory lock keeps floor tom positioning perfectly set. Pearls’ patented Air Suspension Rubber Tip allows your floor tom to rest on a cushion of air. These large rubber feet prevent premature sound decay from floor contact. Floor toms never had it so good.

OptiMount suspension system
The OptiMount Suspension System provides tom mounting with zero shell contact for ultimate resonance. By attaching to the tension bolts via isolated rubber bushings the shell is allowed to float which, in turn, allows it to sing to its fullest capabilities.

MasterCast die-cast hoop
Pearls’ die-cast hoops offer state-of-the-art head seating and tuning capabilities thanks to its structural strength and precision manufacturing technique. The MasterCast Hoop system prevents binding and allows the shell to resonate to its absolute fullest potential.

Bass drum spur
Pearls’ telescoping spurs feature rubber or spike tips for maximum traction control. The high-grip rubber tip can be retracted to allow a recessed spike to be exposed for maximum bite on carpeted surfaces.

Stainless steel suspension rods and bolts
Pearl’s stainless steel tension rods are machined from a single piece of stainless steel to the most exacting tolerances in the industry. They feature super smooth and precise tensioning with absolutely no play. Each is matched with a precision-machined brass swivel nut for ultra-precise performance.

Cymbals, stands, and kick pedal not included.

Pearl Reference 5-Piece Fusion Shell Pack Features:

* Drum sizes include:
* 22″ x 18″ kick drum
* 10″ x 8″ and 12″ x 9″ rack toms
* 14″ x 11″ and 16″ x 13″ floor toms

5-Piece Fusion Shell Pack features:
* BRL bridge lugs with swivel function
* LB-200 bridge floor tom leg brackets
* LG-200 floor tom legs
* SP-300 spurs
* MasterCast die cast hoops
* Aluminum OptiMount tom holders
* Stainless steel tension rods
* Molded rubber gaskets
* Remo coated “JP” Ambassador tom batters
* Remo coated “JP” Powerstroke3 kick drum heads
* Cymbals, stands, and kick pedal not included.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
One of Pearl’s flagship drum sets…Beautiful finish and beautiful sound. A lot of engineering went into this drum set line up. I’m very impressed how Pearl has designed each part of the drum set from ground up, focusing on each individual tonal range for each drum. Shells are beautifully crafted and Pearl hardware, lugs, etc., are very well thought out. I’m a big fan of the optimount system as well. Isolates the individual drum for great sound. This set is a winner.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Pro-Mark TB3 Telescopic Brushes

These telescopic brushes are inspired by the original Gene Krupa jazz brush. Smooth rubber handle with great balance for fast response. Made in USA. Telescoping Pro-Mark TB3 brushes are crafted with wire and equipped with a light rubber handle.

Overall Length With bristles extended – 12 5/16

Length of Handle only – 6 13/16

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
I own a pair of these brushes (Probably an older style of this version) that have lasted over 15 years. Pro-Mark brushes are the standard, in my opinion, when it comes to drum brushes. What’s cool is the telescopic handle protects the wires when putting them in your stick bag. Just bring the brushes back inside with one smooth motion. I normally play with one brush fully extended for sweeping and the other brush brought in a little bit, which gives a slightly stiffer brush, for accenting and rim bouncing. A very versatile brush. The metal rings at the end of the telescopic handle are perfect for pinging and scraping the cymbal when needed. I usually keep a set of Pro-Mark Telescopic Brushes and hybrid brush/stick brushes in my jazz stick arsenal.

ddrum Dios Exotic Tiger Eye Bubinga 6-Piece Drum Shell Pack

This drum shell pack comes with a 20″ x 20″ kick drum, 10″ x 8″ and 12″ x 8″ rack toms, 14″ x12″ and 16″ x 12″ floor toms, and a 13″ x 7″ snare.

The rich, full texture of this ddrum Dios Series’ Tiger Eye Bubinga 6-Piece shell pack has no equal. While the spectacular outer ply of Tiger Eye bubinga gives each drum a dark visual appearance, its tonal body is very bright and focused; projecting with unparalleled attack and volume, due to the harder nature of the wood, and heaviness of the drum shell. Shimmering highs and channeled lows are the hallmark of its character.

ddrum Dios drums are fashioned to bridge the gap between time-tested orthodoxy and the latest in percussion technology. Beginning with bubinga from West Africa, these drum shells are thinner type of shell to allow the unique tonal character of these exotic hardwoods to truly shine. The outer drum shell features the character of Tiger Eye bubinga. The beauty of this exotic wood is showcased through a glass-like lacquer finish. The hand-stained inner shell of each drum creates a smooth conduit for vibration and sound to travel through, delivering tone that will ignite an almost emotional response every time it is played. The ddrum Dios Exotic Tiger Eye drum shells are also accented further with classic tube-style lugs, die-cast hoops, and a variety of unique setups, Dios Series drums echo the call for a new percussive tradition.

Cymbals and hardware not included.

The ddrum Dios Exotic Tiger Eye Bubinga 6-Piece Drum Shell Pack Features:

* Drum Shell sizes include:
* 20″ x 20″ kick drum
* 10″ x 8″ and 12″ x 8″ rack toms
* 14″ x12″ and 16″ x 12″ floor toms
* 13″ x 7″ snare drum

8-ply bubinga drum shells
* Outer ply of exotic Tiger Eye bubinga
* Classic tube-style lugs Die-cast hoops

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Beautiful set made of quality, exotic African bubinga wood. Looks like a great intermediate/advanced drum kit. ddrums have a very nice sound to them and the hardware is reminiscent of the “big brother” dw drum sets.

What the heck is Bubinga wood?
Excerpt taken from Gretsch.com:

Bubinga’s natural wood tone accentuates low-end fundamental frequencies yet still produces a clearly defined overall sound.

Excerpt taken from Thewoodbox.com:

Bubinga wood can be an amazingly wavy-figured exotic wood, sought by guitar makers and small box builders alike… often referred to as an African rosewood, although technically NOT from the rosewood family.

The Tree:(Guibourtia tessmannii)

“The bubinga tree grows to heights of up to 100′ and 3′ in diameter and grows mostly in parts of West Africa, Cameroon and surrounding nations. Trees this large can produce quite wide and long lumber.” The lumber can be pretty pricey.

“Bubinga can have multi-shaded, interlocking or wavy-figured bands of color in different shades of red with distinct purple overtones, in the more exotic samples, and fine, linear grain with greater color consistency in the balance. Color does darken with age.”

“It is often referred to as an African rosewood, although technically NOT from the rosewood family. ”

A video from Youtube:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Yamaha DTXpress IV Electronic Drum Set

The Yamaha DTXpress IV Electronic Drum Set features an all-new and improved palette of high-fidelity sounds, great-feeling responsive drum pads, and advanced tools for refining your groove and sharpening your timekeeping skills.

The redesigned DTXpress IV module features 427 high-quality drum/percussion voices with 22 keyboard/effect voices. An advanced programmable metronome with Groove Check feature lets you work on your drumming accuracy and sticking precision. The module lets you record your own single-track songs and trigger them from the pads or play along with the preset styles.

Plug the Yamaha DTXpress IV in to the sound system of your choice, or use the headphone jack and aux in jack to practice or play along with prerecorded tunes anytime and anywhere in privacy. The DTXpress IV Special makes it all possible with better sounds than ever before!

Yamaha DTXpress IV Electronic Drum Set Features:

* DTXpress IV module
* 2 – TP65S dual-zone pads
* 4 – TP65 single-zone pads
* one – PCY130SC 3-zone cymbal
* KP65 kick pad
* HH65 hi-hat controller
* Rack
* Polyphony: 32-note
* Voices: 427 drum & percussion, 22 keyboard/effects
* Drum kits: 50 preset, 20 user
* Dual voice capability
* Effects: Reverb x 16 types, master EQ
* Trigger setups: 7 preset, 4 user
* Pad controller: snare adjust, tuning, tempo
* Pad functions: drum kit
* INC/DEC, Click set INC/DEC, Tempo INC/DEC, Click ON/OFF
* Pad songs: Start/Stop, Chase, Cut Off, 3 simultaneous songs
* Sequencer
* Note capacity: 16,000
* Note resolution: 96 PPQ
* Track: 1
* Songs: 3 demo, 41 practice songs, 19 pad songs, 20 user
* Metronome
* Tempo: 30-300BPM, tap tempo
* Beat 1-9
* Timing: Accent, quarter note, eighth note, sixteenth note, triplet
* Click sound sets: 6 preset, 1 user
* Click presets: 30
* Click timer: 0-600 seconds
* Connectors:
* Trigger inputs: 8
* Outputs: L/Mono, Right
* Headphone jack, Aux in
* MIDI out

A single drummer can sound like a whole band with the DTXPress IV.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Great, inexpensive start into the electronic drum genre. Great practice set. Includes a wide range of drum sets. Customizable and gets great reviews on the vendor’s site. The price is low and will allow a drummer to easily try out what electric sets are all about.

Evans Adjustable Dampening EMAD Bass Drumhead

The Evans Adjustable Dampening EMAD Bass Drum Head comes with two revolutionary damping rings, each of which affects the head’s sound and pedal response. EMAD stands for: Externally Mounted Adjustable Damping and this external system maximizes natural attack characteristics. It offers tremendous dynamic range (even at low dynamic levels where other systems fall short). It also allows quick, easy adjustments without having to remove the head from the drum—an especially valuable feature during recording sessions. Evans EMAD Bass Drum Heads come in 18″, 20″, 22″, and 24″ sizes.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Evans emad bass drum heads are one of the greatest bass drum heads around. The dampening ring works perfectly. I don’t use any type of internal muffling with this head. It’s suitable for all types of music including rock, jazz, etc. You can achieve great sound results with this head and change up the amount of muffling on the fly. I swear by it.

Just Released! Pearl E-Pro Hybrid Electronic Acoustic Drum Set with Brass Cymbals Review

* Real wood drums for totally realistic feel
* eClassic brass cymbals
* TruTrac heads
* Pearl Redbox Drum Module
* 1000 sounds & 100 preset kits with 100 user kits
* Ability to import external virtual drumsets from ToonTrak, BFD2, Sonic Reality, Ocean Way Drums, Steven Slate Drums, and Virtual Drumline from Pearl’s website.

Some info from Pearl’s site:

“No more playing on small 8″ pads. e-Pro Live features 10″x6.5″, 12″x7″ and 14″x8″ rack toms with a 20″x12″ bass and 14″x4.5″ snare with white heads.”

“No one makes better hardware than Pearl, and the foundation of e-Pro Live starts with the modified Icon Rack. The tom arms, shells, cymbal holders and rack are all covered under Pearl’s Lifetime Warranty. The rack will accommodate adding more drums and cymbals.”

“e-Pro Live features 6-ply, beautiful wood shells along with robust drum hardware and durable drum finishes. Two finishes available: #31 Jet Black and Pearl’s new Artisan II finish, Quilted Maple Fade #464.”

“e-Pro Live is two kits for the price of one. e-Pro Live is made with real, wood drums and turning your kit into a great sounding acoustic drumset is as easy as 1-2-3. One, remove the top hoop and the Tru-Trac head. Two, replace with a regular drumhead. Three, replace the top hoop, and tune and play!”

“Cymbals featured on the e-Pro Live are Pearl’s E-Classic high-end electronic cymbals, and are made with real brass. The E-Classics feel and respond to your playing just like real cymbals, because they ARE real cymbals. E-Classics feature a 3-zone plus choke 16″ Ride, 13″ chokable crash and super responsive 12″ Hi-Hats.”

“The traditional rubber EPC2 cymbals are also available and feature a 14″ 3-zone Ride, a 12″ Crash, and a set of 12″ super responsive hi-hats.”

“Pearl’s Tru-Trac Electronic Heads feature dualzones that reproduce all of the intricacies a drummer hears when playing acoustic drums. Smooth coating on the heads makes moving from drum to drum fast and easy. The formula used to create Tru-Trac Heads produces a feel virtually identical to acoustic drums.”

“The ultimate goal of a drum module is to reproduce the REAL SOUND of drums. And who better to engineer REAL SOUND than Pearl, the company who knows drums the best. The r.e.d.box. is Pearl’s drum module. R.E.D. stands for REAL ELECTRONIC DRUMS, and it’s also the color of this amazing module.”

“The r.e.d.box features 128MB of RAM. The full memory is used to accommodate the Original Acoustics of 1000 High Definition sounds and 100 High Definition kits. The sound library includes acoustic and vintage drums, electronics from beat machines to modern digital and a variety of orchestral, concert and world percussion instruments.”

“One of the most unique features of the r.e.d.box module is the ability to flash the memory of the module and replace the Original Acoustics with one large and lush-sounding kit. A few easy steps and you’ll be on your way to playing premium kits on your e-Pro Live from the best drum sampling software companies in the world! Visit redboxsoundshop.com to preview and purchase specially designed kits from Toontrack, BFD, Ocean Way, Steven Slate, Sonic Reality, and Virtual Drum Line and download the free software that allows your PC or Mac to communicate with the r.e.d.box.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Wow…It looks great. Pearl quality, real look…this is revolutionary. This kit looks phenomenal. I’m very impressed with the way they have incorporated a “real drum” look. You’ll even be able to buy new drum set sounds, etc. Is it time to cash in my Pearl Acoustic set?…hmmm.

Sabian HHX Super Cymbal Pack

Sabian delivers the the greatest playing experience with the HHX Super Cymbal Pack. It features sonically advanced cymbals that deliver the best projection and a full, rich tone with tight focus and quick response. Each cymbal in the set is handcrafted from Sabian’s B20 bronze, a combination of 80% copper with silver and 20% tin. They are ‘Sonically Matched’ as pairs, and they are quality-protected by the Sabian 2-Year Warranty.

The Sabian HHX super cymbal set includes a set of 14″ X-Celerator hi-hats, 14″, 16″, and 18″ Studio crashes, a 10″ splash, and a 20″ Stage ride.

HHX X-Celerator Hi-Hat Set

These hi-hats, designed by the Sabian Vault Team to deliver increased speed and crisp, give highly defined clarity. While the simmering, modern HHX tonality is generated by the medium-weight top cymbal, the speed and crispness are created by the ultra heavy bottom and its contoured ‘Air Wave’ design. These contours expel air when the cymbals come together, eliminating sound-muting airlock to create a combination of tone and projection.

HHX Studio Crash Cymbals

The HHX Studio Crash has been designed as a thin cymbal loaded with bright tone that shimmers with pure musicality. These HHX cymbals put out rich, simmering tones. Super-sized hammering and an exclusive Tone Projection feature add bite to project the musical sounds of HHX Cymbals through everything from pumped-up grooves and thickly textured tracks, to guitar-heavy, high-end wailing. HHX Cymbals combine the best of two worlds, traditional tone and modern projection.

HHX Stage Ride Cymbal

The HHX Stage Ride offers ultimate, bright stick definition within a shimmering blend of glassy tones, all topped with a solid raw bell. Medium.

HHX Splash Cymbal

The HHX splash delivers fast, biting, and colorful tones with a punchy attack and very rapid decay rate with increased punch. Extra thin.

The Sabian HHX Super Cymbal Pack Features:

* B20 ‘cast’ bronze (80% copper with silver, 20% tin)
* Sonically Matched

Included:
* 14″ HHX X-Celerator Hi-Hat Set
* 14″ HHX Studio Crash
* 16″ HHX Studio Crash
* 18″ HHX Studio Crash
* 20″ HHX Stage Ride
* 10″ HHX Splash

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Solid cymbal pack. Highest quality from one of the greatest cymbal makers in the world. You get a ton for the money on this cymbal set up. The finishes are beautiful and The Sabian HHX line up give some of the best sound I’ve ever heard.

Meinl Byzance Dark Hi-Hat Cymbals 14″
Byzance Hi-Hat Cymbals have an untreated finish. Esoteric, very dark sound with a dirty, earthy open hi-hat and a short sustain and closing chick.

The Meinl Byzance Dark series is handmade in Turkey using B20 bronze alloy. Surface of the cymbals are completely unlathed for a raw finish. They have a raw natural and unprocessed look.

Meinl Byzance Dark Hi-Hat Cymbals Features:

* B20 bronze alloy
* Hand hammered into shape
* Great sound in musicality
* Extensive range

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Very full crunching sound. Finish is beautiful on these Meinl Byzance Hi-hats. Definitely unique and the highest of quality. They’re the perfect hi-hat cymbals for rock, fusion, jazz or whatever…a very versatile set of hi-hat cymbals. Stick definition is very defined with lots of texture. These are a winner.