Open Box Mapex Saturn V Exotic Edition 5-Piece Studioease Shell Pack Level 1 Natural Maple Burl

We bought 2 of these kits, one for our band, and one for our church. First, the finish is stunning! Absolutely gorgeous. And the sound? Incredible! You can play ANY style with these. They stay in tune forever, and the hardware seems pretty indestructible. I feel like you could throw these off a building and they'd be fine. And you CANNOT beat the price! About half of what you'd pay for a nice DW, Tama, or Pearl. We also have a DW kit that's amazing, yet in some ways we actually like this one better. If you're thinking about buying this kit, stop thinking and just do it!

This is a great drum set...the sound is full with great tone all around! 🥁

I've owned several kits over the years (Tama Rockstar, Sonor Force 3007, Gretsch Renown, and Yamaha Recording Custom) over the years but this one blows them all away! Mapex has always been on my radar but I had never really felt all that compelled to get one for whatever reason. But with the redesign and latest iteration of Saturn (and BPDL) has pushed Mapex into the same territory as say Tama or Yamaha. I was working at a drum shop at the time and we got a few of these new Saturn's in stock and I was instantly sold. Right out of the boxes it could be played and sounded great. I ordered the Studioease shell pack (10, 12, 14, 16, 22x18 kick) with matching 14x5.5 snare. I also ended up ordering a 20x16 and 22x16 kick as a special order, both sound great. For production level drums, the Saturn (IV & V) are immaculate. The sound of these drums excels in all genres. The tuning range is SUPER wide. You can get these drums to tune ultra-low (just finger tight on tension rods) without flubbing out. You can most definitely get to the super taught Jazz tuning as well with no problem. I typically play at medium-tight tensions and feel that's where this kit truly shines. There is the perfect amount of attack, sustain, low end, and high-end harmonic overtones that this kit (in the studio or stage) really sounds HUGE and warm. The toms sound fantastic with either clear or coated heads, single or double ply's. I haven't really found a head that doesn't sound great on this kit. I personally use the Remo Vintage Emperor Clear's and the sound is incredible (especially live). The lugs and tension rods are great, they allow for very precise tuning! The Sonic-clear tom mounts certainly assist in in getting just the right amount of resonance and cannot recommend those enough. If you are looking for a very contemporary sounding kit that is supremely versatile, well built, with envy inducing finishes, the Saturn should be near the top of your list of contenders

I bought this to upgrade my gigging kit. Not only is it absolutely stunning, but it sounds amazing and stays in tune long. It's easy to get a mediocre kit to sound good, but do I have to retune it after a few hours of playing? Typically yes for a mediocre kit. Similar to my DW, this stays in tune for a long time. I think a testament to a high quality kit is the hardware. This of course assumes that you're changing factory heads, including the reso head. I find myself looking at this kit over and over as it's just too pretty. Great kit, well built, great value.

So my Church was doing an upgrade and gave me a budget. and I went with this kit ( the four piece/2 up 1 down ) along with new hardware and throne etc. and ma am I happy. I have this paired up with a Pork Pie 13x7 patinad brass snare and they match so perfectly. Tunes so easy and hold it really well. Durable. and such a punchy boomy warm sound from the toms. why spend double on a DW when you have this for half the price