Overview
A rarity from the late 90s, spotted on an eBay listing by Bill (bepdrumsqi) in Jan 2022.
To be honest, his description is pretty comprehensive, as are his set of photos, so I'll get out of the way and let him do the talking.
This fine snare accompanied the matching Orion Classic Maple drums I own. Snare is all factory original except for the Evans batter head. (Bottom head is original Mapex branded Remo - Mapex logo is mostly worn.) Purchased new years ago, when Mapex was striving to become a reputable top-shelf brand. Very classy drum, with excellent features. The 24kt gold plating is exceptional. Mapex created (still do) high-quality drums at remarkably reasonable prices. This was their top-of-the-line professional series back in the late ‘90s.
This drum was used mostly for live playing. It was always transported and stored in a foam-lined hard case. As such, it’s relatively clean - gold shines and green lacquer finish glows. Shell and edges are excellent. Inner ply is immaculate and has a clear lacquer coating. (Similar to what Pearl did with their 1980’s high-end BLX and MLX lines.) Dated Black Panther sticker adhered to inner ply - marked “8/97”. Heads are used, but tune up fine and gold plated wires lay flat. Snare strainer and adjustable butt are smooth and keep wire tension locked.
Scrutinizer note: a few tiny dings and scratches on the lacquer finish and gold plating. Too, because the drum was stored in a foam-lined case, untouched, for a few years, the foam stuck to the bottom of the snare. As a result, there’s some dark-foam residue/stains on the bottom die cast hoop and snare wires. Lastly, the brass badge has several oxidation spots. Snare is used, but still looks great. Drum weighs approximately 10.5lbs
See? Comprehensive. I've linked the early Taiwanese Mapex from Shimano San in Japan as it's pretty clearly a close relative.
In addition, in March 2022 I found shots of what I'm fairly sure is the same model, shown with the kit it would have been made to match, on an old (July 2021) listing from Badges Drum Shop. They have it described as "Teal Gloss" but I'm convinced it's Emerald Green, since I can't find "Teal" in any catalogue until Teal Burst came out much later. I think the difference in apparent colour is just down to the lighting; in the "darker" shell shot without the hoops, you can see how the colour changes to match as the light hits it in the right of the picture.
If I've got that wrong (my colour vision won't win awards) and it's actually a different finish I'll relist it separately.
Update March 2023
It turns out that this exact example is now owned (along with quite a few of its brothers and sisters!) by Bob Holmes, who was kind enough to send over a really comprehensive set of shots. Bob checked the shell thickness too (I was never 100% sure given the lack of information) and you can see that it's 5mm rather than 5.1mm, so I've changed the specification accordingly. You can also see the inside is sealed rather than left as plain wood which I didn't spot in the earlier photos. Thanks a million Bob.
Photos of the snare itself, courtesy of Bill (bepdrumsqi) - thanks a million Bill. Much appreciated.
Photos of the snare and kit, courtesy of Badges Drum Shop - cheers folks!
Photos of the same example courtesy of Bob Holmes. Thanks once again Bob!
