Overview
The natural beauty of the Black Panther Deep Forest Walnut Series is only surpassed by the instrument’s deep, rich voice. The drum’s unique tone is dark and saturating, providing sonic qualities unmatched by any other snare drum.
Unlike its deeper sibling, this model wasn't part of the original Deep Forest line up and didn't appear until the 2004 range refresh. As a result there shouldn't be any versions of this model with the original Deep Forest badge - they will all be the oval type. At least, that's the theory - I'm happy to be proved wrong.
It's also significantly rarer to see one on the second-hand market than the 6.5". Not sure if that's due to people holding onto them, or whether owners preferred the deeper shell to go with the deeper fundamental pitch of walnut. The 6.5" also had an alternative chrome hardware model, albeit one that was in the range for only a year or so. Regardless of the reason, I couldn't find an attributable photo from an owner until late March 2023, when Garble Often Baffled asked if anyone had any information about his snare on the Mapex Drums FB site. He was kind enough to supply some photos after I stopped hyperventilating long enough to ask - cheers Garbled, really much appreciated!
Main photo and similar of this rarity are courtesy of Garbled Often Baffled 😃 Thanks a million!
Other photo used for reference under fair use from the Popscreen website. There's no way to track it to the original listing on eBay, so if this happens to be your photo, please do get in touch so I can credit you properly.
