Reviewed on: 14/May/2006
90%
Purchased From:
www.playrecord.net
Price Paid:
?300
Introduction
The biggest nuisance plaguing any drummer is the portability of such a large instrument. Unless you are armed with a handful of roadies or some mates willing to lend a hand, moving a full kit takes a lot of time and muscle...
Not anymore! Not with the Traps A400 flat drum kit!
The A400 drum kit is designed with portability in mind and as such the entire kit is mounted to a rack stystem; Snare, Bass Drum, Cymbals and Toms.
The rack is delivered in multiple segments of short and long steel poles with various connector pieces and a much needed set of fine, laminated instructions. Setting up the framework took me about 2 hours but mainly because I am about as useful as a sledgehammer when it comes to DIY, not to mention the fact that I put it together wrong on two occasions. The beauty of the framework is that you don't require any tools to construct it. However you may require a bulldozer to take it apart again as some of the fittings are more than snug, and at times I had to oil up peices and use the rock propping my lounge door open, to bash it into place. This is particularly true to the feet of the rack which took a beating to get them on properly. However, this is testiment to the stregth of the materials used.
The standard Traps A400 kit comes with the following:
- 10'' Tom
- 12'' Tom
- 14'' Tom
- 20'' Bass Drum
- 12'' Snare Drum
- 13'' Hihats
- 14'' Crash Cymbal
- 18'' Ride Cymbal
- Also included are cymbal arms, bass and hihat pedals, stool and a tuning key.
The build quality of the drum attachments is phonominal considering the low price of this kit. All toms come fitted with Remo Asia Ambassador Coated Chrome plated steel counterhoops with A.B.S moulded shells with integral mounting system.
This is also the case with the 20'' Bass Drum which also has chrome plated steel counterhoops, and has a Remo Asia Powerstroke Drumhead (back) and Remo Ebony Front head; custom printed with the Traps logo.
The snare is also given the same treatment including a moulded lower counterhoop with tension and throw off system.
This is everything and more a beginner could want from a kit... except it seems this one is a popular choice among professional drummers worldwide too, including Geoff Nicholls who said in an article for Rhythm Magazine November 2005, ''Shell-less kits are a viable alternative and Traps is easily the best so far.''
So what is a shell-less kit?
Well, as suggested it is a kit who's toms, snare and bass drums have no shells connecting both heads together. In the past, the Arbiter Flats did away with the shells but they also got rid of the second head. This resulted in a kit with pretty 'flat' sounds and no punch. The guys at traps have removed the shell whilst keeping both heads intact on the snare and bass drum. Although the toms have only one head, it's not detrimental to their overal sound, and you really cannot tell the difference.
...and you know what? It sounds fantastic!
Tuned properly, the Traps toms deliver the sound I like with plenty of punch for rocking out with. They can take a lot of stick (pun intended) without budging an inch from their adjustable position on the rack and you never feel the need to over-strike the heads in order to get enough volume to be heard over the band's competative rivalry.
The bass drum on the other hand is a little weaker than the toms and contact with the skin feels a little sloppy. However, I am used to the thunderous explosion produced by a DW Pacific MX bass drum so theres no wonder why I feel the way I do about the shell-less alternative. That being said, I am amazed by the sound that does come from this drum.
For me personally, the snare is the most amazing part of this revolutionary kit. It's impossibly thin, yet delivers the crisp snap of any higher end full drum kit. It uses eight square-headed tension screws per head to tune the Remo heads easily, and has the same steel counter hoops as all the other drums for cutting rimshots and thick X-stick sounds.
So far so good, right? Absolutely! ...that is, until we begin to discuss the disasterous, cheap sounding, cheap looking cymbals.
To be fair, this kit is very cheap for what it is, and the inclusion of any cymbals at all is a bonus, but really, you have to wonder why they bothered to include them at all, especially the 14'' crash which sounds like a tin-can. Any seasoned pro will replace them immediately and beginners will soon realise the nastiness of them sooner or later. In particular my rant is with the 14'' Crash. The Hihats are decent enough to jam with though you probably wouldn't gig with them and the Ride makes a great addition when you use it in conjunction with your other cymbals. Again, these are a cheap and cheerful treat for anyone buying the kit so you really cannot complain.
Finally, the A400 comes complete with Big Dog hardware including Hihat stand and pedal, bass drum pedal and an adjustable stool. Big Dog hardware is accepted by drummers as well-built and well-priced and although I wasn't too impressed with the stool (which is adequate), the pedals are excellent. Both very responsive to your feet and of very solid build.
Good Points
Not only does this kit look the part with its blue A.B.S moulded plastic, it sounds amazing too. I currently own two drum kits, the A400 being one of them. I love both kits but if I had to choose between them the Traps would come out favourite.
You definitely get plenty of bang-for-you-buck with a full setup here for under ?300, all delivered in one box, including the stool!
The A400 is brother to the E400, an electronic kit of similar build to this masterpiece. As such, a conversion kit is available to turn your acoustic drum kit in to an electrical one in no time.
Excellent build quality, well designed. I've gone through 3 pairs of sticks since owning the A400 which demonstrates how firm the materials are... and perhaps says that I make too many rim shots.
Portability: I set up the kit at my house, attached every drum and cymbal. With the help of a mate we carried the entire kit all in one piece, 5 minutes up the road to his house for a jam! Granted, we stopped 2 or 3 times for a rest as it does weigh a fair bit but in our defence we also had to carry the stool and my extra cymbals along the way too.
The kit tucks up flat against the wall when it's out of use, taking up very little floor space.
Bad Points
After a few weeks of bashing this kit around in many memorable jam sessions, a rattling noise bagan to develop on the cymbal arm. No matter how tight you screw in the cymbal-arm bolt, it doesn't stop which becomes very frustrating. I actually ended up cracking the plastic screw by over-tightening it.
The traps kit was advertised in the picture with two boom arms for your cymbals. However, the ones that come with the kit are just standard, vertical arms. This doesn't make positioning the kit very flxible, though the default position of the cymbals is more than comfortable.
******** REVIEW EDITED ********
Following Bob Henrit's advice, I found that the A400 does in fact come with the advertised Boom arms which were tucked away, causing the rattling mentioned above. Just another example of how portable this kit really is!
Thanks Bob
******** END OF EDIT ********
As mentioned previously, the quality of the cymbals is lacking.
One problem I encountered was that playing on a carpet surface would see the entire kit gradually being pushed away from you with every kick of the bass drum. To remedy this, we simply positioned an Amp in front of the frame's foot to stop it moving forward. However, applying rubber pads to the feet should also be sufficient.
The Verdict
A remarkable kit that i would highly recommend to anyone, beginner or pro. As a first kit, a beginner couldn't ask for more. This kit is sure to turn heads with it's pleasing aesthetics and unusual look. Couple that with the ability to convert this to an electronic kit later on, you have yourself a steal at only ?300!
