Meinl Samba Series

GEARREVIEWS
APRIL 2006 RHYTHM 099
Meinl’s Samba Series seeks to recreate some classic sounding
instruments but with bang up to date construction methods and
innovative improvements that can only enhance your samba experience.
Beautifully light (perhaps too light for some) and surprisingly affordable, they
would be an excellent choice for schools or samba groups who don’t want
traditional heavyweight instruments, and are particularly good for younger
players and people who don’t want to lug a heavy instrument around their
neck. The series represent good value, durable and, above all, great sounding
instruments that allow you to enjoy playing samba even more.
Lightweight, affordable, articulate instruments,
thoughtfully made and with loads of volume.
The only slight limitation is the lack of choice
of finishes on the wood repinique.
★★★★★
RATING
Wood
repiniques
are often
played by the leader of a samba band
and Meinl’s is loud, cutting and articulate
enough to ‘talk’ to a band in full fl ight, yet
it retains a warm and harmonic sound.
Made of rubberwood with chrome plated
hardware, this drum is only available in
12"x10" dimensions. Tuning is via the
bottom side of this drum and with that
in mind, the countersunk bolt heads
are a great idea – they prevent stabbing
your muffl ing hand like on some other
manufacturers’ models. Available only in
a high gloss African Brown fi nish, it also
has reinforcement rings inside the tops
and bottoms to strengthen the drum
and focus its timbre.
Jingle all the way
Available in traditional 10" and 12" sizes,
the true identity of Meinl’s rubberwood
pandeiros is revealed when you pick
them up and notice their substantial
weight. They boast a dark chestnut wood
fi nish and have very thin natural goat skin
heads. I noted a hugely resonant and
warm sound and found tuning easy with
the included tuning key. These models
also feature two rods per lug for safer
tuning; most traditional models have only
one each. This prevents loosening of the
lugs during playing but adds extra mass
to an already weighty instrument.
Meinl say that their solid jingles provide
a brilliant and cutting sound and this is no
lie. When combined with the thin goat
skin heads they provide a beautiful mix
of deep resonant tones that complement
the cut of the jingles. You get a very brief,
clipped jingle sound with a pandeiro
so don’t think of it as anything near a
tambourine. This is a notoriously diffi cult
instrument but Meinl have produced a
model that is easy to learn on.
The samba shakers in the range are
quite interesting and are offered in many
confi gurations but are all constructed
from the same materials. Aluminium
with a light feel and traditional reassuring
ribbed areas on the wider middle section
facilitate extended and accurate playing.
They are available in small, medium and
large sizes. If you need even more shaker
you can opt for a double shaker or a
gigantic triple shaker.
Filled with solid steel shots, they have
a really lush sound when played gently
and this timbre really opens up when
played more forcefully with a grittier,
much louder sound that contrasts well
when combined. The thin aluminium
shells are not up to whacking them on
bells, etc, so use them wisely and they
will indeed be warm and cutting.
Also supplied is a
selection of bells – small
and large steel cowbells, a
large aluminium cowbell and
small and large steel a-go-go
bells. The steel cowbells were shrill
with a long ringing tone controlled
with stick-on dampening patches. The
aluminium version was more muted and
I felt that it had less to offer as a result.
The a-go-go bells were generally high-
pitched and had a beautifully resonant
ringing tone with the smaller bell able
to be stand-mounted via the included
bracket. Just choose your size, amigo!
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