Meinl Samba SERIES PERCUSSION

EXCLUSIVE
94 RHYTHM OCTOBER 2009
M
einl offers staggering choices for
drummers and percussionists
and its attention to detail is highly
lauded. Brazilian samba
instruments are, by their nature, hugely
diverse and traditionally have been produced
from a great many materials. Meinl has taken
into consideration just how tricky it can be
when you play these instruments in a street
situation (marching and dancing to the
irresistible pulse of the samba) and has a full
line on offer constructed almost entirely of
extremely lightweight aluminium, but still
boasting beautiful tones!
Build
The majority of these instruments are
constructed from top grade lightweight
aluminium, which makes them extremely
easy to play for extended periods. The 22"
stand-alone surdo is an impressive beast and
comes complete with three chunky fl oor
tom-style, height-adjustable legs. If you’re
looking for a gigantic sound and perform
in a static situation then this is highly
recommended. The 20" surdo, on the other
hand, is designed to be played hanging from
Meinl’s adjustable, comfortably padded
shoulder/hip belt and is again constructed
from aluminium.
The third surdo is an attractive but much
shallower 20" diameter hardwood model,
and all three come equipped with sets of
highly durable synthetic heads. The 10
(non-intrusive) one-piece tension rods have
countersunk bolt heads and tune up really
easily with the included key. The 12"x12"
repinique is made the same way as the
surdos and comes with eight tension rods for
exacting tuning of its pair of synthetic heads,
and across the entire range Meinl
has applied its logo underneath
the heads to eliminate messy
chipping of the design.
The Brazilian snare drum (or
caixa) that we were sent is Meinl’s
‘Traditional’ 12"x6" model and comes
with static guitar string snares. This
caixa is the deepest model in the
catalogue, has the same look as the previous
aluminium instruments and will cut through
any ensemble nicely.
The three pandeiros all featured differing
materials and were quite a revelation – not
least Meinl’s new lightweight rubberwood
‘Shell-tuned’ model, which has an ingenious
hex screw tuning system at the bottom of the
drum, hand-hammered brass jingles and an
ergonomic design/feel that you’ll not want to
put down! Available in 10" or 12" sizes, it’s a
much more comfortable option for both
novice and expert player alike. The other two
pandeiros are a more traditionally designed
rubberwood model (10" or 12") topped with a
responsive goatskin head and a cool black 10"
ABS plastic model with a synthetic head. We
also received a 6" aluminium tambourim, a
funky 6"x5¾" aluminium qweeka with a
super resonant goatskin head and a selection
of single, double and even triple aluminium
Samba shakers!
With small and medium A-Go-Go bells and
a piercing Samba whistle rounding out the
aluminium collection, Meinl also included its
Wooden rocar (jingle stick) with no less than
20 pairs of solid jingles!
Hands On
The aluminium surdos have a controlled tone
when played dead centre, but when played
PRICES
22" aluminium stand
alone surdo (on legs),
£362
20" aluminium surdo,
£305
20" Bahia wood surdo,
£316
Aluminium repinique,
£158
Traditional aluminium
caixa, £112
Chestnut 12" pandeiro,
£105
Shell-tuned 10"
pandeiro, £106
Black synthetic 10"
pandeiro, £70
Aluminium shell
qweeka, £90
Aluminium 6"
‘Floatune’ tambourim,
£48
Medium aluminium
samba shaker, £11.95
Small aluminium
Double Samba shaker,
£19.49
Large aluminium triple
samba shaker, £38.95
Small A-Go-Go bell, £57
Medium A-Go-Go
bell, £59
Black wooden rocar,
£78
Aluminium/felt Samba
beater, £22.95
Wooden shaft/bushy
felt beater, £15.49
Sevenfold plastic stick,
£22.95
Black tambourim stick,
£2.49
Samba belt, £44
Samba whistle, £24.95
CONTACT
Active Music
Distribution Ltd
7 Goosegreen Trading
Estate
47 East Dulwich Road
London
SE22 9BN
Tel: [phone]
Website:
www.meinlpercussion.
com
ESSENTIAL SPEC
ALUMINIUM SURDOS
when played towards the rim
have an almost timpani tone
MEINL SAMBA
SERIES PERCUSSION
From £2.49 Meinl has been making Samba
percussion for a while now. Charlie Price discovers a
number of impressive new additions to the range
RECOMMENDS
towards the rim have an almost timpani tone,
which is a lovely contrast.
They have bags of volume with the 20"
being easy to carry using the comfy Samba
belt, while the 20" wooden surdo was a
warmer, more controlled option.
Both the repinique and caixa could easily
cut through a section of surdos and again
their lightness made dancing around with the
aid of the shoulder strap a pleasure! I loved
the sound and the light feel of the ‘Shell-
tuned’ pandeiro the best but I guess that the
chestnut model is closest to traditional
Brazilian designs. The ABS pandeiro was
almost a middle ground between the other
RHY169.gear_meinl 94 10/9/09 5:47:16 pm