Traps A400 Drum Kit

ManualsBrandsTraps ManualsAcoustic DrumsA-400 Acoustic Drumset

096 RHYTHM NOVEMBER 2005

GEARREVIEWS

KEY FEATURES

Big Dog branded stands

and stool and sticks make

this a complete package.

ou’re thinking that Traps reminds

you of Flats Lite, right? Then join

the club, as Traps is indeed the

next step from the trail-blazing Arbiter

shell-less kit. Kinks’ drummer Bob

Henrit and design engineer Nigel

Robinson have left Arbiter to create

their own update.

This has led to three main changes.

First, the drums are ﬁ tted with normal

steel hoops and tuned in the conventional

manner (as opposed to the Arbiter

Autotune single lug concept). Secondly,

the bass drum is now double-headed

and ﬁ nally, the snare drum gets a

snare tensioner and throw-off.

These modiﬁ cations mean that

Traps functions exactly like any other

normal drum kit. Like the Arbiter set, the

drums are made from tough ABS plastic

in a limited range of sizes – 20" bass

drum, 10", 12" and 14" toms and a 12"

snare. Unlike Flats, the whole lot is

mounted on a single black steel rack

frame. The drums themselves are

featherweight, the steel frame heavier,

but you can pick up the entire kit together

with no difﬁ culty. Obviously, portability is

the point of the exercise and by the time

you read this, Traps will have released

carrying bags.

Hot dog

The price includes the Big Dog hardware

package consisting of bass and hi-hat

pedals, snare drum cradle and two

cymbal mounting arms. The chain drive

pedals are heavy duty with distinctive

hinged blue footplates.But there’s

more! Stool, drum key, sticks and even

cymbals are all thrown in. In other words

absolutely everything a new drummer

would need to get started. There’s

even laminated photo instructions.

The stamped brass cymbals consist

of 13" hi-hats, 14" crash and 18" ride that

unfortunately aren’t in the same class

as the drums. Good only for beginners,

the ride and hi-hats are useable but the

14" is pitiable. It would be a shame if

the cymbals make people think this is

a starter set, because it certainly is not.

Sound

To be realistic, there’s no way Traps could

ever sound exactly like a double-headed

kit with proper shells but although I

doubted it, the sound’s actually closer

than you might think. Henrit says he

asks cynics to listen to a shell-less and

a normal kit side by side and maintains

they never tell the difference. He thinks

that it’s what we see that actually

colours our hearing.

From behind the kit though,

I would maintain there

difference, but it’s rather less

than ﬁ rst impressions. I got my

son to bash away on the kit while I

walked around the house and indeed

Traps sounds awfully close to a normal

kit. Let’s not forget it’s the head on

any

drum that contributes about 80 percent

of the sound after all.

You’ll have to make up your own mind,

but I would urge you not to dismiss the

sound out of hand. What’s indisputable

is that the Traps toms sound like single-

headed toms – punchy and fast with a

rounded tone and a good amount of

depth, only lacking a bit of focus. As an

added bonus, these toms are simplicity

to tune and won’t need any damping.

Traps is ﬁ tted with Remo UTs, a budget

head made in Taiwan. The kick has a

Powerstroke-3 equivalent and the snare

a coated Ambassador. The toms have

Traps

A400 Drum Kit

£399 | Can a shell-less kit ever stand in for the real thing?

Geoff Nicholls always doubted they could until Traps changed his mind…

PICK UP ‘N’ GO

Lightweight but strong, almost

everything is clamped to the steel

rack so you can shift it in one go.

ESSENTIALS

PRICES

Traps A400 Kit £399

CONTACT

Traps Drums

Alchemy Engineering

Design Ltd

15-16 Marlow Drive

Christchurch

Dorset

BH23 2RR

Telephone

07841 342416

Website

www.trapsdrums.

com

bobhenrit

@trapsdrums.com

Compact enough

for rehearsals or

packed pub gigs.

RHY117.tt_traps 096RHY117.tt_traps 096 12/9/05 1:30:04 pm12/9/05 1:30:04 pm

Summary of content (3 pages)

PAGE 1
GEARREVIEWS Traps A400 Drum Kit £399 | Can a shell-less kit ever stand in for the real thing? Geoff Nicholls always doubted they could until Traps changed his mind… ESSENTIALS PRICES Traps A400 Kit £399 CONTACT Traps Drums Alchemy Engineering Design Ltd 15-16 Marlow Drive Christchurch Dorset BH23 2RR Telephone 07841 342416 Website www.trapsdrums. com Email bobhenrit @trapsdrums.
PAGE 2
GEARREVIEWS The black steel rack frame is solid and stable yet you can still pick the whole thing up and move it in one piece. The tinny cymbals are the weakest link in this otherwise impressive kit. The bass drum is mounted in a way that deﬁes all efforts to dislodge it. CYMBALS AND STUFF NEW AND IMPROVED 12" SNARE DRUM While the cymbal quality lets the kit down, both the drums and the Big Dog hardware are top notch.
PAGE 3
GEARREVIEWS Pinstripes, which are hard wearing, but I found changing to clear Ambassadors gave the drums even more clout. Snappy snare The snare wires on the Arbiter Flats snare drum are ﬁxed, which is a major irritant. The Traps snare puts this right. OK, the snare throw-off is a bit Toys ‘R’ Us, being a big blue plastic hinged paddle, but it works surprisingly well. Snare tension is altered by turning a simple thumbscrew on the butt side and that too works well enough.