Traps A400 Drum Kit
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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 fi xed, 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. The drum produces a bright
snappy tone as you’d expect, but by
slackening the batter and the snares a
little, you can get a surprisingly fat sound
which is still incisive with good edge
response for delicate ghost work. Rim
shots rattle your fi llings but cross sticks
are a little more subdued.
Many drummers might think about
substituting a ‘proper’ snare but there’s
really no need, this one’s fi ne. It might be
too bright on occasion but it’s as good as
other snares drums in this price bracket.
Stable bass
The addition of the black logo front head
is a massive visual hit, enough to make
the minimum depth shell Traps look
more like a conventional kit. You have
something substantial to hide behind
and the whole caboodle feels a lot more
stable with double heads and the sturdy
rack mounting. One problem with earlier
shell-less kits was that the bass drum
would topple, twist or slide but because
of the way it is mounted, the Traps kick
cannot turn or move. It feels almost as
reassuringly static as a normal drum.
A bit of judicious tuning (try tensioning
the front a bit higher than the batter)
and you are rewarded with a good slap
and decent depth. Again, at fi rst you
might not think it sounds like a full size
drum, but you soon get used to it and,
With the supplied cymbals and hardware,
Traps makes a bargain starter package.
It would also work as a convenient
trigger unit for your electronics,
and/or as an easily-miked studio tool.
It’s perfect for practice in confi ned
spaces and for lugging along to
rehearsals in place of your monster kit.
Today, you can of course get a full-shelled
budget kit for this price, but that rather misses
the point. Bob Henrit has steadfastly played
his Flats (and now Traps) kit on loud rock gigs
for years. Shell-less kits are a viable alternative
and this is easily the best so far.
Convenient, compact and strong, yet
packs away in a couple of minutes
Cheap cymbals give the misleading
impression that this is a beginner’s kit
★★★★★
RATING
from the next room, it’s hard to tell the
difference. As an added bonus, the feel
of the pedal is much improved by having
a front head which allows the drum to
breathe and improves rebound. There’s
no need to cut a front hole – the lack of
shell depth means you’re unlikely to
need any further damping and you could
always lay a towel against the bottom
of the front head if really needed.
Does it sound
as thin as it looks?
Put your trust in your
ears, not your eyes.
RHY117.tt_traps Sec1:99RHY117.tt_traps Sec1:99 12/9/05 1:30:31 pm12/9/05 1:30:31 pm