As travel drums, Traps are a worthy product with much to offer when considering an easily transportable kit. However, a lot of players will struggle to find a reasonable use for it. Travel friendly, yes. But what do you do with it once you've actually finished, err... travelling? By the very nature of the drums it doesn't sound like a full-size kit. The Traps Kit would work well as a practice kit for players with a limited space, allowing you to fold it away into a cupboard or the corner of the room between sessions. Equally, if you need a kit for band rehearsals, but need something you can lug on the train, the Traps Kit would definitely come in handy. Miking them up for larger venues will produce a perfectly workable sound, but don't expect to try this kit and create a reaction near to, [gawps] "Wow! That's crazy... they're flat, but they sound like a big drum kit!" They don't. If you want an easily transportable kit, but don't mind losses in sonics, then you may find a friend in this kit. You just may not look particularly fashionable in the process.
For Drummer this is a pretty balanced conclusion, but I feel the reviewer repeats the same points again and again in different words. He makes reference to the kit's size six times and it's sound three times. Fair enough, the kit's size is a big selling point and the sound is important in reviewing a drum kit, but I get the feeling that Mr. Reviewer is simply padding it out as he needs to write a certain number of words. The article could be easily concluded by saying the following:
"The Traps Kit is great for gigs or rehearsal session where space is limited, however it doesn't give the same sound as a big kit. If you want to compromise ease of transportation for great sound then this is the kit for you."
See? Done. And one hundred and fifty-one words shorter. Of course that's just a summary of what the reviewer wrote, if I were writing it I would maybe add the price and write something about value for money.
The other thing that bothers me is the last sentence "You just may not look particularly fashionable in the process." Why the hell do looks matter? They don't. I did a gig on a pink drum kit once and I didn't mind; the kit sounded awesome. I certainly didn't feel that my masculinity was in question or anything. Any drummer that is worried about how they look while playing needs to think about where their priorities lie. If you play well then no one is going to think "He looks like a tool", they'll think "Wow, that drummer's playing really well". There is a lot to be said for being self-conscious and how that could affect your playing, but I've always had the "It could be worse" attitude. "Ok, it's a itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka dot drum kit that I'll play for the first time today; it could be worse."
There's more that I could say, but I risk boring people and potentially quoting other novelty songs, so I'll stop.
FYI this is the twenty-fifth blog I've posted this month. I only intended posting twenty-eight, so I don't know if I want to post three more and stop for a bit, or see the "post a day" thing through until the end of the month.
DWC07
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