When Good Ideas Go Awry
I was recently at PASIC in Indianapolis. Besides all the artist concerts and clinics, one of the great things is being able to go to the gear expo and see all the latest things, and most importantly, try them out. This year I had the chance to once again see and test MAPEX's MAATS (Magnetic Air Adjustment Tom Suspension) mounts, and it's still as overblown and unwieldy as its name. Check out the MAPEX page here . MAATS Mount As you can see in the photo above, this thing is a monster. Designed by drum hardware guru, Randall May, it's a thing of beauty and efficiency. Yes, it works well, but it's so freaking big and ugly. The mount uses magnets and is adjustable for the amount of sustain on your toms. Sweet, but did I mention that it's so freaking big and ugly ? I admire most of May's hardware designs. His marching carriers have become the standard for most corps and bands. But sometimes he can fall victim to over engineering a solution to what reall