Mapex’s Black Panther snare range has been a massive success story ever since launching well over a decade ago. It’s unsurprising then that this year the company decided to expand the line to include four full Black Panther kits.

With this eventual quartet to choose from, which one will prove most popular remains to be seen, but this Velvetone kit impressed us greatly and is sure to be a hit.

4 Stars

FULL REVIEW: Mapex Black Panther Velvetone kit

Honourable mentions:

There were several other kits that impressed us in 2011. Firstly, Yamaha unleashed something new on us with the Club Custom kit, which had a warm but punchy sound - and our review kit’s Orange Swirl finish looked the business too! Premier revamped its ‘90s favourite the Genista range, and we were big fans of the new Genista Birch kit. Finally, percussion company Natal, now owned by Marshall, made its first move into the world of kit building. We found the Natal Bubinga kit in particular to be a more-than-assured debut at a competitive price.