 Welcome to the drum history podcast. I'm your host Bart van der Zee and today I am joined by Jeff Mulvihill who is the brand manager at Maypex drums Jeff welcome to the show Oh, thanks Bart. Great to be here thrilled to be a part of this today. Very cool. Yeah, this is gonna be a fun one Maypex is I mean in the big picture of drums It's a relatively young brand that I personally don't know a ton about I've played them. They're beautiful drums So I'm excited to to hear about the origins of this this amazing company, right? the the brand is 30 years young We just celebrated the 30th anniversary of Maypex last year in 2019 and we're Part of a much bigger story though that I'm gonna sort of take us back a little bit further than 30 years and talk a little bit about The parent company and the origins and we for that we go back almost 80 years now and our Parent company entity is called KHS well known around the industry for a number of reasons and What I want to Sort of share with the listening audience here is that those three letters KHS actually stand for Something that is pretty cool, and I'd like to make sure everybody understands the the letters KHS stand for three words in Mandarin, and I'm going to mispronounce it like I always do because my Chinese is terrible but those three words mean or are Kong Shu Shei Okay, and what that means is Contribution to school and society So that sounds if you're sitting at home listening to a drum show that sounds oh this guy's getting a little little academic and a little Philosophical and a little heady all at the same time. Yeah, but but it's it's true. It's a it's a Company at the with a value that goes right to the to the core value of the company wanting to make a meaningful difference to music Musicians and students in the community, and that's kind of where the roots of the company start in Taiwan Where this company traces its roots to They don't have school music like we do it in the USA for we are what we have been for you know for many years ever Quite a few of us grow up through you know joining the school band and fourth or fifth or sixth grade and kind of tinking around with the band and then Maybe by accident we get in a garage band and we start playing drums and it turns into something meaningful for us long term They don't they don't have music in the in the public school system. So KHS started as a network of community music schools Okay, so it'd be like After school Maybe some kids go to the YMCA to play basketball or something some kids go to a KHS school and play music or have a lesson or something like this so it started as a network of music schools throughout Taipei City and I think a little bit further out than that eventually and It sort of then moved into a little bit of retail as That started to grow they started to Sell sheet music and music stands and small instruments and basic things like this, right? and then it started to grow and grow and then at the at the vision of A man named who she Started manufacturing in a big way with investment into Truly wholly owned manufacturing facilities and really the story Really blossoms from there Because the the manufacturing portion of the strategy started as making things for other people So it was a musical instrument manufacturing entity making a variety of different products for a variety of other Brands some of them that we know today. So some of them Some of the big brands in the industry today would have been KHS customers, okay? and they made Musical items Some of them came to the USA at that time a lot of it in other parts of the world but the business grew and grew and grew and as the manufacturing business grew it occurred to Wu and others at KHS that hey, maybe it's time that We start making our own stuff So in addition to making items and musical instruments and musical products for others That's when we see the beginning of The brand Jupiter band instruments Hmm. So if anyone out there was in band or perhaps your brother or sister Play a different instrument like a trumpet or a saxophone or a trombone. Maybe the first instrument they rented Joining school band was a Jupiter instrument Hmm. Wow. Jupiter instruments then come to the United States in 1985 where the first facility was in Austin, Texas or the distribution of those of Jupiter winds and brass so as you sort of move through the Lifecycle of a manufacturing company they started with the horns among other things and it came time to look at well, how do we grow and The decision was then made to let's make our own drums and that's where we see the beginnings of What is today? Maypex drums Wow, it's interesting now. Can I ask you so? This all started if my math is correct You said it's about 80 years ago. So this started in like the it's 2020 right now So like in the 40s is that Correct like 1930s 1940s. Yes, KHS in general as a whole. Yes Cool. Wow, that's so I mean what a yeah the longevity of this company is unbelievable, right? And so if we see Jupiter, I you know, I I sound like I know exactly what I'm talking about with these timelines. It's And I mostly do but it's possible that I'm I'm using the the year 1985 for Jupiter band instruments That's the year in earnest when we see them in the USA It's possible that it was a little bit longer than that but so to to to this 80 years old discussion If we were thinking about 1985, you know, it was 40 or 45 years before they started making their own stuff Even which is which is you know It's pretty cool that you get that under your belt you get some money in the bank You make your make some facilities you Sort of sharpen your manufacturing skills doing this doing that before you then have the experience to Bring your own thing to market and in a bit in a big way. I mean Jupiter is not a small amount of school music business. It's a it's a big part of the market share and so If we're using 1985 as a guide for Jupiter We use 1989 as a guide for Maypex. That's when we first see Maypex drums in the USA and Bart you and I are about the same age. We're I remember Maypex sort of showing up when I was In eighth or ninth grade Most of us were fans of a number of other drum companies around at the time some of them American some of them from other places But Maypex starts to show up in 1989 And it it's it's a little bit interesting. They chose Nashville as their point of entry and It was first a part of the distribution Wing of the Gibson company Interesting so I'm gonna tell you a little bit. This is an interesting You know that the podcast is called drum history, right? So this touches a little bit of other drum history, too KHS began making Maypex drums and at the entry level or the first product introduced was the Mars series, which was Strategically placed to literally be a A competitor with the Pearl export which at the time just that was taking the market by storm right that whole idea of a Full drum set in a couple of boxes for one price That really changed things for the drum business on the American landscape and so Maypex followed suit with that strategy and the Mars series was the first product to come in from Manu or from the Taiwanese manufacturing wing, but they knew that a fully Rounded out drum brand needs a few different products, right? You have to have a high end a middle end a low end you to to really touch all of the business and Making drums at a very high level for professional level quality was something they just weren't ready to do So or weren't ready to do themselves. I should say sure so As the agreement was made with the Gibson company for distribution and warehousing in the USA They also started producing Some of the first Maypex maple high-end professional drums out of that facility and some other names Like Sam Bacco was in charge of the manufacturing He and another couple of gentlemen put the program together for the Gibson company and we're making the pro-level product right here in Nashville and It was actually You know a pretty serious product they made They got the hardware and some of the appointments from From KHS in Asia and then they were building the shells and cutting the edges and doing the lacquering That experiment Lasted for a few short years and in those early days there were as a pretty serious Impressive number of endorsers really Billy Cobham was on Maypex in the beginning Terry. Oh, yeah, Terry Bozio was on Maypex in the beginning and Mike poor Mike Portnoy was another one and The thing was you know with those three guys if you're if you're a drummer at all You know that they all play monster drum kits, right? Yeah, so those guys took a lot of support And deservedly so they're artists and extremely well-regarded drummers at a very high level And it was it was a you know a big chunk to bite off at the very beginning So as those guys in the Gibson shop were Bringing that professional level product to market supporting artists like those guys. I just mentioned you know it was a lot to to take on and Maybe a little bit too much perhaps. I wasn't there so I don't know but as that was sort of Moving ahead in a reasonable fashion. They were developing their high-level product in Asia, which then Once was ready Became the Maypex Orion series, which I think a lot of your listeners will have heard of that was there Sure, the legendary Maypex maple series in the high end And so the arrangement with with Gibson and Sam and those guys in the shop only lasted I want to say It was only four or five years there from between like Maybe even less it may have been only three or four years between 1989 or so and 1992 or three depending on the overlap and then you know Maypex Opened their own facility in the Nashville area and started doing the whole brand Hardware pedals snare drums, you know a variety of drum kits priced in a variety of price points um in their own right and then sort of as Gibson found themselves without a drum brand Enter that Gibson era of Slingerlin Yeah, exactly. Okay, so they went out and found or made a partnership or had an opportunity to To do that very same sort of model Um with the Slingerlin brand with with Sam and those guys as the as the guys in the shop making those and they had a very successful run Uh in the beginning with with those products. So that's kind of where it starts um from apex and once Our own facility was Uh up and running in Nashville um The rest of the history is is fairly well documented now On through the rest of the 90s and 2000s um The facility which I say Nashville area it was in Laverne, Tennessee um That facility and the aforementioned Jupiter facility in austin, texas Uh sort of both fast forward to the year 2009 Uh or 2008 perhaps eight or nine um Where all of it all of those companies came to the Nashville area in a new building In mount juliet, Tennessee where we're proudly housed today with office and warehouse um Doing all of our products Here in the usa all the khs brands represented um in our one large distribution uh and marketing facility and so we're we're I've told you a little bit about the beginning as Those years progressed, you know entered maypex drums um We also see the introduction of hercules microphone stands. Um, we've got ukuleles We've got um a number of other products and a number of other spaces under the khs umbrella Um, yeah, they do a ton. I mean you guys I should say Have a ton of brands. I mean it's so cool, but you don't get the feeling that like Uh, you don't get the feeling that it's just a ton of um Like they're just slapping logos on things and just churning stuff out like it seems like like every division is very Like professional. I mean it's not like it's uh You know just get it out and now we do drums now we do this like you can tell I love how they they came through gibson And just started that process because it's like why waste time, you know start building the drums get the name out there more Um kick it off with big players like you said like and I remember seeing Mike Portnort playing playing maypex and I always mention on the show those endorsers are really how You know a young kid in the 90s. That's how they see it and they go. Oh my god. I need to get you know I need to play Maypex Very very cool story so far. Well, thanks for the compliment. We like to think everything's well thought out We like to think everything is at a professional level. We work. We work really hard for that And I appreciate the props there. It's a um It's sometimes, you know, it's it's funny um If you have One brand that does all of your products that presents a little bit of a challenge If you have multiple brands that you need to market and present All of your products. That's another set of challenges and I think Uh those different parent company setups are interested to watch or interesting to watch Uh from an industry standpoint um I'm not sure that there's a perfect way to do it, but We've got uh this model here where where um it it has come and gone at one time. We were 20 22 brands or something now. It's been paired back a little bit for one reason or another over the over the years I joined the company in 2012 and um It seems like It's been nothing, but progress since then as I Sort of will pat myself on the back behind my microphone here. Yeah That's awesome. Well, I mean it just keeps getting better now a pretty obvious question But what does maypex mean like what is maypex does that stand for something? Ah, that is a little bit of a legend um There's a couple of different interpretations It it's not something that we use. It's not an acronym for anything today that we use We simply use the word as the brand for the drums these days But it did trace its origins back to that beginning time um As they were bringing drums to the market There was maybe a very short time when drums were made with Jupiter badges So it starts there and then they sort of knew or perhaps figured out quickly that that wasn't exactly going to work very well. So the word maypex m a p e x Traces back to an acronym that starts with Made in america percussion experiment Oh, or It's been said that it perhaps because the the first pro level products were maple shells maple american percussion experiment and for the company um producing their own drums for the first time they Thought of it as hey Let's try this and so it was labeled as an experiment and it was labeled as uh something to do in the usa Being the biggest market on earth for drums and drum sets um, and that's where it kind of Comes from probably on someone's um product planning memo desk at a factory someplace Yeah, yeah, really, you know, it's interesting too because I googled it, right like kind of real quick earlier and and um, and I I forgot it actually and there's another definition on wikipedia Which you're the guy so it's this is probably not true, but it also said music and percussion excellence like e x is excellence Is that not on there? Is that is that a come that? You know what that might very well be part of it as well. I'm not sure Anyone that I've talked to can tell me the exact Thing I've heard I've heard those three examples Sure. Um over the years That's funny that that music and percussion excellence kind of reminds me of contribution to school and society like these just very like sure um like uh descriptive titles which I would imagine that's more in the Chinese culture versus American stuff where you wouldn't have it be exactly like that kind of like um that that using those descriptive words, but um very cool. I mean I I can't I think I told you on that when we when we kind of talked on the pre interview I had at one point. I believe it was a um, god, what is the lower help me out the the models here What is the lower end model that's the beginner? I think it was a is there's a venus kit, isn't there there was at one time Yes, venus would have been One of the entry-level products. Sure. Yeah, so I had a venus kit that I picked up I had a Period there where I was kind of buying and selling and I had a bunch of drum students and I'd buy them And I'd say hey, this is a good kit and they would trust me and I would sell it to them Um And I played them for a little bit and they were wonderful drums, but I actually traded them for a mini bike because I A music space where I would just go and ride it and then I realized a grown man shouldn't be riding a mini bike So I sold the mini bike, but uh, that was my brief Maypex experience even that you need to post some pictures of that I know I have one there's one video on my my personal instagram It was a little Coleman mini bike, but even on that lower I don't say lower end on that beginner Uh maypex kit the hardware was great I mean stuff was like it felt very solid and that had to be Just from the look in the the sizes. I think it was like a kind of a 90s kit Maybe early 2000s, but but even that had really high quality. Yeah, I think that's uh, that's been a part of what Uh, the success story is here. Um They were or maypex has always been known Uh for quality at a very attractive price um And that was that has been or was the strategy From the very beginning. I think there were some good Mines at work If you're if you're a factory owner if you have your own factory the The strategy is got to be keep your factory working and keep your factory producing, right? um so moving units and producing good Reliable volume is what makes you profitable at the factory level Uh, there are many around in the industry here a ton of brands that don't Truly own their own manufacturing They outsource to others and have different sources do different parts of Whether it be metal goods or wood shells or finishing There are any number of processes and other uh outsource Entities that do part or some of that work for big brands um, yeah that Presents its own other sort of sort of set of challenges, right? Because if If you've if you've got a great shell source and a great chrome source and then your paint guy goes out of business You you've got to work to find somebody who can paint your drums or vice versa If your metal goods supplier goes out or if they're full this month or you know, we're talking about Chinese and asian manufacturing in general if you've got A metal plating facility that just got You know, they just want a contract for toyota or something. Maybe your boom stands aren't going to make it this month Um, you know, I mean that's a that's a very true deal where sure some of those Produce scooter parts and electronics and car industry um parts of the business so If you're not if you're outsourced like that you just got to play that game all the time Um, yeah. Yeah. Now. Can I ask you a little bit about like I'm curious about Okay, so you we were just talking about the manufacturing and china and stuff obviously Are there a lot of brands? Um What would my question be so Mapex is a drum brand that is, you know, it is a Chinese brand that is Like they're their own company now. You said earlier like you said, there's a lot of manufacturing where there will be drum brands that are um Like premier or a brand that's you know, it's a british drum company, but everything's really made in china um Are there a lot of other brands that are Chinese drum brands that are sold in america. Is there anyone else? I can't think of other brands that are Like I know of a lot of japanese drum companies, obviously, but do you do you know my does that make sense? Like it does it there is Of of chinese origin No, there are not there are not a great a great deal um Japanese yes And of course, we know all of the famous american brands and of course Premier you mentioned is a historic british brand um chinese There are not very many in the states. There is more chinese manufacturing In china that produces products that we don't ever see here under different brands that don't really make it outside of asia But I would I'm you put me on the spot and I hadn't really thought of that in a long time and i'm i'm gonna make sure I check my Own facts here, but I I think I can confidently say that maypex would be the leading taiwanese slash chinese brand wholly owned and manufactured is that Is that put enough of a frame around it? Yes, it does and I should have said taiwanese as opposed to chinese but and I'm interested in that whole and this is not even a question as much of a thought for maybe a few Future episode, but of like in america There's the whole like there's so many people like there's so many boutique drum brands who are really cool I wonder and like the the far east market if there's like or in you know other I mean europe is different I know that's there but like of people of those mom and pop like small drum shops making shells and creating their own stuff Obviously just for the taiwanese chinese that market, but it's interesting to think of that in different countries um If there's a boutique world there I I don't know but my first Instinct is I I don't think that many if if if many at all um gotcha And I don't know why I I say that I've been I've been to asia a few times in a few different places and I just don't think the market is the same Yeah, uh, even with the same level of Musicianship and or music fandom that we see in the western world I think there's a great interest in learning to play music I don't think the economic Uh extra spending cash exists for a great deal of the population to be able to Sure Afford a custom design Boutique type of product now Yeah, even with ever somebody out there is going to listen to say he doesn't know what he's talking about and I'm You're right. I don't I'm a little bit guessing here, but that's my experience and my sort of Take on it to that question. Yeah. Yeah. No, and I'm I'm like just throwing something completely random at you just a thought but um Okay now and I mentioned this um To you on the phone before I also think of of maypex as like claus hessler. There's a lot of these Really high level um I don't want to call them Like mega drummers you could you could say like like a drummer who's known for being a drummer as opposed to a drummer who is A guy who plays in a band who's a really great drummer, but he's known for being the drummer in that band You get a lot of maypex has a lot of clinician soloist independent drummers on your roster Where um, I made the comparison in my mind of like ibanez guitars. I think of like steve vye I think of these guys who are shredders who really like that guitar and Yeah, you guys have a great roster of just like independent guys who they play in bands, obviously, but really amazing drummers play maypex right and um, yeah, I We're proud of our guys. We're proud of our Artist relations effort the roster is is a strong one. Um claus hessler the great german, um, he's got hands from heaven Um and feet to go along with it. He's a phenomenal artist uh achilles priester Is a just a monster drummer. Um, yeah Guys like, uh, you know domfamileros been on maypex for a long time. I don't think I need to go into What his reach is around the world. He's loved and and well respected among the drummers and drum community worldwide um guys like russ miller who's a You know Needs very little introduction for me his his studio credits and educational and artist credits go go a long way um I'm i'm thrilled that recently I say recently in the drum world is within the last couple of years, right? Um, uh, jeff hamilton is a maypex drummer. Um, yeah, so yeah, there's a lot of as you sort of said drummers who are known as drummer Slash drummer artists, right? We do have guys like rashid williams who's known for touring with john legend um tyler ridder in moon taxi guys who are known for playing for artists are playing in bands And that is a valuable part of drum marketing and a valuable part of our artist roster, but um, but the drummer artist is uh, is an interesting and It you just got to have him to to be uh Strongly represented Yeah, it's the it's the magazine readers. It's the people who are watching out for those guys. You're you know independent drummers are The people who are buying drums not to say that everyone else isn't buying drums, but but that's your audience so it's a And and you know, they're choosing you I would I would imagine you're not going out and trying to like, you know I mean these people clearly like the quality most drummers don't play stuff. They don't like just for you know, um Gear which well a lot of people I guess some people do do do that But I don't think that's the case with you guys these guys really love the drums Yeah, and you know the we we try to We try to be a good tight crew of pals and you know, we try to be Drummer buddies to to the guys that are on the roster here. It's a it's more than just the gear It it is a lot about the gear, but it's not all about the gear. It's about Sharing in each other's success Leaning on each other when we need each other, you know Yeah, and especially I got to give a shout out to the maypex artist roster during this period of uh, covet 19 quarantine and beyond, you know, we've we've sort of come together and and Tried to figure out ways to lift each other up You know some of our Well, I don't think there's anybody touring right now. Um, and you know Recording is is hit or miss depending on where you are and what's possible so Trying to share opportunities and talk about ideas together as a between brand and artist has been something that Has been really neat lately and I totally I It's it's it's tough to talk about it for me because So many of my colleagues in other Drum brands are struggling right now. There's a lot of furlough. There's a lot of Uh, just downturn in the market that's affecting the mi community and I'm thankful to to our leadership at khs america for keeping us mostly intact throughout this Struggling period, you know, we've we've had a little bit of A very little bit of downsizing and A very little bit of furlough time, but for the most part Through all of it. We've been able to stay active Stay in business Communicating with the retail community on how we can do things different or better or In a pivotal way to to meet the different demands of um Who's open and who's not and who can only do curbside and who can only do online and who can you know It's a it's a shifting thing where the pendulum is swinging a bunch of different ways very quickly um so um Yeah, it's a it's it's just a weird weird Period of time that we find ourselves in Yeah, absolutely. It's uh, I mean it's so it's it's It's not just the drum industry. It's not just the music industry. It's it's it's just so many different things Um, but I think it's great that you guys are remaining for the most part intact. Um Now backing up a little bit. So we were in the 90s. We were in the 2000s I understand it kind of just continued as as normal But I think people really like to hear about when like the different lines came out and about the different, um, you know drums you guys offer so Through the 90s then into the 2000s. What were some, um You know, what were some pivotal pieces of of gear and lines of drums that came out? Um going up through, you know, modern days Well, one of the uh, the cornerstones that came out of the early days Um is the may pack Saturn series Um, I mentioned earlier and you did too. We had mars and venus kind of in the low end The Saturn was has always kind of sat at the middle or upper middle and then in the early days We had Orion as the flagship professional level Uh branded gear once maypex was fully um outfitted in the usa and You know the Orion series, uh, didn't last the long test of time. It was, uh Uh Not a not a high-end product that that stood through the trending changes It would you know, I had die cast hoops that had thick maple shells. It was really in vogue In the in the 90s. It was that 90s thing. Um Saturn is something altogether different though. It has been Brought to market in several different iterations. Um several different, uh Monarchers whether it be Saturn 4 Saturn 5 Saturn 3 um and What's come out of that is sort of What we kind of consider the basis of the maypex DNA these days and that is blended shell technology where we take Different plies of wood and combine them for a specific sound. So Saturn has always been A blend of either birch and walnut or maple and walnut in different iterations over the years and um as we've sort of Come through the 2000s We see Saturn a few different ways through the first 10 years and then in 2014 I think is the pivotal year where we actually see Saturn 5 settling into maple walnut blended shells um As the main cornerstone with an outer Exotic veneer and some very stunning lacquer finishes Saturn 5 has been a real hit If you look at the Saturn timeline um and That was a very successful run say between Let's say between 2014 and present day which Gives me the opportunity to say that we've sort of split now for for 2020. We've well 2020 and 2021 We've split Saturn into two different uh categories now We've we've sort of dispensed with the Roman numeral moniker. We we laugh to ourselves sometimes once we reached Saturn 5 it started to Feel a little bit like a rocky movie or of you're like a horror movie Yeah, or like a todo record Yeah, they just keep going up. How high can you go right an iphone? It's like they got to stop at some point, right? so, um in 2020 we see Saturn it's basically just called Saturn it is a um The the maple and walnut blended shell stays with some simple lacquer finishes at a very You know a pro-level product at a at a very approachable price And then we see coming in 2021 in the usa what we're calling Saturn evolution Saturn evolution it takes takes the whole thing up a couple of notches with um With nine different configurations nine different finishes a whole new mounting system and the opportunity to choose between the legendary Birch walnut blended shell or maple walnut blended shell to sort of create your own preferred drum set recipe Okay, so The tricky part of that on the business end is that You are offering All of the same finishes and configurations in a couple of different shell types. So the mathematics gets a little bit uh strewn out there when you're talking about levels of inventory, but we believe yeah, we believe that that uh We're a herd we're we're a herd a unique species who Who need choices? Don't we Bart? We want we do we want sizes and sounds and materials and well that's kind of the I joke a lot with with colleagues and say, you know, there are Murphy's laws of the drum business, right where Where you're having a conversation with somebody and they're like man That sounds awesome and it looks great But do you have it in a 20? Or do you have it in maple mahogany blend? That's right. That's like oh god. Yeah, so all of those all of those drummer conversations sort of come together with this philosophy behind Saturn evolution where Um, it might be nice to have a drum set where you've got a maple walnut kick drum or with outfitted with birch walnut toms um It might be nice to have a full maple kit For one thing a birch walnut kit for another and it looks the same Um different sizes in the same finishes different shell types in the same finishes. You can kind of kind of uh Build your own dream slash monster however you see However you see fit. It's really a drummer's nightmare and daydream come true Exactly so many options. Can you explain maybe so when people get to the you know If they're looking at getting a Saturn kit the sonic difference between the maple walnut and the birch walnut like how do those How are they different? Sure. Um The the answer to that is not altogether different from what we understand those materials do right? I think everyone can agree that birch is a nice clean and clear um sort of pre-ecued kind of material Maple is a nice warm and mid tone heavy tone wood Enter the walnut with each one of those and it brings the darkness Okay, you add you add that um little bit of darker tone wood walnut is is well known like mahogany or um other very Warm rich tone woods where if it's a hundred percent walnut kit it really To most of our ears it gives you Even too much of that good stuff if you can think of that. Yeah, it sounds really it can sound very low tubby Thuddy which Look, if that's your thing if that's what you're looking for that's fantastic. Sometimes that's necessary. I'm not sure that's going to be Necessary for most general playing. Let's just keep it safe before all the naysayers start commenting on both of our facebook pages that we don't know what we're talking about but um If you if you have a hundred percent birch kit and a hundred percent maple kit those are two Uh different world standard in the drum business what we've done is sort of taken those two standards added the walnut to both in typical maypex blended shell fashion And that way it gives you a little bit of that dark warm rich tone Complementing your favorite main character. So if you're a bird if you're if you're a birch person, you know, if that's your your deal for Uh, maybe you like it the way it sounds on records or something like this You've got a little bit of a warm rich character along with your favorite birch style if you're a maple guy or girl add in a little bit of walnut and you've got a richer rounder maple experience it's it's that hybrid Philosophy behind what we're doing here Yeah, no that makes perfect sense kind of the best of both worlds without having too much of one Thing which as we know you can and you know you pay a lot of money for a drum set It's nice to have a little bit of it dialed in to be not not too much birch not too much maple not too much walnut Um, so Man, that's really cool. It sounds like you guys are it's a very innovative company. Um How does it work now you just you and your job? So, um, this is a maypex episode But you're also the brand manager with sonar as well and and khs sonar is a khs company um Do you guys like How does it work with a company that owns multiple drum companies for like Divvying up ideas. I mean you guys it seems like you're all completely separate if if that makes sense Do they share any like hey this hardware is really cool? It could be good on sonar It could be good with you know, maybe this could work over here Does any of that happen or are you guys completely like autonomous separate? entities well, uh The short answer is it's all separate. Um, it all Is divided pretty clearly um, and For good reason. I think both brands occupy their own place in the drumming world. Um, there are different histories. There are different, uh manufacturing Details there are different specs. There are different materials um They're both awesome Uh, but they are they both sort of hold their own Okay, it's a sort of answer your question now To reel that back just a little bit some of the Metal goods and some of the basic hardware pieces and things like this are made in the same facilities and some of the um The high volume entry level Uh products there aren't there aren't many for sonar in the entry level They're they're I I'm gonna let the cat out of the bag. There will be in 2021. So some of that some of that is shared but But each have their own um identity Their own dna their own vision for where the brands are going So I'm lucky enough to be a part of each one of them right now and I'm thrilled for that but I want to sort of Stick with maypex for a second. Um, sure of course. Yeah maypex episode sort of staying with your question on our innovation or We sound like we're innovators and and I I think that's right. We we look to the future. We're looking for um nothing but what Can improve and enhance what drummers are looking for today Trying to stay ahead of that that curve as much as we can and some of that hybrid shell technology Has been with us for a little bit and we take it um A step further from even Saturn and we we sort of started this line of conversation about the lines of the of the brand and the series and so we've we've sort of explained the Saturn cornerstone um Above Saturn in the lineup is our black panther design lab series where Where we've taken some of that um Let's call it. Uh, I don't want to say basic. That's the wrong word. I want to say um More straight ahead drum innovation That we see with Saturn And Orion and sort of even taken it Up a couple of notches and pushed it over the cliff Uh, in some ways with with black panther design lab where we see blended shells of maple and mahogany We see different bearing edges um On the tops of shells from the bottom where you really start to dial in each side of the drum uh, we see innovations like the articulating floor tom leg where you can actually EQ the resonance of your floor tom um without Mutes or muffles or or or tape. Um and Some of the the the finishes are just absolutely stunning in the design lab series and It sort of breaks into two where we've got the main flagship versatis series drum set and the cherry bomb drum sets or So the two offerings in the design lab right now Where the versatis features the the blended shell of maple and mahogany The cherry bomb is is just a fantastic old-school round rich 70s rock kind of thing where it's 100 cherry shell um with partially rounded edges and our flagship sonic saver hoops that kind of are a throwback to the To the slingerland stick savers. Sure. Yeah And that's been sort of a next level Progress for the brand right so we're talking about it started with Pretty basic high-end middle-end low-end and it sort of Progressed from there to be outfitted from design lab down through saturn We've got the mid-level armory series which we see um We're talking about best of both worlds a minute ago the armory series features blended shells of birch and maple um So you really get the best Uh at a at a sort of mid-level product um, and then we've got the current mars series um Below that and then we see our storm series and the the maypex rebel at the very entry level of the market So it's been gotta have the entry level right and it's it's sort of come from sort of three levels now to um a comfortable whatever I just mentioned seven or six There are companies that have more there are companies that have less this mix right now feels pretty good for us um Yeah, brand-wise, you know Yeah, especially with the combinations that you can do and you have the black panther design lab you can do all that But I think it's it's a very appropriate amount of uh There are there's nothing wrong with having a ton more or a ton less But um some brands can have almost too many where you go. Is this the model X or the model j or the model b it's like it just gets a little bit confusing So I think it's nice that it's clear and I really like the um um Kind of the what's the right word? I'm looking for like the planetary uh themes. I think that's really cool. Sure make makes it clear um, yeah, and that's um I I can't tell you how that started But you know if you go all the way back to where we started earlier in the conversation The first products they started making were called jupiter band instruments The stands and accessories are Hercules um, so it's got all of this sort of mythological thematic material to it that um, yeah, it It's really a neat way to organize it in in my opinion. I I I think it's kind of cool and um Yeah, it is and the black panther logo you that's just the the black panther the sets are beautiful the snares you see very very common just one of those like very, uh like It seems like it's one of those snares that is like when people have like a you know a snare shelf or whatever There's typically a black panther in there. Um, just kind of as a a go-to beautiful You know Staple snare of a lot of people's collections. Yeah, um, the the black panther line has been Uh, one of another cornerstone. I would say Um, if if Saturn is a cornerstone then black panther is the other corner or black panther snare drums for sure. Um There's been an awful lot of different iterations and um It's It's gotten a shot in the arm this year. We introduced 14 new black panther models here in 2020 um, including some very very exciting metal shells that we haven't seen before in the line We bring aluminum back. We bring stainless steel back um And it it's it's time. We've we've lived with our current I'd say now former black panther lineup for nine or ten years and it was time to Really give it something special. Um, and these this new, uh I'm trying to be witty and make a A funny joke about this new herd of black panthers or this new The new pack of panthers or whatever this is. Um, it's it's some of the best snare drums that uh That maypex has ever put on the market for sure Oh, that's great. I think there's I just love it that as we're recording this It's obviously the world's kind of messed up. It's the covid stuff, but there's a lot to look forward to um as far as new maypex drums and the Saturn series and the black panther stuff So um, that's great that it's just continues to move forward and and I just I love how it's like A drum company's been around for 30 years 30 years and we're we're still calling it relatively young just because that's how our instrument is It's like you almost have to be around for You know 80 90 years, which I know khs has been around for 80 years, but um, I think you guys are Obviously, there's a long way to go. Um, because 30 years is like a blink of an eye in the big picture No, it's true. Um, we We talk about things like brand equity and brand awareness and some of those sort of marketing concepts, but it it just boils right back down to A musical instrument is personal You know, it's If you're if you truly love the music you're making Even if you sort of only like the music you're making if you're just a once in a while hobbyist Chances are there's a reason or a uh emotional connection to whatever instrument you're choosing and then whatever brand of that instrument that you're choosing I like this because of this connection I like this because of It's sound thing or I saw it with my favorite band or I saw it with my favorite drummer or The teacher that I learned from Was a big part of my music making and That's what they recommended. So it fit my whole thing like there's some sort of Emotional connection to musicians and their instruments that's uh Pretty important to what we do Absolutely, it's way more than the I don't want to call it superficial, but it's it's way more than like the like, you know a 10 year old's not going Oh, man. I love the tonal qualities of that maple walnut blend. They're like they're more like no, that's right I saw a great drummer on youtube playing these drums. Um, it's amazing great I saw, you know, uh, my favorite drummer used it my teacher like you said all that is so true Yeah, so as we get close to the end here, I mean, I think most people know where to find maypex I mean, they're they're everywhere like you can go to your Local music shop. Is there any any tips you want to I mean anything you want to say? Where can people find you like social media all that good stuff? Well, we're in all of the places where people are we're online everywhere. We uh, we like you said we we support um Our national chain music retailers our independent music retailers um International music retailers. We're in canada. We're in all over europe south america maypex is huge in mexico Um, it's it's it's fun to watch We can be found, uh, of course on facebook instagram twitter our maypex drums.com website has, um A wealth of current con content Information the 14 black panther snare drums that I just mentioned. I'll I'll plug this real quick if you want to hear them there are video and sound files for each model on the web page now in a couple of different Uh formats where hey if you just want to shop through or Quickly click through and get a 10 to 12 second version of what each model sounds like we've done that all the way up to a fully produced musical selection so you can Sort of take a deep dive and the one you like You can get a quick bite for 10 or 12 of them and kind of then deep You know dive deeper into the ones that that are for you we've sort of uh, thanks to It's one of one of the projects that uh russ miller has done for us in his studio where You know you could hear the ghost note you can hear the cross stick you hear the rimshot you hear a backbeat You hear a roll you hear everything that the drum is supposed to to do And uh, and you can really get a sense of Well, okay Now I can really tell which metal models or wood models or the depths or the diameters what they are doing to the sound It's kind of kind of a cool destination Yeah, and you have to do that nowadays. I mean you can't Physically go even if you go to a store. I mean it's pretty rare for a store to have Every single model of every company's snares. So you really need that and that's Again, that's the power of growing up as a kid where you know, the internet was you know, I guess relatively new it was like Oh my god, I can go in here Um This and that and and I remember the first time I ever saw that where you you could hear the set online And it was actually a set of pork pies and it was on indoor storm Which was a music website Oh, yeah And and it was like you'd click it and you'd hear this set and that just always sticks into my mind is like That that thing so I'm I'm yeah, I encourage people to go to the maypex website and and check that out and And russ miller is amazing. So that's going to be obviously A very good representation of Of what they sound like. Yeah, and it's if you I don't know you we we talked earlier about choices and how Crazy it can get for us drummers I think I talked to a lot of drummers who Are either my age or a little bit older and they're like, man when I was a kid. It was just I just need a snare drum Okay And then most of them just won but now it's Amazing how that tonal palette can really Change the tune change the character of the tune change the part of the tune and you've got Basically your creativity is your own limit at this point. It's uh It's all there for you and it's really exciting That's that's great. It is really exciting and and I think the future is going to be uh The future is very bright for uh for maypex Um Obviously, it's it's been a great great journey so far. So Um jeff I think this has been great, man. I've learned a ton. It's just uh, it's a fascinating company going back to the khs and the the the schools and the programs It's just really cool that it it evolved into what it is today. Um, so Yeah, ladies and gentlemen jeff mulvahill. I want to uh, thank you for being on the show jeff and um I look forward to trying out some uh, some of the maypex snares and hearing them on the website and all that cool stuff Uh, thanks similion bart. I appreciate it. This was a blast If you like this podcast find me on social media at drum history and please share rate and leave a review And let me know topics that you would like to learn about the future Until next time keep on learning This is a gwin sound podcast