The current Trixon cocktail kits
-
Randy Rudolph
- Posts: 19
- Joined: Tue Sep 03, 2002 9:47 am
The current Trixon cocktail kits
Has anybody tried one of the cocktail kits currently being produced under the Trixon name by Jim Laab? They appear to be garden variety Chinese-made drums (but with birch shells rather than Lauan or some mystery wood). The configuration is what I'm looking for and the price is reasonable, but I'm wondering if they're just junk that will fall apart after a couple gigs.
Hi Randy,
I am quite certain that the Trixon Cocktail Kit is a rebranded Chinese made kit. They have been on sale in Germany for a few years now under different brand names:
http://shop.kirstein.de/shop/default.as ... =30&CT=558
I have never tried one myself but my impression from just looking is that they are better made than other kits in the $300 price range.
The video on the product page gives an idea of the sound with the stock heads and cymbals plus a view of the hardware in action.
http://www.jimlaabsmusic.com/drums-perc ... tml?#video
Anyone out there have one of these to give us a review?
- John
I am quite certain that the Trixon Cocktail Kit is a rebranded Chinese made kit. They have been on sale in Germany for a few years now under different brand names:
http://shop.kirstein.de/shop/default.as ... =30&CT=558
I have never tried one myself but my impression from just looking is that they are better made than other kits in the $300 price range.
The video on the product page gives an idea of the sound with the stock heads and cymbals plus a view of the hardware in action.
http://www.jimlaabsmusic.com/drums-perc ... tml?#video
Anyone out there have one of these to give us a review?
- John
-
Randy Rudolph
- Posts: 19
- Joined: Tue Sep 03, 2002 9:47 am
Thanks for the response! I figure about the same; the Trixon set appears to be of a slightly higher quality that some of the other Chinese-made kits. The German site you linked to would seem to confirm this (they show a little more close-up detail than the Jim Laab site). There's also a 30-second long YouTube video of a guy playing an orange sparkle one that sounds pretty good. Still, there's no substitute for hands on experience and I'd love to hear from someone who's actually played one of these...
I was talking to a friend recently about getting my hands on one of these to check out, it does look really well made for the price, and appears to be one of the best deals out there. I was strongly advised to google Jim Laabs first before purchasing, and long story short, I didn't buy a set. I'm sure they are a great bang for the buck, but buyer-beware.
Wow, I just googled Jim Laabs. Most of the links out there are complaints about the store and customer service.Dennis wrote:I was strongly advised to google Jim Laabs first before purchasing, and long story short, I didn't buy a set. I'm sure they are a great bang for the buck, but buyer-beware.
Really sad, I know Troy's brother who is a great guy (lives in Boston) and I think that Jim was a great guy too.
Looks like their eBay feedback is good. Probably have to follow a stricter policy to sell through eBay. I would still consider getting one through ebay but don' expect any kind of service after the purchase!
- John
The new Trxon cocktail sets
I purchased a Trixon cocktail set about 2 months ago and have to say that I am somewhat impressed by the set taking it out of the box and verry impressed after some upgrades. I purchased the red sparkle set for $349.00 and I a very pleased with the finish and the overall construction with some caveats.
Some of the mounting brackets were not alligned properly and make it difficult to allign and set up the legs with the pedal mounting bracket. The emblems are not mounted to the front of the set. The cymbals that came with my set are near worthless. Poorly cast and horribly turned. More of a novelty than a musical instrument. The heads supplied are a poor choice for a cocktail drum in the traditional sense. And the felt bumper pad came off the bass drum pedal during a performance and damaged the bottom head.
For the good stuff.
Bearing edges are well cut. Finish is very good. Surprisingly responsive snare drum inspite of the small size. Tuning and proper adjustment is critical for the snare drum. The window for tuning all of the drums appears to be very narrow. But, when properly tuned, the drums sing nicely. Bass drum pedal I will rate as an 8. Nicely balanced out of the box but could be improved. Still, very playable and well made. Hardware quality I will rate as a 7 out of 10.. Better than a lot of the pot metal that comes with low cost drums from China. Cowbell is great and quite a surprise.
Changes made.
I replaced all of the batter heads with Remo Fiberskyn 3's. I added a piece of felt to the bottom head of the 15 to dampen that bass drum ringing. Cymbals were replaced with a Paiste 2002 16 in med crash and added a light weigh Tama hi hat with Paiste 12in "Twenty " series hats. I can rate these as a good value for the dollar.
Some of the mounting brackets were not alligned properly and make it difficult to allign and set up the legs with the pedal mounting bracket. The emblems are not mounted to the front of the set. The cymbals that came with my set are near worthless. Poorly cast and horribly turned. More of a novelty than a musical instrument. The heads supplied are a poor choice for a cocktail drum in the traditional sense. And the felt bumper pad came off the bass drum pedal during a performance and damaged the bottom head.
For the good stuff.
Bearing edges are well cut. Finish is very good. Surprisingly responsive snare drum inspite of the small size. Tuning and proper adjustment is critical for the snare drum. The window for tuning all of the drums appears to be very narrow. But, when properly tuned, the drums sing nicely. Bass drum pedal I will rate as an 8. Nicely balanced out of the box but could be improved. Still, very playable and well made. Hardware quality I will rate as a 7 out of 10.. Better than a lot of the pot metal that comes with low cost drums from China. Cowbell is great and quite a surprise.
Changes made.
I replaced all of the batter heads with Remo Fiberskyn 3's. I added a piece of felt to the bottom head of the 15 to dampen that bass drum ringing. Cymbals were replaced with a Paiste 2002 16 in med crash and added a light weigh Tama hi hat with Paiste 12in "Twenty " series hats. I can rate these as a good value for the dollar.
trixon cocktail set addendum
I have used this set at 4 performances so far and have to share that both audences and musicians have been very impressed by the sound and appearance.
Many people have come up to me after the performances to share their opinions.
I can recommend these drums if used in the proper context.
I will state that I am 57 and well experienced as a musician in many venues for many years.
I hope this helps to answer some of your questions regardng Trixon cocktail drums.
Many people have come up to me after the performances to share their opinions.
I can recommend these drums if used in the proper context.
I will state that I am 57 and well experienced as a musician in many venues for many years.
I hope this helps to answer some of your questions regardng Trixon cocktail drums.
Trixon cocktail drum kit
Hi everyone,
Just wanted to share that a few weeks ago I received my new Trixon cocktail drum kit and I start to really enjoy it. Me and my band are very impressed with the quality and sound that thing puts out. This is going to work well in those little places we're going to play and I think that I might just be starting a new trend around here in western MA.
The kit sounds even better on a PA system, naturally. So for $375 with shipping, that kit really rocks!
Now i just have to figure out a way to carry it without scratching it! I've heard they have special bags for these kits...
Thank you all and Happy Holidays!
Just wanted to share that a few weeks ago I received my new Trixon cocktail drum kit and I start to really enjoy it. Me and my band are very impressed with the quality and sound that thing puts out. This is going to work well in those little places we're going to play and I think that I might just be starting a new trend around here in western MA.
The kit sounds even better on a PA system, naturally. So for $375 with shipping, that kit really rocks!
Now i just have to figure out a way to carry it without scratching it! I've heard they have special bags for these kits...
Thank you all and Happy Holidays!
Hey Jatesky,
Congratulations on your new drum! Nice to hear some feedback on the Trixon. They look quite good and a lot of people have been interested in them.
There have been a few discussions about cases on the forum a while back. Don't really know what is available these days but I have always used Conga bags. I also have a heavy duty bag that came with my Club Jordan. It looks like one of those multi-tom bags like this:
<img src="http://img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbase/p ... 280172.jpg">
Beato makes a double and larger triple tom bag. Just check the dimensions carefully before buying!
There are a couple of bags in the Store link on the Cocktail Drum Lounge. I'll try and add some more soon!
Hope that's helpful.
- John
Congratulations on your new drum! Nice to hear some feedback on the Trixon. They look quite good and a lot of people have been interested in them.
There have been a few discussions about cases on the forum a while back. Don't really know what is available these days but I have always used Conga bags. I also have a heavy duty bag that came with my Club Jordan. It looks like one of those multi-tom bags like this:
<img src="http://img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbase/p ... 280172.jpg">
Beato makes a double and larger triple tom bag. Just check the dimensions carefully before buying!
There are a couple of bags in the Store link on the Cocktail Drum Lounge. I'll try and add some more soon!
Hope that's helpful.
- John
Cases
I got my cocktail dum case from Nomad. They made it out of fiberboard. It looks like they used 3 tom tom cases and rivited them together. Anyway its great if your the one transporting. I had them make it so the main drum and aux snare all go into the same case. The price way really resonable. Good Luck!!!!!!
Drum bags
Hey thanks for the tips about the bags. I spent a lot of time browsing the net to find bags that would do the work!
I ended up ordering two Ledmark outback heavy weight cotton canvas duffle bags, one is 48"x20" (giant) and the smaller one 36"x20" (x-large).
I'll have enough room to fit the main drum(26"x18") and the snare+ tom in the giant one and the rest (pedal/hardware and what not) in the other one.
They cost me $72 w/shipping. I am also planning to install some sort of liner in the giant bag, like a 1/2" or bigger cellular foam or similar material to protect the drums a little more...
It's not the fanciest stuff but that's a good and more affordable way for me to carry my new cocktail kit!
Happy Holiday!
I ended up ordering two Ledmark outback heavy weight cotton canvas duffle bags, one is 48"x20" (giant) and the smaller one 36"x20" (x-large).
I'll have enough room to fit the main drum(26"x18") and the snare+ tom in the giant one and the rest (pedal/hardware and what not) in the other one.
They cost me $72 w/shipping. I am also planning to install some sort of liner in the giant bag, like a 1/2" or bigger cellular foam or similar material to protect the drums a little more...
It's not the fanciest stuff but that's a good and more affordable way for me to carry my new cocktail kit!
Happy Holiday!
-
privateidaho
- Posts: 23
- Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 6:59 pm
Re: The current Trixon cocktail kits
I just got mine from Jim Laab. I ordered on the phone. Eric (in the guitar dept.) helped me. I asked what was in stock and what his opinions were of the finishes. He let me know that they were out of stock on the cymbals and gave me a $20 credit on the kit (their cost for the cymbal packs). It arrived via fedex 3 days after shipping. I only live one state away, but was pleasantly surprised at the prompt shipping. I read all of the bad things about them as well, which is why I ordered on the phone. That said, I have been happy with the service. But that's just my own experience.
The Look:
My kit came in a natural wood laquer. I was actually quite impressed with the quality of the finish and the mounts. Frankly, I was expecting less for what I paid. The badges are well made, and look nice. I assume they are metal or plastic, but they look good. It came with a bass pedal, mount, cumbal and tom mounts and a cowbell. Overall it really is a great looking, and sturdy feeling kit.
The Sound:
Snare/Tom
I messed around with the tuning quite a bit. This is where the price starts to make sense. It is not an easy kit to tune. I used to own a full Yamaha Club Jordan, so that's all I have to compare it to. Keep in mind, that's roughly a thousand dollar difference. Anyway, I brought all the heads down and slowly brought them up to where I thought they sounded best. There are only 4 lugs on the snare, which makes sense for an 8" drum. It had a distinct tendency to wander out of tune quite easily. The lugs don't turn smoothly, so I needed my beefy yamaha drum key and some lug oil to get em' turning.The tom tuned easier and eventually arrived at a decent round tone, but not much of a range.
Bass
Cocktail bass drums have always been tricky for me so I expected a bit of a struggle. I brought it up and down until I got a good kick sound and then wrestled with the bass tom tuning, which is a bit of a mystery. I ended up adding a strip of felt across the bass side and that gave me a good punch with round tone while allowing for some level of control over the tuning of the bass tom itself. I know I will get a new set of heads for this kit as soon as possible. Clear batter heads are just too bright and ringy for a 15X25" drum and there's just too much inconsistency in the tuning and lugs to stay with the stock heads. I'm generally the kind of guy who can live with stock heads as long as the kit tunes properly.
I ordered a set of 12" Dream Bliss hihats for $116 from massmusic.net and they sound amazing. I've been after a small set anyway and these were an unexpected surprise for the price.
Overall I'm more than impressed with what you can get for under $350 in this kit. There are some shortcomings, which I have no doubt I'll overcome through tweaking and upgrading. I would suggest ordering the kit over the phone in order to avoid any of the horror stories you've read about. But I can reccommend this kit if you don't have the scratch for a Club Jordan.
The Look:
My kit came in a natural wood laquer. I was actually quite impressed with the quality of the finish and the mounts. Frankly, I was expecting less for what I paid. The badges are well made, and look nice. I assume they are metal or plastic, but they look good. It came with a bass pedal, mount, cumbal and tom mounts and a cowbell. Overall it really is a great looking, and sturdy feeling kit.
The Sound:
Snare/Tom
I messed around with the tuning quite a bit. This is where the price starts to make sense. It is not an easy kit to tune. I used to own a full Yamaha Club Jordan, so that's all I have to compare it to. Keep in mind, that's roughly a thousand dollar difference. Anyway, I brought all the heads down and slowly brought them up to where I thought they sounded best. There are only 4 lugs on the snare, which makes sense for an 8" drum. It had a distinct tendency to wander out of tune quite easily. The lugs don't turn smoothly, so I needed my beefy yamaha drum key and some lug oil to get em' turning.The tom tuned easier and eventually arrived at a decent round tone, but not much of a range.
Bass
Cocktail bass drums have always been tricky for me so I expected a bit of a struggle. I brought it up and down until I got a good kick sound and then wrestled with the bass tom tuning, which is a bit of a mystery. I ended up adding a strip of felt across the bass side and that gave me a good punch with round tone while allowing for some level of control over the tuning of the bass tom itself. I know I will get a new set of heads for this kit as soon as possible. Clear batter heads are just too bright and ringy for a 15X25" drum and there's just too much inconsistency in the tuning and lugs to stay with the stock heads. I'm generally the kind of guy who can live with stock heads as long as the kit tunes properly.
I ordered a set of 12" Dream Bliss hihats for $116 from massmusic.net and they sound amazing. I've been after a small set anyway and these were an unexpected surprise for the price.
Overall I'm more than impressed with what you can get for under $350 in this kit. There are some shortcomings, which I have no doubt I'll overcome through tweaking and upgrading. I would suggest ordering the kit over the phone in order to avoid any of the horror stories you've read about. But I can reccommend this kit if you don't have the scratch for a Club Jordan.
Re: The current Trixon cocktail kits
Hey Garvin,
Thanks for all the great info!
Good thinking on ordering by phone! I often do this with stores selling on ebay an I find I generally get faster shipping since they know the order is coming. Plus you get a sense of who you are dealing with and what they actually have in stock!
Let us know when you try out new heads!
Thanks,
- John
Thanks for all the great info!
Good thinking on ordering by phone! I often do this with stores selling on ebay an I find I generally get faster shipping since they know the order is coming. Plus you get a sense of who you are dealing with and what they actually have in stock!
Let us know when you try out new heads!
Thanks,
- John