So I figured Id offer something a little different. I received my Muta series nagadou from Taiko Center of Kyoto earlier today, had some time to play them and try compare them to some of my other drums. First off, a huge thanks to Togo Miyahara at Taiko Center of Kyoto for holding on to these drums for me until I was able to post the purchase. Ordering from Togo-san was very easy, and with the minor slip-up of a shipping estimate error, went quite well. A note about shipping, and something that a lot of overseas manufacturers of instruments should take note. Hard foam will only sustain one impact during shipping. One of the styrofoam panels was jostled during shipping on one of the two drums and came cracked. The drums are both perfect, but for instruments that carry a price tag over $500, I would like to see soft cell foam employed. On to the product itself! The Muta line by TCK is unique because of the muting material on one side of the drum, and boy does it come through on its promise. The sound on the muted side makes something similar to the sound of practicing on a mattress. It has the same feel and bounce to hitting a normal skin. My only concern is the longevity of the muting material. You cannot tell what it is on the outside of the skin, so whether it is something that can peel off and start rattling around inside is something only continuous use will be able to tell. Other drawbacks from this are the lack of performance applications. Pieces that require players to use both sides of the drum will not be possible with this drum. Initially I had thought maybe it was only slightly muted with a paste or adhesive, but the method used here is very noticeable and makes the muted side unusable for performance. The playing side was exactly what I would expect from a taiko at the 48,000 JPY price point. The professionalism and attention to detail are not lost, but the sound is not going to resemble a single piece drum. The sound is somewhere between a tightly stretched sumo and a very thick okedo with a resonance space that emphasizes sustained higher partials. In the heavily treated practice space I tried these, the sustained upper register of this drum was a little harsh, but for an outdoor venue would probably carry better. The build quality of this drum is fantastic out of the box. The kan and byou are both high quality, and the mimi are intact for future restretchings. The pine stave design is what you would expect for this price point, but until I see the inside of the drum I wont be able to judge if the thickness and sound treatment on the inside is of the same quality. These drums are much lighter than my keyaki 1.3 chu, which is to be expected of the material chosen. What I would have liked to see done differently is kan placement. I feel cosmetically and functionally on smaller drums (1.3 shaku) kan should be placed closer together on one side, especially when you are considering the muta series. It is easier to carry and for naname style performance (which will be what this line is primarily addressing because of the muting decisions) looks better. At the sale price of 48,000 JPY, these drums are an absolute steal, and if the muted head is something your group is taking into consideration, than do not hesitate on this buy.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 03:45:42 +0000
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