BeatIt Test: Polmuz Tulipwood Aqua Blue Satin Lacquer

Very recently, we received a brand new parcel from drumstore.pl – an importer and distributor for numerous drum and percussion brands. This time round, it contains a drum kit from the freshly rejuvenated Polmuz brand, which premiered in late 2019. Naturally, being Polish, we were more than happy to take a closer look at the instruments.

We are testing a Polmuz Tulipwood Aqua Blue Satin Lacquer drum kit

Foto: CAVA Studio / beatit.tv

1. The test

The test was carried out in our own recording facility. The kit comprises a rack tom, a floor tom and a kick drum. The heads put on by the producer were: Remo Ambassador Coated (batter) and Polmuz factory skins (reso) on the toms as well as a coated Evans EMAD (batter) and a Fiberskyn-like Polmuz resonant head on the bass drum.

2. Basic specification of the drum kit tested here:

Manufacturer: Polmuz
Model: KTW-318-ABS
Kit elements: 12″ x 8″ tom, 14″ x 14″ floor tom, 18″ x 14″ bass drum
Colour: Aqua Blue
Finish: Satin Lacquer
Material: 100% Tulipwood (6 plies, 6.9 mm)
Tom mount: Non-invasive
Claw hooks: Rubber pads
Lugs: Tube Lugs
Hardware: Chrome
Snare drum: No
Stands: No

Foto: CAVA Studio / beatit.tv

3. Product and sound

The Polmuz Tulipwood Aqua Blue kit is obviously inspired by the vintage style, while maintaining today’s standards thanks to the use of modern technologies. It comprises the following: a 12″x8″ rack tom, a 14″x14″ floor tom and an 18″x14″ bass drum. The drums make a good impression, just taking a quick look. The tasteful Aqua Blue Satin Lacquer finish resembles the 1950s design, and is adorned by the Polmuz badge, which perfectly matches the vibe of the era. Just get hold of a white jacket, black patent leather shoes to match black trousers, and you can feel like D. J. Fontana waiting for a young Elvis to jump on stage from the wings… 😉 In addition, a user gets well-made bass drum rims in natural finish as well as 45° bearing edges, nice plywood (one hundred percent Tulipwood), and a non-invasive tom suspension system. All that makes one like the kit at first glance. The tension rods work smoothly and leave nothing to be desired. The kit also sports claw hooks with rubber pads, bass drum legs with telescopes (not a vintage feature, but we do not hold it against the producer), and tube lugs, which come into limited contact with the shells to reduce their impact on the sustain.

Foto: CAVA Studio / beatit.tv
Foto: CAVA Studio / beatit.tv
Foto: CAVA Studio / beatit.tv

While we’re on the subject of sound… We tested the drum kit using the following tuning achieved with the help of a Tune-Bot device:

Bass drum – B (first octave, 112 Hz on the batter head and 112 Hz on the batter head)
Floor tom – E (second octave, 130 Hz on the batter head and 145 Hz on the batter head)
Rack tom – A (third octave, 155 Hz on the batter head and 230 Hz on the batter head)

Bass drum – F (first octave, 155 Hz on the batter head and 165 Hz on the batter head)
Floor tom – B (second octave, 185 Hz on the batter head and 230 Hz on the batter head)
Rack tom – D (third octave, 225 Hz on the batter head and 270 Hz on the batter head)

All the drums in the set have a distinct attack and power. The bass drum and floor tom perform very nicely in both tunings we used. When tuned low, they produce quite a lot of low frequencies (the bass drum is also quite punchy, and the floor tom displays real rock dynamics). When tuned high, both drums deliver a lot of warmth we all know and love from jazz recordings. The rack tom, when tuned low, produced a slight ‘ping-pong-ball’ sonic effect and was a bit different from the rest of the set, but we may be a bit picky here because generally we are not that crazy about shallow shells. When tuned high, the same drum complemented the other two just perfectly. The set as a whole is characterized by quite a bit of warmth, quick response, a great deal of stick definition accompanied by a nice and warm “envelope” of overtones. It is well suitable for Jazz, Fusion, Blues and all types of acoustic performances. Drum teachers might also find it interesting.

Producer: https://www.facebook.com/PolmuzDrums

Distributor: http://drumstore.pl/

OUR VERDICT: 5/5