BeatIt Test: Polmuz Birch Model 4 Transparent Black

We have received yet another parcel from drumstore.pl – an importer and distributor for numerous drum and percussion brands. This time round, it also 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 Birch Model 4 Transparent Black kit

1. The test

The test was carried out in our own recording facility. The kit comprises two rack toms, a floor tom a kick drum and a snare. The heads put on by the producer were: Remo Ambassador Coated (batter) and clear ATTACK Medium skins (reso) on the toms, a coated Evans EMAD (batter) and a black Polmuz resonant head on the bass drum, a Remo Ambassador Coated (batter) and a Remo Ambassador Snare Side (reso) on the snare. During the test, we also used a prototype hardware set (bass drum pedal, hi-hat stand, snare stand, boom cymbal stand, straight cymbal stand, drum throne), which comes with the kit.

2. Basic specification of the drum kit tested here:

Manufacturer: Polmuz
Model: Birch Model 4
Kit elements: 10″ x 8″ tom, 14″ x 14″ floor tom, 18″ x 14″ bass drum, 13″x5″ snare
Colour: Transparent Black
Finish: Glossy lacquer
Material: 100% Birch (6 plies, 6.9 mm)
Tom mount: Non-invasive
Hardware: Black Chrome
Virgin bass drum shell: No
Stands: Yes (hi hat, snare, boom and straight cymbal stand)
Bass drum pedal: Yes
Drum throne: Yes

3. Product and sound

The prototype Polmuz Birch Model 4 Transparent Black kit is modern both in appearance and in terms of the use of present-day technologies. It consists of the following elements: a 10″ x 8″ rack tom, a 14″ x 14″ floor tom, a 18″ x 14″ bass drum, and a 13″ x 5″ snare drum. The lacquered Transparent Black finish with visible grains and black painted rims and lugs will be much to the liking of all those who like the look of drums such as the DW Black Ice set or the Pearl Joey Jordison signature snare. Maybe the size of this Polmuz will not make an equally threatening impression, but the whole kit does not look too bad at all.

The kit will compete customers’ attention in the entry level segment. This does not mean that the bass drum hoops cannot be properly crafted, the plywood cannot be healthy and nice-looking (100% birch, without the addition of cheaper materials), and the tom rack suspension cannot be non-invasive. It’s all there. The tuning rods work absolutely as expected. The buyer also receives a set of hardware: a bass drum pedal, a hi-hat stand, a snare stand and two cymbal stands (boom and straight) INCLUDED IN THE PRICE of the drum kit. It must be noted and praised, even though it is a low-end equipment, because the price is to be competitive, and the set will also include brass Polmuz cymbals. The lugs and the bass drum legs (straight rodss locked with a counter screw), are also cheapened. We can assure you that they work, however.

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)
Snare – E (third octave, 237 Hz on the batter head and 330 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)
Snare – E (third octave, 237 Hz on the batter head and 330 Hz on the batter head)

In the lower tuning, the kit sounds quite beefy, i.e. the bass drum has a nice “punch” and the floor tom has a lot of depth. All of this is complemented by warm, higher overtones coming from the rack tom. The snare drum has a clearly audible characteristic of a smaller-diameter body (Latin-style, firecracker-like), which makes it better suited for higher tunings. Any decent jazz drummer would easily play a gig on this set if nothing else was at hand, and it would never have gone wrong. These drums are perfect for all types of acoustic performances (especially those where it is best not to take expensive toys you), and drum teachers even should investigate it because of the extensive accessories already mentioned included in the price, which is to be somewhere in the region of PLN 2500 (USD 660 / EUR 550).