Test BeatIt: Dixon Spark PODSP 416 Drum Kit

Sometime ago we received 2 small DIXON drum sets from our favorite drum store – Avant Drum Shop. One of them: BD 18 “, TT 12”, FT14 “+ 14” snare in Deep Blue finish, and the other one: BD 16 “, TT 10”, FT 13 “+ 14” snare drum in Wine Red finish.

To hit on those drums, we invited a representative of the new generation of Polish drummers, Jakub Martuzalski. He is drummer with the band RusT and he loves classical rock drumming and this is how he represents the style of playing drums. You can take our word for it that he thoroughly studied John Bonham’s drumming.

Dixon Spark PODSP 416 Drum Kit

1. The test

The test was carried out in our own recording facility. The kit is comprised of a rack tom, a floor tom, a kick drum and snare drum a. We left drumheads on all instruments, which we get with the purchase of the set. We tuned them with the Tune Bot, and put a blanket in the bass drum. Our guest played a few single beats on each instrument of our Dixon Spark set.

2. Basic specification of the drum kit tested here:

Manufacturer: Dixon
Model: Spark
Kit elements: BD 16″ x 14″ TT 10 “x 8″, FT 13″x13″, snare 14″ x 5,5”
Finish: Wine Red,
Character: Fast, tight
Material: 6-Ply Poplar Shell
tom holder: Ball & L-Rod Tom Holder

fot: en.beatit.tv
fot: en.beatit.tv
fot: en.beatit.tv

3. Product and sound

Dixon Spark makes a pretty positive impression at first glance. This little kit is very well crafted. They have very decent hardware.

Dixon Spark makes a pretty positive impression at first glance. Let’s start with Bass drum – it is obvious that we will not get a sound like 24 “or 22” from such a small drum. Despite such a small sized drum which is full of vigor, quite pleasant click and a lot of low frequencies. We used exactly the same blanket here as in the Deep Blue set tested earlier. It is known that when we put too many different types of “professional silencers” inside the drum, it will sound like cardboard. Mixes very well with toms.

Toms sound quite sharp, very similar to the larger set from the same series that we tested earlier. And the snare drum, definitely very loud, louder than the rest of the drums from this set.

fot: en.beatit.tv
fot: en.beatit.tv
fot: en.beatit.tv

4. Summary

Very good, compact drums for club drumming. The situation looks similar to the larger set from the Dixon Spark series. For such money it is an ideal instrument not only for every beginner drummer, but also for every drummer playing concerts in smaller clubs.

We think we should let Jakub Martuzalski himself sum up the whole experience: “Bass drum is very nicely focused, very specific, the toms in this set sounded very good. The snare drum was a bit loud compared to this whole set. I would like to replace the snare drum from this set with a snare drum from Deep Blue set. I have the impression that the blue one would match the whole sound better. “

“Centralka bardzo fajnie skupiona, bardzo konkretna, tomy w tym zestawie brzmiały lepiej, śpiewniej niż w zestawie z bębnem 18″. Werbel był trochę głośny i w porównaniu do tego całego setu. Chętnie podmieniłbym werbel z tego setu na werbel z zestawu w kolorze Deep Blue. Mam wrażenie, że ten niebieski lepiej pasowałbym brzmieniowo do całości.”

Manufacturer: DIXON

Distributor in Poland: Music Info sp. z o.o

OUR VERDICT: 5/5