Dixon Artisan Custom Traditional Maple Series drum kit

Over three decades Taiwanese company Dixon has built up an enviable reputation for supplying unpretentious but reliable hardware and budget drums. Then in the last few years Dixon has moved into high-end professional quality kits.

We played the last Artisan kit in September 2007 and were highly impressed. That was an Artisan Select with hybrid shells of Maple, Birch, Walnut and Bubinga. The Artisan line also includes Maple-Bubinga (MBS) drums and the more conventionally-structured, all-Maple TMS - Traditional Maple Series - reviewed here.

It's also worth noting that the Artisan now sits atop a full range of Dixon drums with the names Venom, Demon and Chaos.