by Ernesto Pediangco » Fri Jan 28, 2011 10:03 pm
Tycoon is a company that fabricates and assembles many Asian made brands, they are a generic model that shares all the same materials, heads and hard wares of other Asian brands, the difference is purely cosmetic. Some laqueur finishes tend to wear off ( like the gold tints and powder coated hard wares ) Chrome is still the best anti corrosion protective plating to put on ferious metal parts unless you have stainless steel which is a high grade nickle ( like the nickle coin ) I would check price comparisons against the same price range of Meinl brands ( also made in Asia ) that use slightly better matched heads that are not too thin, they have bigger bellies resembling Valje 's drum shape but w/ a higher place belly. The traditional crown and their comfort crowns are strong and clean designed. The sizes are close to Valje's even separated in 11,12 & 13 inch heads...no odd fractions and Remo makes standard size heads for them as well. The rubber bottom bases are a good feature for many reasons & does have a narrow metal band under the rubber and at the top edge. I have had a pair of mid level Marathons that were far superior in tonal fullness and volume than compared to top of line models by other top brands ! I look at design, features, materials and good asembly and musical qualities before considering brand name since they are virtualy all the same for better or worse ! This includes custom made American models to !