MEINL Artisan Compact Maple Wood Tambourine Three Rows Hammered Brass 8 in.

Sadly there are hardly any useful reviews on any of these tambourines. It means for recording guys we're buying blind hoping it'll suit our needs. Tambourine is a huge element in modern productions that's often over looked. The guys in Nashville are all using $200 tambourines because they understand how important it is. If you think of it as a cymbal, you start to take it more seriously. I bought a bunch of tambourines ranging between 20-50 bucks in hopes I'd find a gem. Some of them came very close, like the LP Cyclops, if it weren't for a very strange hi pitched ring it would've been perfect. I wish I would've just bought one of these right off the bat. Its smaller than it looks. Its pretty detailed, nothing out of balance here. The control is fantastic. I thought the large wood rim would be difficult to control, on the contrary, you can really get crazy with this thing. I LOVE the decay on this. No more fade outs every time the part stops! Another amazing thing about it is how dynamic it is, meaning if you just want that chimey chorus part sound its easy to do with a light touch at a low volume. The lower the volume the less your room sound is going to effect it, meaning its perfect for home and project studios. Bottom line is if you're serious about your productions, you need a solid tambourine, one you won't just end up burying so low in the mix you might as well of not recorded it. I've got the Bronze one on the way now just to have the choice between brighter and darker per song.