It’s been 13 years since UK amp legend Marshall acquired the Natal brand, and now the revived percussion company has announced its Zenith kit: a modern-made drum set that harks back to vintage design and styling which Natal says “Eloquently captures the musical fusion of the 50s and 60s from both sides of the Atlantic in a drum kit that has been proactively made to suit a variety of playing styles.”
At launch, the Zenith is available in a single, three-piece shell pack configuration comprising a 22”x16” bass drum, 12”x8” rack tom and 16”x16 floor tom, with additional shell sizes available on request (not details on those just yet).
Each drum features a 6mm, three-ply shell (1.8mm maple/2.4mm ash/1.8mm maple), complete with maple reinforcement rings across all drums (2.4mm on the toms, 4.8mm on the bass drum).
The rack and floor toms feature a 30-degree bearing edge, while the bass drum is cut to a rounded 45 degrees.
There’s new hardware, too, with low-mass tube lugs adding to the vintage aesthetic, and Natal’s ‘Sun’ lug-mount logo has been shrunk down to a more delicate, classy-looking size to match.Natal has also added an all-new badge design, which serves as a stylish through-shell air vent and logo simultaneously.
The old-school vibe extends to the finishes too, and Zenith is offered in five vintage-style wraps including Forge Black, Forge Blue and Forge Red, plus two sparkle finishes (Silver Frost and Pink Frost). In each case, the natural maple bass drum hoops are inlaid with the matching finish, and the Zenith ships with Natal-branded Evans heads throughout.