The Case of the Missing Half-Inch

14" X 6" Thick Maple

Had a bit of a revelation in late June when processing some new shots of the Thick Maple, kindly provided by Damian Ciupiński (Dziękuję Ci Damian!).

https://www.mapexblackpanther.com/black-panther-snares/all-snares/item/14-x-6-thick-maple

I originally had this model listed on the site as a 14"x5.5", since that's what it says in the 2009 USA Mapex Catalogue (at least, in the only digital version I can find). The catalogue reference though is BPML4600TBIL, the 4600 indicating a 14"x6" shell, and the 2009 UK Catalogue states that it's 6".

Not necessarily much to write home about then; might just have been a typo in that catalogue.

However, then I noticed something strange.

The shot in the USA catalogue, in the 2009 UK Catalogue, and on several websites using a catalogue shot, shows a model with spacing between the rows of lugs indicative of a 5.5" deep shell! 

Every actual example in the wild is clearly 6" deep, and the lug spacing doesn't match the catalogue shot. It’s not even close. So, like the Kung Fu Special Edition, there's a definite disconnect between a widely circulated photo and the actual model that was released.

It's only my speculation, but perhaps there was a 14"x5.5" prototype made and used for the catalogue; the shot certainly doesn't look like a computer mock-up. If there was, it would be a proper unicorn's unicorn!

The question is then, what happened to the model in the catalogue? The mystery deepens...