unang una... high end ang honda civic?!
pangalawa, trust your ears. who cares if it's high end or not, as long as it sounds good? ludwig acrolites, for example, weren't meant to be high end snares. but they sound good, so everybody wins. also, guys, tuning and head selection is more than half the battle. you might own a Brady snare but if you slap a dead head [emp x, for example] on it and can't tune then it'll still sound like shiit.
third, on Tama sig snares: Tamas are really welly made, but not everyone has the money to throw at a 20+K snare drum. and if you do, there ARE better options than Tama (the snare world's equivalent of Benzes, Porsches, etc)
third, on mapex: I own a BP (13"x5.5: brass), and i love it. but honestly, the primary reason I bought it in the first place is the fact that it's a 13" metal snare with some depth and it's NOT STEEL. sorry, but Pearl and Tama's offerings in the 13" metal snare range are limited (Metalworks? meh. Blackwell sig? meh and ugly. Jordison sig? meh and FUGLY), and this BP stands head and shoulders over all of them (Yamaha has a 13"x5.5" beaded brass snare which I would have considered if only it were available here). so you could say I bought the BP by default.
does this mean I like maplex? not really, their wood shell stuff isn't really as impressive as those from other brands. they haven't anything that could even touch a Reference, a Starclassic Bubinga, a Birch Custom Absolute.
does this take away from the BP being a good, even great, snare? NO. it has a great sound - metallic, loud, ringy, but more warmth than a steel shell - and a wide tuning range. it fits my sound well.
does this mean BP's are high end? I don't really care.
does this mean I wouldn't sell it to buy a 13"x6" bell bronze snare? HELL NO (let's go Artisan Percussion!)
