Opinion on Pearl Drums?.

[Lexer]

Looking to buy a new set. Just started playing after 30 years.
I always liked Jeff porcaro sound. Was thinking of getting a 18x24 bass drum, 14 inch rack,
16 and 18" floors, 6 1/2 x 14 snare( i also love bonham).

Thoughts on Pearl drums or is ludwig a better option?

[Pearl MCX Man]

Lexer it is actually your choice man. I would say Pearl cause I own Pearl drums. Other will say Ludwig, Yamaha, DW, Tamas all depends on the sound you want and how much money you have to spend. Good luck.

[Ricardo]

Brand name these days is not the only answer.................all drum manufacturers make outstanding shells and they all make "entry level" stuff too...............and many try to make everything in between. The top-shelf product will cost you plenty; if you don't mind spending the money you can get excellence in drum shells.
Most of the "mid-level" shells these days are made in China -- many from American maple -- and their product is very good, for the money..............a lot of bang for the buck.

Given the sizes you put in the OP, you might look at Ludwig Centennials...........good mid-level maple shell packs (which means no snare) that are often on sale..........you could get what you want for less than $1K.

[N2Bluz]

Pearl makes great drums. Like everyone said, it depends on the price category. I agree with Ricardo; if those are your desired sizes, the Ludwig Centennials Zeps are a steal right now.

[pgm554]

Jeff played a Frankenstein set in the studio,so what you hear is not necessarily what he endorsed.

[FlyByNight]

Bonham and Porcaro are my heros too. I agree with N2Bluz. The Ludwig centennials seem phenomenal for the price. I might look into a kit myself. I've never played a pearl kit so I couldn't give an opinion on them.

[Lexer]

Great points guys. I think Porcaro used ludwig in the studio.
One thing i didnt realize, most of the shells are made in china.
I see Ludwig is american made, are the shells made in the USA as well?

[Ricardo]

Ludwig Legacy and Ludwig Classic Maple are made in the good old USA..................and priced accordingly.

http://www.ludwig-drums.com/

[Lexer]

What is the difference between the classic and legacy?
How is ludwigs hardware?
Thanks Riccardo

[Pearl MCX Man]

Great points guys. I think Porcaro used ludwig in the studio.
One thing i didnt realize, most of the shells are made in china.
I see Ludwig is american made, are the shells made in the USA as well?

To answer your question Yes no mention of it here
On November 4, 1981, William F. Ludwig II sold the business to the Selmer Company (now Conn-Selmer). Selmer closed the Damen Avenue factory in the ensuing years and moved the drum production business to Monroe, North Carolina in 1984.

[N2Bluz]

Great points guys. I think Porcaro used ludwig in the studio.
One thing i didnt realize, most of the shells are made in china.
I see Ludwig is american made, are the shells made in the USA as well?

Unless you're willing to drop around a couple grand on a pro-level shell pack, you're pretty much going to get Asian made....doesn't matter what the brand is. It's just a fact of the modern global economy. As long as you stick with intermediate level models from a main line brand, the quality will be just fine. I just sold my PDP Concept Maples, and they were awesome in sound & quality.

The Ludwig Centennial series is made in China, but they use North American Maple...as opposed to a softer Asian Maple species. That's a nice feature for bragging rights but not really that significant in terms of sound.

[crispycritters]

IMO Pearl drums are as good as any other manufacturers products at a similar price. I wouldn't worry too much about if the drums were made in China or Taiwan, like others have said its down to economics - pretty much every manufacturer's mid range products are manufactured in Asia - I own a Premier Artist Birch, a Sonor Jungle Kit and a (entry level) Pearl Forum set, all Asian made and fault free. I believe you would have a difficult time finding an intermediate level set of drums from any established drum manufacturer that aren't good, the competition is pretty fierce and the mid range drums probably make up the bulk of their sales. Any manufacturer selling shoddy mid-range product wouldn't last long.

[Ricardo]

What is the difference between the classic and legacy?
How is ludwigs hardware?
Thanks Riccardo

The Ludwig Classic Maple shells are 7-ply North American maple shells (usually sugar maple from Michigan and Wisconsin) ; these shells appeared sometime in the 70s and are popular among some of the pro players..................45 degree bearing edges...............very good drums.
The Legacy shells are 3-ply shells like the superior drums built in the Ludwig "golden era"................these shells are maple/poplar/maple and the thinner structure arguably provides a most responsive tone...............30 degree bearing edge...............very good drums...............similar to the 1973 set I owned and played for 5 years.

Ludwig hardware: again, many of the manufacturers these days offer various levels of quality and price.
I currently own a Ludwig dual tom stand and a snare stand.............both are considered their "heavy duty" line and are built like tanks.
I'm also a big fan of Tama Road Pro and, for the money, the upper levels of PDP hardware is great too.

For shells and hardware, and from most drum companies, you get the best VALUE with the mid-level provisions.
Avoid the entry level equipment if you want your gear to last for years.
Buy the top-shelf shells, cymbals, and hardware if you hit the lottery.

And...................always a good piece of advice around here.................look at the USED market..............it is currently a buyers market.

[VIbes]

Yes, used vintage. I have several vintage American made sets and they sound great. You can get a nice vintage Slingerland set for good deals . Make sure they are Niles badges made in USA. Any American made drums are good from the 60's and 70's.

[Aparker507]

My Pearl session studio select kit is one of the best I've ever heard. The birch and mahogany work so well together.

[inthpktplayer]

"Pearl Drums, the best reason to play Ludwig" JK. Pearl drums are great.

[Marius84]

Couldn't stand Pearl back when I started playing drums in '92. Didn't care one bit for their tomholders, the name itself and just the overall look and feel of them. I was a die-hard Tama (and slightly Yamaha/Premier) fanboy... However, as time went on, and I got to know more about their products (and especially their hardware), bought some stuff from their catalog (Eliminators, Brass Sensitone etc), they started to really grow on me. Got a very nice Masters BCX kit 5 years ago that I still have and love, so I definately have no trouble with them today, and I really like the new stuff they put out in the semi pro price-range recently (Session series, Masters Complete etc), just a very good product for the money. The Optimount system works very well, and I like the tomholders now as long as they are mounted on a rack or stands with short holders, not those crazy long tubes out of the bassdrum. Mainly because of the look though, and I realise I'm pretty vain in that regard. They are very stable and close to bulletproof.

[late8]

I like Pearl drums. Their hardware is top notch. Not too fond of the long tubes if mounted on a bass drum but the as the above post states, the short tom arms mounted from a rack or cymbal stands look good.

Had three Pearl kits-

Exports:



ECX:



Sessions:




The latest addition caught my eye. Pearl's Masters Maple Gum series is an amazing sounding kit, very similar to "That Gretsch Sound" found on the USA Custom kits. If I didn't have my eye on Gretsch, I'd give the Masters Maple Gum a whirl.

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[drummer]

Man, I like that faded blue sparkle!

Regarding the long tubes on Pearls, I would just hacksaw mine off. I did that a few times over the years. Probably detracts a bit from resell value but it was worth it to me.

[slinky]

I have 2 Pearl brass 6.5x14 snares.. one is a FF .. haven't been as happy with any other snares than those 2.

[jgraham798]

Wow, I love that blue sparkle!!! Looks great!

[MDK]

Both those guys you mentioned played Ludwig and they could have played anything, so I would go Ludwig. Personally I have owned DW, Yamaha, Tama, top of the line kits and My Ludwig CM I custom ordered for much less than any of the aforementioned is the best sound and widest tuning range hands down. But of course thats all a matter of personal preference. My CM's will be with me till I die.

Also the Mahogany, Legacy Maple, CM, Classic Oak, and Neusonic are all USA made. Not sure about the vistalites.

[Kevaruka]

Pearl make some of the nicest drums going. Love my Masters MMP "Redline"

[Tigers]

I've had 2 Pearl kits and both have been work horses.

[Bish]

I'd been a fan of Pearl Drums up until this last go round. After listening to everyone harp about hating their hardware, I asked why and did my own investigation. What I found with my kit and probably with the previous ones but as you learn more things all the time, you learn things you didn't know existed. This was the case with Pearl. When mounting the MT on an arm and clamp it to a cymbal stand, it loses much of its resonance and becomes very dead. When I put it on a snare stand it sang like no tomorrow. Well that doesn't work with my set ups and so disappointingly I decided to part ways with Pearl for good.

Beautiful drums and nothing else negative to say but that was a show stopper to me.