Pearl Malletstation EM1: Unboxing, Demo, Review

Is the Pearl EM-1 Malletstation actually worth the money?? Take an in depth look before you decide to buy! Check out our full setup, firmware update, and malletstation editor links below!
0:12 - Unboxing
2:59 - Demo
6:07 - Review
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Watching in late 2020 or later? Update your EM1 firmware for free here!
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Quickstart guide from Pearl:
• Pearl malletSTATION Qu...
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[@LucaOrtega656]

Thank you for the video

[@liviavibes]

you convinced me I will buy one of these

[@gannondrums2741]

How do you like it so far?

[@asylumental]

You kicked ass on this malletSTATION in the duet video

[@Paddymysterio1]

I have it and i love it

[@piggysaucer]

How do you like the feel of it? It looks like it’s pretty small and the notes are close together. I think muscle memory is really helpful and I don’t want to practice on something that doesn’t replicate the range of motion like an actual pitched percussive instrument!

[@michaelelliott4224]

Can you play a mallet station with drumsticks so that you could play it on the side of playing the drumset for a drum solo performance?

[@Buy-nLarge]

Underated!

[@ApexPercussion]

Definitely!

[@Negative_Positron]

Sorry I'm a little bit later on this video! Obviously it doesn't have graduated bars, but would you reccomend the EM1 as a good apartment practice keyboard, especially for vibraphone? Currently I use a KBP 'roll up mat' style pad which is fine for the muscle memory, but doesn't give any feedback. All the midi bells and whistles would be nice to play around with too, but does this function well as an 'electronic vibraphone', etc.?

[@ApexPercussion]

It does yep! And the range is is identical to a 3-octave vibe F-F. The only differences are, the bars are more narrow, so intervals are a tad smaller, and the pads are a little bouncy, especially with a rubber core vibe mallet. The KBP are better for muscle memory, but hard to know always if you hit a wrong note. At the end of the day, the EM1 is just a very high quality, but simple midi controller, but plug in any pedal, and it will sound and act exactly like a vibraphone. Also they're like $1000, which is less than a vibe, but a lot more than a KBP.

[@LeTetSpiN]

I never knew 😲

[@DrummerJez86]

do you by any chance know if it would work with linux? i'm thinkin id make a little raspberri pi and not have to bring a whole laptop bust have a little plugin thing

[@ApexPercussion]

Ooo good question! I actually do not know, but as long as you have a DAW running with midi capabilities, I’m guessing it would

[@felixkmgalanti9064]

I have notice that wth hitting my EM1 pads/bars wth no matter how mellow of a mallet, everytime I strike a key it makes such a thumping sound that drives me nuts, and it cannot be my Stand I do not believe as I have the very best poss. If anyone here has the same issue, can you tell me what you use to quiet the racket? If anyone here has a Malletkat, can you tell me if there is any differ?

[@ApexPercussion]

Our best solution is softer mallets and just not striking as hard. Like the sound will trigger with minimal velocity, so just playing it softer than we would an acoustic instrument

[@Roman-jv8qn]

I'm in marching band and im playing this in the pit lol

[@gannondrums2741]

That sounds pretty fun ngl

[@anotherdrummer2]

Long term user here ( pre-ordered from Sweetwater) I've been through 4 (FOUR) units. The first one failed within the 1 year manufacturer warranty, two replacements were lemons (one had incredible chassis flex resulting in double triggering, another had dead pads), the 4th passed muster but after two years it now has broken pads and the rubber keys are separating resulting in an awful cellophane type crunch when struck. Pearls malletstation either has really bad quality control, is designed to be swapped out year after year (i.e. drum corps), or is just poorly made in general in a cash grab at the malletKAT dominated market. I'm supremely disappointed with how it holds up to normal use. And yes, I'm sure I am not the root of the issue. I use(d) the malletstation for MT pit work, as a substitute for acoustic percussion on orchestra gigs (where space restricted use or none were available) and for home practice. No harsh conditions, no abusive slamming of mallets, no bad power connections. I take very good care of my instruments and electronics. I plan to reach out to Pearl for a solution but I decided to buy a malletKAT for the time being. If you're considering a midi instrument like this I think malletKAT and Xylosynth are the only viable options.

[@ApexPercussion]

Oh wow, that sucks you’ve had a rough experience with it! Durability certainly is one of the downsides long term from what we have heard from quite a few people. Chris and I both have an EM1, and no issues so far (and we’ve moved them both around a good bit) but we may have been fairly lucky. A check in after a couple years of travel and gigs is definitely something our review needs, maybe we can do an update video at some point? Let us know about your conversation with Pearl, very curious on how it all goes!

[@southernrailwayfan1338]

@@ApexPercussion I had to use a malfunctioning malletststation for a entire indoor season. Either the whole system shut down or it would play notes I was not hitting. not a fun season

[@patrickmartin3322]

I mean, a MalletKAT better be better than a Mallet Station considering as far as I can find the KAT is 3 times the price

[@scott1564]

Have you played a Malletkat? If so, can you compare the 2? I know the Kat has internal sounds but what about playability?

[@ApexPercussion]

I have, yes! The feel of the Malletkat is definitely different, and some might say better for sure. The pads are thicker and softer. For me, the sensitivity/playability is almost identical though. I prefer the Malletstation feel-wise only because it's what I'm used to at this point. The MalletKat just has a ton more built in features and built in customization (pedal switching, layering sounds, etc.) whereas the EM1 relies on software (Mainstage or Logic etc) to do those more advanced features. It comes down to if you want customization built in or would rather do it with a computer. Because I love Logic, being able to use that plus it being literally half the price is what gives it the edge for me. The Malletkat just doesn't do enough extra stuff to be worth twice the price. (all my just opinion of course 🙂)

[@scott1564]

@@ApexPercussion If I wanted to set up the EM1 in the following way, could I: open pedal on (lower half) timpani, upper half bells; depressed pedal lower half chimes, upper half a myriad of percussion sounds like (concert) bass drum, crash cymbal, and whatever other similar sounds I could find on Logic or other soft synths -- each assigned their own "key"? I would of course memorize the individual key or set it up simply at first and then expand, sort of like learning to type. This, or something like this is a setup I need. I'm somewhat familiar with MS but don't know how it would plug into this unit. Thanks for the video and the response.

[@ApexPercussion]

@@scott1564 Yes 100%, can very easily do that with Mainstage! The EM1 is a plug and play midi controller and on most DAWs, you can assign ranges or even one key at a time and use whatever sound library you have access to.

[@anotherdrummer2]

Of the two, the KAT is undoubtedly more reliable in the long term. I believe pads are individually replaceable, whereas the malletstation is a single unit with no replaceable components.

[@coltonmykael]

Had to subscribe for the Bach joke

[@ApexPercussion]

FINALLY someone who appreciates a music pun 🙏

[@ryanhollier6055]

My band director got one of this MLS you’re going over there and it was pretty nice we even got to hook it up to garage band

[@ryanhollier6055]

And make music on it

[@bearlove90]

You can do the same thing with a keyboard

[@dejangaletic7884]

Holy shit, unwrap it already

[@jasonreeve5012]

Just got one and sent it back. Some of the bars don’t work at all. This is despite firmware updates and using the software. Terrible quality.

[@jakestanbro959]

Say longboi. Why she gotta be hatin.

[@ApexPercussion]

Oh I am.

[@wprtube]

Sound quality? Isn't it a trigger? The sounds come from sound sources, not the mallet station. Seems more like an ad than an objective review.

[@ApexPercussion]

Yeah that’s a fair question! What I mean is that there are similar products with limited built in sounds that aren’t great, but because sounds can be unlimited, it’s an ideal setup. I did buy this outright and they didn’t pay me to review it, so not an ad on purpose, but I do love it!

[@MortonLuvz2drum]

Yeah. Sound quality is NA. Not applicable.

[@TheVenusProjectInfo]

to me it looks cheap and gross.. definitely a 1 out of 10

[@ApexPercussion]

Haha that's fair! What about it don't you like? I guess the looks don't matter too much, but I'm curious

[@MortonLuvz2drum]

It is cheap. Made in China. It's a quick money grab, knock off, on the verge of being a toy, that would be hard for any child to set up and use, unless mommy and daddy also gave them a new Mac Book and a credit card for Christmas. So, ultimately NOT cheap, but yes the construction is cheap. And the triggers are poorly installed so that there are inconsistencies in sensitivity.

[@KhanflomahInstrumentals]

at THIS point youre just an over priced One trick pony controller, that has no other function but to play some crap sounds that one could download onto a REAL controller using Kontakt.

[@ApexPercussion]

Glad our guide could be helpful in your purchase decision making!