Pearl President Deluxe Shell Pack - Drummer's Review

[@charlesfarran1717]

One of the best sounding kits I’ve heard for a long term.

[@leighbird8220]

Just shy of 2 grand, called ‘deluxe’ yet comes with UT heads 😬

[@paistefever]

makes sense, but I suspect it's due to global shut downs with the plague 2020 :)

[@senorphilipe4242]

UT?

[@MrRadioKing]

@@senorphilipe4242 Remo UT = Lower quality Made in China heads vs Remo USA.

[@Imaddrums]

This kit sounds sick! will yall review a Tama starclassic maple at some point? Im curious to hear your thoughts on it!

[@AndyPutt1]

I wonder if they offer this configuration but with a 16" floor tom. Great to see the tone controls, the proper T-Rods on the bass drum with the proper handles, way better than those awful ones that require a key that have become omnipresent. cymbal arm on bass drum is also awesome. Sucks it doesn't have a bass drum tom mount. For that I'd probably settle for one of the original old models in favour.

[@drummermatt9542]

Great review and nice sounding cymbals

[@jas_bataille]

People comments are killing me. I learned that being snob when it comes to Luan is plain ignorant. First of all, Luan AKA Philipino Mahogany sounds just as good as African Mahogany in a drum shells. I kind of have a "real" mahogany drum set BTW. This ain't cabinet making or anything solid wood. Second of all, there are different grades of Luan. Some Luan IS used for high-end wood work. And at the end of the day... 1) It sounds absolutely amazing. 2) Those were never "cheap" drums. The President series was available in phenolic resin shells and Luan shells, always. It was the first full-on professional high-end kit that Pearl produced. 3) The ironic thing about those drums being seen as "less resonant" is that they are resonant and controlled. In practice, this means they're going to have a much better resonance and placement in the mix than shells that are over-resonant from the get go, which end up getting covered in random fluo goo (Moongels) that fuse to your heads in the Vans Warped Tour summer heat. It's kind of ridiculous at this point. .Besides, those come with : internal dampeners, black dot heads as stock (!!!), a gorgeous cymbal holder, and that chrome quality is totally wordclass. Honestly... I'd take this kit over anything for twice the money. Even DW collectors. Even George way. I'm serious...! Internal dampening, one less cymbal stand, AND freaking black dots as *stock heads*?!! YES please. This is a working drummer/sound engineer dream!

[@billytrance6893]

What size ride cymbal is the drummer using in this video? GREAT drums!

[@drumsanddrumming]

Great drums. Love their looks too

[@dancalabrese3523]

It's interesting how Pearl mounted a holder for the ride cymbal on the bass drum but not for the rack tom. Since this is a "retro" kit I would think a tom mounted on the bass drum would be an option (or standard). The drums sound good but I can't understand why any Japanese company would want to back to a time period when their drum products were considered sub standard (which these drums certainly don't seem to be)?

[@senorphilipe4242]

It’s because the ‘cheap drum’ sound of the early 60’s is back in… that luan is not a real mahogany species - it’s porous and not dense… this means les resonance and a dryer sound… people like Joey Waronker are pushing that sound - it’s why C&C drums have the player date 1 kit made of the exact same material . The difference now is that people are pairing that old tone wood with modern construction and hardware standards - you now get that warm, drier and less resonant sound but with good tuning stability and longevity etc

[@jas_bataille]

​@@senorphilipe4242 I was like you, then I learned that being snob when it comes to Luan is plain ignorant. First of all, Luan AKA Philipino Mahogany sounds just as good as African Mahogany in a drum shells. I kind of have a "real" mahogany drum set BTW. This ain't cabinet making or anything solid wood. Second of all, there are different grades of Luan. Some Luan IS used for cabinet making. And at the end of the day... 1) It sounds absolutely amazing. 2) Those were never "cheap" drums. The President series was available in phenolic resin shells and Luan shells, always. It was the first full-on professional high-end kit that Pearl produced. 3) The ironic thing about those drums being seen as "less resonant" is that they are resonant *and* controlled. In practice, this means they're going to have a much better resonance and placement in the mix than shells that are over-resonant from the get go, which end up getting covered in random fluo goo (Moongels) that fuse to your heads in the Vans Warped Tour summer heat. It's kind of ridiculous at this point. I'd take this kit over anything for twice the money. Even DW collectors. Even George way. I'm serious...! Internal dampening, one less cymbal stand, AND freaking black dots as *stock heads*?!! YES please. This is a working drummer/sound engineer dream!

[@WxkR]

@@jas_bataille I agree with most of what you say except in one point. It is great that this kit saves you one cymbal stand, but makes you buy/carry a tom stand. I do like that in aesthetic terms but it is not practical if you have to move the kit frequently. Regarding hardware, kits like the Sonor AQ2 with a bass mount for tom and cymbal seem a more pragmatic option, but in terms of sound and looks, I do not think they can compete with this Pearl.

[@matthewmore6893]

Im trying to decide between 20 or 22 configuration. What does everyone think. I have a 22 mahogany kit now im a light hitter and play different stuff blues classic etc. I wish the tom on 22 mounted and was 12 instead of 13. Any help appreciated

[@johnweyers2685]

This kit sounds like my first kit that I got in the mid 60s. It was a Pearl kit. Honestly it kinda sucked. And at that price you can get a Gretsch Renown kit with Toms and snare that have real SOUND. Maple not luan.

[@as5a900]

Beautifully tuned

[@Will-fh7ll]

This or 20" catalina club?

[@osianjones3694]

The the shell pack come with the Tom stand?

[@bgnPrinceton]

No, only hardware is cymbal arm for the bass drum, and bass drum spurs. And of course floor tom legs.

[@avramnovorra]

I feel the snare could have used an ambassador for this but sounds good over all

[@motodrummer]

what is flat based hardware?

[@bgnPrinceton]

The legs actually sit flat on the floor, not like a pyramid.

[@DennisJohnsonDrummer]

Please delivery this to my home this week. I promise I will pay you. Ha!

[@JDFaulky]

The L on that Pearl logo looks like a nude lady silhouette from a semi truck mud flap.

[@M123OCT]

The logo on the bass drum is virtually illegible. Perr? Perry? Pear?

[@macadoo2530]

Perv

[@Tyl-Fiedler]

Great Review

[@chrishansen3740]

Love mine!

[@mrnegronis]

Here's my review: for the most part, the drums sound good. I like the 12" tom in particular. It has a nice tone and it's being mounted on a snare stand so that makes it more impressive. The snare sounds decent considering the head it's fitted with. The floor tom is a bit wobbly sounding but that's probably because you guys may have tuned it too low for it's size. A 16" drum may do the trick for that tuning. The elephant in the room is that this is basically an Export kit. They use a vintage wrap and lugs but ultimately it's the same thing. Lauan is a soft inexpensive wood found on many beginner kits. Other than the air suspension floor tom legs, there's no impressive hardware on here either. That snare strainer looks like it wouldn't last a whole tour. The interesting thing is because they market this as a vintage limited edition or whatever, they charge an extra 1000 pounds. On the sum of it's parts, it's a 600 pound drum set in the best of circumstances. They don't even throw in a single braced tom cymbal combination stand for the mounted tom. Export kits come with necessary tom mounting hardware. Why doesn't this kit? The worst of it is the fact that there's no USA made drumheads on here. For 1600 pounds, that's inexcusable. So, I really think Pearl is taking advantage of the public with this kit's pricing. You can take an Export kit; strip and re wrap it and basically have the same thing

[@BolchenTheDrummer]

Well, we can say the same about every ludwig Jazz Festival snare, which is basically 90% poplar and 10% mahogany and it costs more than 700 bucks, way more than an Omar Hakim Signature Snare, which is basically all african mahogany. The point is: You are not paying for the composition of drum shell, but for the finish, construction and technology. Every vintage drum has basically a little ply of "noble wood" inner and out and the rest is Poplar, Lauan or even worse than that (I have a 1968 Jazz Festival Snare. I can garantee to you that is basically a poplar snare with Mahogany inner and out). If you want vintage drum set or something like that, you need to stick with these kind of turndowns about shell composition, but, in return, you have to be very restrict about drum construction, which Pearl is obviously the benchmark on this category.

[@mrnegronis]

@@BolchenTheDrummer OK so you wanna do this. Here’s the basic facts: back in the 60s the industry very rarely advertised the makeup of the shells. They advertised the configuration and the finish. They made more of a thing about sizes than they did about wood. By the 80s they started promoting the wood plies and so forth. I never said this was a shit drum set. If you bothered to read the whole comment you'll notice I said it sounded pretty good. The point of the comment was that I said it was 1000 overpriced based on the sum of the parts. Nowadays, we as consumers know the components of drum products better than we did years ago. So it would behoove the corporations to be honest about what they're selling and not try to swindle the customer with fanciful innuendo. Your claim about paying for the finish, construction and technology is nonsense. You also said something about “restrict of construction” which is contrary to your point. These shells are likely made on the same machines as any other Pearl kit and the cost of the wood itself is likely next to nothing considering Pearl is probably getting a bulk deal on it anyway. Likewise, the plastic wrap is not going to add to the overall cost so drastically that they have to charge an extra 1000. Industry standard wrap material is made in Italy. Pearl is paying what any other company is paying for the coverings. Notice how Pearl is marketing these drums: they're saying "Lauan shells for the vintage sound." They're not saying "Lauan shells; the same as our Export line that sells for 1000 less." Something to think about. It's all marketing. Pearl are the kings of fluff advertising. I’d fancy having a set of these but I’m not paying 1600 quid for Lauan shells. Pearl didn’t even bother to put USA heads on them. For the profit margin they’re making, that’s disgraceful. Since they’re blustering on the vintage thing, they should have put Remo or Aquarian vintage style heads which would have added some value for the customer. Does it bother you that there is no hardware? For the price there should be a combination stand if nothing else for the tom. Or they should have gone and included a set of flush based stands for cymbals, snare and the tom. The shop is highlighting your comment because they want to sell these kits and I'm bringing up inconvenient information

[@BolchenTheDrummer]

@@mrnegronis You are not wrong, but pretty much every drum brand has this "scam" of selling "Pseudo-Vintage Drums" for expensive prices. The point is, the argument to buy a Ludwig Jazz Festival is as valid as to buy a President Snare. Jazz Festivals are basically Overpriced Pearl Igniters. And I am not counting with the QC issues that Ludwig is famous for (And Drummer's review pointed it on Ludwig Neusonic Review).

[@drummer083]

The lack of tom mount on the bass drum is a deal breaker. I hate having to shell out money for a kit and then having to do my own carpentry.

[@senorphilipe4242]

Bass drum rings better

[@abigailcliff3522]

Looks a nice kit but not keen on the logo

[@macadoo2530]

Terrible looking! 😄

[@AppleGroveMusic]

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🥁🥁🥁

[@balddrummer8736]

I love the looks of the kit, but I think they could have used maple or birch or something!! The price is silly for what you are getting! Come on pearl!

[@senorphilipe4242]

The whole point of it is the characteristic sound of luan mahogany

[@IJoeSimmonsI]

Yep, get a cheap 90's luan kit and put 2.3 mm hoops, cs black dot heads on it and you'll achieve the same result for more than $1000 less. $1500 for these? I love pearl, they are in my top two favorite drum makers, but these are $800 drums.

[@N0j0lymusic]

Wicked

[@ronaldzeoli7528]

Sorry but I think they're an expensive set of luan mahogany drums

[@senorphilipe4242]

C&C player date 1’s are luan….

[@tonyvinesmusic]

1600 lbs.....luan?.....lol.

[@senorphilipe4242]

C&C player date 1’s are luan…

[@jas_bataille]

You should know better as a craftman. High end Luan is actually used in plenty of high-end wood work. It sounds just as good as "real" mahogany (I should know; I have a kit in African mahogany, and unless you go solid-shell the difference is the colour and quite frankly nothing else in practice).Besides, those come with : internal dampeners, black dot heads as stock (!!!), a gorgeous cymbal holder, and that chrome quality is totally wordclass. Go on and snob Luan all you want : for drum shells, it's one of the best wood in the world. I don't care that it's cheaper. It's also much better for the environment.

[@marshallhammond9933]

Please Pearl, don't put this awful vintage logo on the front bass drum head of your beautiful drums

[@dr.strange.2655]

Luan Shells? No thanks.

[@sarasandoval771]

Not familiar with luan shells. Is that bad wood?

[@ohrid59mk76]

why ??? luan is great sounding and very underatted shells material !

[@senorphilipe4242]

C&C use it