Midnight Fade Quirks (long)

[casonc]

So I go to order my new MRX kit from my local music shop (Caldwell Music in Abilene, TX). I open up the masters catalog and check out the colors and I fell in love with the midnight fade. I also checked it out on the Pearl website from the first set of NAMM pics where the midnight fade kit was featured. I decided to order a kit...a large kit to be exact! Here are the sizes depth X diam: Bass 14X18 and 16X22...Toms 8X10 9X12 11X14 13X16...Snare 5.5X14 plus an icon rack and all the top-of-the-line booms, tom mounts, and hi-hat stand. A couple months after the order date I visit a guitar center in Dallas. Upon entering the drum room I am blindsided by the ACTUAL color of midnight fade! Why is it that every picture I see of this glorious midnight fade is a rich blue shade and when I see in it real life it is in no question purple? I went back to the masters paper catalog and checked out the pics and all of them are blue...maybe purple but I wrote it off as being the purple gels on the lights (as seen reflected in the cymbals). My question was...Now what am I supposed to do? I called Pearl and talked to a rep named Mike Sparacino who told me that the color is indeed purple, but Ron Reed (the color guy) could more than likely load some blue tint in instead of purple for a true blue to black fade at no extra charge. I told this to the guy at Caldwell's. Upon consulting with his Dealer Rep, he was told that Mike Sparacino had lost his mind! So what am I to do now? My drums are not to be delivered until Nov. 25th and now...after being so long misled by the Pearl catalogs I am 'stuck' with this purple drumset. Please...tell me what I can do!

[TLD]

Midnight fade is a stunning color. Glad you like it.

[Stu]

This is no help to you , but I agree, the first time I saw Midnight Fade in person I was surprised how purple it was.

[GMSDrummer]

carl seems to have a good rate of success with these kinds of order/mis-understanding problems. he's especially hard on dealerships...

[Stu]

Maybe not 'hard' GMSDrummer - just firm but fair I'd say!!:)

[Carl Peterson]

CASONC,
I'm very sorry you were mislead.The last thing Pearl wants to do is misrepresent any of our products..Sometimes,photos from printers come out a different shade on paper.I've seen it myself where a picture looks more blue than purple or vise versa.

As far as your kit is concerned,if you don't want it,you can cancel it. The last thing I want to hear is YOU being unhappy everytime you go to lay down a groove.Color to me is a very important issue also..I've played kits and said"Man this kit rocks,but ya know that pink lacquer just isn't cutting it"..

If you deceide this really is not the color, we will not hold you to it OK? Pearl makes an awesome array of colors. Heres a pic of Midnight Fade..Examine it...It truly is very hot,and a very popular color. If you really don't want it, let me know ASAP.

Pearl will do whatever it takes to see you're TOTALLY satisfied with your purchase..Please contact me directly via email or PM.


Very truly yours,
Carl Peterson

[Vinny Ozborne,]

I allways considered MF to have a purple base. Even before I saw it in real life. I purchased a Plat Mist MRX, but had MF been out when I got it I would of gone for that. If I were you I would sick with MF, there are not going to be many of them out there & it will look amazing on stage.

[cp999]

casonc, i had the exact same problem, i ordered midnight fade and then i heard that was actually purple, at first i thought about cancelling my order, then i just thought about what it would be like to see it in person and that made me stick with it, its gonna be a great color, i cant wait for my set

[casonc]

To Vinny and cp999...
Guys...I don't need advice on whether or not to keep the color. I've seen it in real life with chrome and with black hardware and I don't care for it too much. I agree, its a very rich and beautiful purple...but thats just it. Its purple. I don't want purple drums, regardless of what is said about how good they look on stage.

[Nez]

I had a similar struggle with the Cobalt mist colour in the Export Select range - the colour selector on the Pearl site shows it as looking quite blue, but in the flesh (wood?) it's really quite purple. As I'd heard rumours to this effect, I was determined to see the colour in person before I made up my mind (even though I ended up travelling around 400 miles from home to achieve this!)
I'm glad I did though - the colour is fabulous and I'm not disappointed.
The moral is - get a look first if at all possible....
Hope you find a colour you like!

[GrooveMaster]

One of my monster rigs is a Midnite Fade BRX...I must say that sometimes they are a tad on the purpleish side, they are mostly black and blue...maybe it's my lighting, but I've also taken them out and they look really blue to me...i don't know, maybe it's me, but I love it...it's one of my favortie finishes (next to vintage fade)

[MikeB]

I wonder why Pearl doesn't sell colour tablets? Ayotte does, and they are awesome. For a few bucks each you get sent a piece of wood that has the colour painted on it just like it would be on the drums. I think they should actually give them to dealers. Where I shop the store has a Yamaha snare drum with sections painted in all the colour of the Maple Custom range. And it has examples of all of their lugs on the stand the snare shell is on. It's cool.

[Stu]

I like the idea of color samples...they may have to be bigger though for fades...

[JediJesse]

Ayotte does... :rolleyes:

[mofo_knows]

The picture looks more blue than it appears in person, on your computer monitor AND when you print it. Color is a function of the lights you use and I found in natural or incandescent light you get more purple than with flourescent. It has to do with the color temperature of the bulb. And, as carl says, printers and computer monitors all bias an image. The only way is to see it in person. I assume, with Pearl's attention to quality, that different MBF kits will look the same.

My advice is see it live before you buy.

For the record, I love it as it is, it is just not what I expected from the advertisements (particularly that Omar Hakim ad that ran about a year ago, which was what convinced me to order the kit in the first place).

Mofo

[MikeB]

If you guys look at that Modern Drummer ad for the Pearl giveaway then you would notice that the colours there seemed on the level with reality.

[BigD NJ]

I feel bad for you man!

I happen to know why these color issues happen with todays technology.

I am a color expert for Sharp electronics. I teach people color copiers, printers ect work.

A word of advise. Always try to find a catologue that has actual color pigmented swatches in it like car or paint catalogues and not color photo copied swatches because color copiers, digital camera'a, printers and monitors all have different ranges of colors that can be accuratly reproduced. That's why we have $200 color printers and $100,000 color copiers

Never trust the color from a photo or digital camera if the picture was taken directly in front of the drum kit. The reflected light when returning to the lens will be filtered and alter the color. Just like looking through a pair of sunglasses with a bluish tint everything looks blue.

Some pictures on the forums actually show the midnight fade in it's true purpulish color because those photos were taken on a slight angle above the kit mininizing the reflective light. Lighting conditions also effect color drasticlly.

The good news for you is to take Carls advise. Pearl will always due the right thing. Their Public relations is second to none.;) ;)

[JMaxey79]

Pearl's customer service is the best I'v dealt with in any company ...... no matter the product....Pearl is awsome......and Pearl is to be trusted.

[Carl Peterson]

CASONC

If these drums dissatisfy you, please call me directly..You can PM me for the number. The last thing we want is for you to be unhappy with ANY Pearl purchase. As long as the drums are in new,unplayed condition,and you have orig boxes and your receipt, I will insure you get exactly what you were looking for.

One of the main ideas here is to help you out. Not only with information in the drumming community, but with problems you may also experience. We are all drummers, so we know the deal with having all our gear being correct..PLEASE do not hesitate to call me..I will do anything in my power to make sure you are a completly satisfied Pearl player!

I'm just wondering why you didn't cancel the order like I suggested in a earlier response..

Thanks for chosing Pearl to make music with you..
Sincerely,

Carl Peterson
MW Division/Pearl Corp USA