a few questions about Pearl's design ideas/warranty

[Onthisday]

Hi everyone Im just posting this one again so Pearl can answer since the NAMM show is out of the way.

I've been playing for about 3 years now, and now my old Premier Cabrias aren't cutting it anymore, I've been gradually collecting Zildjian A and K Customs and Pearl hardware for a couple of years, and now I want to get a new kit.

I have 2 grand of my hard earned cash to spend (that's probably getting on for $3000 US, but money probably goes nowhere near as far in the UK as over there )

Anyway, I've been reading up on the net about a lot of different companies top of the line stuff, and also on design philosophies and contributing factors to the sound of drums, and I've also been watching here for a few months. Anyway, I have a few questions that hopefully some of the Pearl people or others could answer:

What's the reason for the overlapping seams and scarf joints on Pearl drums? What are the benifits?

Are Pearl drums finished on the inside with a sealer or anything else like that? If so then why and if not then why not?

Are the inside of drums on Pearl kits smoothened or sanded or anything like that?

I read on the website somewhere that Pearl shells are gapless and don't feature straight butt joints, but I've seen Pearl shells in shops (even on expensive kits) that look they have had gaps filled with some kind of yellowy filler, especialy around the joints. What is this?

I've also seen what look like butt joints at random points in the plies, the wood colour just changes from light to dark in a perfectly straight line. Are these butt joints?

Some Pearl kits I've seen (also some expensive ones) look like they have a messy seam inside the shell, like they are cut off a tiny bit early at the top or bottom, and there's like white residue around the seams and they're finished roughly. It looks bad. Why is this?

Is there any particular reason as far as sound goes for the placement of air vents? Most of the Pearl drums I've seen have them about half way down, but I read on a few sites that some companies have them at the bottom of the drum so that the air pressure from the top head can go all the way down the drum before escaping, which gives a fuller sound or something. Is the position of the air vents in the middle and the use of lugs with two screws (instead of one) just for conveneince in manfactuging?

How come there is only a three year warranty on Pearls top of the range drums, most companies have at least five years or even longer on their top notch gear. I've read a lot here about Pearl making great quality drums, but Ive aslo seen a few nasty stories about bent hoops and rough bearing edges, and cracked finished etc. If the drums are really well built then why is there a comparatively short warranty?

With my budget I get almost any kit I think, but I see Pearl make a few kinds of Masters kits? I play in a rock band, kind of like The Appleseed Cast, Saves the Day and At the Drive-In, and I like a punchy bass drum without any click, just a nice deep tone, toms that respond fast but sound deep and resonate moderately, and a snare with a medium high pitched kind of sound but still with some body and meat. Which Masters drums would suit me if I get a Pearl kit?

I know that probably sounded like the Spanish Inquisition, but it's important that I know so I can make the right choice.

Thanks

[TLD]

Well heres the simple answer.

Pearl Masters will at least compete and in most cases beat the sound of other drumsets. As for durability, horror stories don't just happen with Pearls, every drum company has its horror stories. If they're good enough for the likes of some of the guys on the Pearl roster, then I'm sure they will satisfy your needs without a hitch. And if you have a horror story, Pearl's forum offers great customer support. Cheers.

[dogdrink]

i thought this exact same post was put up just a few weeks ago?
why dont you email or call pearl for so many and such specific questions.
spence

[Gene Okamoto]

Onthisday,

When you first posted, I spent an hour answering every question but when I clicked "submit reply" it went poof...gone! With NAMM I didn't have time to revisit your questions. Please give me a day or two or three to try to get back to you. I retured from NAMM with over 400 emails and I'm trying to catch up plus there's a lot of other stuff going on here.

[Stu]

Plus he is busy getting ready to post the pictures, right? Wink wink!;)

[Gene Okamoto]

I apologize for the delay.

1) We overlap our seams for superior strength and to create shells with no gaps and no air pockets. Our scarf jointed seams have considerably more surface area for the glue to bond compared to butted seams, where just the squared ends meet, thus they have greater strength. Because our seams overlap there are no gaps in the shell and no gaps means that there are no air pockets to impede the flow of vibration throughout the shell. Air is a wonderful insulator. Double paned windows have dead air between the panes to provide insulation from temperature and noise. Recording studios are built with a room within a room with dead air in between the rooms to insulate the studio from outside noise. What may be great for windows and recording studios is not what we want as drummers. We DON’T want to impede the flow of sound; instead we want to promote it! By using overlapping seams our shells have no gaps and no air pockets that can stop vibration therefore our shells vibrate fully and uniformly for ultimate sound and isn’t that what you want?

2) Pearl drums are dusted with a sealer to prevent moisture from entering the shells. But even without the sealer our shells are highly moisture resistant. During the forming process, our molds are heated to the boiling point of the glue. Then the shells are compressed under 1000 pounds per square inch pressure. The combined effect literally boils and compresses the glue into every pore of the wood for thorough shell adhesion and moisture resistance…”where the glue is, moisture isn’t.” As a matter of fact, the world record for underwater drumming was set on a Pearl BLX kit in 1992 in Rotterdam, Holland. After the event, the kit was fished out and dried and is still in perfect condition and in use today. If Pearl drums can withstand this kind of extreme exposure to moisture imagine what how they can hold up under normal use!

3) Yes, all Pearl drums are sanded smooth on the inside.

4) I’m not sure what you mean here. Do you have a photo?

5) I’m not sure what you mean here either. Can you please be more specific?

6) The white residue is excess glue that should have been cleaned more thoroughly before passing the QC station. The seam you’re describing is exactly that, it was cut a little short. If we used butt joints, there would be an air pocket in that drum, but because we use scarf joints, the worse that can happen is an “ugly” seam. Which would you rather have, a gap that degrades the sound of your drum or a solidly constructed drum with great sound?

7) The late Al Duffy, the inventor of the chain drive pedal and a host of Pearl’s products, conducted many experiments with the location and size of air vents. From his research he concluded that 6 air vents was optimum for our marching snare drums and bass drums. On drumset drums, he concluded that one air vent, generally in the middle, was ideal. About a year ago, Raymond Massey and checked his findings by drilling three air vents in a tom (top, middle, and bottom) and by using plugs, we systematically plugged and unplugged them in all possible combinations. We concluded that Al was right: one in the middle is ideal.

Regarding the screws, I don’t know what you mean. Two screws, like we use, takes more time to assemble than one screw.

8) It’s not the length of the warranty that matters; it’s how well you stand behind it. There are a couple of car companies who are using long warranties to combat their notoriously bad reputation for quality. From a marketing stand point that’s not a bad idea but would you buy one of their cars knowing their reputation for bad quality just because the warranty was long? Wouldn’t you rather own a product, like Pearl, that has a reputation for quality and is the winner of the Modern Drummer Magazine poll for the Best Customer Service? We stand behind the products that we sell and that’s the bottom line!

9) The staff favorite here at Pearl USA is the Masters 6 ply maple because it projects well without mics, has a wide tuning range, and blends nicely with any style of music. Our 6-ply birch is a favorite with Forum members because it blends great low-end punch with high-frequency cut and is affordably priced. If you want the ultimate in low frequencies, the MHX Masters African Mahogany is the only choice, however, if you play in high volume situations, you may need to invest in some mics as these drum are best suited for near field applications.

[calumc]

Regarding warranty/quality - I've had an entry level forum series kit for more than 4 years - being entry level I didnt expect it to last that long, especially with 4 kids in the house (and all their friends). So far, the only problem I've had is a broken snare strainer - one of the kids over tightened it and the rivet snapped (surprisingly it wasn't the snares) - despite me having had the kit for 2 years, I went to a music shop (not even the one I bought it from) who contacted Pearl and got me a new one, for free. As far as quality goes, Ive only just had to replace the original heads a month ago, everything else is still in pretty much perfect condition. Excellent quality & customer service, even on their cheapest products.

[snowsyd]

I spent months combing over websights, magazine articles and music stores looking to spent my money on the perfect kit. I looked at everything and finally decided on either an dw collectors kit or a masters. I decided on the dw because they seemed to be the hottest kit at the time. I went back to the store to get them and the salesperson talked me into the Pearls. She sold me on the fact that Pearls quality and customer service are the best that she has seen. Not to mention the fact that the master cost less.

I'm glad I listened to her.

[Onthisday]

In reply to Gene Okamoto.

1,2,3. Err,sounds good. Interesting info.
4. I dont have the pictures but its been there around the joins on many of the Pearl kits Ive seen around shops and stores. Its just small yellow areas where the wood plys overlap each other, like its filler filling in some kind of gap.

5. Like I said,the ply itself (not from one ply to the next) just changes colour randomly from light to dark, in a straight line, like it's some kind of seam in the middle of nowhere.

6. If it should have been better cleaned then why wasnt it?If anything Id rather have a well finished neat looking interior of the drum that sounded good with no gaps rather than it being messy. Surely not every other companies drums that have normal seams have gaps in?

7.Cool,just I read on a few drum sites (I think there was Nobel and Cooley and GMS drumsplus possibly some other sites) that they place 2 or 3 vents at the bottom, sometimes under lugs so the air travels all the way down the shell before escaping.

I just wondered weather 2 screws in each lug would make for less resonant and fullness because there are more holes and obstructions in the shell,I read something about along those lines on a couple of other sites as well.

8.) Maybe your right about that but I heard Mapex for one offers, like, a limited lifetime warranty? Most other companies seem to have 5 or 6 year warrantys too at the least. Surely if Pearl were totally confident in their reliability and quality of their drums theyd have a longer warranty? I'm not sure about that one

9.) MRX sounds like it might be the best bet. I can get a reasonable deal on Tama Starlcassics thgouh, and I think I prefer some of the finish options they have, I tried out a really nice Tama that sounded brilliant in Cardiff when I was there to see my girlfriend at Uni last weekend. The Pearl's in there looked nice too but there were none set up on the floor. I think I prefer Tama's, nothing against Pearl but I'm not sure about them really. Im not entirely convinced, and everyone has Pearl kits, it'd be cool to be unique.
Thanks anyway

[calumc]

Out of curiosity i had a look at the inside of my forum series shells, but cant see any of what was described - no filler, no sudden changes from one colour to the next and perfectly smooth wood all round. I think you're dreaming mate, if the shells of a cheap kit like mine are perfect, then I don't see how any of the more expensive kits would have the problems you described.