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I have both Gibraltar and Pearl racks. My Gibraltar is 16 years old, and still works great. My Pearl Icon is 7 years old and still looks like new.
Gibraltar:
PROS: Has more clamp options, clamps are cheaper, you can angle the clamps to any way around the bar you need, you can use any brands 1.5" diameter clamps or tubing (PDP, Tama, and a few others use this size as well), easier to make custom rack configs since the tubing is readily available in various lengths, easy to cut with a pipe cutter.
CONS: Clamps will slip with any substantial weight in them (trust me they will), unless you get memory locks for every clamp. Also stay away from the cheaper Power series clamps (get the good Road Series they are great), the Power Series clamps just don't hold up like the Road series. The cheaper price is not really cheaper any more, since when you add on the cost of getting the Road Series clamps plus all the memory locks and the clamps just got more expensive than the Pearl. Once you get all the clamps and memory locks on, the rack gets HEAVY!
Pearl:
PROS: Square tubes will NOT slip, No memory locks for clamps needed, super solid and light weight rack.
CONS: Not as many clamp options. Limited angle adjustments with PCX-200 clamps, No angle adjustments with PCX-100. Cutting the rack to customize is a little tricker/more work involved.
Having had both, my preference is the Pearl Icon. There is nothing wrong with the Gibraltar racks, and I would never tell anyone not to buy one, I would just warn them about the clamp series and to always get memory locks. If you take the right precautions the Gibraltar is an excellent choice. But if someone wanted to know which one I would recommend, I would have to recommend the Pearl. It is lighter than my Gibraltar (they both have the same number of wings/clamps/etc., so it is fair comparison), I had slippage issues with my 14 and 16 rack toms and my 22" Ride cymbal. Memory locks fixed the issue, but that goes back to added cost. my Gibraltar also costs more than the comparable Icon.
Bottom line, like everyone else says, you can't go wrong with either, just get the one you like best, just be sure to take a few warning about either one so you know the good and bad of each!
Gibraltar:
PROS: Has more clamp options, clamps are cheaper, you can angle the clamps to any way around the bar you need, you can use any brands 1.5" diameter clamps or tubing (PDP, Tama, and a few others use this size as well), easier to make custom rack configs since the tubing is readily available in various lengths, easy to cut with a pipe cutter.
CONS: Clamps will slip with any substantial weight in them (trust me they will), unless you get memory locks for every clamp. Also stay away from the cheaper Power series clamps (get the good Road Series they are great), the Power Series clamps just don't hold up like the Road series. The cheaper price is not really cheaper any more, since when you add on the cost of getting the Road Series clamps plus all the memory locks and the clamps just got more expensive than the Pearl. Once you get all the clamps and memory locks on, the rack gets HEAVY!
Pearl:
PROS: Square tubes will NOT slip, No memory locks for clamps needed, super solid and light weight rack.
CONS: Not as many clamp options. Limited angle adjustments with PCX-200 clamps, No angle adjustments with PCX-100. Cutting the rack to customize is a little tricker/more work involved.
Having had both, my preference is the Pearl Icon. There is nothing wrong with the Gibraltar racks, and I would never tell anyone not to buy one, I would just warn them about the clamp series and to always get memory locks. If you take the right precautions the Gibraltar is an excellent choice. But if someone wanted to know which one I would recommend, I would have to recommend the Pearl. It is lighter than my Gibraltar (they both have the same number of wings/clamps/etc., so it is fair comparison), I had slippage issues with my 14 and 16 rack toms and my 22" Ride cymbal. Memory locks fixed the issue, but that goes back to added cost. my Gibraltar also costs more than the comparable Icon.
Bottom line, like everyone else says, you can't go wrong with either, just get the one you like best, just be sure to take a few warning about either one so you know the good and bad of each!
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