Midtown vs Breakbeats

[Drumbum675]

I'd like some honest opinions on the Midtown drums vs the Quest Love Breakbeats kit. I've been looking at both since I want a kit this size for a small practice kit. I've seen the Ludwig kit in person, but haven't seen the Pearl kit in person. They are priced the same, except the Ludwigs come with bags (if that is what you want to call them) and Pearl does not. Pearl has wood kick hoops as opposed to plastic on the Ludwig. Ludwig has better looking hardware and a 14 inch snare. Ludwig also has better colors to choose from and the wrap seems to have a deeper nice sparkle. The Ludwig red and black/gold sparkle looks alot nicer than the Pearl wrap. Seems like Pearls wraps on the lower end lines are flat, one-demensional and cheap looking.

I've been a pretty dedicated Pearl customer for almost 15 years with a Reference Pure kit and a Masters kit. I'm leaning toward the Pearl, but want opinions from people that have used, or at least seen both.

The other option is to price out and build my own, since I used to build custom drums.

[pearlygates]

I'd like some honest opinions on the Midtown drums vs the Quest Love Breakbeats kit. I've been looking at both since I want a kit this size for a small practice kit. I've seen the Ludwig kit in person, but haven't seen the Pearl kit in person. They are priced the same, except the Ludwigs come with bags (if that is what you want to call them) and Pearl does not. Pearl has wood kick hoops as opposed to plastic on the Ludwig. Ludwig has better looking hardware and a 14 inch snare. Ludwig also has better colors to choose from and the wrap seems to have a deeper nice sparkle. The Ludwig red and black/gold sparkle looks alot nicer than the Pearl wrap. Seems like Pearls wraps on the lower end lines are flat, one-demensional and cheap looking. I've been a pretty dedicated Pearl customer for almost 15 years with a Reference Pure kit and a Masters kit. I'm leaning toward the Pearl, but want opinions from people that have used, or at least seen both. The other option is to price out and build my own, since I used to build custom drums.

Well. I have looked at the Ludwigs actually. I made my choice on the Pearl Midtown based on a couple different factors. The first being Pearl's dedication to building quality instruments seemingly across all their product lines. The edges are superb for a drum set at this price point. Chrome bits are equally nice. The wraps on the Pearl vs Ludwig were a non factor to me. I got my kit in the black gold color which looks jet black at a distance but shimmers beautifully up close and I'm will to bet under stage lighting. Ludwigs wraps do look great, but again. Non factor for me. The bags that come with the Breakbeats are brushed nylon with cinch cords and aren't good for anything more than storing your kit or using them as muffling appliances. I also like the fact that Pearl makes all their own shells, castings and hardware bits in THEIR own factory. Ludwigs are sourced out of other factories. To me, this translates a tighter rein on quality control for Pearl. The sound that this kit produces is pretty amazing. The kick drum is punchy as one would expect and while it only has 6 lugs per side sounds really good for its size! I was immediately taken on the responsiveness of the drum it as a whole. The snare drum is snappy and feels great! For my money, knowing what I know about Pearl.. It was a no brainier. Trust me when I say that for the same cash outlay, the Pearl is a clear winner... I have spent a small amount of time playing the Breakbeats kit and it sounds pretty decent, but I prefer owning the Pearl for the peace of mind knowing that if I were to have an issue, I have Pearls amazing customer service backing their products. Hope this helps.

[Drumbum675]

Great info. Made my choice easier. Thanks.

[pearlygates]

Great info. Made my choice easier. Thanks.

My pleasure. Let us know what you decide. And we will need pics. Cheers.