Pearl Drums

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The Pearl Musical Instrument Company (パール楽器製造株式会社 Pāru Gakki Seizō Kabushiki-gaisha?) is a world leader in the manufacturing of percussion equipment, including drum kits, hand drums, drum hardware, bass drum pedals, mallet percussion, and other auxiliary percussion instruments. It also makes flutes, taiko drums and cymbals. Pearl's motto is "The best reason to play drums".

Contents

[edit] History

Pearl was founded by Katsumi Yanagisawa, who began manufacturing BANANA! music stands in Sumida, Tokyo on April 2, 1946. In 1950 Katsumi shifted his focus to the manufacturing of drums and named his company "Pearl Industry, Ltd."

By 1953, the company’s name had changed to "Pearl Musical Instrument Company," and manufacturing had expanded to include drum kits, marching drums, timpani, Latin percussion instruments, cymbals, stands, and accessories.

Katsumi’s eldest son, Mitsuo, joined Pearl in 1957 and formed a division to export Pearl products worldwide. To meet increasing worldwide demand for drum kits following the advent of Rock and Roll music, in 1961 Pearl built a 15,000 sq. foot factory in Chiba, Japan to produce inexpensive drum kits which bore the brand names of over thirty distributors like Maxwin, CB-700, Crest, Revelle, Revere, Lyra, Majestic, Whitehall, Apollo, Toreador, Roxy, and Coronet.[1]

In 1965, Mitsuo formulated a long-range plan to bring Pearl to the forefront of the percussion industry. Under this plan, Pearl would 1) develop new products with quality equal to or better than products offered by established brand name companies; 2) install the latest automated machinery in the China factory to increase production; 3) establish a sister factory in Taiwan; and 4) establish a world-wide sales and service network.

As part of this plan, Pearl introduced their first professional drum kit, the "President Series," in 1966, and in 1973, the Pearl Musical Instrument Company of Taiwan became operational.

Today, Pearl’s Taiwanese operation encompasses five factories whose output supplies nearly the entire worldwide market for Pearl products. The original Chiba factory now caters to the domestic Japanese market producing drum kits, marching drums, timpani, and symphonic chimes.

Adams Musical Instruments are sold in the U.S. through Pearl dealers, Hughes and Kettner guitar and bass amplifiers are distributed through Pearl's main warehouse in Nashville, Tennessee and Sabian cymbals are distributed in Japan through Pearl dealers.

Pearl pioneered various bold and inventive drum products. Shells in the 70's were made of a composite called "wood fibreglass." Additionally, Pearl combined roto-toms and these wood-fiber shells to create the vari-pitch line of drums. Other early innovations included shells that were slightly undersized, so that the drumhead would extend over the edges much like a gong drum. Pearl manufactured seamless, extruded acrylic shells that were superior to the tabbed-and-seamed vistalite shells used by Ludwig. Pearl also developed the hinged tube tom-arm: a design widely copied my many other drum manufacturers.

Gene Okamoto cemented his reputation as a very supportive and amiable person to deal with from both artists and Pearl customers (sometimes through Pearl's online forum) alike.

[edit] Construction

Pearl has always been known as a company that made drum shells first and foremost. They made shells for more than 30 companies. In the 1960s, they ceased making shells for other companies, and began manufacturing drums under their own name and used the Pearl logo for the first time.[2] Pearl make all of their drums in their own factories, there is no outsourcing. [3]

Their construction technique is known as SST or "Superior Shell Technology." All Pearl drums feature this construction. Each ply is placed into a cylinder, and pressure is applied from both sides. While in the press, the shell is heated to bring the glue to a boil, thus forcing it through the wood grain and fusing the shells very tightly. The individual plies are scarf jointed, and all the seams are offset, resulting in a “seamless” drum (Pearl demonstrates the strength by parking a Humvee with its tire on a tom shell).[4] This creates a drum shell of incredible strength, albeit a simplistic resonance characteristic.

[edit] Pearl's drum kit line

Pearl’s current line of drum kits includes eight series, ranging from entry level to professional grade, all of them use Pearl's heat compression SST system on the plies. In ascending order, they are:

[edit] Current Line

  • Rhythm Traveler – Traveler's kit. All drums in the kit feature shrunken depths. Package includes cymbals, throne, hardware, mesh heads and cymbal mutes. Rhythm Traveler drums are made with 6 plies (7.5 mm) of "Selected Hardwoods".
  • Forum – Most music stores will sell this kit with cymbals, throne, hardware and drumsticks at no extra charge. Forum drums are made with 6 plies (7.5 mm) of Poplar. Upgraded in January 2008 to FZ - now feature upgrades like ISS mounting. This is to replace the discontinued Export series.
  • Vision - Introduced in 2007, these drums are the replacement for the Export and Session drums. Vision drums originally came in 2 varieties: the VLX Lacquer finish drums, and the VSX Covered finish drums. The shell material is birch and basswood. 6 ply toms: 1 inner ply birch, 4 interior plies basswood, 1 outer ply birch. 8 ply floor toms and kick drums: 2 inner plies birch, 4 interior plies basswood, 2 outer plies birch. These drums are made in China, and also feature new lugs and come with the new 900 series hardware. These were meant to replace the Export drums. In 2008, Pearl introduced new varieties: the VBX with all birch shells and the VMX with all maple shells, and with the birch/basswood shells stopped producing the VLX, but have kept the VSX and also have a new line, the VX, which has Export-style wrapped finishes.
  • Masters Custom - Were introduced for 2007 and offer shells of 6-ply maple. These drums are the replacement for the entire Session line, and have a few differences from the Session kits: They feature Die Cast hoops, Masters-series lugs, and Remo drumheads. They are the same configuration as the Masters Premium MRP kits--but only come with 5 finishes and the only available hardware color is bright chrome. As a result the drums are not made up as "custom" stock, so they are warehoused in large quantities, and the time between order and delivery is much shorter.
  • Masters Premium – Released in January 2007, Masters Premium are 4 lines within this series consisting of, MMP, MRP, BRP, and BMP; they replace the Masters Series. MMP drums feature 4 plies(5.0 mm) of maple with maple reinforcement rings. MRP drums feature 6 plies(7.5 mm) of maple. BMP drums feature 4 plies(5.0 mm) of birch with reinforcement rings. BRP drums feature 6 plies (7.5 mm) of birch. All series offer choice in hardware color (black, gold, chrome--satin hardware has been discontinued for 2007). [1]
  • Reference - Released in January 2006. Pearl has blended wood types together for the toms, snare drums, and bass drums in order to create a unique and fully expressional sound for each individual drum. They are on high demand and are the highest quality that Pearl offers that are not totally custom. In 2008, 27 finishes were available.
  • Masterworks – Pearl's flagship model, hand made drums. Everything including the plies of wood (mahogany, maple, birch, carbon fiber/maple are some of the models), types of hardware material (chrome, 24k gold, black), and finish can be selected by the customer. Satin Chrome was also a hardware option, but has since been discontinued. For an added cost, Masterworks drums can be ordered with an exotic wood outer ply (such as tamo or bubinga) which enhances the finish.[2] Delivery times can run six months.

[edit] Discontinued

  • Export - Pearl’s most popular series of drum kits, also the most popular set ever sold (the one millionth Export kit was produced in 1995). Export drums are made with 6 plies (7.5 mm) of Poplar, and come standard with Pearl's ISS suspension mounting system. As of January 2008, Pearl has discontinued these drums in favor of the new Vision series.
    • Export ECX - In January 2007 Pearl released the all-maple Export Custom ECX series drums. The ECX series feature 4 hand rubbed lacquer finishes and 100% maple shells. However, since January 2008 they have been replaced by the new Vision VMX.
  • Session - Session drums were made from 100% Maple or Birch shells depending on which the customer chose; both were 6-ply (7.5 mm). Session drums came standard with the Optimount suspension system and 2.3 mm Superhoops. Discontinued on January 2008.
  • Masters - Forerunner to the Masters Premium. Shells in Maple (MMX, MRX, MSX), Birch (BRX)and Mahogany (MHX). Most finishes are now available on Masters Premium and/or Reference.
  • MX, MLX & BLX - Preceded original Masters series, with the MX being a wrapped 6ply maple kit, and the MLX and BLX being lacquered 6ply Maple and Birch Kits respectively. Included 2.3 mm Superhoops, through-shell mounting and often came with a steel free-floating snare.
  • World Series - Kits placed between the Exports and MLX & BLX kits, over their time had various shell compositions, came in both wrapped and lacquered models.

[edit] Limited Edition

Over the years, Pearl has released a number of limited edition kits, normally special versions of existing lines:

  • Redline - Redline kits are finished in either solid black or solid white, with matching bacl or white lugs/hoops etc. The rubber gaskets on the lugs and bass drum claws were dyed red, hence the name. Black and white kits came in different size shellpacks. At NAMM 2008, Redline Reference series were released to the US market - Redline MMP kits were released to Europe at the Musikmesse later that year.
  • 50th Anniversary - Original Masters Series, 4 ply birch with reinforcement rings. 24 carat gold- plated lugs. Only 30 kits were made - 10 in Wine Red, 10 in Black Mist, 10 in Emerald Mist. Kits were not sold in the US - only Anniversary style snares.

[edit] Chad Smith's prototype kit

Pearl and CeeLite created a drum kit for Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, incorporating CeeLite's lighting technology to illuminate his Pearl Masters kit on stage. The kit was wrapped with Cee-Lite's flat, flexible Light Emitting Capacitor (LEC) panels which can be programmed to dim, fade and flash. The kit features 6 ply 7.5 mm 100% aged maple shells with chrome hardware. This drum kit uses a Flatline Inverter which shines at 25% brightness throughout the duration of the set. When the drum is struck, the brightness will increase to 100% and decrease back down to 25%. Flash durations also range from 0.2 to 0.4 seconds in order for the illumination to be in sync with 1/16 and 1/32 drum rolls.

Chad first played this kit on NBC's Saturday Night Live on the 5-6-06, and used this kit on the Red Hot Chili Peppers 2006 & 2007 tours.

[edit] Snare Drums

As well as drums kits, Pearl is a renowned producer of snare drums. Lower end kits (Vision series and lower) come standard with snare drums, and higher end series have snares which must be bought separately. Individual snares, as well as artists' signature snares, are also available.

Series snare drums:

  • Forum - comes with matching 14"x5.5" snare as standard.
  • Export - comes with matching 14"x5.5" snare as standard.
  • Vision - VX, VSX, VLX and VBX lines come with a steel SensiTone. VMX comes with a matching maple snare.
  • Masters - Available in all Masters lines and finishes. Ordered separately from kits.
  • Reference - 20 ply wood snares are available in 14x5, 14x6.5 and 13x6.5 sizes. They utilise the same mixed wood technology as other Reference drums, with 6 inner plies of birch and 14 outer plies of maple, and a 45 bearing edge. Metal Reference are also available - 3mm thick seamless cast steel and 3mm thick rolled and welded brass. Both metals are available in 14x5 and 14x6.5 sizes.
  • Masterworks - Masterworks snares can be custom ordered with a kit, or as a separate item. They are available in a wide range of materials, sizes and finishes.

Individual snare drums:

  • SensiTone Elite - SensiTone snares are produced from five metals: steel, stainless steel, brass, phosphor bronze and aluminium. All are available in 14x5 and 14x 6.5 sizes.
  • Ultracast - Made from 3mm aluminium. Designed to produce a balance between metal and wooden shells. Available in 14x5 and 14x 6.5 sizes.
  • Free-Floating - Pearl's Free-Floating concept removes all hardware from the shell, thus allowing you to change the shell as easily as a head. The throw-off, lugs and other hardware are part of the special edge ring which holds the drum and heads together. Shells are available in copper, brass, steel and maple, with depths of 3.5, 5 and 6.5".
  • Symphonic - Made from 6 ply, 7.5mm thick maple, for concert quality snare drums. The throw-off features three separate strainers for thin cable, havy cable and snare wires, allowing a variety of sounds.
  • Firecracker - In 10x5 and 12x5" sizes, Firecracker snares are available in 8 ply Poplar or steel shells.
  • Effects - Include the 10x6" Maple Popcorn snare, as well as thin maple piccolo snares and thick effects snares. All are designed to create sounds unavailable in standard snare drum sizes.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Pearl - The Best Reason To Play Drums
  2. ^ Pearl's History
  3. ^ Pearl's Commitment to Quality
  4. ^ Heat Compression Shell Molding System

[edit] External links