Any Pacific Drums worth it?

[Marshmallow Jones]

Finally going to upgrade my old Tama Swingstar, I have read a bit on here about supposedly shoddy construction of the PDP kits. Is this also in their higher-end kits like the LX? I am starting to look for a new kit (have about $1200-$1500 to spend) and wondering if I should even consider pdp. I play rock, but I am more of a fan of smaller mounted toms with a decent ring, don't really care for the double-floor tom set up. I saw a Mapex 6 piece with 8-10-12 mounted toms that looked decent too.

[maddrummr]

Well i have also seen the poor construction stories on this forum. I am a PDP owner myself and I love the sound and the finishes are stellar. If you dont want your kit to sound like crap...try it out first at a store and examine it. Thats my best advice for avoiding poorly constructed kits.

[DrummerMom]

I am also a PDP owner. Same kit as maddrummr only a slightly different configuration.

The drums are fine (I've heard the hardware is horrible) I use Pearl hardware.

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

They're so variable... they're only worth it IMO if the quality is good. If there's a bad part of the kit the whole package is let down, sadly it seems to happen all too often. I'm not a fan of the hardware either. There's plenty of other kits out there at the same price range that ARE well made.

[SketcHyRollin564]

The mapex sets seem to be the best deal, as far as sound, quality, finishes, and hardware. They have ROCK solid hardware. PDP is great too, i have a 6 piece blue FS. The construction issues were fixed with the newer pdps with the STM mounts, so you shouldnt have to worry much about that. The drums sound great, but it wouldnt hurt to try out all the kits your considering

[bonzo49]

look at mapex pro m's. not got or tried one but if they are as good as the BP they'll be good.

[Frank M]

I must admit, I was scepticle at first with the PDP,s before I purchased my red MX kit. I pack and unpack that kit in my truck 2x a week and I have nothing but good things to say about the the whole kit. my advise would be if you were to buy them is, use the evans ec2 heads on the toms, and dw5000 series hardware. you will LOVE the sound of those drums. the tom mounts work very well by the way.

[eightill]

I don't post much... just enjoy reading and learning mostly... but I must chime in on this one.

Man, I've had a PDP CX kit for a few years and I wish I would have went w/ something else. I'm saving up for a truly custom kit that I deserve now... the hardware on the Pacifics are excellent... the bearing edges are poor. They don't put love into things like that w/ the the Pacific line. Maybe the LX line is different... I bet it is actually. Doesn't matter what heads I put on this kit, I am not happy w/ the sound. And it's not a matter of not being able to tune properly, trust me. Look into the LXs if anything.

Peace,

[dingbat]

I think alot of the bad rep that PDP has regarding it bearing edges is mainly on the CX line. In the past I had both an LX and CX, the LX had very true well finished edges (ask McBrain, I sold him the kit) with the drums sounding very good and tuned up well, the CX had some problems with the edges and did not take to tuning as well as the LX. The CX has the wrap covering going all the way up to the edges on top and bottom, they actually are part of the outer edge. Actually from an MD article highlighting PDP a few years ago, the wrap is applied wider than the actual shell, and the technician has to cut the excess wrap off by hand using some sort of powered blade/cutting device. Once the excess wrap is cut off, the bearing edges are applied. Regardless of whether the edges are cut by hand (doubtful) or by machine, the wrap can interfere. The wrap is overlapped at the ends, with the inner portion resting in a shallow channel/depression that is milled into the shell - when the router is cutting the edge in this area, the outer portion of the wrap is slightly raised, effectively causing a "bump" in the router action which can result in a poor edge on that particular section of the drum, which can affect tuning. This is such a simple fix, I cannot understand why PDP cannot just cut the wrap to size, about 0.5 to 1.0 cm shorter than the edges on both sides of the shell before application, so that no contact or interference is encountered by the router - almost all the other manufactuers who apply a wrap do this. The non-wrapped drums in PDP's lineup do not have this issue. As far as the rest of the drum, including lugs, suspension mounts, tension rods etc... I can't find any fault.

[fourstringdrums]

I have a PDP shell pack that's for sale (in my sig). These IMO are on the better end of the QC spectrum when it comes to Pacifics. No bearing edge or seam problems. They tune easily and seem to be better than what alot of people have experienced.

[SketcHyRollin564]

again, it could be what i just said. Ive heard many times that PDP has had this problem frequently in the past, but they have been fixed with there newer line (where the FS includes STM mounts). Back when even the LX had grestch style mounts, they had issues too. With there newer lineup, this problem has been fixed, and it willl be really rare to find out your new drums have this problem.

Again, i have a 6 piece FS, and i absolutley love it. It sounds phenominal, and the finish looks great. Ive personaly inspected the bearing edges, and they are fine.

but like i said in my last post, conisder trying out all the differnt kits you might get, because that wont hurt. The mapex pro M seems to be the best bang for the buck on the market. Sounds amazing, the finishses are nice, the hardware is ROCK solild, even on there lower entry level lineup, and i like there ITS suspension mounts. They dont come in contact with the tension rods, which would interfear with tuning.


anyways, good luck