Pearl ISS mounting system: how good?

[todms]

I'm a beginning drummer. I just bought a used Pearl Export kit on eBay. A friend told me I bought an older set (it has rectangular metal "Pearl Export" label), that didn't have the ISS mounting system, which he explained to me. My question is: does it really matter? Will the sound be that much better with an ISS mount than with a traditional one drilled into the tom? Did I make a big enough mistake that I should consider selling these and buy another one on eBay with the ISS mounts?

[NUTHA JASON]

i.s.s is a pro mounting system. it does make a difference to sound but your money as a beginner would be better spent on lessons and dvds. in a few years if you are still drumming and have made good progress then you can reward yourself with a great kit.

j

[mediocrefunkybeat]

It will only make a difference inasmuch as the resonance of the shell will be decreased slightly with invasive mounts. It's really nothing major and you can still get an excellent sound out of your drums; certainly nothing worth re-selling them for. Good luck with your Pearl.

[cjl71178]

The second drum kit I ever owned was a 7-peice black Pearl Export kit, and it was the older series (rectangular badge) without the ISS mounts and they sounded awesome...I used them on many gigs and even some studio recordings. I loved that kit.

Your toms will resonate more with the ISS mounts, I actually have one of those on my 12" Ludwig rack tom. What's nice about the ISS mount is that you can easily take them off and on with a drum key.

If you ever want to get the ISS mounts further on down the road, Pearl sells them seperately. All you have to do is take your tom mounts that are on your toms now and just attach them to the ISS mounts. Pearl also makes a "plate cover" that will cover up the holes in your toms when you do take the tom mounts off, which do look nice.

I seriously wouldn't sell or get rid of your kit. Stick with it dude and the best of luck to you!

[finnhiggins]

ISS is, IMHO, the worst mounting system ever devised. It is the reason I'm never buying another Pearl, I refuse to buy anything from a company that would ship such a poorly designed piece of hardware with a kit and fail to recall it at their own cost.

Why? Because they put your bloody hoops out of round, that's why.

I had a Pearl Session with ISS mounts back in the 1990s, and the hoops went out of round inside six months, particularly on the 14" tom. In order to even sell the thing for a reasonable price I had to buy new hoops because without it the whole kit sounded apalling. And I'm not a particularly big hitter, either.

Also, as they mount to a very small angle of the hoop they put all the weight of the drum onto about two lugs. That causes those lugs to detune easier, and also forces you to re-tune the drums once you put them on the mounts - if you tune them off the mounts then they'll be out of tune once you mount them.

Add to that the fact that you can't take the heads off without removing the drum from the mount and really they're not worth the hassle. I've owned intrusively-mounted drums too - my main advice there is to try not to get Pearl ones because the intrusive hardware is *huge* (those big solid Pearl tom arms!) and to put the tom as far out on the end of the arm as possible. With things like Yamaha they actually sound fine, there's not a major resonance loss as long as you leave them right out at the end of the arm.

My feeling about that Pearl kit was that I've never in my life been so ripped off on a drum product. Never, ever buying Pearl again...

[give the drummer some]

I agree with the last guy. ISS SUCK!!! I had a Pearl Master Custom that had ISS and all of the hoops got bent. I do not play hard they would just bounce and bend. The new pearl mounting system is decent ( the name escapes me!) Much more realistic as to where it attatches to the drums. I switched to Yamaha and will never look back. The YESS mounts on there kits are first class!! If you are going to buy pearl don't get them with ISS!!!

[BoxcarDrummer182]

hey dipshits, why not try a 4 piece, or a 5 piece with two floor toms, and put your high tom on a snare stand. it so much better. i mean yes the iss isn't the best but, its not the worst. the worst is the old pearl export mountings from the 80's. but for you, i think if you want good drums with good mounting, go with the tama superstar. the starcast system is by far the best with wicked warm and fappy drums. but don't get me wrong, pearl is by far the third best drum companies. 1. dw 2. ocdp.

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

Right... OCDP. Let's not even get started eh?

$10,000 for a badly finished four piece with KELLER shells, that have an overall market value in themselves of about $400?

Blackbeard would have something to say about that.

[Sirwill]

I agree with Mr. Jason. You will be just fine with what you have found on e-Bay. No go practice, then show that buddy of yours how you ROCK!!!!

[OddTimer]

I agree with finnhiggins that the iss isn't the best for a bigger drum like a 14" tom, however I have an 8" and 10" mounted with iss and its works well, you do have to tune them a little more but the 8" is a four lug and the 10" is a five lug so making small tuning adjustments is not a huge deal.

My floor tom is a 13" rack tom clamped to the ride stand. This is also a taller drum, my theory is that when there is much more material for the shell (between a 10 and 13) a traditional tube mount going threw the shell is less of a big deal.

Also the weight of anything bigger than a 10 inch is going to have more affect on the rim, especially a flanged one.

I always like pearl hardware, the tama little right angle stick-ball thing seams to let the drum bounce all over the place

I think what the tom is mounted to is more important than the parts directly touching the tom, I haven't mounted anything to a bass drum in a long time. A bass drum is like a leper, you don't want anything touching it.

[OddTimer]

Side note, I got this Pearl Jungle Jig Floor Tom to Bass Drum Conversion Kit For my 16" Floor tom, its pretty cool but it requires either an iss mount or attaching a rack mounting peice to the shell