Pacific or pearl?

[Oly!]

Ive been lookin at pearl exports but now ive found pacific, and seen that they look really nice. Im lookin at the pacific fs series, or the pearl export ex.. In your opinions which is a better kit? and What other pacific series should i consider for around $1000? thanx alot

[jeremiah]

There are alot of kits in this range, but I'll stick to the two brands you mentioned for now. If you've got $1000 to spend on a kit and you're looking at Pearl, why are you considering an Export EX (poplar)? They're okay if that's all you can afford, but in that price range you can do much better. Do you need hardware or just a shell pack? The Pearl Visions (birch/ basswood) with hardware or the Pearl Export ECX (maple) shell pack are some options to look into.

Pacific has several kits in this price range also. Again, it depends if you need hardware or just a shell pack. The FS and FX are the same birch shells. The FS has a matte finish, the FX is gloss lacquer. Both are under $1000 with hardware. The X7 kits are also in your price. Not sure exactly on the woods, they list it as hybrid hardwood. It comes as a complete 7 pc kit. Most of their maple kits are gonna run over $1000 with hardware. There are shell packs that fall in your range though. Just like the birch, all of their maple kits are the same shells with different finishes and sizes.

Here's a link to both mfgs and also to another discussion on kits in this range. The best advice as always is to go and play as many kits as you can.

http://www.pacificdrums.com/
http://www.pearldrum.com/pearlusa.asp
http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14778

[Alexisthegreatone]

i dont know much about pacific but i've had a pearl export for about three or four years now and it hasnt let me down !

[maddrummr]

I own a pacific MX and i love it! Great sound love my finish and it performs well. But i have seen the horror stories at my local GC. Bearing edges just not up to par which harms performance. This is why you check stuff out before you buy it and make sure its nice and pretty.

[mlaugh]

I also have a Pacific........so far I am quite happy with the set. With good heads hey can pass for a DW. They also very nice looking


mlaugh

[ledzepjb]

You cant go wrong with Pearl, but instead of the EX, go with the Vision series, it came out this year, i bought one and it sounds freakin' good for the price, its not much more than the EX but that little extra $ really shows a difference in the drums performance. In the intermidiate sets, its top notch.

[Ironcobra]

i would say the pacifics, they are made of birch and/or maple, which is much better then pearl exports, plus the finishes on the pacifics are nothing less then spectacular. they just dont seem very pricey for what they are, kinda seems like a scam. but if it is the real deal, the pacific maples are my next kit for SURE. come on, a DW for cheap? who can deny that

[PureRockFury]

i would say the pacifics, they are made of birch and/or maple, which is much better then pearl exports, plus the finishes on the pacifics are nothing less then spectacular. they just dont seem very pricey for what they are, kinda seems like a scam. but if it is the real deal, the pacific maples are my next kit for SURE. come on, a DW for cheap? who can deny that

Pacific kits aren't a DW for cheap. Not made in the same factory, not made with the same high quality maple, not made by the same drumsmiths, etc....

[jeremiah]

That's true, but atleast DW has enough integrity to let you know up front that the PDP kits are not the same as the DW brand. PDP has it's own plant, but it is staffed with DW employees and all they make are PDP products. Everything is still handled "in house", more or less. Look at all of the other mfgs who outsource their lower end kits. Even Sonor, who I think makes some of the best quality products available. Aren't their Force kits outsourced to the same plant that makes lower end Mapex and such?

[PureRockFury]

That's true, but atleast DW has enough integrity to let you know up front that the PDP kits are not the same as the DW brand. PDP has it's own plant, but it is staffed with DW employees and all they make are PDP products. Everything is still handled "in house", more or less. Look at all of the other mfgs who outsource their lower end kits. Even Sonor, who I think makes some of the best quality products available. Aren't their Force kits outsourced to the same plant that makes lower end Mapex and such?

Same plant but entirely different assembly lines. Just this year before the Force X007 series came out, they re-tooled the entire plant to the German factory specs. Basically it's the same as the German factory but in China. They are also regularly trained by German employees.