Used Pearl Studio Master Series?

[dBDawg]

Hey there, I'm new to this forum and wanted to ask people's opinion/knowledge of Pearl's Studio Master Series drums. I want to try a birch kit and have found some of these kits around used for about $600 for a four piece kit. But I also found a 3 piece kit for $900 and was wondering what the difference could be, condition, size, and hardware aside. Thanks for any help.

[scrowder]

I have the Master's Studio (birch) and the Master's MCX (maple). Both sound great but I prefer the birch, especially for recording. The main difference is the sustain. I had heard this before but I wasn't expecting the difference to be significant. But it is HUGE. The maple drums ring much longer--like a few seconds. Because of this I usually have to use a lot of Moon Gel when recording with this kit. The birch, however, has just the right amount of sustain and a little more attack, so I prefer that.

On the other hand, the extra resonance can be an advantage for playing live when you're not mic'd up. The birch toms can sound dead in the audience if the kit isn't mic'd in some cases.

FYI I use clear Emperors on top and clear Ambassadors on bottom for both kits.