I posted this on the Pearl forums but thought maybe someone may find this helpful...
PDP Concept Maple
First off, let me say that I do not claim to be a "drummer." I like playing the drums and I have played the drums a long time but I don't know what the difference is between a paradiddle and a flam and I am sure my timing is horrible along with my technique. I just play for fun and I realize that I am not that great and my knowledge is limited. I just learned by listening so my views and opinions are nothing more than that...
Ok, on to the review;
Boxing and un boxing
The drums came very well boxed and they took great care to package things in a way that they would not get scratched or rubbed. They fit many pieces inside of larger drums to maximize space. I took pics of the boxes but can't find them. They included all the necessary parts as well as some extras. Upon arrival, I thought there were drums missing as the whole set was shipped in 2 boxes. They even throw in a kick drum pillow as well as some extra parts. For their packaging, I would score it 10 out of 10.
Set up, hardware build quality and initial thoughts
Upon putting the set together, I managed to strip out one of the lugs because I took off the reso kick head to add a chrome mic ring and was too lazy to put it back on in an upright position. After taking the lug off, I realized that they supplied me with several extra tension rods and lug insert thingys. Beyond that, set up was fairly easy. Since I rack mounted the toms, It took a little bit for me to get the clamps all in the right position. Coming from a Pearl Export, I didn't really like how thin the tom mounts were especially on the 12 inch tom. At first it seemed a little unsteady and I was worried that they may strip out due to the weight of the tom. I have had this set for a couple of months and it hasn't moved at all. One thing I really liked with this set is that due to the f.a.s.t tom sizes and their shallower depths, I could lower these toms quite a bit above the kick. I took off the bass drum tom mount and made it somewhat "virgin" and I have heard of people covering the holes but my rack covers it up so I left it be.
The dual turret lugs look ok to me. I have read many people complaining that they are ugly but they don't bother me. The White finish I got is a Pearlescent white that looks classy and well finished. I came from a black export set and everything was black in my music room for a long time so the white was a fresh breath of air for me. The Kick drum legs are very steady and set up easy. The bass drum hoop has a rubber part so the pedal doesn't mess it all up. I did notice that with my pedal clamped on, my beater angle is not exactly straight. I did lift the front end up about enough to fit fingers underneath so it is not on the ground but it doesn't seem to affect anything. There may be an adjustment on my DW 9000 that I can do. The floor toms were typical floor toms and were no trouble at all.
I checked all the bearing edges and they all looked good except one small imperfection on the kick drums reso side. It was so very small that it doesn't really show up in pics so it wasn't an issue. I did notice that the inside of the shells were smooth but I think if I hit it with some 220 sandpaper, it would be smoother. I didn't feel it was worth it to worry about it. The hardware all went on smooth and it feels like a sturdy, hi quality set.
I would rate the hardware an 8 out of 10. I think it could be a little beefier. The appearance would be a 9 out of 10 for me. I love how it looks! Build quality is a 9 out of 10 for me.
Sound and playability
Right out of the box the set was somewhat tuned. The stock skins are pretty bad. I immediately ordered all new Evans G2 clear skins for all the toms and the difference was night and day especially after I tuned them up. I did leave the stock heads on the kick and I felt that they were fine. I just took off the logo and added a chrome o ring for micing and put one of those pedal patches to the batter side so I don't wear it out. After getting everything set up, I feel that I can play faster on this set and I have more fun on it too.
I was reading up on the tune bot that everyone has been using and decided to try to tune them with a free app on my android phone called "DaTuner Light" It took a lot of patients but I really love the end result. Here are the settings I used that I found on the forums by someone else that I liked:
8x7 tom - 318Hz batter/ 318Hz resonant
10x8 tom - 253Hz batter/ 253Hz resonant
12x9 tom - 200Hz batter/ 200 Hz resonant
14x14 floor tom - 159Hz batter/ 159Hz resonant
16x16 floor tom - 126Hz batter/ 126Hz resonant
For the kick I just went just past wrinkle and then one turn looser on the batter and on the reso I went just past wrinkle and then about 1 turn tighter.
I have played a few Yamahas, DWs, Pearl exports and Masters and some others so I can compare my opinions to a number of sets.
The rack toms REALLY sing. The resonance after tuning them was incredible. The attack is sharp and focused but still warm with a vibrant "dong". I didn't think I would like the little 8" tom much but I find myself using it the most out of the rack toms. The floor toms sound pretty good. Warm and full of rumble in the low end. I did add some pearl isolating rubber feet to the 16" and it helped the sustain and will do the same to the 14" in time. The kick sounds a little flabby (if that is a term?) no matter what I do but when I record it, it seems to sound fine to me. It packs a nice punch and sits well in the mix. The most disappointing thing about this kit is the snare. By far the weakest link is this run of the mill snare. The magnetic throw off switch is cool but I just can't get the snare to sound good at all. I am mainly using my little pork pie squealer and will keep the pdp as a back up or for something else. I think I am biased because it is mine but so far, I like this set better than just about any other set I have owned and played, including the higher end sets. Sound is an 8 out of 10. Would be a 9 except for the snare.
I included a small recording I did of the kit at the very bottom of this post. I couldn't figure out a way to have video with a miced sound with what I own but I was just fooling around and wanted to present each piece of the kit. The only thing I did with the mix was added panning to the overheads and to the toms. There is no effects, compression or anything else. I don't even think the levels are right. I am brand new to using this recording program and this is literally the first thing I have done with it.
Here is some technical stuff:
For the recording I used an AKG 112 on the kick, sm 57 for the 8" and 10", sm57 for the 12", PG56 on the 14" , At pro 25 on the 16" ATM33a overhead condenser above the rides and crashes, Sm 81 condenser on the overhead hi hats and a sm 57 beta on the snare through a Presonus firestudio tube and then into Presonus Studio one 2.5. I have 14" Ziljan quick beat hats, A custom crashes and China and a weird old 22" sabian ride a 20" sabian ride (unknown model) some wuhan and odd ball splashes, DW 9000 pedal and a pork pie little squaler snare with a gibralter rack.
PDP Concept Maple
First off, let me say that I do not claim to be a "drummer." I like playing the drums and I have played the drums a long time but I don't know what the difference is between a paradiddle and a flam and I am sure my timing is horrible along with my technique. I just play for fun and I realize that I am not that great and my knowledge is limited. I just learned by listening so my views and opinions are nothing more than that...
Ok, on to the review;
Boxing and un boxing
The drums came very well boxed and they took great care to package things in a way that they would not get scratched or rubbed. They fit many pieces inside of larger drums to maximize space. I took pics of the boxes but can't find them. They included all the necessary parts as well as some extras. Upon arrival, I thought there were drums missing as the whole set was shipped in 2 boxes. They even throw in a kick drum pillow as well as some extra parts. For their packaging, I would score it 10 out of 10.
Set up, hardware build quality and initial thoughts
Upon putting the set together, I managed to strip out one of the lugs because I took off the reso kick head to add a chrome mic ring and was too lazy to put it back on in an upright position. After taking the lug off, I realized that they supplied me with several extra tension rods and lug insert thingys. Beyond that, set up was fairly easy. Since I rack mounted the toms, It took a little bit for me to get the clamps all in the right position. Coming from a Pearl Export, I didn't really like how thin the tom mounts were especially on the 12 inch tom. At first it seemed a little unsteady and I was worried that they may strip out due to the weight of the tom. I have had this set for a couple of months and it hasn't moved at all. One thing I really liked with this set is that due to the f.a.s.t tom sizes and their shallower depths, I could lower these toms quite a bit above the kick. I took off the bass drum tom mount and made it somewhat "virgin" and I have heard of people covering the holes but my rack covers it up so I left it be.
The dual turret lugs look ok to me. I have read many people complaining that they are ugly but they don't bother me. The White finish I got is a Pearlescent white that looks classy and well finished. I came from a black export set and everything was black in my music room for a long time so the white was a fresh breath of air for me. The Kick drum legs are very steady and set up easy. The bass drum hoop has a rubber part so the pedal doesn't mess it all up. I did notice that with my pedal clamped on, my beater angle is not exactly straight. I did lift the front end up about enough to fit fingers underneath so it is not on the ground but it doesn't seem to affect anything. There may be an adjustment on my DW 9000 that I can do. The floor toms were typical floor toms and were no trouble at all.
I checked all the bearing edges and they all looked good except one small imperfection on the kick drums reso side. It was so very small that it doesn't really show up in pics so it wasn't an issue. I did notice that the inside of the shells were smooth but I think if I hit it with some 220 sandpaper, it would be smoother. I didn't feel it was worth it to worry about it. The hardware all went on smooth and it feels like a sturdy, hi quality set.
I would rate the hardware an 8 out of 10. I think it could be a little beefier. The appearance would be a 9 out of 10 for me. I love how it looks! Build quality is a 9 out of 10 for me.
Sound and playability
Right out of the box the set was somewhat tuned. The stock skins are pretty bad. I immediately ordered all new Evans G2 clear skins for all the toms and the difference was night and day especially after I tuned them up. I did leave the stock heads on the kick and I felt that they were fine. I just took off the logo and added a chrome o ring for micing and put one of those pedal patches to the batter side so I don't wear it out. After getting everything set up, I feel that I can play faster on this set and I have more fun on it too.
I was reading up on the tune bot that everyone has been using and decided to try to tune them with a free app on my android phone called "DaTuner Light" It took a lot of patients but I really love the end result. Here are the settings I used that I found on the forums by someone else that I liked:
8x7 tom - 318Hz batter/ 318Hz resonant
10x8 tom - 253Hz batter/ 253Hz resonant
12x9 tom - 200Hz batter/ 200 Hz resonant
14x14 floor tom - 159Hz batter/ 159Hz resonant
16x16 floor tom - 126Hz batter/ 126Hz resonant
For the kick I just went just past wrinkle and then one turn looser on the batter and on the reso I went just past wrinkle and then about 1 turn tighter.
I have played a few Yamahas, DWs, Pearl exports and Masters and some others so I can compare my opinions to a number of sets.
The rack toms REALLY sing. The resonance after tuning them was incredible. The attack is sharp and focused but still warm with a vibrant "dong". I didn't think I would like the little 8" tom much but I find myself using it the most out of the rack toms. The floor toms sound pretty good. Warm and full of rumble in the low end. I did add some pearl isolating rubber feet to the 16" and it helped the sustain and will do the same to the 14" in time. The kick sounds a little flabby (if that is a term?) no matter what I do but when I record it, it seems to sound fine to me. It packs a nice punch and sits well in the mix. The most disappointing thing about this kit is the snare. By far the weakest link is this run of the mill snare. The magnetic throw off switch is cool but I just can't get the snare to sound good at all. I am mainly using my little pork pie squealer and will keep the pdp as a back up or for something else. I think I am biased because it is mine but so far, I like this set better than just about any other set I have owned and played, including the higher end sets. Sound is an 8 out of 10. Would be a 9 except for the snare.
I included a small recording I did of the kit at the very bottom of this post. I couldn't figure out a way to have video with a miced sound with what I own but I was just fooling around and wanted to present each piece of the kit. The only thing I did with the mix was added panning to the overheads and to the toms. There is no effects, compression or anything else. I don't even think the levels are right. I am brand new to using this recording program and this is literally the first thing I have done with it.
Here is some technical stuff:
For the recording I used an AKG 112 on the kick, sm 57 for the 8" and 10", sm57 for the 12", PG56 on the 14" , At pro 25 on the 16" ATM33a overhead condenser above the rides and crashes, Sm 81 condenser on the overhead hi hats and a sm 57 beta on the snare through a Presonus firestudio tube and then into Presonus Studio one 2.5. I have 14" Ziljan quick beat hats, A custom crashes and China and a weird old 22" sabian ride a 20" sabian ride (unknown model) some wuhan and odd ball splashes, DW 9000 pedal and a pork pie little squaler snare with a gibralter rack.
