Pearl Masters limited-edition MHP mahogany kit.

thirdsouth, I'm looking forward to the pics!

...I gotta tell you, I'm lovin' the sound of this kit with the stock heads, and i can't imagine it sounding even better. However, perhaps I'll give those suedes a try seeing that you like them so much.
 
I noticed a lot of questions about how they sound. Before I get to the sound, I'd like to thank Matt Kerwin at Music For All (musicforall.biz) for his time, effort and professionalism as a Pearl dealer. Matt was instrumental in making this kit a reality not to mention a fantastic deal! Great customer service as well.
Not many drum sets come out of the box and sound good especially with stock heads. This LE MHP is the exception. However, I normally play clear Emperors on the toms so I spent they day trying out a few different heads for my own curiosity. First of all, this kit is reminiscent of the early 70's Ludwig mahogany shells. I think this is the sound that Pearl was going after and not only did they match it but totally surpassed it. Because of the 45 degree bearing edges which gives the drum more resonance and the SST technology these drum sound fantastic with Any head I put on them. I tried many types of batter heads and they all sounded good each with different characteristics. All of the drums in this kit have great tone. Usually one drum gives you a problem but not with this kit. The 16 floor and 22 bass have an amazing low end. When I put Remo coated Emperors or Ambassadors on them they immediately had the vintage vibe sound like the Ringo, Baker, Bonham type sounds and they quieted the drums down and warmed them up as well. I personally like the brighter sound of clear heads especially for this kit. I play classic rock and top forty stuff. The jazz enthusiasts may want the fibre or coated type heads.These drums have no noticeable overtones to speak of so it's a win-win situation with any head. However when I put the Evans clear G2's on, the drums tuned up immediately to the sweet spot and the sound is nothing short of unbelievable. These drums sound incredibly warm and naturally EQ'd. (These are the heads I kept on the kit). For small toms they have that big 80's sound. By the way I kept the stock clear Ambassadors on the resonate sides and didn't see a need to change them. Besides, you can see the inner shell which actually looks pleasing to the eye especially with the natural maple reinforcement hoops. I changed the front stock head to an Ebony PS3 and added a gold Pearl logo. I think this enhanced the the beauty of the 341 redfade. Also replaced the stock PS3 batter with a EMAD 1ply clear on the batter side. (No pillow needed with this combo). I don't think these drums are as loud as maple and oak, but those woods are more prone to overtone problems at times with various heads. The mahogany gives you the option of a great sound miked or unmiked which of course is the result we try to achieve. I have to add that Pearl's MHP mahogany kit is truly the hallmark of Pearl's superb craftsmanship. Hope the info helps. I put a few pics up to show the set with the ebony bass head.
 

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That's the nicest Pearl set I ever saw. It's the rerings that really put it over the top for me.
How much coin?
 
Another pearl owner here and all I can say is: Aaaahhh, what beauty... :D
 
thirdsouth, that looks great with gold!!!

Here's a few pics of mine setup...not the best as it was dark and flash was used...

Your shells look rad on the inside. Beautiful kit man. I'm not the biggest pearl fan but that is one amayzing kit. How does it sound?
 
This is my third post on this drum set, and I am going to have to insist that it be taken down.. Every time I see this set I just want to come and steal it. It's is just gorgeous. even better looking than my Renowns.
 
This is my third post on this drum set, and I am going to have to insist that it be taken down.. Every time I see this set I just want to come and steal it. It's is just gorgeous. even better looking than my Renowns.


You crack me right-up my friend. :)

Anyway, as for sound...over the past six years I've owned quite a few kits (pics here: http://www.pearldrummersforum.com/showthread.php?t=240755), and my favorite sounding was the Renown. I ended up selling it for some strange reason and regretted it shortly after. However, I lucked-out in that the Pearl mahogany kit sounds very much like the Renown's, only with a bit more bottom-end. In short, they are warm, punchy, and sound naturally EQ'd. Moreover, they do not have any noticeable overtones.

...@ larryace...I got 'em for a great price from Matt Kerwin at Music For All (musicforall.biz) -- he was a pleasure to deal with, and he's an authorized Pearl dealer to boot. Moreover, when he states that they're new, he means it -- the boxes arrived sealed with 'Pearl' tape on them.

PM me for price if interested.

Take care,
Ed
 
These look amazing, congrats.
 
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Man...that is one sweet set! I think I could sit in front of that all day and just drool...
 
These Pearl Masters LE MHP kits are absolutely stunning.
Pearl has really done an outstanding job with these kits.

Thank you guys for sharing them with us.
 
Hello everyone. Long time lurker, just had to post some pics of my new MHP's.
I don't think anyone else has posted pics of these, the jazz configuration : 18"x14", 12"x8",14"x14" and I have a Gretsch New Classic maple 14"x 6.5" snare pictured there.

I am a big Yamaha drum fan, and recently sold one of my Yamaha kits (Maple Custom Absolutes) to acquire these. It was worth it. Jaw dropping bottom end from this kit.
They like any head I put on them. tuned up, tuned down, I can't make them sound bad.

Only thing I didn't care for was the white reso head....so, I painted it with some Rustoleum Hammered Black spray paint. Worked out kinda well.
I know, I know, ported is not ideal, but I have to get a mic in there, this is going to be a gigging kit for sure! That 18" bass drum has no business sounding as big and punchy as it does.
 

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Haven't posted on here in a few months, but my MHP's are still going strong. EVERYONE that I jam with loves them.. and they look as good as they smell. I still have to get a hi rez pic frig. I think they only made 100 of these kits in the world.. Snare is a Spaun zebrawood 8ply maple, aux with ryobi head isolators and ipod is the MHP snare..
 

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And I'm back again. I liked your drums so much and the way they look that I took off
the black Gretsch bass reso head and bought an all white one. The white makes the color, mine is close to yours, and the woodgrain look even better. Hope your healing process is coming along and all is well. Still love your set man.....
 
Signlals, I find it very likely that you know that you're a lucky, lucky man.

The drums look amazing, and I bet they sound even better. The thin shells must bring out the sound of that mahogany very well.

The finish blows my mind, Pearl's fades seem to be very good no matter what they're on. I have a kit in Ruby Fade, and I daresay it comes kind of close to comparing to this. But obviously it fails miserably anyway.

I hope you enjoy this kit for a very, very long time. Turn it into a family heirloom!
 
That is a beautiful kit, but I'm a bit confused however on the finish. I have a Mapex Meridian birch kit and they call the finish transparent walnut, but it looks almost identical to the mahogany finish on your kit. Do they just have different names for the same finish? I looked up a mahogany stain and sure enough it looked just the finish on both our kits.
Here's a photo.
 

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Gentlemen, thanks for all of the kind words. However, I have to say that I sold the kit some time ago because a Pearl Ref kit became available in smaller sizes, something I wanted to try for quite some time. Another thing that I always wanted to try was a "big" kit, so the Ref's were sold for a Ludwig Classic maple kit -- I got it a few weeks ago. I added some Paiste Giant Beats and a Supra snare, and I must say that I'm sounding quite "Bonham-ish" these days. :))

By the way, I was never a huge Ludwig fan, but I must say that I really love the sound of this kit. There's nothing fancy about it, no bells and whistles, but it sounds great, and I guess that's all that counts.

Current specs are: 24x16, 13x9, and 16x16. I'm working on getting a matching 18" floor tom too.

Here's some pics of the Ref kit and Ludwigs:
 

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