Pearl Reference Pure drums

I had a 20/10/12/14 set of Pearl Reference drums and IMO, the build quality is second to no other drumset I've owned or even seen. They are absolutely top shelf drums in every way. Again, my opinion.

I'll take it a step further and say that I think Pearl makes killer stuff all around. Their Sensitone snare drums are nicer quality than the drums they're emulating (at half the price) and their more reasonably priced "pro" drumsets (Masters MCX, Session Studio, etc...) are higher quality than most other sets in that same price range.

I really like their stuff personally.

I've never played/owned a Reference Pure, but I can only imagine how nice it is. Top shelf all the way.

I agree - like Yamaha, everything they make drum-wise is really good and solid. I went in very interested in the Session Studio Classics because my favorite player, Will Kennedy, plays them and those were impressive for the price. But when Pearls' National Manager and President talk with you about the Reference Pures privately, there's something to be paying attention too. Both lines are great, but the Pures seem to have this extra something (visually and aurally) I can't put my finger on.
 
Speaking of nobody having them in stock to check out, I was surprised Brady Drums were at NAMM this year - absolutely beautiful drums. However, due to their display size, and being next to a concession booth and the bathrooms, the two drumsets they had were on stages raised up off the floor so high, you could only look at them. They brought a bunch of snare drums, but each one was cranked into it's stand so you couldn't easily just pick it up to check out. It would have been nice to be able to play the drums and get the full Brady experience! Maybe they'll do better next year if they come back.

Have only heard great things about Brady drums. Not sure if they're particularly handicapped by their NAMM display. Those who consider their drums know exactly what they're going to get.

As far as pearl, yes awesome drums and awesome build quality. The only thing that bugs me is their L-shaped tom holders. But that's purely a cosmetic thing. All of their finishes outside of the basic Piano Black and such must be special ordered too, which kinda sucks.
 
Have only heard great things about Brady drums. Not sure if they're particularly handicapped by their NAMM display. Those who consider their drums know exactly what they're going to get.

As far as pearl, yes awesome drums and awesome build quality. The only thing that bugs me is their L-shaped tom holders. But that's purely a cosmetic thing. All of their finishes outside of the basic Piano Black and such must be special ordered too, which kinda sucks.

Agreed on the colors and the L-arms. However, my set-up doesn't utilize L-arms (my one rack tom is always on a snare stand), and a real beautiful piano black is rather nice. The nice thing about black or white is that it coordinates with everything you'd ever do ;)
 
As previously mentioned, Pearl Masterworks lets you do exactly that (minus the lug quantity specifications).

That's similar to Sonor's SQ2 line of drums. It's definitely a start. But then again, I've been doing that with Gretsch for decades.
 
Yeah, I'm not sure what's being complained about here.

I was just saying that I don't buy the "secret sauce" marketing of adjusting bearing edges and wood composition based on drum size, that's all.

As for custom ordering, I want a 14" floor tom with 6 or 7 lugs. I also want to be able to order a 9" tom or an 11" tom. And maybe a 21" bass drum.
 
I love my Reference Pure kit (10, 12, 16, 22). These are ply drums so I'm not sure I necessarily buy into the hybrid concept having such influence. All I know is that as a kit, collectively, these drums do gel together and sound so good. Look great and built well. I once owned a massive 9-piece Reference kit and found the thicker shells to be stiff, especially the kick. A bit dead. They also weighed a ton, especially since they didn't initially come equipped with aluminum Opti Mounts. I notice no decrease in volume, though I didn't get the Pures until the Refs were gone so I never A/B'ed them. My Pures are just terrific drums and for my tastes, the Pures addressed all of the issues I had with the thicker-shelled References.
 
I love my Reference Pure kit (10, 12, 16, 22). These are ply drums so I'm not sure I necessarily buy into the hybrid concept having such influence.

I think it's still a valid design decision, though yes- it being a ply kit certainly limits the mixology of the individual woods' contributions. It'd be interesting to see a Reference shell composition applied to a segmented kit construction- for example, a 14x12 floor tom being 2 3" deep rings of segmented maple on either side of a 6" deep band of mahogany (assuming that actually would work with the construction) kind of like DW Edge snares.

Still fantastic drums.

I swear I saw an old-ish DW kit in a pawn shop with a 21" bass drum once. And you're not alone in your quest for an 11" tom- that's on my next custom kit wishlist. DrumFactoryDirect has the hoops for it and the 9"!
 
I was just saying that I don't buy the "secret sauce" marketing of adjusting bearing edges and wood composition based on drum size, that's all.

As for custom ordering, I want a 14" floor tom with 6 or 7 lugs. I also want to be able to order a 9" tom or an 11" tom. And maybe a 21" bass drum.

I almost wasn't buying that "secret sauce" marketing either until I got to test them out in person. Of course, Pearl had on display solid maple and solid birch drums too and I got to try them all for comparison, and had I not felt the thunderous lows of this hybrid floor tom with the flatter bearing edges, and compared it to the solid maple 12" tom with the 45-degree bearing edges, and both sounding like they belong to the same kit, I would remain unconvinced. But I'm beginning to believe there is some truth here.

That said, however, this is not to say that you couldn't take a solid "any" wood drum and make it sound great - I've been doing it all my life with whatever drums I could get my hands on, and I do it now with my new Ludwig Classic Maples, and on down the line with all the other drums I've owned over my lifetime. I've even done it with arcylic Vistalites, and the occasional aluminum Trick set. I just think Pearl has done the 'favor' to players by offering this. You can buy whatever you like, and Pearl offers whatever you like. I certainly think it makes more sense than DW's "vertical" grain shells to enhance the lows - I've never heard a difference between vertical grain or horizontal grain (I'm sure some DW guys will flame me for saying that) - and come to think of it, DW came out with that concept right about the same time Pearl came out with their Reference concept - who's to say both companies aren't competing for your drum dollars?

Now, about your custom sizes, I'm sure you can find someone to do it, it'll just take money. Remo has no problem producing odd-sized heads. And the 11" tom was introduced by Tama back in the 80s, and as cool as it was, it didn't do well, hence why Tama doesn't produce them anymore. And it was Neil Peart's idea for DW to make him a 23" bass drum. Funny story - if you go to Pro Drum in Hollywood, I believe those guys still have a small stock of 11" heads in stock, that they can't sell!
 
I almost wasn't buying that "secret sauce" marketing either until I got to test them out in person. Of course, Pearl had on display solid maple and solid birch drums too and I got to try them all for comparison, and had I not felt the thunderous lows of this hybrid floor tom with the flatter bearing edges, and compared it to the solid maple 12" tom with the 45-degree bearing edges, and both sounding like they belong to the same kit, I would remain unconvinced. But I'm beginning to believe there is some truth here.

By "solid", you're referring to all plies being the same wood species, not a stave/steambent/whatever, I assume :)

The increased head contact of a half-roundover, I find, definitely helps control the increased head sustain of a larger diameter drum compared to smaller toms.
 
I love the reference from the few times I've played one. Though I think most kits in the price range by the known big name brands all sound great. After that it's personal preference what you go for. I was choosing between the origional one but I ended up going for a Yamaha maple custom absolute which I love.
 
Bo, that is cool that you got to spend some time with Kevin, from what I have read his move from Ludwig to Pearl is a big deal, and bodes (sorry, no pun intended) well for the future at Pearl.
 
Bo, that is cool that you got to spend some time with Kevin, from what I have read his move from Ludwig to Pearl is a big deal, and bodes (sorry, no pun intended) well for the future at Pearl.

It was very cool. And getting to meet his Pearl colleagues, and even the president of the company (US side, I think, unless there's only one for the worldwide operation) showed me what a family he became a part of. I did not get that vibe from other manufacturers I visited with.
 
Speaking of nobody having them in stock to check out, I was surprised Brady Drums were at NAMM this year - absolutely beautiful drums. However, due to their display size, and being next to a concession booth and the bathrooms, the two drumsets they had were on stages raised up off the floor so high, you could only look at them. They brought a bunch of snare drums, but each one was cranked into it's stand so you couldn't easily just pick it up to check out. It would have been nice to be able to play the drums and get the full Brady experience! Maybe they'll do better next year if they come back.

Hi Matt -

Thank you for stopping by the BRADY booth. We had three drum kits on the floor; two of which were up on risers so the crowds could get a good look at them. There were stairs leading up to the risers so you could play them (like these guys did: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PG8Xu1xrTH8). We also had a gorgeous "Walkabout Series" Marri ply / Limited Edition Cervantes finish kit on the floor, which seemed to impress attendees. All 31 snare drums were set up to be playable so drummers could hear the difference between each timber species and style of construction. I spent a lot of time this past week lifting the snare drums off the stands and showing off the construction methods by viewing through the snare side head for folks who asked to see it. Sorry we missed touching base personally. I'll give you the grand tour next year!

All the best,

Kelly Brady
Brady Drum Company
[email protected]

1558585_10151988775378090_606824159_n.jpg
 
Hi Matt -

Thank you for stopping by the BRADY booth. We had three drum kits on the floor; two of which were up on risers so the crowds could get a good look at them. There were stairs leading up to the risers so you could play them (like these guys did: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PG8Xu1xrTH8). We also had a gorgeous "Walkabout Series" Marri ply / Limited Edition Cervantes finish kit on the floor, which seemed to impress attendees. All 31 snare drums were set up to be playable so drummers could hear the difference between each timber species and style of construction. I spent a lot of time this past week lifting the snare drums off the stands and showing off the construction methods by viewing through the snare side head for folks who asked to see it. Sorry we missed touching base personally. I'll give you the grand tour next year!

All the best,

Kelly Brady
Brady Drum Company
[email protected]

1558585_10151988775378090_606824159_n.jpg

Thanks for the personal response, Kelly! I did not see those stairs! I must be blind. Perhaps my mind was just confused from being on the floor - it's crowded and it's loud and we were going out into the lobby to take a break and then coming back in.... I will definitely introduce myself next year and get the tour.

I've always been impressed with Brady snares and have never seen a Brady kit until the NAMM show. I love Steve Jordan's use of the Brady snares, absolutely cracking!
 
I'll be impressed when I can buy drums with the number of lugs I want, in the diameter and depth I want. Last time I checked, most companies don't even offer a 15" floor tom anymore. Others don't offer shallower bass drums anymore (only 16" or deeper).

.

I guess you could make your own and impress yourself.
 
I agree - like Yamaha, everything they make drum-wise is really good and solid. I went in very interested in the Session Studio Classics because my favorite player, Will Kennedy, plays them and those were impressive for the price. But when Pearls' National Manager and President talk with you about the Reference Pures privately, there's something to be paying attention too. Both lines are great, but the Pures seem to have this extra something (visually and aurally) I can't put my finger on.

Bo: Will Kennedy actually plays the Reference Pure kits. He often plays the MCX kits and maybe even the SSC kits, depending on what the specific venue has on hand, but the Pearl reps over at the Pearl Online Forum have posted pics of his personal Reference Pure kit in Vintage Tobacco Burst lacquer. Very nice kit.
 
Bo: Will Kennedy actually plays the Reference Pure kits. He often plays the MCX kits and maybe even the SSC kits, depending on what the specific venue has on hand, but the Pearl reps over at the Pearl Online Forum have posted pics of his personal Reference Pure kit in Vintage Tobacco Burst lacquer. Very nice kit.

Yeah I just read about that on the Pearl forum too! But as I said, I was really liking what Will was sounding like on the SSC's and those drums were impressive as well. But when you have the MAN show you the Pures and you get to do some comparisons between all those lines, I was just struck that Will Kennedy didn't get into the Pures in the first place!
 
Well Bo ,i have the normal Ref,but i played the pure to ,the difference is the pure is more airy sounds more light .
And the Ref ,sound more heavier tight .
And the weight is quite a difference. the ref is so heavy ,pure is more lighter.
but thats normal more wood ,more weight.
but what i really like about the ref ,is not only the sound but its so solid and stable ,..
And the bass drum, thats is a killer bass drum .

john
 
Back
Top