New Drums Pearl Reference

kyle

Senior Member
I just got these beauties from a Guitar Center in Virginia used.

Gear Shown:

Gretsch Signature Mark Schulman 13"x6".
Pearl Reference 22x18 Bass Drum
Pearl Reference 10x10 Rack Tom
Pearl Reference 12x11 Rack Tom
Pearl Reference 14x12 Rack Tom

Sabian AAXtreme Chinese 17"
Sabian HHX Groove Hats 14"

Gear Not Pictured but part of my kit and I was kind of to tired to put the stands back.

Sabian AAX Dark Crash 14".
Paiste Twenty 20" Ride

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The only thing I need to do now is polish the hardware and clean off the drums a bit.
Unfortunately I have yet to actually play them because I did not get home with them until late in the night.
 
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Soooooooo sweet. I've always thought Pearl really has something with those drums. Now I think you've really got something. Top notch. Happy for ya man.
 
Love those drums and that finish.

I would track down a 10" for it and make better use of the rack. Would prob not use the side part of it actually.
 
Love those drums and that finish.

I would track down a 10" for it and make better use of the rack. Would prob not use the side part of it actually.

What do you mean? Also that is a 10" tom there. I'm bad at guessing the size of my toms.
 
What do you mean? Also that is a 10" tom there. I'm bad at guessing the size of my toms.

Oh yeah, my bad. Thought it was a 12.

What I meant was you've got so much rack and nothing much on it. Not to mention its all pretty far apart. I would run 10 and 12 toms up front.
 
Oh yeah, my bad. Thought it was a 12.

What I meant was you've got so much rack and nothing much on it. Not to mention its all pretty far apart. I would run 10 and 12 toms up front.

There's a ride inbetween those two toms. Plus I can't really place my toms flat if they're above the bass drum.
 
There's a ride inbetween those two toms. Plus I can't really place my toms flat if they're above the bass drum.

For the 10", you could try putting the clamp on the front bar and 'hanging' the tom mount upside-down if you want it flat. I like the 1-up, 2-down setup with smaller toms. Makes me feel better about my 12" (hanging) floor tom :) Plus, beautiful finish, and nice choice in cymbals. Did I complement your gear enough? Who knows. Who cares!
 
I have a pearl reference 20x18 Bass drum holding the bottom of a Master's MCX kit. I absolutely love the sound of the reference bass, it's just perfect tight with a bit of tone. I imagine that 22x18 sounds great! I've not heard that size.

I like that color too, what is it?

If I ever get enough money, I'm going to build a Pearl Reference King Kong Kit--24x18 and 22x16 double basses, 8x8, 10x9,12x10,13x11,14x12,15x13,16x14 hanging toms, 14x14,16x16, and 18x16 floor toms, and a 14x5 reference snare. the reference snare is the tightest, most cutting snare I ever hear.

that would make it a 13 piece kit. Did I miss any?

seriously, that is a great looking kit and I'm jealous. Let us know how it sounds.
 
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I found a new setup for my kit after getting a remote hi hat and a new offset double bass pedal.
Yes the hi hat is tilted, the cable for the remote hi hat doesn't like sharp bends and the bass drum is in the way.
 
Looks a bit like Mark Heron's (Oceansize) setup.

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I wish I had those offset pedals and remote hats, would be fun to experiment with.

You won't want to keep an angled hi-hat like that though. Maybe you could try angling it from in front of the bass drum and up a bit higher, will block your vision but at least it won't be leaning to the left or right. Or admit defeat and put it to the right side of your rack toms.
 
Just keep playing with placement. You'll find what works .... and what doesn't.​
Although this isn't using a center pedal ..... it's one of my favorite "default" set-ups.​
Those are some sweet drums. Add on's can get expensive. I priced a 13" rack, at $699. A 16" floor, at $999. Guitar Center, Pasadena, had a Reference kit, used, for $1900, a while back. I was thinking about grabbing it, but the add on prices kinda dashed that idea.​
 

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Harry your snare batter is beautifully worn. Love the tone and feel when the remos get into that wear zone.

The original pearl kit in this discussion is awesome. Love that finish. As a fan of kit setup and configuration, it is cool to watch the morph of the setups..
 
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Played with it again. Much more comfortable.

Makes me want to look for a 16 inch floor tom to fill in that gap to my right now.
 
Put the 14 on the rack on the right and then put the ride where the 14 inch tom is.
 
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Put the 14 on the rack on the right and then put the ride where the 14 inch tom is.

The ride's angle looks really awkward in that picture. But from the seat its much easier to hit the bell like that for me.

Also any cymbals that get inbetween two drums I'll inevitably get a stick stuck on. This setup this setup there are very few spots where I can catch a cymbal with my stick.

And no shemp, I just forgot to turn my snare after I rotated the snare stand.
 
I realize that it's easy to get use to certain setups, but I see so much potential with that set and the rack that there is too much there that looks uncomfortable or inefficient to me. A ride that high in the air will drain the blood from your arm causing fatigue. The rack also seems to be at a great angle to the front of the bass drum. When it comes to fills and all around playability compactness is key. You certainly don't need my advice on what feels good to you but I would look around at other kits and see if you can't get more comfortable.
 
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