Disappointed with Pearl Roadshow but it all turned out ok!

roncadillac

Platinum Member
To start, I know... It's a $400 kit and not going to be anything 'great'.

I picked up a pearl roadshow 4pc kit after having serious seller's remorse when I sold my pearl midtown. I picked up the 4pc roadshow due to it being similar sizes, much cheaper, and including hardware (I needed hardware as well).

One rim on the 10" tom came cracked (definitely not shipping damage for a number of reasons), several lugs are drilled/installed crooked, the bass drum shell is slightly out of round, the floor tom legs are waaaay too short (2-3 inches shorter then any other legs I've ever seen), there is the beginnings of ply separation on the floor tom, and both the tom L arm and cymbal boom arms are wobbly... Like they have been gigged heavily even thought the entire box was noticably factory sealed.

I know this is their cheap kit but seriously? The midtown has the same shells, hardware, and comes from the same factory and that thing was pristine.

The really sad part is it's been almost 48 hours and I still have not received a response from Pearl.
 
I've had good luck over the years with Pearl, with the exception of a 2.3 mm Super Hoop being out of round. Agree with No Way Jose...bring it back to the retailer's. Curious. Where are they making those things these days?
 
I've had good luck over the years with Pearl, with the exception of a 2.3 mm Super Hoop being out of round. Agree with No Way Jose...bring it back to the retailer's. Curious. Where are they making those things these days?

I got it via sweetwater. Roadshow is from China.

I've been playing just shy of 2 decades and have owned many drums in that time. I'm realistic about how much I spent and what I should be getting for my money. Slightly bubbling wrap is one thing on a sub $500 kit but these issues shouldn't be happening, especially with a name like Pearl.
 
Your news is horrifying, Ron. My seven-year-old son has a Pearl Roadshow Junior, and it's in great working order. The bass pedal and hi-hat stand are especially impressive for a kid's kit. I haven't noticed any shell defects, and the drums tune up with ease. It sounds as though you got a lemon. Still, it's inexcusable for so many flaws to make it past quality control, regardless of the cost of the kit.

Have you called Pearl's Nashville office? I can usually get someone on the phone there immediately. You shouldn't have to wait for Pearl's response though. Sweetwater needs to process a return (or a refund).
 
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You shouldn't have to wait for Pearl's response though. Sweetwater needs to process a return (or a refund) immediately.
This.
Call your gear rep and email them pics. I'd be shocked if Sweetwater didn't make it right.
 
Your news is horrifying, Ron. My six-year-old son has a Pearl Roadshow Junior, and it's in great working order. The bass pedal and hi-hat stand are especially impressive for a kid's kit. I haven't noticed any shell defects, and the drums tune up with ease. It sounds as though you got a lemon. Still, it's inexcusable for so many flaws to make it past quality control, regardless of the cost of the kit.

Have you called Pearl's Nashville office? I can usually get someone on the phone there immediately. You shouldn't have to wait for Pearl's response though. Sweetwater needs to process a return (or a refund) immediately.


I knew you'd be along soon ;) I was especially pumped to get this kit after my positive experience with the midtown and our many conversations on the quality you get with the Pearl name.

I'm going to follow up with my sweetwater 'guy' today and see what's up. At first I only noticed the tom rim, as I got more hands on I kept finding other issues.
 
Can you show us pics? I'm especially interested in seeing the cracked rim and separating plies.
 
I knew you'd be along soon ;) I was especially pumped to get this kit after my positive experience with the midtown and our many conversations on the quality you get with the Pearl name.

I'm going to follow up with my sweetwater 'guy' today and see what's up. At first I only noticed the tom rim, as I got more hands on I kept finding other issues.

You're in good hands with Sweetwater. They've never given me the run-around. Plus, your kit is so flagrantly defective that I'm sure they'll be eager to resolve this mess quickly.

You might want to call it quits with the Roadshow and go with another Midtown or even an Export. Don't give up on Pearl though. Your experience is regrettable and should never have occurred, but the gear you received is an aberration -- an extreme one, to say the least -- but an outlier nevertheless. Testimony: I've bought nothing but Pearl kits since the '80s and have never had cause to return one. That's a pretty solid track record.
 
You're in good hands with Sweetwater. They've never given me the run-around. Plus, your kit is so flagrantly defective that I'm sure they'll be eager to resolve this mess quickly.

You might want to call it quits with the Roadshow and go with another Midtown or even an Export. Don't give up on Pearl though. Your experience is regrettable and should never have occurred, but the gear you received is an aberration -- an extreme one, to say the least -- but an outlier nevertheless. Testimony: I've bought nothing but Pearl kits since the '80s and have never encountered one that required a return. That's a pretty solid track record.

Absolutely, that makes sense. I haven't lost hope in Pearl, I've spent MANY hours working production assembly/packaging lines... Even the best hands, equipment, and companies have a issue slip through the cracks.
 
Yea, no dice unfortunately. I've got several pics and each one gave me an error message about being 'too large'.
This is just a matter of adjusting your phone camera to take smaller resolution pics, or, once you have them on your computer, resizing them in photo editing software (likely already on your computer) before uploading here. </technerdiness> lol
 
You can use an online pic host, like postimages or imgur or similar. They resize the image for different uses, and they give you HTML or similar for various uses, such as direct linking here.
Just use the "insert image" button here, then click the chain link looking thing and use the HTML. ;)



Yea, no dice unfortunately. I've got several pics and each one gave me an error message about being 'too large'.
 
You're in good hands with Sweetwater. They've never given me the run-around. Plus, your kit is so flagrantly defective that I'm sure they'll be eager to resolve this mess quickly.
That blows but I think @C.M. Jones is spot on both that Sweetwater will fix it and Pearl is still solid. It seems Sweetwater is super eager to generate sales and I get an email once every couple months from this guy checking on the gear I bought and seeing what else I need (it's not even robo-messages) and he's called to follow up on sales. It's really weird about the quality too because even the Traveller I had years ago was solid for what it was. Maybe they'll work with you on a deal on a hardware pack or something so you can get something else. I saw the new PDP New Yorker is available for not too much and I'd love to get someone's take on that.
 
Agreed that Pearl should take care of you, and Sweetwater most likely will. Customer service is a very big part of their game.
 
You're in good hands with Sweetwater. They've never given me the run-around. Plus, your kit is so flagrantly defective that I'm sure they'll be eager to resolve this mess quickly.

You might want to call it quits with the Roadshow and go with another Midtown or even an Export. Don't give up on Pearl though. Testimony: I've bought nothing but Pearl kits since the '80s and have never had cause to return one. That's a pretty solid track record.

This.

My first kit was an Export & there's a reason that line is still being made. It's rock solid in every respect with a price that's good for everyone.

Your Sales Engineer will make it right. I've been dealing with mine for almost 10 years & never had an issue.
 
Quick and positive response from sweetwater, unfortunately I don't have the boxes anymore so I'm hitting a wall with either just keeping it or paying for boxes and shipping. I'll keep you guys posted if anything changes.

Regarding the pic uploading, I have changed the resolution on my phone camera and it still doesn't work. I do everything on here from my phone, I don't even own a desktop/laptop to use if I wanted lol.

I see if I can find another way to get the pics up here, I'd prefer to not download another app or deal with photobucket. BUT... You should see these pics, it's pretty bad unfortunately.
 
I got it via sweetwater. Roadshow is from China.

I've been playing just shy of 2 decades and have owned many drums in that time. I'm realistic about how much I spent and what I should be getting for my money. Slightly bubbling wrap is one thing on a sub $500 kit but these issues shouldn't be happening, especially with a name like Pearl.
I remember working at a music store in the 1990's, and selling kits from both Tama and Pearl- Rockstar and Exports, respectively. Both made in Taiwan and no bubbled wraps, no bearing edge issues. Nothing. This is unacceptable. Back during that time period, Mapex had just entered the market, and I remember setting up one of their early entry level kits. The resonant side bearing edge wasn't cut completely 360° around, and we sent it back. But, Mapex got better and better, as did everyone else. To see a great name like Pearl take a step backwards for the sake of cheap sourcing is not worth the coin. Look for a used kit in small sizes if you can. Just my two cents worth.
 
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