Pearl 930 vs Tama Stage Master

RaxCity

Senior Member
Which cymbal stands do you think are the best in this price range? I am mainly looking at these two brands, since they are the most commonly available where I live. I've used Pearl 930 stands before, since they are the ones my school uses, and I know they are quite solid, but I keep hearing people say that Tama makes the best hardware, so which ones do you think are the best out of the Pearl 930 and Tama Stage Master? I'm also interested to hear about any Gibraltar/Sonor/Yamaha/Ludwig stands at a similar price, but I probably won't look at any DW stuff, which I know is pretty expensive and heavy, despite the quality. Any replies are appreciated. Cheers!
 
I own those Pearls, as well as the Tamas, and some Yamaha stuff, and in the same price range, they're all about the same. Alot of people don't seem to understand this, but the stands won't get damaged while you're using them, they get damaged when you're moving them about from place-to-place. I've probably had more stuff get broken by well-intention people just grabbing stuff to help me move than I'v ever broken myself while playing on the gig.

If you ask me for a favorite, I really like the Yamaha 7-series stuff. I've had some of those stands for over 20 years now and they're still good as new. It's well-engineered! I also have some Yamaha 6-series straight cymbal stands that are even lighter, but no less well-engineered. Of the Pearl stands, I'm puzzled why some of my stands legs have started to bend, very strange. But my RedLine foot pedal and hi-hat stand, and the snare stands are excellent.

I've also owned DW stuff, and you're right - very heavy and probably over-engineered. That stuff is good when you don't have to haul your stuff around ;)
 
I own those Pearls, as well as the Tamas, and some Yamaha stuff, and in the same price range, they're all about the same. Alot of people don't seem to understand this, but the stands won't get damaged while you're using them, they get damaged when you're moving them about from place-to-place. I've probably had more stuff get broken by well-intention people just grabbing stuff to help me move than I'v ever broken myself while playing on the gig.

If you ask me for a favorite, I really like the Yamaha 7-series stuff. I've had some of those stands for over 20 years now and they're still good as new. It's well-engineered! I also have some Yamaha 6-series straight cymbal stands that are even lighter, but no less well-engineered. Of the Pearl stands, I'm puzzled why some of my stands legs have started to bend, very strange. But my RedLine foot pedal and hi-hat stand, and the snare stands are excellent.

I've also owned DW stuff, and you're right - very heavy and probably over-engineered. That stuff is good when you don't have to haul your stuff around ;)

Cheers Bo, I'll check out those yamahas that you mentioned. I guess that once you get to this level with your gear, there isn't much need for the extra features offered by more expensive stuff, so I'll probably be fine with anything made by a good brand.
 
Cheers Bo, I'll check out those yamahas that you mentioned. I guess that once you get to this level with your gear, there isn't much need for the extra features offered by more expensive stuff, so I'll probably be fine with anything made by a good brand.

Yeah - I noticed you are in New Zealand - so you'll probably pay much more than we do here in the States - but if you're into light and solid, the Yamaha's can't be beat. In fact, the other difference between the 6 and the 7 series, other than slightly smaller diameter tubing, is that the 6-series is designed a little shorter. I have a couple of 7-series boom stands that can extend pretty high up and not feel like they want to fall over. So I'd recommend the 7 over the 6 just for that. It's better to have too much than too little.
 
Yeah - I noticed you are in New Zealand - so you'll probably pay much more than we do here in the States - but if you're into light and solid, the Yamaha's can't be beat. In fact, the other difference between the 6 and the 7 series, other than slightly smaller diameter tubing, is that the 6-series is designed a little shorter. I have a couple of 7-series boom stands that can extend pretty high up and not feel like they want to fall over. So I'd recommend the 7 over the 6 just for that. It's better to have too much than too little.

Cheers for the advice man, you're not wrong about having to pay extra for stuff in New Zealand. Funnily enough, the yamaha stuff you recommended is about $100NZD more than the other two stands I'm looking at (around $70 in the US). Not sure why, but that makes it almost double the price, so I'll probably just go for the Tama or Pearl one, unless there are any other recommendations.
 
Cheers for the advice man, you're not wrong about having to pay extra for stuff in New Zealand. Funnily enough, the yamaha stuff you recommended is about $100NZD more than the other two stands I'm looking at (around $70 in the US). Not sure why, but that makes it almost double the price, so I'll probably just go for the Tama or Pearl one, unless there are any other recommendations.

Yamaha must pay extra fees to get their stuff into NZ, maybe? International economics is not my thing. Yeah, you're really ok with any of those, given the prices. It's too bad Yamaha is much higher though.
 
Hi RaxCity, the Sonor 4000 series hardware a good vaule and travel ready. The kick pedal is not bad but I use it a back up. I use a Flying Dragon from Yamaha. I have been playing with Sonor's 400 series which is the older version of the 4000 for ten years and have had no problems and the 4000 series over three years a no problems. Anything made by Yamaha, Sonor or most others name brand medium to heavy hardware is well built. It's the weight or little extra features that sets them apart. The Sonor 4000 series is their medium weight hardware and the 6000 is the heavy weight.
 
Last edited:
Hi RaxCity, the Sonor 4000 series hardware a good vaule and travel ready. The kick pedal is not bad but I use it a back up. I use a Flying Dragon from Yamaha. I have been playing with Sonor's 400 series which is the older version of the 4000 for ten years and have had no problems and the 4000 series over three years a no problems. Anything made by Yamaha, Sonor or most others name brand medium to heavy hardware is well built. It's the weight or little extra features that sets them apart. The Sonor 4000 series is their medium weight hardware and the 6000 is the heavy weight.

Cheers for that info Force, I'll check out the Sonor stuff you mentioned. I think for a kick pedal I'll go with a Pearl Eliminator, but for stands I'm sure anything by Sonor, Pearl, Gibraltar, Tama, Yamaha or PDP will be fine for what I need, which is a medium weight stand that will last and function well.
 
The PDP 800 series hardware seems nicely built and quite affordable. Thing is, I don't know the availability nor cost in your area. My son is using their boom cymbal stand with a Zildjian S Family 22" Rock Ride and it holds up just fine.
 
Back
Top