pearlygates
Gold Member
Okay, anyone that knows me, knows that I am a frugal person.. they would also testify to the fact that I'm always wheeling and dealing gear.. Be it, mountain/road bikes, cars and more pertinent here..drums.
I always try to find the best bang for the buck usually taking something middle of the road and trying to hotrod it into a more useable state.
Where cars were concerned, it was buy cheap and sell high. Bikes were/are the same philosophy. Drums.. well..drums are more for aesthetics as well as sonic displacement.
Over the years, I have had a countless number of low, mid and higher end drum sets. Some I liked and others passed through my hands within days or weeks.
I recently came into a bit of disposable cash and decided to make an investment in some better gear. Out of character for the most part, but being an active drummer and having the means, my wonderful wife pressed me to go a bit bigger this time and try to perhaps.. just perhaps find a kit and stick with it. Knowing my tendencies, I knew that that whole concept was a fail at first breath. But I went along with it to appease the wife (wink wink)
My first purchase was a Pearl Masters MCX. Having played Pearl drums most consistent over the past 20 tears or so.. I figured that this was gonna be it. I had played a friend's MCX several times and liked them a lot! I didn't care for his tuning preference, but the drums were of excellent quality.
Surely I could get a kit such as this to fit my style and desired sonic needs.
I tried like HELL to love this kit. Different tunings, head swap etc, but for whatever reason, I could not get the volume and projection I wanted. I know, strange to say the least.
Skipping a kit here, I started to look closer at Pearl's Session Studio Classic series. I actually had one on order after playing the kit at a local drum shop.
A delay in shipping due to ice storms down south gave me some time to rethink this and take the SSC into the lab and do some comparisons. I went back to the local shop as the SSC I had paid for, sat down south awaiting the city to thaw and UPS to start rolling once again. The shop had a few kits set up. One being a Ludwig Classic maple and the others the SSC I originally played on and a Mapex Saturn lV. Going back and forth between the three kits, it was an easy out for the Luddies. No offense here, but they just didn't have the complexity that if I was gonna be laying out over a grand for shells, I darn well wanted.
The SSC was a fine sounding drum set, but almost muted compared to the Mapex Saturns. I had never been a big fan of Mapex, although a few Mapex kits have made their way through the drum cave over the years. Just nothing like the Saturn lV. At this point it came down to value. Granted, I had enough money to buy what I wanted without too much worry, but some of that previously required frugality rose to the surface. The Pearls were offered for around $1300 for the 4 piece shell pack (no snare) The kit I had sitting ensconced in ice down south was a bit more as I went for the matching snare drum and extra floor tom. I am, by nature a less is more kinda fellow when it comes to drum configs. Normally 1up, 1 or 2down..so the extras on the paid for SSC were just that..extras.
Well, I walked away that day knowing that the deal on the SSC was probably going to be snuffed. I didn't know quite enough about Mapex to make a decision, but I knew that there was something different and special about those drums. It wasn't until I started nosing around the internet that same day that I made the deal. I found a Saturn lV 3 piece, 1up, 1down with no snare drum in red blue hybrid sparkle for a grand with a 10% discount and free shipping from the online dealer, I used the savings and grabbed a Saturn lV 14x6.5 snare drum as well. All said and done $1190.00 After placing my order, I went back to the local shop to grab some sticks and a few hardware pieces as I try to give the local shop some love as well.
So I have had my Saturn lVs for just under a month and I cannot find anything that I don't like about them. Nothing. Believe me, I nit frickin' pick!
They are punchy, complex in tonality, tune effortlessly, look awesome and fit my desired sound and style of playing. People that know me think I won't have these long enough to take delivery of the 14" floor tom I ordered (4-6 month wait time) I don't know. I'm willing to bet that this kit will be with me for a long time. So, I ask myself.. Have I reached drum nirvana?
Oh yeah. I still have the MCX. Looking to re home it though. Strange.
I always try to find the best bang for the buck usually taking something middle of the road and trying to hotrod it into a more useable state.
Where cars were concerned, it was buy cheap and sell high. Bikes were/are the same philosophy. Drums.. well..drums are more for aesthetics as well as sonic displacement.
Over the years, I have had a countless number of low, mid and higher end drum sets. Some I liked and others passed through my hands within days or weeks.
I recently came into a bit of disposable cash and decided to make an investment in some better gear. Out of character for the most part, but being an active drummer and having the means, my wonderful wife pressed me to go a bit bigger this time and try to perhaps.. just perhaps find a kit and stick with it. Knowing my tendencies, I knew that that whole concept was a fail at first breath. But I went along with it to appease the wife (wink wink)
My first purchase was a Pearl Masters MCX. Having played Pearl drums most consistent over the past 20 tears or so.. I figured that this was gonna be it. I had played a friend's MCX several times and liked them a lot! I didn't care for his tuning preference, but the drums were of excellent quality.
Surely I could get a kit such as this to fit my style and desired sonic needs.
I tried like HELL to love this kit. Different tunings, head swap etc, but for whatever reason, I could not get the volume and projection I wanted. I know, strange to say the least.
Skipping a kit here, I started to look closer at Pearl's Session Studio Classic series. I actually had one on order after playing the kit at a local drum shop.
A delay in shipping due to ice storms down south gave me some time to rethink this and take the SSC into the lab and do some comparisons. I went back to the local shop as the SSC I had paid for, sat down south awaiting the city to thaw and UPS to start rolling once again. The shop had a few kits set up. One being a Ludwig Classic maple and the others the SSC I originally played on and a Mapex Saturn lV. Going back and forth between the three kits, it was an easy out for the Luddies. No offense here, but they just didn't have the complexity that if I was gonna be laying out over a grand for shells, I darn well wanted.
The SSC was a fine sounding drum set, but almost muted compared to the Mapex Saturns. I had never been a big fan of Mapex, although a few Mapex kits have made their way through the drum cave over the years. Just nothing like the Saturn lV. At this point it came down to value. Granted, I had enough money to buy what I wanted without too much worry, but some of that previously required frugality rose to the surface. The Pearls were offered for around $1300 for the 4 piece shell pack (no snare) The kit I had sitting ensconced in ice down south was a bit more as I went for the matching snare drum and extra floor tom. I am, by nature a less is more kinda fellow when it comes to drum configs. Normally 1up, 1 or 2down..so the extras on the paid for SSC were just that..extras.
Well, I walked away that day knowing that the deal on the SSC was probably going to be snuffed. I didn't know quite enough about Mapex to make a decision, but I knew that there was something different and special about those drums. It wasn't until I started nosing around the internet that same day that I made the deal. I found a Saturn lV 3 piece, 1up, 1down with no snare drum in red blue hybrid sparkle for a grand with a 10% discount and free shipping from the online dealer, I used the savings and grabbed a Saturn lV 14x6.5 snare drum as well. All said and done $1190.00 After placing my order, I went back to the local shop to grab some sticks and a few hardware pieces as I try to give the local shop some love as well.
So I have had my Saturn lVs for just under a month and I cannot find anything that I don't like about them. Nothing. Believe me, I nit frickin' pick!
They are punchy, complex in tonality, tune effortlessly, look awesome and fit my desired sound and style of playing. People that know me think I won't have these long enough to take delivery of the 14" floor tom I ordered (4-6 month wait time) I don't know. I'm willing to bet that this kit will be with me for a long time. So, I ask myself.. Have I reached drum nirvana?
Oh yeah. I still have the MCX. Looking to re home it though. Strange.
