help: strange PEARL Masters studio kit birch with a unique bass?

ive never seen a kit like this with like built in drum keys at each tension rod. Are you guys familiar with this?

is this uncommon? what is the purpose of this? is it good or bad?
 

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Yes, I'm familiar with them.

They are very common.....depending on the make/model of bass drum.

The purpose is to tune the drum.

Good in that you don't need to find a drum key to do the job. Bad in that sometimes they can get caught on the opening of a bag or case.
 
the purpose is to easily tune the drum, however the bottom two tension rods are normal, so you would need a tuning key regardless, and its not like bass drums need to be tuned so often.


What kind of drums typically have these? pearl masters? is it typical of higher end kits or lower end
 
In the old days (pre-1990) all drumsets came with these T-rods on the bass drum. At first, some people just replaced the bottom two on each side with regular key-operated rods so they can accurately tune those close to the floor. Then people started to replace all of them. And alot of people liked it because literally, you could get something stuck on the T as you walked by it, or tried to put it in a case.

But to tell you the truth, sometimes I miss those days. Nowadays, almost no one offers them. And the last used kit I bought, a 1986 Tama Granstar, had these almost deadly T-rods that I had to remove because they drew blood!
 
however the bottom two tension rods are normal,

Yep. The bottom two lugs use normal tension rods in order to stop the drum detuning should they not align properly when resting on the floor.

however the bottom two tension rods are normal, What kind of drums typically have these? pearl masters? is it typical of higher end kits or lower end

Many older kits had them.....look at any vintage Ludwig, Slingerland etc. Other than that, I can't recall specific models off hand, but they are indeed common. I'll be willing to bet you now that you're aware of them, you'll see them everywhere.
 
ive never seen a kit like this with like built in drum keys at each tension rod. Are you guys familiar with this?

is this uncommon? what is the purpose of this? is it good or bad?

Can I take it you're not over 30?
 
"T" rods would never be a deal breaker on a good sounding set of drums. I have them on three of my kits. They're great if you need a quick tweak, where using a drum key might pose a slight problem when sitting behind the kit. I inevitably drop drum keys when trying to adjust a bass drum when reaching around the other drums on the kit.

Dennis
 
Yes, I'm familiar with them.

They are very common.....depending on the make/model of bass drum.

The purpose is to tune the drum.

Good in that you don't need to find a drum key to do the job. Bad in that sometimes they can get caught on the opening of a bag or case.

Still laughing,sorry.Ludwig,as well as other drum makers,was still using T rods until after the mid 90's,so only in approximately the last 15-17 years,was the drum key style of tension rod becomming standard.This was before the cell phone and the internet was the only source of communication,and people actually went to each others homes to hold a conversation.:)

I'm wondering if years from now some newbe will be asking "you guys really used wooden sticks to play"?

Steve B
 
I use one T rod at the 1 o clock position of the bass batter side so I can hang a drum key from it.

Barry
 
...aannnd it's starting............
Someone not familiar with a T-rod......

Eesh. I feel old now haha!

Other than some 80's drums (and older, of course) on eBay, you never really see bass drums with them anymore.
Not on anything new in shops. I changed all mine over to key rods years ago too.

They are easy, but it's easy to knock the drum out of the tuning you set, and they did get caught on stuff a lot.

Vintage bass drums look "right" with them, but, other than that, I'm not sad that they're basically gone.
 
"T" rods would never be a deal breaker on a good sounding set of drums. I have them on three of my kits. They're great if you need a quick tweak, where using a drum key might pose a slight problem when sitting behind the kit. I inevitably drop drum keys when trying to adjust a bass drum when reaching around the other drums on the kit.

Dennis

This is a great point. I actually prefer the T rods for just this reason. Its easier to adjust the tuning while the kit is set-up, with the T rods.
 
T-rods look cooler IMO. The do take up more room in the bag/case, though they provide more protection.

70's SLINGERLAND t-rods approached sharpness, they're really cool looking on certain drums.

You can split the difference and have the best of both worlds by having t-rods on the front head, you'll get the look and the ease of tuning... usually its the front head that gets tweaked to the room.

On the the batter side the bottom two, plus the the fl tom (3 o'clock position) side benefit from low profile key operated rods.

Its not that T-rods went out of style, Im sure if you ask any manufacture they'll admit the main reason is key rods are cheaper than T-rods.
 
From what I remember, my first kit, a 1991 or 92 Export had them. Eventually they got rid of them all together which looks a lot better I think.
 
I like the look for vintage appearance and I bought them for my Bee Bop set along with the older looking wider claws. I tweak my batter head on the Renown set using the two on the top of the rim and have thought about replacing those two with t-handles so as not to have to worry about a key
 
Other than some 80's drums (and older, of course) on eBay, you never really see bass drums with them anymore.
Not on anything new in shops. I changed all mine over to key rods years ago too.

They are easy, but it's easy to knock the drum out of the tuning you set, and they did get caught on stuff a lot.

I see quite a few new kits with "T" handles in shops here on the East coast. In fact two of my more recent kits have T rods. The 2010 DW Classics and the 2008 Yamaha Maple Custom Absolute. And of course my vintage 1965 Pearl drums. I find the more modern versions are less likely to snag since they have a more rounded type of construction.

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Dennis
 
I forgot about Yamaha coming with T rods.... :-/
I was at the shop yesterday, and I did see some T rods here and there. I guess I never paid attention.

DW CLASSIC, now that would kind of be a given and make sense....
 
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