Pearl Reference vs Yamaha MCAN

I'm in the market for new set and am stuck between the two. I have to deals lined up for 5 piece sets. The MCAN is in midnight sparkle and the Reference is is granite sparkle. No hardware is included so thats not factored into it.

I'd love to hear opinions on the drums and the finishes. Has anyone played or seen these drums in person? Looking for as many opinions as possible.

Edit: The MCAN also is offered in a Brown Fade, as well as Green Sparkle. I'm not interested in the Green but I'm toying with the brown fade.

White Rabbbit said:

I'm in the market for new set and am stuck between the two. I have to deals lined up for 5 piece sets. The MCAN is in midnight sparkle and the Reference is is granite sparkle. No hardware is included so thats not factored into it.

I'd love to hear opinions on the drums and the finishes. Has anyone played or seen these drums in person? Looking for as many opinions as possible.

Edit: The MCAN also is offered in a Brown Fade, as well as Green Sparkle. I'm not interested in the Green but I'm toying with the brown fade.

Click to expand...

As for the references I do not know of any on here that play them....but Aydee (Abe) does have MCAN's I believe so look him up and he will tell you how much he loves his.

I owned many drum sets over the years, and a few were high end kits. (DW, Ludwig, Tama) I purchased a 7 piece MCAN kit this past February and can tell you with confidence it's the best sounding kit I've ever had. The toms sings beautifully. The kick is extremely punchy. Using EC2 batters, G1 reso's, and EMAD batter and reso on the kick. It's a beautiful thing. Every Yamaha kit I've ever played or heard sounded great. The hardware is also very nice.

Can't say much for the Pearl Reference drums. Never owned a set, although Chad Smith sure does make em sound good. However, I think Chad could make a Sears and Roebuck kit sound good. I'm sure you couldn't go wrong with either kit. Try them both, then decide.

They are both great kits. References are specially made with special wood choices and thicknesses for each shell based on the fact that each drum has a different role to play so therefore it shouldn't be identical to the others.

A couple of my friends play refs and love them.

I play Mcans and I dont think there is a better kit out there than the one I play. They sound incredible at any tuning with any heads.

So, good short options. either way I dont think you'll go wrong.

White Rabbbit said:

I'm in the market for new set and am stuck between the two. I have to deals lined up for 5 piece sets. The MCAN is in midnight sparkle and the Reference is is granite sparkle. No hardware is included so thats not factored into it.

I'd love to hear opinions on the drums and the finishes. Has anyone played or seen these drums in person? Looking for as many opinions as possible.

Edit: The MCAN also is offered in a Brown Fade, as well as Green Sparkle. I'm not interested in the Green but I'm toying with the brown fade.

Click to expand...

If they're the same price for the amount/sizes of drums you get, I say go with the Reference.

Yamaha's answer to Reference is their PHX line, both somewhat similar in fundamental sound. For those who don't know, PHX are 11-ply hybrid shells of different hardness woods.

PHX uses redesigned versions of the Nouveau lug and YESS mounts (bout a year or two ago on this forum I made a comment that Yamaha would improve on the YESS mount, they did for the heavier PHX).

Also, all PHX drums have 30 degree bearing edges. The new lug mounts on a square hook rather than a round post. I suspect when Yamaha runs out of the round post Nouveau spares, MCAN will get the square peg. The new square pegs line-up the lugs truer, with less/no effort.

All being equal, the Reference is more drum for the money. I prefer Yamaha hardware, but then there's sound, which is subjective.

These sets are all demoed on youtube.

Yamaha's 'Midnight Sparkle' is attractive, but I've heard one comment from a drummer who said they would get it if it didn't have red (which can look a lotta-pink) in the sparkle, I'm OK with it though, I personally didn't like the green flecks.

Honestly, IMO any Yamaha finish no matter how questionable on paper, or the web will look absolutely stunning in person, even the Embossed finishes. All the colour blends Yamaha uses are pleasing. All the colours 'work', there's true artists finishing drums at Yamaha, not just drum builders. Midnight Sparkle is stunning in person even with the said colours, just being real picky.

Pearl's finishes are 1st class all the way. Their colour blending doesn't seem as alive to me as Yamaha's though. Pearl's finishes are more like really nice 'drum finishes', as opposed to Yamaha's being more like 'art'.

Everyone's different. I wouldn't buy any quality drum set without seeing/hearing it first, you may regret it.

Thanks for the great answers guys. Keep these testimonies coming!

I played a DW collectors in natural maple today, which is also around the same price point. I loved the sound, but having not played the other two I have no point of comparison. Thoughts?

My thoughts? Well, to tell you the truth I went to buy a DW Collectors and came home with the Mcans instead.

There are new podcasts about the PHX. various Yamaha artists telling about the sets and playing them (check Ndugu's solo)

https://www.yamaha.com/thehub/default.html?CTID=5041999


(PHX Ash in Textured Black Sunburst)

(PHX Ash in Garnett Fade)




DW, Noble, Pearl.. eat you're heart out

The PHX looks great, but its over my price point. Its a little to new for used deals to start appearing.

My opinion is the the MCAN is a superior kit. Also, the MCAN is part of Yahama higher-line that is made in Japan by very skilled artists. The Pearl reference is made in Taiwan. I don't think that the PHX is designed to compete with the Referrence, It is much more expensive.

Wayne

You will be more happy with the Yamaha-kit.

Well, I guess I better chime in here since I play MCA's and my finish is in Brown Fade!! What you are hearing is true about the MCA's: incredible craftmanship, punchy kick, and versatile/warm toms. The hardware is awesome. I've only played a Reference kit at my drum shop; it, too, was well built and sounded great. But, as you might guess, I am partial to Yamaha (always have been).

Aydee will get mad at me if I do not say something about the Brown Fade finish It's beautiful. The kit has a warm and classy look under all stage-lighting conditions. It's not the most flashy finish; but, if you want a kit that looks elegant and warm, go for it.

Chris

White Rabbbit said:

I'm in the market for new set and am stuck between the two. I have to deals lined up for 5 piece sets. The MCAN is in midnight sparkle and the Reference is is granite sparkle. No hardware is included so thats not factored into it.

I'd love to hear opinions on the drums and the finishes. Has anyone played or seen these drums in person? Looking for as many opinions as possible.

Edit: The MCAN also is offered in a Brown Fade, as well as Green Sparkle. I'm not interested in the Green but I'm toying with the brown fade.

Click to expand...

ive got a pearl reference in granite sparkle its got to be the best kit ive ever had and ive had a few dw pearl masters star classic hey dont come close to the sound of the reference

I own a Yamaha Maple Custom kit, and I've played several Reference kits. Your two options are both very nice. Both have great hardware and fine workmanship for mass-production drums. The main difference, really, is going to be that one is an all-maple kit and the other one uses mixed woods. The effect of that is that you may find the Reference kit will give you a deeper sound overall, while the Yamaha will give you more of that maple tone. I'd say make the decision on the basis of what kind of music you're going to be using it for and what kind of sound suits that music best.

If transportation is a factor, you may find the Yamahas weigh less.

I've owned a few Yammies and currently own a Ref kit, and it's really gonna come down to what motleyh said above. Both kits are very solid and sound great

I'd probably take the Ref kit as Pearl's outstanding customer service and lifetime warranty would be the tie-breaker.

...or I'd choose whichever offered the finish or price I was after.

...or I'd just get both, be totally broke and get my dinner from trash cans for a while. )


For what it's worth, I recall seeing a post from a Yammie rep on another drum forum that Yamaha was going to have a price decrease sometime this month -- you may want to wait.

Pearl Reference has to be better, it's a matter of materials.

If a drum is made out of a mix of materials that make it sound better than a good sounding drum that could sound better if it were mixed, then which is better?

If you're looking for "musicality", then the Reference kit is ahead of the Yamaha's. But since the Yamaha's aren't the PHX's, it's getting close to the "apples and oranges" problem.

Besides, The References, just look so nice. -drools-

The last three kits I've bought all had the Pearl Reference drums in the competition and every time I picked something other than the Reference. The Reference aren't bad drums, but to my ears and to others that were there, there were better sounding drums in the direct comparisons. One of those better sounding kits two years ago were the Yamaha Maple Custom Absolutes.





Dennis