Product Review: Pearl Forum Series Drum Kit
Every now and then I will post a product review of something that I get the opportunity to use in my playing. I recently advised one of my private students on buying a new drum kit, and he could not be happier with his decision. After exploring a few options, and considering my advice, he went with a Pearl Forum series kit. Let me start off by saying that for the money, I believe that this is one of the best, if not the best beginner kit you can buy. I should also mention that my first drum kit was a Pearl Forum, and it worked great for me until I reached the point of upgrading. Below are a few pictures so you can get an idea of what this kit looks like.
Pearl Forum Series Drum Kit
Between the time I owned one of these kits and now, Pearl has made some fantastic improvements. The first thing I noticed after setting up and tuning this kit was the tone. The tone of these drums far exceeded my expectation, having known they were purchased for less than $600. The shells are 6 ply Poplar, but replicate the tonal quality of a decent Birch or Mahogany drum. Pearl has also improved their tom mounting design, as these drums are equipped with with Pearls integrated suspension system mounts. This system eliminated the need to drill holes in the shells of your drums, which greatly improves tone and sustain. They also now hook to the rim of the drum, (unlike the Pearl Optimount System,) which makes tuning your drums less of a hassle.
Pearl Integrated Suspension System Tom Mount
Appearance is also important when purchasing a kit, and now Pearl offers black hardware on a few colors in this series (as pictured above) providing the beginning drummer the opportunity to own a sleek, expensive looking set. Their new low-mass lugs also help to increase resonance. All of these changes make this kit sound much better than one would expect. I would fully recommend this kit for anyone looking to buy their first drum set. Happy shopping!
