Right now in the “News” section of their website, Pearl is advertising a contest with some great prizes. Go check it out and enter! Its super easy, and the prizes are awesome. Click HERE to go to the contest entry page. Happy drumming, and good luck!
The Pearl Drum Corporation posted on their Twitter account this morning that Ray Luzier is the newest Pearl Drum endorser. Ray, who spend most of his drumming career with OCDP, semi recently switched to DDrum. He has now left them, and joined the Pearl family.
Ray is a fantastic drummer, and is most known for his playing in Korn since 2007. He previously played with Army of Anyone with Filter Frontman Richard Patrick, and Stone Temple Pilot’s Robert and Dean DeLeo. He was also a recording and touring member of the David Lee Roth band from 1998 to 2003, among many other things. Below are a few videos of Ray for your viewing pleasure.
Korn Medley From Clinic
In Studio – Performance with Solo
Audition for Korn
Yesterday I did a post about a brand new product that Pearl is coming out with called E-Pro Live. It features the slogan, “Get Real. Be Real,” and was shrouded by rumors and theories about what this product could be. It looks like the majority of those rumors were right. E-Pro Live is Pearl’s new revolutionary electronic/ acoustic drum set hybrid. It will cost you a pretty penny (somewhere in the $3,000-$3,500 range), but it really is two kits for the price of one. It also features Pearls new R.E.D. Box module. I have listed some features of the kit, and module below.
Pearl E-Pro Live Drum Set Features
Pearl R.E.D. Box Module
Now we just need to see this kit in action! The video below includes an explanation of the E-pro Live features, as well as demonstrations by Dennis Chambers, and Joey Jordison.
As many of you may know, the NAMM show is happening this weekend! If you don’t know what NAMM is, it stands for the National Association of Music Merchants. It’s basically a giant trade show where every company in every field of the music business display their latest and greatest products in order to sell them to buyers. It’s also come to be a sort of musician networking opportunity. It’s the only time where all of the reps from all of your favorite companies are in one place at one time. Most companies are very secretive about what products they are going to debut prior to the event, but some do give a few hints. Let me make it clear that I don’t know what this product is, but it’s fun to speculate.
Pearl has lately been advertising a product called E Pro Live. The popular thought is that pearl is getting into the electronic drum game for the first time ever. The slogan, “Get Real. Be Real” which appears under the ad, has led many to believe that this may be some type of acoustic/electric hybrid which may incorporate actual wood shells, or even real heads. Despite all of the speculation, a Pearl marketing associate assured everyone on the Pearl drummers forum that it was in fact not what they thought it was. Either way it sounds cool!
The NAMM show actually started today, and runs through Sunday the 17th. It can be a little difficult to get in, but if you can it’s definitely worth going. Hope you find a way!
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!
