, simply known as Pearl, is a multinational corporation based in Japan with a wide range of products, predominantly percussion instruments.
History Pearl was founded April 2, 1946, by Katsumi Yanagisawa, to manufacture music stands in Sumida, Tokyo. In 1950, Yanagisawa shifted his focus to the manufacturing of drums and named his company "Pearl Industry, Ltd."
By 1953, the company's name had been changed to "Pearl Musical Instrument Company," and manufacturing had expanded to include drum kits, marching drums, timpani, Latin percussion instruments, cymbals, stands, and accessories.
Yanagisawa's eldest son, Mitsuo, joined Pearl in 1957 and formed a division to export Pearl products worldwide. To meet increasing worldwide demand for drum kits following the advent of rock and roll music, in 1961 Pearl built a factory in Chiba, Japan, to produce inexpensive drum kits for other companies. Such instruments, known as stencils, bore the brand names of more than thirty distributors, such as Apollo, Coronet, Maxwin, CB-700, Stewart, Werco, Ideal, Crest, Revelle, Revere, Roxy, Lyra, Majestic, Silvertone, Toreador, Westbury, and Whitehall.
In 1966, Pearl introduced its first professional drum kit, the "President Series".
In the early 1970s, Pearl was distributed in the U.S. by Norlin, the parent company of Gibson guitars at the time.
Today, Pearl's Taiwanese operation encompasses five factories whose output supplies nearly the entire worldwide market for Pearl products. The original Chiba factory now caters to the domestic Japanese market, producing drum kits, marching drums, timpani, and symphonic chimes. The company also produces drums in Zhejiang, China.
Adams Musical Instruments are sold in the U.S. through Pearl dealers, Hughes and Kettner guitar and bass amplifiers are distributed through Pearl's main warehouse in Nashville, Tennessee and Sabian cymbals are distributed in Japan through Pearl dealers.
Pearl created several drum products, such as shells in the 1970s that were made of wood with a fiber-glass lining and ones made of a composite called "Phenolic." Additionally, Pearl combined roto-toms and these Phenolic shells to create the Vari-Pitch line of drums. Other early innovations included shells that were slightly undersized, so that the drum head would extend over the edges, much like on a gong drum. Pearl manufactured seamless, extruded acrylic shells that were different from the tabbed-and-seamed Vistalite shells used by Ludwig. Pearl also developed the hinged tube tom-arm, a design widely copied by many other drum manufacturers.
Construction Pearl has made shells for more than 30 companies. In the 1960s, they ceased making shells for other companies and began offering drums under their own name, using the Pearl logo for the first time.
Their construction technique is known as SST or "Superior Shell Technology." All Pearl drums feature this construction. Each ply is placed into a cylinder, and pressure is applied from both sides. While in the press, the shell is heated to bring the glue to a boil, thus forcing the glue through the wood grain and fusing the shells very tightly. The individual plies are scarf jointed, and all the seams are offset, resulting in a "seamless" drum (Pearl demonstrates the strength by parking a Humvee with its tire on a tom shell).Pearl Drums SST Video (2:57) This creates a drum shell of incredible strength.
Drum lines
Beginner and semi-professional lines Midtown (MDT) - a compact 4-piece poplar drum kit which consists of a 16x14 bass drum, a 10x7 tom, a 13x12 floor tom, and a 13x5.5 snare. Roadshow (RS) - a 5-piece drum set with a 9-ply Poplar shell. This kit is made for beginners. A throne, a Dual Chain drive pedal, cymbals (16“ Crash-Ride Cymbal, 14" Hybrid Brass/Hi-Hats), Maple Drum Sticks (2 pr) and a Professional Stick Bag are also included. Export (EXX) - introduced at Winter NAMM 2013, the EXX is Pearl's reintroduction to the Export line in less than a decade. This is the best selling drum set of all time. Designed to replace the Forum series, these drums are made from Poplar and Asian Mahogany shells and feature Pearl's "Opti-Loc" suspension mounts. Export (EXL) - essentially the same as Export EXX but with a Lacquer finish.Pearl Export EXL product page Decade Maple (DMP) - all maple drum kit with an affordable price tag. Pearl Decade Maple features a thin 6ply/5.4mm Maple Shell, an Opti-Loc mounting system and low mass/low contact hardware.
Professional lines
Crystal Beat (CRB) - seamless acrylic drum set reintroduced at NAMM Summer Session 2014. Originally the first Crystal Beat was launched in 1973 and featured 'Sonaglass' - Pearl's acrylic shell equivalent. Crystal Beat's revolutionary seamless construction was molded - not rolled - creating a strong acrylic drum system that could stand up to the rigors of touring. The updated version features several modern changes: Optimount suspension system, 1.6mm triple-flanged hoops and a new acrylic material. Session Studio Select (STS) – Introduced at Winter NAMM 2018, the Session Studio Select kit replaced the discontinued Session Studio Classic. These drums feature Birch/African Mahogany shells, 60-degree bearing edge, SuperHoop ll and crafted for studio recordings. Pearl Masters Maple Complete (MCT) - Designed to replace Pearl MCX, this drum series features all Maple shell. Pearl Masters Maple Gum (MMG) - Released in 2019 at Winter NAMM, Pearl Masters Maple Gum series is a simplified version of the Masterworks (MW) Sonic Select: Studio Recipe but with limited options of finishes and configurations. The shell consists of the premium North American Maple and Gum wood with 60-degree edges. Pearl Masters Maple Reserve (MRV) - Professional drum series featuring the original Masters series shell formula. The shell consists of 4-ply(5mm) 100% Maple with 4-ply Maple Re-Rings. Besides stock finishes, there are also more than 40 special order colours. Reference Pure (RP) – New for 2011, the Reference Pure series features the same wood blend as the original Reference series, but with thinner shells (each ply .9mm thick), new "Fat Tone" hoops, and Masters Premium-style swivel tube lugs, all of which are designed to reduce the overall weight of the kit and to create a more open, resonant sound. Reference (RF) - Pearl's professional drum line made from blended wood types (Maple, Birch and African mahogany). They are the highest quality that Pearl offers that are not custom-made. The drums come in a wide array of finishes with chrome, black or gold-plated hardware. This series is also made in Taiwan, and are readily available for order in red wine color. All other colors still may take up to six months for order. Masterworks (MW) – Pearl's flagship drum line. Everything, including the plies of wood (such as mahogany, maple, birch, and carbon fiber/maple), style and finish of hardware (chrome, 24k gold, black), and finish can be selected by the customer. For an added cost, Masterworks drums can be ordered with an exotic wood outer ply (such as tamo or bubinga), which enhances the finish. All of the drums are handmade, and because of this, delivery times can take up to six months and even a full year.
Electronic drums e/Merge - high-end electronic drum kit developed in partnership with Korg. The kit comes with a full library of acoustic Pearl drums together with Korg's library of electronic and orchestral quality samples percussion sounds. Also featuring Pearl PUREtouch Pad aimed at creating a true acoustic-like pad experience. Mimic Pro - Introduced at NAMM Summer Session 2016 this drum module features actual VST layered sounds from Steven Slate Drum (SSD5) library. It is also the first drum module to implement a 7” IPS touch screen. SY1 Syncussion- Released in 1979, this was the forerunner to the Simmons SDSV. It offered two completely independent (and identical) channels which were typically triggered from two bongo-like drums fitted with transducers. They could be triggered from almost anything including an old synth with a gate output or, indeed, the trigger outputs of a drum machine. It was capable of producing electronic drum and percussion sounds and sound effects. Discontinued. DRX 1 - Was the next model Pearl brought out, similar to the Simmons kits The kits came with five trigger pads consisting of a bass drum trigger and four snare/tom triggers; and an electronic brain controller module. Also using rubber pads which were softer for better rebound. Later on they bought out a restyled version named Pearl Drum X, the last version was the Syncussion X, this was radically different using full analogue and electronic sounds. Discontinued. ePro Live - Pearl's first electronic kit that included real drums made from poplar shells. The drum pads can be replaced with traditional drum heads and can be played as an acoustic drum kit. They are available in two finishes, Jet Black and Pearl's new Artisan II finish, Quilted Maple Fade. Pearl's "EPC2" plastic cymbals or real brass E-Classic electronic cymbals (designed by Smartrigger Electronic Cymbals) are available. The kit's drum module, Pearl's R.E.D.(Real Electronic Drums) box, includes acoustic and vintage drums, electronics from beat machines to modern digital, and a variety of orchestral, concert and world percussion instruments. Discontinued.
Discontinued acoustic drums Forum – Drums made with 6 plies (7.5mm) of Poplar in wrap finishes. Forum drums include Pearl's CXP cymbals, Vic Firth drumsticks, an instructional DVD, and Pearl's 890 Series hardware as standard equipment. In January 2008, the Forum line received an upgrade to the Forum FZ - featuring upgrades like ISS tom mounts. These are made in China. The Forum line was replaced by the new Export line in 2013. Target - Pearl's entry-level kit. These drums are made from 9 plies of mahogany. SoundCheck - Pearl's entry-level kit. These drums are made from 9 plies of mahogany and are finished in a durable high-gloss covering. Despite its discontinuation, it is still available for purchase at some music shops, such as Guitar Center. Export (EX, ELX, EXR, and ECX) - Pearl's most popular series of drum kits, and the most popular set ever sold (the one millionth Export kit was produced in 1995). The first generation of Export drums were made of 9-ply Philippine mahogany, and the newer were made with 6 plies (7.5mm) of Poplar, with the ECX series being made from maple, and come standard with Pearl's ISS tom mounting system. They were discontinued and replaced by the Vision series (VMX - 6ply maple, VBX - birch, VSX, VX) and later reintroduced in 2013 (as the EXX) to replace the Forum line. Session - The successor of the World Series, Prestige Session Elite (SLX), Prestige Session (lacquered) and Performance Session (covered) were introduced in 1991. The shells were 7-ply, 7.5mm: One inner ply of birch, one outer ply of birch, and five middle plies of mahogany. Toms had Superhoops. Rack toms had I.S.S. Mounts. Prestige Session and Performance Session still retained the WLX designation and came with traditional double lugs, while SLX had high tension lugs and came with better hardware. In 1994, the SLX became the SPX Prestige Session (lacquered) and SX Session (wrapped) Series. The SX shells were 8 ply Mahogany and Laminate while the SPX shells were 7 ply birch and mahogany. In 1997 SRX Prestige Session Select replaced SPX and SX line. The shells were 7 ply maple and mahogany. In 2001 SRX Prestige Session Select became the SRX Session Custom, 6-ply all-maple shells with the OptiMount suspension system and 2.3mm SuperHoops II. In 2004 SRX became the SMX Session Custom 6 ply 100% maple series, and SBX Session Custom all birch. Sessions were discontinued in 2006 to make way for Vision series and MCX Masters Custom in 2007. These drums were extremely popular, but expensive. The Session line was later reintroduced in 2012 as the Session Studio Classic.