Japanese percussion instrument company
Pearl Musical Instrument Company (パール楽器製造株式会社, Pāru Gakki Seizō Kabushiki Gaisha), simply known as Pearl, is a multinational corporation based in Japan with a wide range of products, predominantly percussion instruments.
History
Pearl was founded by Katsumi Yanagisawa -who began manufacturing music stands in Sumida, Tokyo- on April 2, 1946. 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 15,000 sq ft (1,400 m2) factory in Chiba, Japan to produce inexpensive drum kits, also known as "STENCIL KITS" that 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.[2]
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. There was also a shell 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 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 manufacturing drums under their own name and used the Pearl logo for the first time.[3][4]
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 it 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).[5] This creates a drum shell of incredible strength.
Limited edition
Over the years, Pearl has released a number of limited edition kits, normally special versions of existing lines:
- Pearl Export EXA in Teal Blue Ash - Introduced in April 2019 this 6-piece shell pack consists of a 22x18 Bass drum, 10x7 and 12x8 toms, 16x16, 14x14 Floor toms, and a 14x5.5 snare drum.[13]
- Redline - Reference kits available in either solid black or solid white with matching lugs and hoops. True to its name, the rubber gaskets on the lugs and bass drum claws were dyed red. The kits came in different size shellpacks in rock-styled configurations. The Redline series were released in the US in 2008 and in Europe (as a Masters Premium kit) at the Musikmesse later that year.
- 50th Anniversary - Masters Series drums made from birch with reinforcement hoops and 24-karat gold-plated lugs. 30 kits—10 in Wine Red, 10 in Black Mist, and 10 in Emerald Mist—were made and were not sold in the US except for the Anniversary style snares, though they differ from the snare drums that came with the Anniversary kits (The single snares were single-ply with vintage lugs and hoops).
- Chad Smith & Joey Jordison limited edition - Released as an Export shell pack, the Joey Jordison kits consisted of a double bass setup and comes with a Joey Jordison signature snare, while the Chad Smith kits are made in a rock setup and comes with a Chad Smith signature snare. These kits were later rereleased in 2008 as a Forum drum kit.
- Mahogany - Drums constructed from African Mahogany.[14]
Snare drums
As well as drum kits, Pearl is a renowned producer of snare drums. Low-end kits (Vision series and lower) come standard with snare drums, and higher-end series have snares which must be bought separately. Individual snares, as well as artists' signature snares, are also available.
Series snare drums
- Soundcheck - Comes with matching 14"x5.5" snare as standard equipment.
- Export (EXX) - Comes with matching 14"x5.5" snare as standard equipment.
- Masters - Available in all Masters lines and finishes. Ordered separately from kits.
- Reference - 20-ply wood snares are available in 14"x5", 14"x6.5" and 13"x6.5" sizes. They utilize the same mixed wood technology as other Reference drums, with 6 inner plies of birch and 14 outer plies of maple with a 45° bearing edge. Metal Reference snares are also available, with shells made from either steel and brass. Both metal snares are available in 14"x5" and 14"x6.5" sizes.
- Masterworks - Masterworks snares can be custom-ordered with a kit, or as a separate item. They are available in a wide range of materials, sizes and finishes.
- StaveCraft - The shells are made of Thai Oak or Makha staves and are 25mm thick. The Dado-Loc joint increases a total shell strength of 50%. Both snares are available in 14"x5" and 14"x6.5" sizes.
Individual snare drums
- SensiTone Elite - Snares produced from five metals: steel, stainless steel, brass, phosphor bronze and aluminium. All are available in 14"x5" and 14"x6.5" sizes. In 2011, the stainless steel, bronze, and aluminum models were discontinued, leaving the brass and steel models the only models in its lineup.
- UltraCast - Drums made from 3mm cast aluminum. Available in 14x5 and 14x6.5 sizes.
- Free-Floating - Pearl's Free-Floating snares removes all hardware from the shell, allowing the player to change the shell as easily as a head. The throw-off, lugs and other hardware are part of the special edge ring which holds the drum and heads together. Available in copper, brass, steel, aluminium and maple with shell depths of 3.5", 5", 6.5" and 8". In 2011, the copper and brass models, as well as the 8" shell depth, were discontinued. Also the aluminium shells were discontinued.
- Symphonic - Made from 6 ply, 7.5mm thick maple, for concert-quality snare drums. The throw-off features three separate strainers for thin cables, heavy cables and snare wires, allowing a variety of sounds.
- Firecracker - Snares made from 8-ply Poplar or 1mm steel shells. They are available in 10" and 12" sizes, both with a 5" depth.
- Effects - Effects snares includes the 10"x6" Maple Popcorn snare as well as piccolo snares. All are designed to create sounds not found in standard snare drum sizes.
Discontinued snare drums
- Soundcheck - Comes with matching 14"x5.5" snare as standard equipment.
- Forum - Comes with matching 14"x5.5" snare as standard equipment. (Discontinued and replaced with the new Export series)
- Vision - VX, VSX, VLX and VBX lines come with a steel SensiTone snare, while the VMX line comes with a matching maple snare. For 2011, the VB, VBA, and VMA lines come with a matching wood snare, while the VBL line comes with a steel SensiTone snare.
- Utility - Fusing reliability and flexibility for today’s demanding gigging environment, Pearl has developed Modern Utility: a line of no-nonsense, well-appointed snare drums priced with the active working player in mind. Vital instruments tailored to make the gig great, Modern Utility’s five snare models each feature a 6-ply/5 mm all Maple SST shell. Well-appointed with our CL Bridge Lug and smooth SR700 strainer, each Modern Utility snare is priced to allow the active working player an expanded voice, is flexible enough to add to any set-up, and strong enough to stand up to constant play.
Hardware and pedals
In addition to producing drums, Pearl has also produced hardware for its drum and percussion instruments as well as pedals. One of Pearl's major improvements was the introduction of the Uni-Lock tilter on their tom mounts and cymbal stands. Introduced in 1982, the Uni-Lock tilter uses a frictionless, gearless tilter, allowing the player to make more precise angle adjustments to their toms and cymbals. This was further improved with the introduction of the Gyro-Lock tilters which rotate a full 360 degrees. Most of Pearl's pedals come equipped with PowerShifter heel plates, which allow the player to adjust the pedal's feel by sliding the plate either forwards or backwards.
Hardware
- 700 Series - Pearl's low-end line of hardware featuring gear tilters and double-braced legs. These come standard on Forum kits. Replaced by the 830 Series in 2013.
- 900 Series/930 Series - Introduced in 2009, the 900 Series is Pearl's mid-ranged line of hardware featuring Uni-Lock tilters. 900 Series hardware come standard on Vision series kits. For 2013, the 930 Series was released, being the updated version of the 900 Series
- 1000 Series/2000 Series - Pearl's high-end lines of drum hardware. 1000 Series hardware come equipped with upgraded Uni-Lock tilters, while 2000 Series hardware are equipped with Pearl's Gyro-Lock tilters. For 2013, the 1030 and 2030 Series were released, being upgraded versions of the 1000 and 2000 series respectively.
Pedals
- 830 Series (830 Series) - Pearl's entry-level line of pedals. Introduced in 2014, it borrows many features from the Demon lines including Demon Style Longboard and design (without any color), Perfect Circle Cam and DuoBeat Beater.
- 930 Series - Pearl's mid-level line of pedals. These pedals succeed the 900 and 120 series. For 2013, the 930 Series line of pedals (also known as the Demonator line) was introduced, borrowing many features from the Eliminator and Demon lines.
- Eliminator (2000 Series) - Pearl's mid-ranged line of pedals and the most versatile line of pedals in Pearl's lineup. Eliminator pedals feature Pearl's patented QuadBeater which allow the player to choose between four distinct sounds, six interchangeable cams which affects the pedal's feel and response, and a customizable traction plate. For 2012, the Eliminator II (2100 series) line of pedals were introduced by Pearl Japan, sporting features from the Demon series such as Ninja bearings, Z-link universal joints (limited edition only), and the Control Core beater, and bridges the gap between the Eliminator and Eliminator Demon lines.[15] The Eliminator II is currently only sold in Japan. For 2016, the Eliminator Redline (2050 series) line of pedals was released as an upgrade to the old Eliminator 2000 series.
- Eliminator Demon (3000 Series) - Pearl's high-end line of pedals. Introduced in 2009, the Demon Drive pedals come equipped with direct drive links, micro-polished bearings (courtesy of Ninja Skateboards), and a "Duo-Deck" footboard which allow the player to switch between short and longboard pedals. For 2012, the Demon Chain pedal was introduced, incorporating the same features as its direct drive counterpart, but with a lightweight chain and "Perfect Circle" cam.