Pearl Forum Drumkit

The Pearl name is an established one within the drumming world, with many professionals choosing to use their kits. The Pearl Corporation was founded in 1946 in Tokyo, Japan and since then has grown in popularity, rising to be the household name within the drumming world that it is today. I'd say they are definitely among the best when it comes to quality, so when you see the Pearl name you can rest assured that the kit in question is well made and ...
...bean cans being hit. The Pearl Forum I feel is infinitely better than other starter kits on the market and looks fairly smart with it's black coating. Although I say black coating as this is the colour of mine, the Pearl Forum comes in a number of other colours including Deep Blue, Charcoal, and Red Wine.

For £500 your money will provide you with:

- 22x18 bass drum
- 12x9 & 13x10 mounted toms
- 16x16 floor ... more

The Pearl name is an established one within the drumming world, with many professionals choosing to use their kits. The Pearl Corporation was founded in 1946 in Tokyo, Japan and since then has grown in popularity, rising to be the household name within the drumming world that it is today. I'd say they are definitely among the best when it comes to quality, so when you see the Pearl name you can rest assured that the kit in question is well made and will sound great.

I bought this kit a couple of years back now and it was definitely a great buy for me as I have got a lot of use out of it and it's still going strong. Although there are a lot of drum kits at lower prices, you tend to find that they really don't sound too great so it's definitely worth splashing out a bit of extra cash and getting something that's not going to make disgusting sounds resembling baked bean cans being hit. The Pearl Forum I feel is infinitely better than other starter kits on the market and looks fairly smart with it's black coating. Although I say black coating as this is the colour of mine, the Pearl Forum comes in a number of other colours including Deep Blue, Charcoal, and Red Wine.

For £500 your money will provide you with:

- 22x18 bass drum
- 12x9 & 13x10 mounted toms
- 16x16 floor tom
- 14x5.5 wood snare drum
- 14" hi-hats
18" Pearl Crash/Ride cymbal

The build quality of the drums themselves is great and they still look as strong now as they did back when I bought them a few years back. Although the build quality of the drums themselves is good, you will find that the Pearl drum skins you are provided with aren't particularly great and so you may find that the heads need replacing after a while. I recommend getting some Remo heads, they will improve the sound of your kit tenfold, and will have it sounding amazing. Obviously if you're just starting out then don't change the heads immediately as for learning purposes, you're not going to need better heads on your kit, however all heads need replacing eventually so when you do have to replace the heads, it's worth splashing out a bit and getting decent heads in order to get the best sound output possible out of your kit.

Although this is a good beginner kit, once you get better and start gigging with it you're probably going to want to get yourself a new snare. The snare that you get here isn't bad, it's just a really bog-standard snare and the sound that you get out of it isn't fantastic. I'd recommend looking around and trying out a number of different snares until you find one that best suits your needs. You're obviously going to want a different snare if you're playing something like Funk to what you would if you're going to be smashing out some Heavy Metal beats, so it's worth experimenting and finding the snare that produces a suitable sound for the music you're going to be playing.

Despite the fact that Pearl are good at making drum kits, they're not exactly known for the quality of their cymbals - this basically being because their cymbals tend not to be up to much. The Crash/Ride cymbal that you get here works alright as a Crash, however I recommend investing in a separate Ride cymbal right from the offset as having a cymbal that's both a Crash and a Ride is never going to work too well. Although ok as a Crash, before long you'll be wanting to be replacing this as well as there are far better Crash cymbals on the market and depending on how elaborate you want to be in your spending, this shouldn't set you back too much cash. When buying this drum kit you need to bare in mind the extra cost that you're going to have to shell out on cymbals so make sure you've got a bit left over when you buy this drum kit in order to be able to do so. As regards to what cymbals to look out for, I'd suggest investing in some Zildjian or Sabian cymbals as they are both well respected makers and produce a large range of cymbals meaning that whatever your budget; you should be able to find cymbals that suit your needs.

The same goes for the hi-hats as for the Crash/Ride, they'll serve you well for a while, but then you may well look into getting a better pair. I think I went a bit heavy on my hi-hats as I somehow managed to bend them and the decision as to whether or not to buy some new ones was made for me. I don't think I'm a typical case however, so if you're looking to buy a Pearl Forum kit you probably shouldn't have to worry too much about bending your hi-hats, unless of course you happen to get on your drum kit in a bit of a mood and take out your aggression on your poor defenceless hi-hats.

The bass pedal that comes with this kit is another pitfall - it's fairly average and will leave you happy with it, however once you've played on a kit with a better bass pedal you'll yearn for one of your own and really feel like your drumming is suffering as a result of your not having one. The bass pedal here will not stop you from playing well, but as I say, once you've played on someone else's better bass pedal, you'll notice just how much more responsive their pedal is than yours and feel the need to upgrade. You may also want to look at getting a double bass pedal if you're looking to play heavy music. With a double bass pedal you control the bass with both feet rather than just the one and there are two beaters so you can hit the bass drum at double the speed you could with a single bass pedal. Double bass pedals can sound good however they are hard to master, so if you are just looking to start out then I wouldn't recommend in looking at double bass pedals just yet, master the art of the single bass pedal before trying your hand at the double - that's my advice.

You may think I've given quite a few negatives about the kit here, and it's true that I have, however as a beginner kit the Pearl Forum is extremely good. Sure you'll have to make a few changes here and there and spend a bit more than the initial £500 to get the best out of your kit, however this would be the case with whatever drum kit you bought. After a few years playing you may wish to invest in something with a bit more power to it such as an Orange County drumkit, a Drum Workshop one or perhaps even sticking with Pearl but upgrading and investing in a Pearl Masters or Session Series kit, not because the Pearl Forum doesn't allow you to play at a more advanced level but more of a case that you'll just get greedy and want to have the best of the best. I wholeheartedly recommend the Pearl Forum to anyone looking to invest in a drum kit, whether you're just looking to get into drumming or have a less established brand of drum kit and are simply looking to upgrade; the Pearl Forum should be good enough to suit your needs. 

...less