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HISTORY

The Pearl Corporation was founded by Katsumi Yanagisawa, who began manufacturing music stands in Tokyo, Japan on April 2 , 1946 . In 1950 Katsumi shifted his focus to the manufacturing of Drum s and named his company "Pearl Industry, Ltd."
Their most recent series of drums are the ''Reference''

By 1953 the company’s name had changed to "Pearl Musical Instrument Company," and manufacturing had expanded to include drum kits, marching drums, Timpani , Latin percussion instruments, Cymbal s, stands, and accessories.

Katsumi’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 , Pearl builds a 15,000 sq. foot factory in Chiba , Japan in 1961 . These kits were inexpensive and bore the brand name of the distributor.

In 1965 Mitsuo formulated a long-range plan to bring Pearl to the forefront of the percussion industry. Under this plan, Pearl would 1) develop new products with quality equal to or better than products offered by established brand name companies; 2) install the latest automated machinery in the Chiba factory to increase production; 3) establish a sister factory in Taiwan ; and 4) establish a worldwide sales and service network.

As part of this plan, Pearl introduces their first professional drum kit, the "President Series," in 1966 , and in 1973 the Pearl Musical Instrument Company of Taiwan becomes operational.

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.


DRUM KITS

Pearl’s line of drum kits includes nine series, ranging from entry level to professional grade. In ascending order, they are:

  • Rhythm Traveler – Traveler's kit. All drums in the kit feature shrunken depths. Package includes cymbals, throne, hardware, mesh heads and cymbal mutes. Rhythm Traveler drums are made with 9 plies(7 mm) of Mahogany


  • Target - The best kit for beginners. Available in three 5 pc kits. Most stores sell this kit with 5a drumsticks


  • Forum – Most music stores will sell this kit with cymbals, throne, hardware and drumsticks at no extra charge. Forum drums are made with 6 plies(7.5 mm) of Poplar.


  • Export – Pearl’s most popular series of drum kits, also the most popular set sold today. They have three series, EX, EXR, and ELX. The only difference to these three are the options and quality of the finishes. Export drums are made with 6 plies(7.5 mm) of poplar.


  • Session - Session drums are made from 100% Maple or Birch shells depending on which the customer chooses, either are 6ply(7.5 mm). Session series are a much higher quality than Soundcheck, Forum, and Export. They use Pearl's heat compression system on the plys and the Optimount suspension mounting system.


  • Masters – 5 series within this line consisting of, MMX, MRX, MSX, MHX, BRX, and BSX. Top quality Pearl drums, with the highest hardware and compression system to offer. MMX drums feature 4 plies(5 mm) of maple with maple reinforcement rings. MRX drums feature 6 plies(7.5 mm) of maple. MSX drums feature 6 plies(7.5 mm) of maple. Unlike the MRX, exotic coverings are offered on this series. MHX drums feature 4 plies(5 mm) of African Mahogany with maple reinforcement rings. BRX drums feature 6 plies(7.5 mm) of birch. BSX drums feature 6 plies(7.5 mm) of birch with real glass flake coverings.

    • http://namm.harmony-central.com/WNAMM03/Content/Pearl/PR/Masters-Diamond-Burst-lg.jpg


  • Reference - Released in January of 2005. Pearl has blended wood types together for the toms, snare drums, and bass drums in order to create a unique and fully expressional sound for each individual drum. There is no single wooden drum kit that can compare with this kit. They are on high demand and are the highest quality that Pearl offers that is not totally custom. They are often considered some of the best drums available today


  • Masterworks – Pearl's flagship model. Completely hand made drums. Everything down to the plies of wood, types of hardware material (chrome, satin chrome, 24k gold, black), and finish is solely based on the customer's order.

    • http://www.poweralley.com/Pearl/mwrootbeer.jpg



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