Pearl Midtown Kit

87
WWW.MUSICRADAR.COM/RHYTHM OCTOBER 2016 |
PRICES
£407
SHELL MATERIAL
Poplar wood
CONSTRUCTION
METHOD
Ply
NUMBER OF
PLIES
6 plies
BEARING EDGES
45°
FINISHES
AVAILABLE
Black Gold Sparkle;
Black Cherry Glitter (as
pictured)
HOOPS
1.6mm steel
triple-fl anged hoops
SHELL
AVAILABILITY
One shell-pack available:
bass drum: 16"x14";
tom: 10"x7"; fl oor tom:
13"x12"; snare drum:
13"x5½"
SUPPLIED HEADS
Toms: Pearl/Remo UT
single-ply clear for both
batter and reso; snare:
Pearl/Remo UT
single-ply coated batter,
clear reso; kick: Pearl/
Remo
LUGS PER DRUM
Kick: 12; rack tom: 12;
fl oor tom: 12; snare
drum: 16
TOM MOUNTS
Opti-Loc Suspension
System for rack tom
with included single
tom arm
CONTACT
Pearl Drums
www.pearleurope.com
Essential spec
MATCHING SNARE
The Midtown has a
matching 13"x5½" snare
drum which exceeds
expectations for the price
Little touches like this go a long way when it
comes to setting up and packing down your
kit in a hurry. The use of wing nuts on the
telescopic bass drum spurs and bass drum lift
also aid in making this kit a doddle to set up,
and not having to mess around with drum
keys also helps in this regard.
Considering the RRP of just over £400, this
kit seems to be shaping up quite nicely. As
Pearl points out, the Midtown offers “a whole
kit for the price of some snare drums”, which
is hard to argue with.
Hands On
The thin poplar shells are wonderfully
resonant, and this makes the kit very
lively overall. Combined with the single-
ply factory heads, the snare and toms
sing well in particular.
The kick provides a pleasantly low-pitched
boom which is workable, if not a little
underpowered. With some internal
dampening, the sound is transformed to a
drier, focussed thump. Tuned up, a sustained
note starts to appear which takes it into
hip-hop and even jazz territory.
The toms are musical and work best
RHY260.gear_pearl.indd 87 9/7/16 6:14 PM