Pearl Midtown Kit

88
| OCTOBER 2016 WWW.MUSICRADAR.COM/RHYTHM
GEAR REVIEW
produces a pure note whilst maintaining a
decent attack.
Like the rack tom, the snare also performs
best in a higher tuning. For me, the crowing
glory of the Midtown kit, the little 13"x5½"
stinger sounds utterly fantastic from anything
more than a couple of key-turns up. The
16-strand snare wires are responsive and give
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What was the inspiration for Pearl’s new
Midtown kit?
“We have the gigging drummer in mind, who
demands gear that can rise above the noise
without getting in the way.”
Are there more fi nishes or confi gurations on
the way?
“As we newly introduced this Midtown kit, we
have chosen to keep it simple and not to make
the choices too diffi cult. One confi guration,
two colours, that’s it.”
Who do you see primarily using this kit?
“Those drummers who are gigging, and living
in a big city, needing to transport their kit
easily and needing a big sound. The Midtown
Kit’s compact size makes it ideal for tight
spaces, and quickly breaks down for quick
and easy transport. Those drummers with
small rooms to rehearse or practise in, with
little space at home.”
How does the Midtown compare to the
Rhythm Traveler?
“The Midtown kit is much more a be-bop
style kit where the Rhythm Traveler Gig
was more a combination of Cocktail kit, with
shallower depth toms and snare. The Midtown
kit is the full-size kit with a smaller footprint,
which delivers lots of low-end punch for
solid backbeats.”
Jeroen Breider European Branding
Manager for Pearl Europe
They say…
THE THIN POPLAR SHELLS ARE
WONDERFULLY RESONANT WHICH
MAKES THE KIT VERY LIVELY OVERALL.
COMBINED WITH THE SINGLE-PLY
FACTORY HEADS, THE SNARE AND
TOMS IN PARTICULAR SING WELL
from a medium tuning upwards. At low
tension, they are quite slappy and provide
little in the way of resonance. Thankfully, the
fl oor tom starts to come to life at a low
enough pitch to make it useful for the
non-jazzers out there. The rack tom is more
or less useless until the sweet spot is found at
a medium to high tuning. At that point, it
THROW OFF
Snare has Pearl’s proprietary
16-strand snare wires and
throw-off/buttplate
SHELLS
Chinese-built shells are
constructed from 6-ply,
7.5mm poplar
a good balance to ghost notes and backbeats
alike; rimshots are able to cut through without
being overbearing. The drum is lively and
open and would work well for reggae, Latin
and jazz styles. As is the case for the whole kit
for that matter. With minimal dampening, the
snare is dried out and the tone is focussed.
Having taken this kit to a couple of gigs and
a few practice sessions, I was able to really
put it through its paces in different musical
situations. The fi rst of which was a function
gig taking place in a rather large and
reverberant hall. In this context, the volume
was helped by the natural reverb, and during
soundcheck I was pretty blown away by the
sound it was creating. Into the fi rst set
though, with the band in full swing, it became
apparent that the drums just weren’t cutting
through as much as one might hope.
The second gig was in stark contrast to the
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1
PDP NEW
YORKER
We say: “I had fun
playing this kit. The
sparkle fi nish grows on
me every time I look at
it, and you can’t argue
with the price tag.”
RHY260.gear_pearl.indd 88 9/7/16 6:14 PM