Pearl Session Studio Select

IT ALL STARTS WITH THE SHELLS
A thin blend of Masters grade birch and
African mahogany echoes the shells of the
original Session Studio Select drums
SHORT AND SWEET
The 20"x14" bass drum
delivers a cavernous sound
at a reasonable volume
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WWW.MUSICRADAR.COM/RHYTHM MARCH 2016 |
PRICES
Pearl Session Studio
Select four-piece
shellpack (20"x14",
10"x7", 12"x8", 14"x14"):
£1,139; Pearl Session
Studio Select 14"x5½"
snare drum: £215
SHELLS
5.4mm 6-ply birch/
mahogany hybrid
BEARING EDGES
60-degree outer bearing
edge gently rounded,
accurately cut
FINISHES
AVAILABLE
Lacquers: Gloss
Barnwood Brown, Piano
Black, Delmar;
Wrap: Nicotine White
Marine Pearl
HOOPS
Pearl triple-fl anged
2.3mm SuperHoop II on
snare and toms;
Matching wooden hoops
on bass drum
SHELL
AVAILABILITY
Bass drums: 18"x14",
20"x14", 22"x16",
24”x14";
Snares: 14"x5½",
14"x6½", 14"x8";
Rack toms: 8"x7",
10"x7", 12"x8", 13"x9",
14"x10";
Floor toms: 14"x14",
16"x16", 18"x16";
Gong bass drum:
20"x14"
SUPPLIED HEADS
Bass drum: Remo
Powerstroke clear batter
and white ported front
head;
Snare: Remo white
coated Ambassador and
clear snareside;
Toms: Remo clear
Pinstripe batters and
clear Ambassador
resonants
LUGS PER DRUM
Bass drum: 16;
Snare drum: 10;
double-ended lugs;
Rack toms: 12;
Floor tom: 16
TOM MOUNTS
Pearl OptiMount
Suspension System
CONTACT
Pearl Europe
pearleurope.com
00800 8424 9328
Essential spec
VERDICT: There’s a lot to like about
this kit. The birch/mahogany shells are
cracking, the sizing is right up to the
minute and the fi xtures and fi ttings
are all high spec. With a good range of
alternative shellpacks and individual
drums to chose from it’s defi nitely a
range to check out.
BUILD QUALITY
PLAYABILITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
RATING
and gently rounded towards the outer
edge in order to further boost mid and
low frequencies. Pearl is one of the few
drum companies still building shells using
scarf joints – a tapered overlap of the plies
as opposed to butting them together to
create a straight joint – and peering down
into the shells to view the results gives an
immediate impression of craftsmanship.
Outside, the shells come in a choice
of two lacquer fi nishes – Gloss Barnwood
Brown and Piano Black – or a single
Delmar wrap (Nicotine White Marine
Pearl); no prizes for guessing which
colour adorns the review kit. Deep,
glossy and very, erm, black, the fi nish
is excellent. The shell hardware is typically
robust – chunky bass drum spurs and
heavy duty fl oor tom brackets and legs
sourced from Pearl’s Masters range.
In contrast to the low mass doctrine
commonly ascribed to in modern drum
manufacturing the RF fl at lugs fi tted to
the drums deliberately add weight to the
shells as they, according to Pearl, increase
volume and control overtones. Pearl’s
triple-fl anged 2.3mm SuperHoop II
hoops are found on the snare and
toms whilst the bass drum comes with
matching wood hoops. Pearl’s unique
OptiMounts – solidly engineered but
not the most graceful of solutions – are
utilised to suspend the toms (as the bass
drum has no mount, two pairs of clamps
and tom arms are supplied as well). The
kit is shod with a full complement of
Remo heads, including Pinstripes for
the toms.
Hands On
While shorter tom depths have been
recognised for their tonal qualities for
some time, shorter bass drums are a
relatively new trend. With a modest 20"
diameter, how does that 14" depth sound?
Well, revelatory, actually. Stepping the
bass drum for the fi rst time – ie. before
we’ve even tuned it – the sound it
produces is gorgeous. Wide open the
drum gives a guttural blat of front note
that then resonates warmly into a natural
decay. It’s somewhere between John
Bonham and Keith Carlock in its tone and
presence but does so without shaking dust
from the ceiling joists. Unlike a bigger
drum it will not deliver impenetrable
depth but what it does do is just so right
that we fi nd ourselves re-evaluating
exactly what a bass drum should bring to
the table.
If the bass drum hits the spot then the
toms seem engaged in their own private
battle to prove which of them carries the
perfect balance of projection and
saturation. It’s a tricky one to adjudicate
because each of the toms gives such a fat,
rounded response that choosing between
them is impossible. Even with the fi tted
Pinstripes they really punch through –
thanks to the birch – whilst the mahogany
adds irresistible mid and low-end grunt.
With eyes closed you’d be forgiven for
thinking you were playing a larger set of
sizes as, individually and collectively, they
sound bigger than their actual dimensions,
without resorting to loosening off the
tension rods.
Space permits me from covering the
snare in detail... in brief, it combines the
best characteristics of the hybrid shells
with a razor-sharp response.
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