MusicRadar

Spline-joint staves increase the surface area of the joints for greater strength

1 of 2 » View in gallery

• Review

Pearl Percussion's popular Elite series hand-percussion instruments are usually offered with 100 percent aged oak shells, but this brand new series features an outer layer of mahogany fused with an inner layer of para wood – more commonly known as rubber wood.

Para wood is used extensively in furniture manufacturing in Thailand, which just happens to be where Pearl's Elite series is made. This adds a classy grain pattern to the insides of the shells and significantly increases volume and overall projection.

Spline-joint stave technology might sound a little daunting, but it simply means that Pearl further enhances the traditional stave construction method by utilising metal splines. This solidly secures the staves both horizontally and vertically while increasing the surface area of the joints for added shell strength.

"The blend of woods seems to naturally EQ the instruments so that they strike a great balance in all ends of the sound spectrum"

The result is a reassuringly rock-solid shell construction that ranks it as one of the heaviest sets we've come across. Carting the drums around will take a little more brawn and if you do plan on checking them in regularly with airlines, prepare yourself for some seriously scary excess baggage charges!

Another new feature is Pearl's Self-Aligning Washer System, which isolates the tension hooks from the inner walls of the lugs for greater tuning ease. This worked well without any hindrance.

You can choose from finishes such as natural mahogany or, in this case, Pearl's Cosmic Sparkle high-gloss finish, which adds a hugely classy look and is basically a black sparkle with a gazillion tiny flecks of blues, reds, greens, golds and more; when caught under stage lights it looks truly fabulous. This finish does come at a little extra cost, but is well worth the outlay.

Hands on

The blend of woods seems to naturally EQ the instruments so that they strike a great balance in all ends of the sound spectrum. Pearl says that mid and low frequencies are increased and we would have to agree with them, while adding that we found the high-end tones were boosted significantly too.

All standing proud at 30" tall, the 11" quinto, 11 3/4" conga and 12 1/2" tumba were beautifully sympathetic and fun to play, while affording powerfully authentic tones and bags of volume when needed. The matching bongo set has a 7" diameter macho and 9" hembra, features the same polished steel hardware(top and bottom) and as a result is pretty hefty too.

The tumbadoras' responsive buffalo-skin heads sit high up and well clear of Pearl's new styled Contour Crown hoops and this means that there's no likelihood of you cracking parts of your hands on the hardware. These new polished steel hoops are quite substantial but don't overpower the drums, while their pewter-esque finish adds a touch of elegance when you compare them with the ubiquitous standard chrome versions.