Pearl Roadshow Review

The Pearl Roadshow drum set is a complete drum set that has everything you need to begin playing right away. This drum set truly offers supreme value for money, and it outshines all of its competitors in the entry-level market.

Pearl is the world’s best-selling drum manufacturer. That means they know a thing or two about making great quality drums! Pearl is one of the best drum brands that has a strong and long-standing reputation for making superior-sounding drums.

In this Pearl Roadshow review, I’m going to be taking a look at what exactly makes this drum set the ultimate choice for beginners. Let’s dive right in!

Pearl Roadshow Drum Set Gallery

Contents

Pearl Roadshow Drum Set Ratings

Sounds 4.5

4.8

4.8/5

Hardware

4.6

4.6/5

Build Quality

4.6

4.6/5

Playability

4.7

4.7/5

Value

5

5/5

Sounds

The Pearl Roadshow drum set is a beginner-level drum kit, but with the right tuning and some adjustments, these drums produce really nice sounds!

It’s refreshing for an entry-level drum set to offer smooth and consistent tones across the board.

The sounds don’t quite compare to that of a top-level drum set, but you will certainly be pleasantly surprised by what you can achieve with the Pearl Roadshow.

These drums are crafted from Poplar wood, which is a great choice for drum construction. Traditionally Poplar wood was reserved for intermediate-level drum sets. Quality features are now finding their way into beginner kits. It’s never been a better time to start learning the drums!

In addition to the strong 9-ply Poplar shell, these drums feature 45-degree hand-cut precision bearing edges for enhanced sensitivity and a wide tuning range, as well as a strong tonal resonance.

These well-cut bearing edges help to draw a better sound from the shell and improve the sound quality overall.

All of the Poplar shells produce delightful tones, and they sound great under microphones too.

With proper tuning, the snare drum is the standout drum in my opinion, with 8 lugs for tuning consistency, it tunes up with ease and delivers a wonderful ‘crack’. Ghost notes and rimshots also sound fantastic on this snare.

The bass drum also sounds excellent, with a clear, punchy tone. It does certainly benefit from the addition of a bass drum pillow, or blankets inside, however, to muffle some of the overtones.

Each of the toms sings a beautifully clear tone, and there is a good pitch interval between each drum. I personally found it hard to tune the middle tom, however.

The drum kit also includes a set of beginner cymbals, but these are not as impressive as the drums themselves. The beginner cymbals are very affordable brass cymbals, and they lack the richness and the diverse sonic palette that premium cymbals possess.

Hardware

The Pearl Roadshow drum kit contains, without a doubt, the best quality drum hardware of any of the available entry-level drum sets on the market.

All of the hardware components included are very rugged and solid. The drum hardware package is second-to-none in its class.

Included with the Pearl Roadshow drum set you’ll receive a cymbal stand, hi-hat stand, snare drum stand, drum throne, bass drum pedal, and tom arms. These are all of a good quality and feature double-braced legs for added rigidity and strength.

The bass drum pedal and hi-hat stand operate smoothly and they are both very responsive and sturdy. The cymbal stand and snare drum stand are also hefty and supportive and are considerably better quality than what you can expect from a typical beginner drum set.

Out of all of the hardware included, the throne is the weakest component. It is still acceptable for a beginner or a younger drummer, but I suggest upgrading to a quality drum throne so you can maintain the correct drumming posture whilst playing.

Build Quality

In this Pearl Roadshow review, I’m looking at the ‘New Fusion’ size drum kit- that includes ‘fast’ sized rack toms and a large kick drum and floor tom for a fun all-round playing experience.

The combination of short rack toms and large kick and floor tom in this Pearl Roadshow Fusion kit works great for most styles of modern music including pop, rock, funk, gospel, and R&B.

The build quality of everything included in the package is fantastic. The finish of the drum kit is a Bronze Metallic wrap and it looks very attractive. The wrap is expertly applied, with no visible signs of warping or air bubbles.

All of the bearing edges are hand-cut, and they are smooth indeed. This allows for the drum head to be seated evenly and allows for maximum shell projection. The 9-ply Poplar drum shells themselves are strong and well constructed.

The hoops and lugs are high quality and robust on all of the drums. Most beginner-level drums have cheaper hoops that are not strong, but these are rock solid and will hold their tuning well.

Playability

Sitting behind the Pearl Roadshow you can really tell that this is a quality, first-rate musical instrument. Everything feels great to play and the hardware components are supportive, especially the quality bass drum pedal included.

I’ve found the 5-piece Pearl Roadshow is very easy to tune, especially for beginner-level drums. The bass drum produces a nice and powerful low end. It can benefit from a touch of dampening, so I would advise placing a pillow inside the drum to reduce some of the overtones.

The snare drum is impressive, to say the least. It offers a lot of power and projection, and it has a snappy and crisp sound.

It delivers fantastic ghost notes when played softly. It’s sensitive enough for any style of music and it has a really smooth tone.

I also love the toms. They are immensely fun to play. They also have a good initial attack on them, and as I mentioned earlier they can be easily tuned to pronounce a concise, even pitch between them all.

I am confident both beginners and experienced drummers will appreciate how much fun the Pearl Roadshow drum set is to play. These drums deliver warm and punchy tones that will sound great for pretty much any style of music.

Whether you want to play modern pop, fusion, hip-hop, jazz, or hard rock, these drums will deliver for any of these musical genres. These drums are very versatile and are amazing for anyone looking to start drumming right away.

Value

It amazes me that the Pearl Roadshow drum kit includes everything you need to play at such an affordable price. The price really is the highlight of this Pearl Roadshow review.

You can expect to pay a lot more for a good drum set. Especially when you take into account the cost of drum hardware, cymbals, a throne, etc.

But the Pearl Roadshow is significantly more affordable, and that’s what makes it such an incredible package.

It includes each drum set component mentioned, plus even a drum key, stick bag, and drum sticks too.

Verdict

The Pearl Roadshow is the ultimate balance of quality, performance, and affordability. It’s an amazing value-for-money bundle for student drummers taking their first step into the world of drumming.

There is no better beginner drum set out there. The quality of the hardware is second to none for this price, and the Poplar shells are expertly formed to deliver high-impact sounds.

If you are looking at buying your first drum set for yourself or as a gift for your child then look no further. The Pearl Roadshow is a killer drum set package that will enable you to enjoy the benefits of drumming.