Pearl Vision VLX 5-Piece Fusion Drum Set Review

The Pearl Vision Series 5-Piece VLX Fusion Drum Set features birch-ply shells with 6-ply 7.5mm-thick rack toms and 8-ply 10mm-thick floor toms and bass drums. Inspired by Pearl's Masterworks and Reference Series, the thicker floor tom and bass drum shells deliver high-energy power and punch while the thinner rack toms offer incredible sensitivity and tone to give Vision the widest dynamic range with unmatched musicality. Nothing short of Pearl's Reference Series is anywhere close to matching the Vision's sound.Two-ply ProTone batter heads are standard on toms for super-easy tuning and full, rich sound. Pearl's Perimeter EQ heads give the Vision bass drum great tone with just the right amount of muffling, virtually out-of-the-box.The Vision Drum Set's newly designed lugs are inspired by the Reference Series and include precision-machined brass swivel nuts with zero play for smooth and pinpoint tuning. The bass drum claws are die cast and feature a rubber lining to protect the beautiful finish on the Vision's all-wood hoops.Vision bass drums feature Pearl's new BB-300 bridge-style bass bracket for minimum shell contact and maximum resonance. I.S.S. suspension tom holders with Pearl's newly designed BT-300 tom brackets are standard on Vision rack toms for maximum sustain and projection. TH-900 tom arms are infinitely adjustable for micro-fine tom angles and placement. The Stop-Locks are hinged so they can be reversed while keeping the toms attached. BSP-300 spurs feature a fold away design for easy setup and transport, telescopic height adjustment, and spike/rubber tips for slip resistance.The floor toms feature Pearl's "Reference-inspired" FTB-200 leg brackets with an extra-large hinged clamping surface for non-slip security. The matching FTL-200 legs are smooth for easy adjustments and removal and feature Pearl's patented Air Suspension feet for maximum resonance and sustain.The Vision Series features Pearl's beautifully chrome-plated beaded steel 5-1/2" x 14" SensiTone snare drum with Pearl's SR-900 Dual-Motion strainer that can be converted from side lever action to Gladstone-type front lever action as desired. The SensiTone lives up to its name with super sensitivity and superb tone, projection, and dynamic range.The Vision Series is available in lacquer and covered versions. The VLX features beautiful super high-gloss grain-through lacquer finishes in fade patterns with matching bass drum hoops.The Vision Series is equipped with 900 Series hardware with features and quality unavailable by others in this class. All 900 Series tripods feature Pearl's parallel Sure-Struts that resist lateral twisting and the inherent squeaks that may result from it for improved stability and super quiet performance in studio applications. The pipe joints share the same "family look" as Pearl's Advanced Hardware Systems stands and feature a vise-type clamping system.

Rating:
Great entry level set that incorporates Pearl’s high standards for quality. If budget is a concern, you can’t go wrong with this drum kit.

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Yamaha Stage Custom Nouveau 5 Piece Fusion Drum Set

The Yamaha Stage Custom Nouveau 5-Piece Fusion Drum Set is a great set for many types of drumming genres . The shells are high quality, and the kit includes Nouveau lugs that are attached to the shell by fiber-reinforced composite bolts at 2 points by a unique floating design that reduces vibration damping. Rack toms are Yamaha’s Enhanced Sustain System (YESS) mounting system that allows attachment of the drum to the tom holder without the need of a hole in the drum shell for the rod to pass through. Good stuff for keeping the sound truer. The ball-clamp triple tom holder gives total freedom in positioning and superior stability. The bass drum includes matching wood hoops and heavy duty hexagonal bass drum spurs.

Set Includes: wood snare with Nouveau lugs. 8-ply birch (outer ply), Philippine mahogany, and falkata shell. YESS tom mounts on all toms. Air Seal System shells. 1.6mm triple-flange steel hoops. Nouveau lug design. Matching wood bass hoops. Sturdy hexagonal bass spurs. 22" x 17" bass drum. 10" x 8" and 12" x 9" toms. 16" x 16" floor tom. 5-1/2" x 14" wood snare. 2-CS745 cymbal holders. HS740 hi-hat stand. SS740 snare stand. FP7210 bass" pedal. TH945A tom holder.

Rating:
Yamaha makes quality drumsets and have been doing it for a long time. They create many orchestra instruments as well and you can tell they keep quality running at maximum on all of the different lines of instruments. I’ve played on Yamahas before and love the sound of these drumsets. They have great attack and resonate very well. The shells are very strong. This particular set is a good introductory set for the first time player as well as a seasoned vet. The natural wood is a thing of beauty on Yamaha instruments and drums.