Pearl Reference 5-Piece Fusion Shell Pack Review
This shell pack includes a 22″ x 18″ kick drum, 10″ x 8″ and 12″ x 9″ rack toms, and 14″ x 11″ and 16″ x 13″ floor toms.
Pearl’s Reference Series: These are drums with a rich inner beauty crafted by the artful blending of the finest birch, maple, and African mahogany. Each drum is individually engineered to deliver tonal perfection.
The mission behind the Pearl Reference Series is a complete set of individually engineered, incredible-sounding drums.
To fully understand the Pearl Reference Series, you must understand that the desired tonal characteristics of a 10″ tom are completely different than that of a 22″ bass drum. Thus, to use the same material in both drums would result in a compromise.
The Shells
Pearl Reference Series drums use a combination of task-specific bearing edges and three time-proven woods: birch, maple, and African mahogany. Using maple as a sole material has long been the traditional choice for shells and for good reason. Maple provides smooth, well-balanced tone that is perfect for a 12″ tom. Subsequently, all Reference Series 12″ toms are composed of six plies of maple, the only single-wood shell in the series. The 10″ and 8″ toms receive four plies of maple with two inner plies of birch for cut and attack. For maximum response, all 13″ and smaller toms have rounded 45° bearing edges.
Beginning with the 13″ and larger toms, mahogany is added to the inner plies to increase the lower frequencies and accentuate the warmth of the maple. The 14″ toms and larger begin using fully rounded bearing edges for even more shell contact. 18″ and 20″ bass drums use four inner plies of mahogany with two outer plies of maple. As the size of the bass drums increase, so does the amount of mahogany. The 22″ and 24″ bass drums incorporate an amazing six inner plies of mahogany surrounded by two outer plies of maple for the ultimate in solid responsive bass frequencies.
With Pearl Reference, it’s not about compromise; it’s about every drum in your kit performing at its optimal capacity.
The Hardware The same tireless pursuit of perfection that goes into Pearl’s legendary drums is found in its hardware. This hardware was designed to maximize the sound of your drums. Pearl hardware has set a high standard for strength, durability, and innovation.
Lug design
Bridge-style lugs and floor tom brackets provide maximum resonance with minimal shell contact. Pearl’s revolutionary BRL lugs assure the ultimate in head seating and tuning integrity. The unique swivel function allows the tension rods to align perfectly into the lugs so there’s no lateral pressure against the hoops, thus assuring maximum resonance and sustain.
Bass drum claw hook
Pearl’s kick drum claws incorporate rubber hoop isolators for scratch prevention on lacquered hoops, to provide evenly distributed clamping force for consistent tuning. The key bolts are recessed for snag-free fit in carrying cases and to eliminate accidental detuning.
Floor tom leg brackets with air-suspended rubber tips
Full height adjustment with Pearl’s built in memory lock keeps floor tom positioning perfectly set. Pearls’ patented Air Suspension Rubber Tip allows your floor tom to rest on a cushion of air. These large rubber feet prevent premature sound decay from floor contact. Floor toms never had it so good.
OptiMount suspension system
The OptiMount Suspension System provides tom mounting with zero shell contact for ultimate resonance. By attaching to the tension bolts via isolated rubber bushings the shell is allowed to float which, in turn, allows it to sing to its fullest capabilities.
MasterCast die-cast hoop
Pearls’ die-cast hoops offer state-of-the-art head seating and tuning capabilities thanks to its structural strength and precision manufacturing technique. The MasterCast Hoop system prevents binding and allows the shell to resonate to its absolute fullest potential.
Bass drum spur
Pearls’ telescoping spurs feature rubber or spike tips for maximum traction control. The high-grip rubber tip can be retracted to allow a recessed spike to be exposed for maximum bite on carpeted surfaces.
Stainless steel suspension rods and bolts
Pearl’s stainless steel tension rods are machined from a single piece of stainless steel to the most exacting tolerances in the industry. They feature super smooth and precise tensioning with absolutely no play. Each is matched with a precision-machined brass swivel nut for ultra-precise performance.
Cymbals, stands, and kick pedal not included.
Pearl Reference 5-Piece Fusion Shell Pack Features:
* Drum sizes include:
* 22″ x 18″ kick drum
* 10″ x 8″ and 12″ x 9″ rack toms
* 14″ x 11″ and 16″ x 13″ floor toms
5-Piece Fusion Shell Pack features:
* BRL bridge lugs with swivel function
* LB-200 bridge floor tom leg brackets
* LG-200 floor tom legs
* SP-300 spurs
* MasterCast die cast hoops
* Aluminum OptiMount tom holders
* Stainless steel tension rods
* Molded rubber gaskets
* Remo coated “JP” Ambassador tom batters
* Remo coated “JP” Powerstroke3 kick drum heads
* Cymbals, stands, and kick pedal not included.
Rating: 
One of Pearl’s flagship drum sets…Beautiful finish and beautiful sound. A lot of engineering went into this drum set line up. I’m very impressed how Pearl has designed each part of the drum set from ground up, focusing on each individual tonal range for each drum. Shells are beautifully crafted and Pearl hardware, lugs, etc., are very well thought out. I’m a big fan of the optimount system as well. Isolates the individual drum for great sound. This set is a winner.
