please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article contains content that is written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . september 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message this article may contain improper references to self published sources . please help improve it by removing references to unreliable sources where they are used inappropriately . september 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . january 2010 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message pearl corporation formerly called pearl industry ltd. industry percussion instruments founded 2 april 1946 ; 70 years ago 1946 04 02 1 founder katsumi yanagisawa 1 headquarters yachiyo chiba japan area served worldwide key people katsumi yanagisawa founder masakatsu yanagisawa president & ceo products acoustic & electronic drum kits drum hardware frame drums cowbells congas bongos timbales djembes tamboras repiniques cuicas rocars parent pearl musical instrument company website pearldrum.com pearl musical instrument company p ru gakki seiz kabushiki gaisha simply known as pearl is a multinational corporation based in japan with a wide range of products predominantly percussion instruments . contents 1 history 2 construction 3 drum lines 3.1 beginner and semi professional lines 3.2 professional lines 3.3 electronic drums 3.4 discontinued drums 4 limited edition 5 snare drums 5.1 series snare drums 5.2 individual snare drums 5.3 discontinued snare drums 6 hardware and pedals 6.1 hardware 6.2 pedals 7 see also 8 references 9 external links history edit pearl was founded by katsumi yanagisawa who began manufacturing music stands in sumida tokyo on april 2 1946 . in 1950 yanagisawa shifted his focus to the manufacturing of drums and named his company pearl industry ltd. by 1953 the company s name had been changed to pearl musical instrument company and manufacturing had expanded to include drum kits marching drums timpani latin percussion instruments cymbals stands and accessories . yanagisawa s eldest son mitsuo joined pearl in 1957 and formed a division to export pearl products worldwide . to meet increasing worldwide demand for drum kits following the advent of rock and roll music in 1961 pearl built a 15 000 sq ft 1 400 m2 factory in chiba japan to produce inexpensive drum kits that bore the brand names of more than thirty distributors such as maxwin cb 700 stewart werco ideal crest revelle revere lyra majestic whitehall silvertone apollo toreador roxy and coronet . 2 in 1966 pearl introduced its first professional drum kit the president series . for a time in the early 1970s pearl was distributed in the u.s. by norlin the parent company of gibson guitars at the time . today pearl s taiwanese operation encompasses five factories whose output supplies nearly the entire worldwide market for pearl products . the original chiba factory now caters to the domestic japanese market producing drum kits marching drums timpani and symphonic chimes . adams musical instruments are sold in the u.s. through pearl dealers hughes and kettner guitar and bass amplifiers are distributed through pearl s main warehouse in nashville tennessee and sabian cymbals are distributed in japan through pearl dealers . pearl created several drum products such as shells in the 1970s that were made of wood with a fiber glass lining . there was also a shell made of a composite called phenolic . additionally pearl combined roto toms and these phenolic shells to create the vari pitch line of drums . other early innovations included shells that were slightly undersized so that the drum head would extend over the edges much like a gong drum . pearl manufactured seamless extruded acrylic shells that were different from the tabbed and seamed vistalite shells used by ludwig . pearl also developed the hinged tube tom arm a design widely copied by many other drum manufacturers . construction edit pearl has made shells for more than 30 companies . in the 1960s they ceased making shells for other companies and began manufacturing drums under their own name and used the pearl logo for the first time . 3 4 their construction technique is known as sst or superior shell technology . all pearl drums feature this construction . each ply is placed into a cylinder and pressure is applied from both sides . while in the press the shell is heated to bring the glue to a boil thus forcing it through the wood grain and fusing the shells very tightly . the individual plies are scarf jointed and all the seams are offset resulting in a seamless drum pearl demonstrates the strength by parking a humvee with its tire on a tom shell . 5 this creates a drum shell of incredible strength . drum lines edit drum kit . djembe . mcx maple snare drum 6.5 x 14 in transparent black . s900 snare stand . hi hat pedal . sensitone classic 2 brass shell 14 5 snare drum . drum kit . bass drum of a marching band in ohio . beginner and semi professional lines edit rhythm traveler a traveler s kit with shrunken drum depths made from 6 plies of selected hardwoods . rhythm traveler drums includes cymbals throne hardware mesh heads and cymbal mutes . target drums manufactured with 6 plies of basswood . made exclusively for the european market it is sold as a complete set with cymbals throne hardware and drumsticks . export exx introduced at winter namm 2013 the exx is pearl s reintroduction to the export line in less than a decade . designed to replace the forum series these drums are made from poplar and asian mahogany shells and features pearl s new opti loc suspension mounts . professional lines edit vision the successor to the export and session series drums . vision drums originally came in 2 varieties the vlx lacquer finish drums and the vsx wrapped drums . over time the vbx vision birch vmx vision maple and vx series drums were added to the line with the vlx being the only discontinued line . vsx and above drums feature two ply heads and uni lock tom holders vsx and vbx drums are 900 series while vmx drums are 1000 series . these drums feature new lugs and the new 900 series hardware as standard equipment except the vmx which only ships with tom arms and floor tom legs . for 2011 the vision line receives new badges and the vx vsx vbx and vmx lines are succeeded by the vb vision birch vba vision birch artisan vbl vision birch lacquer and vml vision maple lacquer lines respectively . also all vision drums are now 6 ply drums dropping the 6 8 formula from the previous lineup . for 2012 all vision series drums vb vba and vbl now come with remo heads as standard equipment ut pinstripe on toms ut powerstroke on bass drums . these are made in china . the vml line was discontinued for 2013 making the vbl the highest end of the vision series . session studio classic ssc introduced at winter namm 2012 the session studio classic line reintroduces the session series for the first time in five years . these drums are made 6 plies of birch and kapur referred to pearl as their session formula shells and feature remo drum heads pinstripe on the toms powerstroke 3 heads on the bass drums optimount tom mounts and superhoop ii hoops . these drums are made in taiwan . masters custom mcx drums made from 6 plies of maple . these drums replace the entire session and masters premium lines until the introduction of the session studio classic with the only difference being that they feature die cast hoops masters series lugs masters series optimount tom mounts and remo drum heads . they are the same configuration as the masters premium mrp kits but they only come in 5 finishes with bright chrome being the only hardware option . as a result the drums are not made up as a custom stock . since they are warehoused in large quantities time between order and delivery are much shorter . these are made in taiwan . masters premium the successor to the masters series drums available in either birch bmp brp or maple mmp mrp . all series offer the choice of either chrome black chrome or gold hardware . the line was discontinued in the u.s. in favor of the less expensive mcx series but continues to be sold in japan and europe . however it can still be ordered as a special order in the north american market . masters premium legend mpl introduced at the 2011 musikmesse music fair the legend series incorporates most of the features found in the reference pure series such as fat tone hoops thinner shells and lightweight swivel tube lugs snares only all of which are designed to reduce the kit s weight . unlike the masters premium line these drums are only made from maple with the choice of 4 mm or 6 mm shells . these drums are available only in europe . reference pure rp new for 2011 the reference pure series features the same wood blend as the original reference series but with thinner shells each ply .9 mm thick new fat tone hoops and masters premium style swivel tube lugs all of which are designed to reduce the overall weight of the kit and to create a more open resonant sound . reference rf pearl s professional drum line made from blended wood types maple birch and african mahogany . they are the highest quality that pearl offers that are not custom made . the drums come in a wide array of finishes with chrome black or gold plated hardware . this series is also made in taiwan and are readily available for order in red wine color . all other colors still may take up to six months for order . masterworks mw pearl s flagship drum line . everything including the plies of wood such as mahogany maple birch and carbon fiber maple style and finish of hardware chrome 24k gold black and finish can be selected by the customer . for an added cost masterworks drums can be ordered with an exotic wood outer ply such as tamo or bubinga which enhances the finish . all of the drums are handmade and because of this delivery times can take up to six months and even a full year . electronic drums edit sy1 syncussion released in 1979 this was the forerunner to the simmons sds v. it offered two completely independent and identical channels which were typically triggered from two bongo like drums fitted with transducers . they could be triggered from almost anything including an old synth with a gate output or indeed the trigger outputs of a drum machine . it was capable of producing electronic drum and percussion sounds and sound effects . drx 1 was the next model pearl brought out similar to the simmons kits the kits came with five trigger pads consisting of a bass drum trigger and four snare tom triggers ; and an electronic brain controller module . also using rubber pads which were softer for better rebound . later on they bought out a restyled version named pearl drum x the last version was the syncussion x this was radically different using full analogue and electronic sounds . epro live pearl s first electronic kit that included real drums made from poplar shells . the drum pads can be