The Pearl RS525SCC706 Roadshow 5-Piece Drum Set is a beginner drum set from a reputable brand – Pearl. This 5-piece kit comes with literally everything you need to begin drumming the moment this package gets to you. However, in this review, we will be proving if this kit is exactly what you need.
As you understand choosing your first drum kit is super important as it would form a big part of perfecting your skills. Understandably, it can be a bit difficult but we’re sure our review of the Pearl Roadshow will help you make your choice.
The Pearl Roadshow 5-Piece Drum Set is super affordable so it fits into most budgets. In essence, it is a drum set most beginners can afford. But there’s more to this drum set which we will now probe into. Come with us!
(4.3 / 5)Contents
About Pearl…
Knowing about the brand behind the product is important to boosting your confidence in any brand. So, we think this is the proper place to begin this review.
Pearl, or more formally, Pearl Musical Instrument Company has its headquarters in Japan. However, it has so many offices around the globe. The company is a giant in the industry that started out in the 1940’s and now has several brands to its credit including Adams.
The company actually adopted the name Pearl Musical Instrument Company in 1953. This was when the brand decided to branch out into making percussion instruments. Some of them include timpani’s and Latin instruments, drum kits, etc.
Anyway, Pearl has maintained a leadership position in the drumming community for years now. And in this spell of time, this company has contributed a fair share of innovative percussion instruments which drummers have come to depend on.
For instance, using their superior shell technology (SST), Peal has designed some amazing drums with a seamless seal. Plus, everyone knows that Pearl is quite famous for its tom drums with Humvee on the top. This goes to prove how powerful said seal is.
Currently, Pearl has three main arms from which it operates globally. There’s Pearl Drums USA, Pearl Music Europe, and Pearl Drums Brazil. Of course, they still operate very much under the Pearl Musical Company still headquartered in Japan.
So, that’s enough said about the brand, we will now go into the full review of the Pearl Roadshow.
What’s In The Box?
First off, the Pearl Roadshow Roadshow 5-piece drum kit comes with 4 different finishes. There’s jet black, charcoal metallic, red wine, and bronze metallic. So, you’ve got different color options to play with. But then again, what exactly is in here?
- 22 x 16 inch bass drum.
- 14 x 5.5 inch matching snare drum.
- 10 x 8 inch tom, 12 x 8 inch tom, 16 x 16 inch floor tom.
- Two Pearl 500 series cymbal stands.
- One Pearl 500 series hi-hat stand.
- A Pearl 500 series snare drum stand.
- One Pearl series bass drum pedal.
- 14 inch hybrid hi-hat.
- One 16 inch crash ride.
- One Pearl stick bag.
- Two drum sticks.
- One drum throne.
Naturally, as a beginner, you might be somewhat worried about how to put this kit together. Fortunately, there are loads of video tutorials online about how to set up this kit. Moreover, it’s great that the kit comes with everything you need to begin drumming right out of the box.
Who Is The Pearl RS525SCC706 Roadshow 5-Piece Drum Set For?
The Pearl Roadshow works for literally any drummer within any genre at all. There are several different configuration options for all kinds of drummers, from the Jazz configuration, to the Rock configuration, to the New Fusion.
In the Rock kit, the bass drum is a bit small, same as the toms. And with this configuration, Pearl offers a softer sounding rock and roll sound than a normal drum set.
Next, we have the Jazz configuration… This one offers about the smallest bass drum, snare and toms available. This setup is fantastic for jazz music which demands fast triplets across the drums.
Moving on, the New Fusion kit offers the largest sizes of drums. The bass comes in a 22 by `16 inch bass drum. Then there’s the 16 x 16 inch floor toms and a 10 x 8 inch tom. In all, this kit is excellent for rock and roll. But then it can also work for modern pop as well.
Lastly, we have the Rock configuration which comes with large toms measured at 16 by 16 inches and 14 by 14 inches. This configuration is best for heavy hitting. So, it’s a great drum setup for those in the metal and hard rock genres.
Build Quality Of The Pearl Roadshow
The drums in the Pearl Roadshow are made from 9-ply poplar shells which is then covered in wrap finish. Of course within this price range, you can hardly expect any material other than poplar. So, the question you might have now is “is poplar good or bad?”
Alright, straight goods only… Poplar is a robust material. So, barring any unforeseen circumstance, this should last you for several years.
Now, to the big one – sound. Of course, you cannot expect poplar to sound like maple. Think about it, maple will cost you about $700 tops and you’re paying less than $500 for this kit. But then again, you’ll be surprised to find that the sound differences aren’t so pronounced.
At least, as a beginner or even as an intermediate player, you’ll hardly be able to tell the difference between the sounds of both woods. So, if you ask us, poplar is great especially for the beginner’s drum needs. Besides, what’s more important for you right now is to nail your tuning down to the tee.
Snare And Shells
If you know how to tune and care for your drums properly, plus with good dampening, you can get your snare (and toms) to sound solid for a long time to come. Nonetheless, these drum shells are just basic. This does not mean, however, that the shells sound anything less than great.
Hardware
The hardware in the Pearl Roadshow drum set is pretty solid. By the way, the hardware consists of a snare stand, two cymbal stands, and one hi-hat stand. They support the cymbals and snare drum great which, in turn, means you can play confidently and anyhow you want. But mostly for beginners, though.
What do we mean by that?
For the average hobbyist, the quality of hardware here is sufficient. Nonetheless, experts will be less than impressed especially with the hi-hat and ride stand.
You know those guys can go crazy fast while drumming. So, they need something stable and something that can hold up better with the wear and tear.
Bass Drum Pedal
In this kit, you find a dual-chained single beater bass drum pedal. It’s a pretty standard accessory without a bottom plate. And it’s really nice that the pedal is versatile so it can cater to all kinds of drumming genres.
Now, this pedal is best for beginners or student drummers who won’t hit the drum too much or with too much force. It might not work for expert drummers who will tend to hit hard but beginners will definitely find it good enough.
Pros of the Pearl RS525SCC706 Roadshow 5-Piece Drum Set
- You can easily modify this drum set to sound like a studio kit which is great.
- All the hardware here is high quality from the cymbals, to the cymbal/hi-hat stands, tom mounts and bass pedal.
- If you want, you can also go the extra mile and totally upgrade this to its max potential. You could try suspended tom mounting, good heads (also bass drum muffler), maple bass drum ring, and proper dampening/tuning, this kit would sound terrific.
- This kit can accommodate all kinds of genres and skill levels. You just want to ensure that you care for and maintain your kit properly.
- Shells give a really warm sound especially when you adjust them adequately.
- Excellent beginner drum set. It has just what you need when you are starting out as a band’s “time keeper”.
Cons of the Pearl RS525SCC706 Roadshow 5-Piece Drum Set
- If you already have all the hardware, cymbals, and bass drum pedal, then you might be wasting your money getting this kit. You might be better off getting a standard shell pack instead.
- This kit does tend to have some issues with producing slight overtones. It might be a bit difficult for the beginner as they might not have the adequate knowledge to compensate for the sound imbalance just yet. But then again, you’d have to learn to tune from the start which is best.
- Cymbals aren’t exactly responsive or dynamic enough especially for an advanced drummer. They are sufficient at the beginning but as you upgrade consider getting something else.
Conclusion
In all, the Pearl RS525SCC706 Roadshow 5-Piece Drum Set is a great beginner drum kit. You just need to make up your mind to learn tuning right from the start if you want this to sound excellent.
The cymbals aren’t so great, though, but that’s about the worst part of this kit. For a beginner drum set, this drum set more than suffices. Really great drum kit overall!