The mission behind the Pearl Reference Series is to give you a complete set of individually engineered, incredible sounding drums. Imagine that each drum in your drum set is engineered as an instrument unto itself. Each tom is designed to respond perfectly within the confines of its respective frequency without compromise over any other area of your kit.

In 1999, Pearl began its most ambitious undertaking, The Masterworks Series, the world's first truly custom drums. Designed for the player by the player. Every aspect of the manufacturing process was custom made, from the number of wood plies, to the wood selection, to the final finish. Over the last five years, through arduous listening tests, Masterworks taught Pearl drum makers a great deal about drums and what makes the perfect shell. So forget what you think you know about drums and take a close look at Reference Series, the most acoustically advanced drums in the world. To fully understand the 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.

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; this is the only single wood shell in the series. And for maximum response, all 13" diameter and smaller toms have a rounded 45° bearing edge, and a more focused area for head-to-shell contact to boost mid- to higher-range frequencies. Pearl's 10" and 8" Reference toms receive 4 plies of Maple with 2 inner plies of Birch for cut and attack. And for maximum response, all 13" Reference and smaller toms have a rounded 45° bearing edge.

Beginning with Pearl's 13" Reference tom and larger, mahogany is added to the inner plies to increase the lower frequencies and accentuate the warmth of the maple. The 14"-diameter toms and larger begin using Pearl's fully-rounded bearing edge for even more shell contact for a boost in mid- to low- range frequencies.

So if Reference Series has engineered each tom to function at the highest level possible, you can only imagine the research and development that went into Reference Series snares. Each shell is composed of a blend of woods totaling an incredible 20 plies. This extra thick shell ensures that no energy is lost through shell vibration and all energy is focused on moving sound waves. The shell's bearing edge is 45° to promote a focused contact area with the head for response and crack. Six inner plies of birch provide cut and attack while the outer 14 plies of maple provide warmth and solid midrange punch.

The heart and soul of your kit is your snare drum and Pearl's Reference Series snare drums shine through loud and clear. Simply amazing volume. The snare tension knob features a locking mechanism to maintain snare tension at all times. Simply depress the button and turn the knob simultaneously. The strainer lever features a Positive Lock system that, while in the "on" position, removes the possibility of accidentally turning the snares off without depressing a button on the lever.

As the sizes of the bass drums increase, so do the amounts of mahogany. Pearl's 22" Reference 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 Reference Series, it's not about compromise; it's about every drum in your kit performing at its optimal capacity.

Cymbals and hardware not included.

Pearl Reference Standard 7-Piece Shell Pack with Snare Drum Features:

• 10" x 8" tom
• 2 inner plies birch
• 4 outer plies maple
• Rounded 45° bearing edge
  
  12" x 9" mounted tom
• 6 plies maple
• Rounded 45° bearing edge
  
  13" x 10" tom
• 2 inner plies mahogany
• 4 outer plies maple
• Rounded 45° bearing edge
  
  14" x 14" tom
• 2 inner plies mahogany
• 4 outer plies maple
• Fully rounded bearing edge
  
  16" x 16" floor tom
• 2 inner plies mahogany
• 4 outer plies maple
• Fully rounded bearing edge
  
  22" x 18" bass drum
• 6 inner plies mahogany
• 2 outer plies maple
• Fully rounded bearing edge
  
  5" x 14" snare drum
• 6 inner plies birch
• 14 outer plies maple
• 45° bearing edge
  
  3 TH2000 Dual Uni-Lock Tom Holders with Gyro-Locks, 14" x 4", 7/8"-diameter post, new single keybolts
  
  Hardware not included

Order today.