Pearl unveiled many new drum and percussion products at the 2010 Winter NAMM Show in Anaheim (California). Innovations included new finishes for the MCX Master series and VSX Vision series, new CX and MX Airframe carriers, the reintroduction of Elite congas/bongos plus the Jesus Diaz Radial Edge and the Boom Box cajons. The major revelation however, was Pearl\'s e-Pro Live electronic drum kit.
Real sizes, real hardware, real shells
With the e-Pro Live, Pearl has strived to offer an electronic drumset that looks, feels and sounds like real drums as much as possible. That\'s why e-Pro Live drums are sized and configured exactly like acoustic drums featuring 10\"x6.5\", 12\"x7\" and 14\"x8\" rack toms with a 20\"x12\" bass and 14\"x4.5\" snare, real hardware and real shells. The e-Pro Live is available in two finishes: #31 Jet Black and Quilted Maple Fade #464.
Tru-Trac drumheads
All e-Pro Live drums feature Pearl\'s Tru-Trac electronic heads with dualzones that are said to reproduce all of the intricacies a drummer hears when playing acoustic drums. E-Pro Live is made with real drums, so in a way you get two kits for the price of one. Just replace the Tru-Trac head with a regular drumhead if you want to turn the e-Pro into an acoustic drumset.
E-Classic cymbals
The cymbals featured on the e-Pro Live are Pearl\'s E-Classic electronic cymbals, made with real brass. The E-Classics respond to your playing just like real cymbals, because they are real cymbals. E-Classics feature a 3-zone plus choke 16\" Ride, 13\" chokable crash and super responsive 12\" hi-hats.
Traditional rubber EPC2 cymbals are also available and feature a 14\" 3-zone Ride, a 12\" Crash, and a set of 12\" super responsive hi-hats.
The r.e.d.box drum module
The ultimate goal of every electronic drum module is to reproduce the real sound of drums. The r.e.d.box, standing for Real Electronic Drums, is Pearl\'s drum module for the e-Pro Live. The r.e.d.box has 128 MB of RAM. The full memory is used to accommodate the Original Acoustics of 1000 High Definition sounds and 100 High Definition kits. The sound library includes acoustic and vintage drums, electronics from beat machines to modern digital and a variety of orchestral, concert and world percussion instruments.
You can flash the memory of the module and replace the Original Acoustics with one large and lush-sounding kit from drum sampling software companies such as Toontrack, BFD, Ocean Way, Steven Slate, Sonic Reality, and Virtual Drum Line. However, 128 MB of RAM may not be sufficient enough. For example: Toontrack\'s \'Superior Drummer 2.0 offers about 20 GB worth of samples, with a minimum system requirement of 512 MB RAM and 1,5 GB RAM recommended.
New finishes
Pearl also announced new finishes for the limited edition MCX Master Series Finish (Honey Burst Mapa Burl) and VSX Vision Series special edition (Emerald Etimoe).
Pearl has reintroduced their Elite Congas/Bongos with two new finishes: the Elite Oak drums in Cherry Eucalyptus with gold plated hardware, and the Elite Fiberglass drums in Burgundy Marble with brushed gold plated traditional hardware.
Pearl will also be releasing a new finish for their entry-level Primero Congas/Bongos. These drums are finished in a majestic Ebony, with realistic wood-grain pattern on a lightweight Fiberglass frame.
CX and MX Airframe carriers
The new CX and MX Airframe carriers from Pearl are simple and solid. They were field tested by the Santa Clara Vanguard and Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps. The carrier design is highly adjustable with minimal moving parts, making it applicable for players of all sizes and skill levels.
Cajons
Pearl’s new Boom Box is a fiberglass cajon producing extra low-end frequencies. This cajon features a fixed snare system and a built-in bass port for subsonic frequencies.
Pearl has also created the Jesus Diaz Radial Edge Cajon to produce the authentic sound and feel of the traditional cajon, with modern features such as a radial edge. It has a high-end wood construction, fixed snares and an Artisan Rosewood finish.
Pearl’s EZ Tune Djembe combines the traditional look and feel of a rope djembe with the modern functionality of a mechanical tuning system. Available in 12.5” or 14” sizes and with traditional oak or lightweight Fiberglass.
Bells
The new New Yorker cowbells are specially designed to create the signature salsa sound, with the volume and durability to handle any musical situation.
The Marc Quinones Timbal bell is the ultimate salsa campana bell. Similarly built to the New Yorkers, with its one-piece steel construction, this bell is engineered to cut through the largest latin ensembles. This is the only salsa bell approved by Marc Quinones, and is the only salsa cowbell you will ever need.
Brazilian percussion news
Pearl has added repiniques to their line of Brazilian percussion. The repiniques now feature lightweight yet sturdy steel shells with etched heads, shoulder straps and low rims.
The lightweight wood shell surdos allow for hours of comfortable play when worn over the shoulder with the provided strap. They are now available in 18”x22”, 20”x18” and 22”x22” sizes (diameter x depth).
The timbao is a Brazilian conga-type drum made from lightweight fiberglass, and is capable of the extremely high tension utilized in tradition Brazilian ensembles.
The rocar is equipped with brass and steel platinellas, and can be played as a single shaker, or separated for two-handed sonic options.
