Hey guys, I had an interesting conversation with a curious customer who asked me this question:

"Dear Boomstick,

Hey thanks for sending that and the nice feedback as well..I saw that you was also selling a pearl export kit..It looked to be in great shape..I was just curious as to why a lot of drummers will only play a kit a few times at a couple of gigs then turn around and try to sale off these pearl kits and others? Are they like trying to upgrade? I see this a lot on Craigslist? Are these just beginners quality kits is that why? lol. Sorry bout all the questions. Have a blessed day"

I thought about it and decided to write him back with my response, I'm curious if you guys agree? Lets talk it out:

"Hello!

I meant to write you a little bit sooner, but as you probably know, I sold a heck of a lot of gear, and its been non-stop packing on this end!

Firstly, thank you so much for the lovely message, I always love hearing from my customers.

In regards to the Pearl Exports, it's a mixed bag of answers. In short, its always been a very attractive drum set for beginners, intermediates and pros alike. Being Pearl, they have one of the best PR teams in the drum manufacturing business, and also they had the most widespread 'budget' option available at a time when cheap, quality beginner level drum kits simply weren't available.

These kits are actually very tunable, very tough and sound great provided you give them the care they need. They do have many limitations if you need a specific sound, but for most rock drummers, it provides everything they need. I've personally played on multiple different generations of this kit, and I can't say I've ever been truly disappointed. Once they're in tune, and you cater to the rock and roll sound, they work great. I've recorded with them too, and they mix up well.

However, despite my praise, there are limitations with these kits. I think most drummers blossom as they grow, and it's very easy for tastes and preferences to change as well. Most Exports have much deeper toms and poplar wood,and once you start to learn more about other types of wood such as maple and birch, you start to gravitate towards it because naturally a better sounding kit is inspiring for any drummer. Another reason is despite it being a smart budget kit, it has drawbacks when it comes to customization and catering to other music genres, for example jazz or electronica. Another issue I've seen time after time is that the looks and hardware tends to go out of fashion and most drummers want something contemporary, something that screams identity whereas an Export seems very squarish and stock-looking (Not to say later Exports didn't look good).

So, for those reasons, you can see why a drummer might get a little sick and tired of a Pearl Export. Pearl tried to counteract the trend they saw in the decreasing popularity of the Pearl Exports which can be seen in the later years of 2000 when they introduced the Pearl ELX and EX and EXR versions of the fundamental same concept of the drum kit. Eventually these became faded out as times changed. I think personally the reason was because of other companies starting to catch on about the shortcomings of Pearl's drum sets, and over-inflation of their prices compared to what you could get elsewhere.

Gretsch, with their Catalina series, was able to provide multiple options for each musical situation, for relatively cheap too. Mapex also came out with their M Birch and M Maple series, another fantastic company releasing innovation and quality whilst keeping in mind the limitations brought on by the recession. Ddrum, Taye, Yamaha, Tama, Peace- everywhere you look nowadays there are companies catering to the massive amateur drummer market, and listening to the demand for lower costs yet better sound. Never before have this many companies specifically designed their kits to have budget consciousness and quality in the same package, and they've found some very clever ways to cut costs; 'fusion sizes', lightweight hardware, 5 lug design on toms, thinner shells, alternative woods, all of these contribute to shaving dollars on the way to a final product.

There is hot debate even now on drummer forums and message boards, all of them asking the same question: "What is the best bang for my buck?" and with Pearl's refusal to lower their costs, pompous pride when it comes to 'you pay for the name', and reliance on marketing and reach over quality, they are slowly loosing these newbies to other companies. That, IMHO is why I believe Pearl Exports are disappearing."

Thoughts?