Hello everyone! I'm 27 and have been playing drums for as long as I can remember really, but after a bad breakup of my old band I ended up selling off my Taye kit and taking a break from music for a while. After 4 years without even touching a drum set my brother (bass player in the old band) approached me about starting something new with him as lead vocals and guitar player, and me back on drums.
I was more than ready to start playing again, but needed to find myself a drum set on a pretty tight budget. With only $600 total to work with I started hunting for a used kit locally, but couldn't seem to find anything I could afford besides bunches of old beat up entry level kits.
After a week of searching I was just about ready to give up and spend the $600 on a brand new entry level kit that came with a couple of cheap cymbals when I decided to check Craigslist one more time... Suddenly there it was!!! A beautiful vintage Pearl kit listed for $699 OBO at a pawn shop about 50 miles away from me. Don't know how I hadn't seen it before. I called them up right away and managed to negotiate the price down to $600 out the door, but couldn't make it there before they closed for the day, so I was waiting there in the parking lot the next morning when they unlocked the doors!
After some research it turns out I came home with an '80-'81 Pearl G-series Big Beat kit in walnut lacquer finish with 8 ply, 6mm maple shells, a 6.5×14" late '70s Pearl COB Jupiter snare, 1981 dated 14" Paiste 2002 Sound Edge hi hats, a 21" Sabian AA Dry Ride, an 18" Sabian B8 Pro Medium Crash, a nice Tama Power Glide kick pedal, and all of the various upper level Pearl hardware pictured (vintage 800 and 900 series).
I think I got a really good deal on them! They're the exact sizes and configuration I really wanted, but didn't think I'd ever find in my price range! In my opinion they're drop dead gorgeous, and the biggest thing... THE SOUND!!! OMG THESE THINGS SOUND INCREDIBLE!!!
Being Pearl's top of the line shells at the time I figured they would sound good, but I was not expecting this! My Taye kit sounded great, and recorded well in the studio, but these Pearls are just on another level all together!
I was already really excited to start playing again, but finding this kit has put me over the moon! Playing is so much more fun when your kit gives you a hard-on lol!
Here are a few pics of them, and a shot from the 1980 Pearl catalog that lists the sizes. Please excuse the dirt and grime. They're still fresh out of the pawn shop lol. I've started cleaning them 1 at a time in between practices, and so far I've only done the 13" and 14" rack toms.
I LOVE THESE DRUMS!!! Bowing
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[img]https://preview.ibb.co/d6LAfy/IMG_20180508_014530.jpg[/img]
