All user reviews for the PDP Pacific Drums and Percussion Pacific MX

This tobacco-to-natural finished 14" maple-shelled PDP snare was part of a trashy parts kit I picked up for a rehearsal space. The kit has long been replaced but the snare stayed, it sounds so good I've used it to record (play Rock Star by Greg Clarke + The Madvarks).

Pacific Drum Company ("PDP") is a budget Drum Workshop brand, and the MX series was made in Ensenada, Mexico. The core is a 14" x 5" 8-ply maple shell stamped November 4, 2005. It has 8 DW TruePitch tuning lugs per side, which have a finer thread pitch than conventional lugs, and a DW-style throw-off. I replaced the 20-strand steel strainer (which had a broken strand) with brass and it came with a plain old Remo Ambassador head that I've just replaced. I've kept the original snare-side head, it's pretty standard. This snare tunes and sounds great from low to high pitches. I keep it fairly high and snappy, and it has a really small but sweet amount of natural ring, making it ideal for 60's rock or swing. A bit of damping, whether a ring or gel dot, makes it a punchy rock snare.

I honestly never throught I'd keep it around as long as I have, but it's hard to beat its versatility, it's light to move around, and sure won't attract the thieves. If you see one with an intact shell and a working throw-off for a decent price I would not hesitate to grab it. The True-pitch tuning lugs are the only "specialty" part here and should be available at any DW dealer. The rest can be fixed or upgraded and you'll have yourself a great-sounding snare quite literally for a song.

Well, I've been a musician for approx. 9 years, and drums were the instrument that I began with and are what I mostly play. My pastor had bought this 'cheap' beginner drum kit for his daughter, but she never really picked them up. I came along, and he knew I'd enjoy them a lot more, so he gave them to me, as if he thought they weren't worth a whole lot. So, he pretty much gave them to me for free! Compared to the crappy, 30 years-old lame excuse for a drum set I currently had, these had an invisible halo above them. lol This drum kit is a medium, metallic green, and has four drums (a snare drum, one rack-tom, a floor tom and of course, a bass drum). It also came with two 14' Power Beat hi-hat cymbals, and an 18', Power Beat crash/ride cymbals, with all the stands. And I added a 10' Zildjian splash cymbal and an 18' Zildjian projection crash cymbal.

Like I mentioned, my pastor gave this set to me, and I didn't really pay him for him. He didn't even ask for any money!

Well, the factory drum heads were okay-ish, but I'll eventually replace 'em all with Remo Weatherking Pinstripe heads. I was quite pleasantly surprised at how strong and well-designed all of the hardware was. Although I used a hi-hat stand I had bought, all of the other hardware was strong, double braced, and durable (that doesn't mean you should leave this kit in a leaky garage for a decade).

...I really can't think of things about this drum set I did not like. I'd say the only bad things are the somewhat cheap drum heads that came with it. But really, that's a small issue.

Again, the hardware I got on these drums is fantastic, and definitely not what one would expect from a 'cheap' beginner drum kit!

All in all; if this set was lost/stolen, I'd totally buy a drum set from this company again! GREAT value for the price. Even though I paid nothing for them, I see these drums as a steal of a deal.

I also think these drums are stage-worthy. Well, I'd use them on a stage any day.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Been playing drums for about 30 years. {One would think I'd have gotten better by now.}
but activly play in Country, and Christian
local bands

I was looking for another Yamaha kit when
I walked into Hart Music, and fell in love with the Natural tobacco fade PDP MX kit.
Then I saw the Price. $899.00, with hardware. Another $250.00 for 8 & 16" add
on drums and I was on my way home.

Color is georgous, and All Mapel shells for
under $1800.00.
The sound is very warm, and can be tuned for
any music style very easy.

Cymbal stand used to mount 14" suspended Tom
could be a little heavier.

Quality of kit is great, Hi Hat and Kick pedal are very user friendly.

Great kit, Great price.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I purchased this set at Guitar Center in Scottsdale Arizona for $640 even. I originally went in to check out acoustic guitars but since I am a drummer I had to look in the drum section. They had this kit set up and after playing it, I fell in love.

The first thing I love about this kit is the tone that it creates. Of course the stock heads are cheap, but they don't sound that bad on the kit. I went about a week until I put on some evans hydraulics and it made a huge difference. If you love that fat tom sound, hydraulics with this kit will be a match made in heaven. The finish is awesome too. It is an emerald green to black fade satin finish. I thought these kits were ugly when I saw them on the web. But believe me, pictures do not do this kit justice. Check them out if you have a chance.

Nothing except the satin finish. I hear they are pretty easy to scratch but my kit has done pretty well with the little bangs here and there. No scratches yet.

Seems to be pretty durable and well made. My only complaint is when I was changing my heads I found that the floor tom was missing some washers.

Great kit for the money. You can't beat an all maple kit for under $1000. Even with hardware you can get them under that price. Pacific has really made it possible for the working man to have some DW quality.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

The kit was bought for me, so I could have a practice kit to play on with my band. They bought the kit for $399 new. I only used it for practice.

There nothing I really liked about the kit. It is a basic piece of crap kit. I replaced all the heads, and that only helped out a bit. Actually the only thing I did like was the snare (which I still use). It was a basic 6x14 steel snare. I use it to the day with my new kit as a second snare.

Basically this kit is for a beginner and thats it. Don't buy this kit if you expect to play shows with it. The toms are ok if you replace the heads. But the Kick drum has no volume or strength. The hardware that comes with this kit is cheap.

The construction and quality are very minimal. I think the drums are pieces of junk. But I didn't pay for them.

If you are looking for a kit to play out with, keep looking. Buy a tama swingstar or pearl forum. Those kits are in the same price range, plus you get better hardware. I play a tama rockstar custom in fusion sizes and it does not even compare to them, even though they aren't all that great.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I was very lucky with my purchase. IM a beginning drummer and was excited to get my first set. Anyways i really wanted the oll pearl export ,so when my daughters boyfreind found this set at a garage sale i was somewhat reluctant to purchase. When tom called and told me they were in good shape ,it was a full set complete (covered with mustard plug decals) who are they? anyhow i had him ask and she only wanted 100.00. Well that couldnt be passed up! I sent my wife to gettem WOW WHat a deal. i spent two days changeing the heads tuning ,waxing the beautiful red wraps. when i got done they WERE LIKE BRAND NEW, ONLY ONE SCRATCH ON EM. sORRY FOR THE CAPS ON( IM NOT YELLING.)

I LOVE THE LOOKS THE SHELL PACK IS EXCELLANT. WRAPS ARE BEAUTIFUL AND THE HARDWARE ISNT BAD EITHER. WITH A GOOD SET OF SKINS THEY SOUND BETTER THAN THE PEARL EXPORT SET THAT I HAVE SITTING NEXT TO MINE. The sound is awsom!! Looks like a much more expensove set. The price allowed me to upograde the hardware.

the high hat was ok but alittle light weight. the snare was fine with a new head on it. the gibralter pedal is excellant,but ochage two an even better double pulse pedal. for 80.00 the pulse pedal is awsom.
the crash stand is weak. i have upgraded the crash, ride and high hat stands and added asplash. i have sabain crash and ride cymbals with zilgin high hat and splash,my set now only costs about 650.00 and i have all excellant qualy everything. It truly sounds better than a new pearl set i also have. i play the cb set its truly better.

construction is excellant accept for the floor tom legs are weak. and the bass legs could be heavier also.

THE SHELLS ARE EXCELLANT FOR BEGGINER OR EVEN ADVANCED PLAYERS I THINK. WILL NEED BETTER HEADS OF COURSE.CHEAP TO REPLACE IN MY BOOK. THIS SET ALLOWS YOU TO UPGRADE THE ACCESSORIES AND HAVE AGREAT SET WAY CHEAPER THAN A BSIC SET OF ENTRY LEVEL OTHER BRANDS. THIS IS THE BEST SET ANYONE COULD START WITH OR EVEN USE FOR YEARS. I PLAN TO KEEP THES AND UPGRADE THE ACCESSORIES.

THANKS KAMAN

GREAT QUALITY AT THE RIGHT PRICE!!!

KIRK

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought the original drum kit from The Drum Shop, Pelaw, Tyne & Wear, for £269 (ex-display). At the time, I was only after a starter kit, as I didn't have one.

The drums are made by a manufacturer that is renowned for its great starter kits (the SP series), and when I bought the kit for this price, that's exactly what I was expecting. The drums are of very high quality, very durable and come in a range of sizes (my kit has 10, 12, 13 and 14" toms, 20" bass and a 14"x5.5" snare). With a set of good quality heads, these drums can sound amazing.

The stock heads on the kit sound terrible, and are a bit thin and flimsy, but a set of Remo Pinstripes soon fixed that problem. The bass drums lacks volume, but that's nothing that a well-placed mic can't fix.

The MX series drums are constructed from 9-ply wood (possible basswood?), and are well made. The wrap on the drums is firmly applied and hasn't shown any signs of peeling. The bass drum features wooden hoops, which increase the aesthetics of the drum kit, but are prone to showing wear around the bass drum pedal, which can dig into them.

All of the hardware is very heavy duty double braced, and can support some of the heaviest cymbals and drums.

This drumkit is great value for money, and, with a bit of tuning and some new heads, can obtain a sound up there with the more expesive kits. The MX series kit is the next step up from the SP series, and features smaller toms (10, 12, 14), an 8-lug snare, and heavier duty hardware (such as cymbals stands, hi-hat stands, bass pedal and snare stand). A must-buy for the intermediate player on a budget (if you can find one!).

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

i got it from some guy at the kobe swapmeet in san diego, when we passed by his booth. it was only 25 bucks.

i love thing sounds and tones you can get from it. i took off the screew muffler and it had a nice ping to it. its loud too. it cuts through the guitars in the band im in.

jack squat. its flawless.

its pretty much made of steel. very durable. (unlike wooden snares.) it wont crack or anything.

the mx series snare is a really good snare.
its loud, and capable of having different tones and pitches.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com