History:
Purchase: $399 at Guitar Center. I live in a tiny apartment (seriously, its definitely smaller than wherever you live) and I hadn't played drums for a while due to that fact. I got the kit to get back into drumming.
What I Like About This Unit: I really do like the feel of the drums. They definitely feel very real, and I was able to get my chops back in order after a long break. The small footprint of the set is also a huge plus in my aforementioned tiny apartment.
I also planned to get some triggers and turn this into an electronic kit.
What I Do NOT Like About The Pearl Rhythm Traveler: Here we go:
Snare drum never sounded very good. The mesh head just doesn't get the snares to react properly. Usually just a muddy buzz sound. Much better for practice with the snares off.
The practice cymbals are a complete joke. I had to buy some Pintech CrossTrainers, which are full size, just to get something close to real feel.
I got these to be silent, and if you just hit the heads, they are. But the rims are as loud as any regular drums; Pearl should have included some rubber rim silencers.
You are told that the toms nest together, but they really don't. The tom mount hardware prevents them from really nesting. You don't really save that much more space over a regular acoustic kit.
Rhythm Traveler Quality: The quality of the hardware is quite good for the price, but the memory locks don't fit snug into their slots, so the bass-mounted toms wobble anyway. I had to put the floor tom in a snare stand to get it to stay up. The shells seem nice, but they seem unfinished. Some plastic or rubber rings around the bottom would very much improve the look of the set and prevent the splintering of the wood which happened on my kit.
Summary: A good kit for learning maybe, but for a serious drummer, no way. It isn't expandable, and I'd never play it live. You'd be much better off either buying an elecronic kit (if you can afford it and need to practice silently) or an entry level acoustic kit. You'll be able to use it as you get better, and they make mesh heads now if sound is an issue.
To make a very long story short, I had mine for a month and then sold it.
Rating of this product: 2
This Pearl Drums Percussion Review Submitted By: stills420
Date: 2001-06-29
Pearl Rhythm Traveler Drums Percussion
Usefulness Rating: 4.47368 out of 5. 19 reader(s) voted.
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© Chris Bereznay - Gear Review Network / MusicGearReview.com - 2000
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