Pacifc Drums FS Series Fusion Sized Birch 5-piece kit Reviews 
5 / 5 based on 1 reviewsI bought this kit at Guitar Center, Towson, Maryland. I'm not sure exactly how much the kit cost due to the way that it was sold, although I'm fairly certain that I paid less than $500 for the shell pack. I needed to purchase an entire kit, drums, hardware, cymbals and all, so I was looking for a mid-level, mid-cost kit, so I wanted something that would sound good, yet not put a big dent in my checkbook. With everything that I bought that day, drums, hardware, cymbals and new heads, I paid just under $1000. (I have since upgraded/returned my original cymbals so the total cost now is just over $1000)
I like pretty much everything about these drums. I discarded the stock heads right away and put Evans Genera clear G2s on the toms (coated on the snare) and an Evans EMAD on the kick. They sound GREAT! I've had this kit for almost two months now and I make an effort to keep the toms tuned and that pays off with a very nice, warm resonant sound. The bass, with the EMAD, is a nice, solid and tight thump. I want to add that when I bought this kit, I was debating between this kit and another brand's mid-line kit and they were recommended to me by the salesman, regardless of the fact that they cost less.
The snare is also surprisingly good. I tightened it up and it has a really nice crack to it.
This kit also looks good. The finish is a red satin wood finish, which is a nice classy look. I've gotten as many compliments on how they look as how they sound.
The hardware is fairly light, yet it's double braced for strength and for how I'm using this kit, it's more than sufficient.
About the only thing that I don't really like about the kit is that I think that the toms mounting hardware could be a little better, however, keep in mind that if I wanted first class hardware, I would have ended up paying first class cash and the hardware is more than sufficient for now.
You can look at this kit and tell that it's made by DW. Construction is good overall and I've seen similarly priced kits sporting hardware that isn't nearly as nice as what I have. The suspension mounting for the toms may not be the most convenient thing in the world because you have to be carefull of the mounting every time you change a head, but I don't bust a lot of heads so I don't really see it to be a problem.
I would recommend this kit to anyone who is looking to buy a kit, yet is on a budget. I really don't see how spending thousands on a set of upper end maple shells is going to be worth thousands more in sound. I keep the heads tuned well and I have good cymbals and with just a little TLC in the tuning and tweaking department, this kit can be used for anything and it will sound great. Prior to purchasing this kit, I was borrowing a set of DWs with Pinstripes for heads and this kit doesn't sound like it cost nearly $3000 less.
Patrick G. rated this unit
on
2003-11-10.
