Pearl Reference

Pearl Reference Series – Purple Craze 1 Finish: 8×8, 8×10, 9×12, 10×14, 14×14, 12×16, 16×16, 18×20, 18×22, 5×14 Snare

My Pearl Reference Series Drums

My great friend and drum teacher, Josh Orlando, gifted me his Pearl Reference Series kit — his first Pearl endorsee drums. Josh played well over 1,000 shows on these drums before passing them on to me, and the generosity of that gift is not lost on me. They are among the most precious things I own.

The sizes Josh gave me are 8×8, 8×10, 9×12, 14×14, 18×20, and a 5×14 snare.

Inspired by that gift, I tracked down a matching kit to complement what he’d given me, adding a 9×12, 10×14, 12×16, and 18×22 bass drum to the collection. Together, they form a deep shell bank of these spectacular drums — giving me the flexibility to configure virtually any setup the gig calls for.

Here are the specs on this remarkable, over-engineered drum kit.

Pearl Reference Series — Shell Construction by Size

The Reference Series philosophy is that each drum size gets its own optimized shell composition, ply count, and bearing edge. Here’s what that means for your specific sizes:

Rack Toms (all 6-ply / ~5.4mm)

The 8″ and 10″ toms are constructed with 4 outer plies of maple and 2 inner plies of birch. The birch adds attack and cut while the maple brings warmth. The bearing edge on 8″–13″ toms is a rounded 45°, designed for cutting attack and projection balanced with solid punch.

  • 8×8 — 6-ply: 4 maple (outer) / 2 birch (inner) | Rounded 45° edge
  • 8×10 — 6-ply: 4 maple (outer) / 2 birch (inner) | Rounded 45° edge
  • 9×12 — The 12″ tom is the only single-wood shell in the lineup: 6-ply all maple. | Rounded 45° edge

Floor Toms (all 8-ply / ~7.2mm)

The 14×14 and 16×16 floor toms add 2 inner plies of African mahogany to 4 outer plies of maple, with a fully rounded bearing edge for maximum shell contact and a boost in mids and lows.

  • 10×14 — 8-ply: 4 maple (outer) / 2 birch (inner) — this size straddles the rack/floor line; Pearl specs place 14″ diameter as a floor tom with mahogany
  • 14×14 — 8-ply: 4 maple (outer) / 2 African mahogany (inner) | Fully rounded edge
  • 12×16 — 8-ply: 4 maple (outer) / 2 African mahogany (inner) | Fully rounded edge
  • 16×16 — 8-ply: 4 maple (outer) / 2 African mahogany (inner) | Fully rounded edge

Bass Drums (8-ply / ~7.2mm)

The 18×20 bass drum shares the same shell specs as the 16×16 floor tom: 8-ply with 4 inner plies of African mahogany and 2 outer plies of maple, with a fully rounded bearing edge. As bass drum size increases, so does the mahogany ratio. The 18×22 uses 6 inner mahogany plies surrounded by 2 outer maple plies, to accentuate bass response.

  • 18×20 — 8-ply: 2 maple (outer) / 4 African mahogany (inner) | Fully rounded edge
  • 18×22 — 8-ply: 2 maple (outer) / 6 African mahogany (inner) | Fully rounded edge

Snare Drum

The 5×14 snare features an exceptionally thick 20-ply shell comprising 6 inner birch plies and 14 outer maple plies. The 45° bearing edge brings all 20 plies into play via a tightly focused contact area for extreme sensitivity and maximum volume.

  • 5×14 — 20-ply: 14 maple (outer) / 6 birch (inner) | 45° bearing edge

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