Electronic drums have been evolving in a daily basis.  Its completeness has no difference between the acoustic drums. But in other hand, electronic drum’s usage in the live performance is very low surprisingly. The number of usages significantly differs as the size of the stage gets larger. At this point, the electronic drums are surely positioned at the “sub” of the acoustic drums.   The bands which have succeeded in Japan aren’t so many. The Japanese band “LUNA SEA” is one of the succeeded bands in Japan, and its drummer SHINYA has done a live performance in front of over 30,000 audience. The interesting fact about this live is that he used “electronic drums” throughout a whole stage. Studying and adopting the technologies as a drum manufacturer, absolute “fusion” with acoustic and digital have created the completely new concept electronic drum “e/MERGE.” It has supported SHINYA throughout all the songs at the live and proved the definite quality to all the audience who have participated at the live. (In our understanding) There’s no past evidence of arena class live performance that has been done with a single electronic drum for all songs. And this evidence proves that e/MERGE has no bear comparison between the acoustic drums of its performance in the entire band sound. Why did SHINYA, who is obsessed about the drums comparing to the other drummer, has chosen the e/MERGE on such a big stage like this? Looking to his internal, there was his belief as a professional drummer, a positive attitude towards challenging to the new things, and the sure potential that e/MERGE could make them real.   With e/MERGE, you can freely change the tone quality, and the musical quality of the live has improved. --- SHINYA     SHINYA Special Drum Seminar held at ESP Entertainment Tokyo Main Building B1 Hall on Sunday, November 27th. It became a fulfilling content to know the innovation of e/MERGE of its looks, function, and the sound. There were talks about unreleased new e/MERGE products with the Pearl's development staff, a real voice of live sound engineers, and SHINYA playing along with LUNA SEA's songs. Now, we are introducing some of the details of the seminar.     -The first impression of playing e/MERGE- “It’s been already a couple years since after when I first played the e/MERGE. I was so surprised about its amazing quality. It reflected out my expression properly which was the sound I wanted to play on the snare drum, toms, and even a bass drum with soft and loud touches. That is why I thought the e/MEGRE might bring the sound better than the acoustic drums through the speakers. As you know, most guitarist often switch around their guitars on the live performances, selecting by the songs they play. I mean, by switching to another guitar, they can express several nuances or expressions immediately. But drummers can't do that easily. Because it is not easy to switch around the drum sets during the live performance like guitars. The only way we can do about this struggle was to switch our snare drums. At the previous recording session using an e/MERGE, we got some great matched sounds for our songs. Because I wanted the sound to go along with the song on this live performance, I choose the e/MERGE which was the best solution to the drummer’s struggle”, one of Japan's leading drummers, SHINYA said.     “The e/MERGE is an instrument that changes its sound when the player changes. And, adding the 'Shell' makes the sound fuller rich sound."     -Perspective from engineers- During the seminar, Mr. Akihito Takegawa of Pearl, who has involved in the development of this set, took the stage, and shared the secret story of the development of the new set with SHINYA. “When I first hit the e/MERGE, I immediately wanted to use it. The feel of the kick was amazing. "Starting with this encounter, SHINYA introduced e/MERGE, and eventually wants to make a set entirely with the e/MERGE. Next, Mr. Hisaaki Komatsu, who is in charge of PA at the live, also took the stage. He talked about the advantages of e/MERGE from the perspective of a PA saying "The same sound can be played at any venue. It's very easy to use as a PA, and I think it's the ideal drum set."  SHINYA also said, "If the drums doesn't sound a solid sound which becomes a bass of sound, the PA can't create a sound. e/MERGE contains that sound."     “I was very surprised when I heard from Mr. SHINYA that he was going to play the electronic drums on the live performance at the time." He also said, "As I was selecting the sounds, I realized the original tones of e/MERGE were really excellent. It has loaded other sounds very quickly, and very easy to customize to match the parts of the songs. So, everything went well smoothly."  Mr. Komatsu, who is one of the great engineers in Japan, said. SHINYA said, “as a matter of fact, I did the sound check at the stadium the day before the live performance. During the time, I heard the full sound of e/MERGE from the big speakers in the stadium for the first time. All the sound of cymbals, bass drums, snare drum, and toms were crystal clear, well-defined, and each drums sounds individually.  Because the sound was prominently beautiful, everyone around there, including me, were so excited at the time. Most drummers understand that the sound what they hear on the stage and the sound coming out from the speakers with guitars and bass mixed up are different. That is why, we truly trust our engineers. And this time after the live show, engineers said "the sound of e/MERGE was absolutely great!" I really thanked both e/MERGE and engineers after the show.”     -One-of-a-kind- “If two drummers play the same e/MERGE on the same condition, the sound coming out from the e/MERGE would be different due to their playstyle, technique, sticks, and heads. I feel like e/MERGE is a “MODERN” acoustic drum. As a drummer the time latency of the electronic drum makes us sometimes upset. Because of the difference between the sound of our recognition and the actual sound. But I have never felt the same thing when I play the e/MERGE. To prove it, playing two bass drums, one in acoustic and the other in e/MERGE, these balances were great! As if I was playing the acoustic bass drums for both at the time. Also, I have been trying many attempts to investigate the sound I want on the e/MERGE. Those are like changing the heads or the sticks to hear the difference in sounds. Actually, there was a difference in the sound, and that recognized me the e/MERGE is a “MODERN” acoustic drum even more. If I could only have one drum set, I would choose the e/MERGE. I can play it at home, at the recording, and can be used in huge arenas, too. I have proved it and were no problem in the huge arena like Saitama-Super Arena.  If you have never played any electronic drums, I want you to give it a shot. I absolutely believe, you will say "What an amazing kit! I have never played like this before!" And as you know very well, all the tom stands, and the other hardware are made by Pearl. They are so durable and reliable!” SHINYA also said.     -Additional Information- During the seminar, he played the Real-Look e/MERGE which was used at latest LUNA SEA's live performance. At the same time, this kit was unveiled to the world for the first time. SHINYA did minus-one performance, also he explained about his kit with LUNA SEA's PA and Pearl's development staff in public. It was probably quality time for all the audience.  SHINYA's Artist Kit is now available. Go check the URL below to see the more additional information. We will be soon publishing another news about this seminar. Stay tuned! Please note: This SHINYA's kit with copper finish is currently still prototype, stay tuned for updates. Thank you very much for your kind understanding.   Artist Kit Collection   SHINYA’s Artist Page   Special Thanks: Rittor Music Photos: Keishi Sawahira

We are very pleased to announce that Pearl Music Europe BV is now taking care of distribution of SABIAN & GON BOPS Products for Ireland. Building on our already strong relationships with our customers in Ireland, the ultimate goal of this partnership will be to expand the availability and awareness of SABIAN & GONBOPS products in the Irish market. “We are honored to have such a well-organized and effective organization as Pearl Music Europe to distribute SABIAN and GON BOPS in Ireland.  They are already our distribution partner in several other European markets and adding Ireland to this will certainly strengthen our overall position in this market”, said SABIAN VP of International Sales Peter Stairs.    

e/MERGE  Bringing the Artist to you. Get a Free One-on-One Masterclass with a Top Artist   Already for 75 years, Pearl has been working on bringing the best musical experience to drummers around the world. To support you in present troubling times Pearl Europe teamed up with some of our international Top Artists to offer you something unqiue!   When you buy a Pearl e/MERGE drum kit -- you will get a one-hour personal drum lesson as a gift!   The drum lesson will be on-line by one of the Top Pearl artists below.   Select the artist you want to take lesson from and contact Pearl Europe at [email protected] with the proof of the purchase and serial number of the module.   Valid: Starting today until March 31st 2021.   Exclusive selected e/MERGE dealers: Thomann – https://www.thomann.de/de/index.html Drum-Tec – https://www.drum-tec.de/ Just Music – https://www.justmusic.de/ Musik Produktiv – https://www.musik-produktiv.de/ PPC – https://www.ppcmusic.de/  Andertons – https://www.andertons.co.uk/ Gear4Music – https://www.gear4music.com/  Key Music – https://www.keymusic.com/nl/ Maatwerk in Drums – https://maatwerkindrums.nl/  Bax-Shop -- https://www.bax-shop.nl/ Musical Box – https://www.musicalbox.com/ Merula – https://www.merula.com/  Tam-Tam Percussion – https://www.tamtampercusion.com/es/ Alfasoni - https://alfasoni.com/  La Baguetterie – https://www.baguetterie.fr/ Woodbrass – https://www.woodbrass.com/ La Boîte aux Rythmes – https://www.drumshop34.com/          Dirk Brand Genre: (prog)rock, jazz, pop, metal   Lesson available in language(s): English German   Social media links: https://www.instagram.com/drummybrand/ https://www.facebook.com/dirk.brand.14 https://www.dirkbrand.com/   Quick introduction: As a versatile all-rounder you can see/hear Dirk Brand performing on many international Drum-Festivals and working with tons of famous international artists from all types of genres and music styles and all over the world. For instance as an official band member of famous German metal group Axxis he toured all over the world and played at famous Wacken Open Air, Bang Your Head, Masters of Rock (CZ), and many more festivals. With Belgium dance super group Milk Inc. he is playing at some of the biggest dance festivals around and collaborations with mega stars like SEAL or A-ha happened. And in China and Japan he played with Marty Friedman from Megadeath and Japanese Keyboard wizard Tatsuya Nishiwaki! In 2015 he joined German prog-rock group "Subsignal" and recorded several highly acclaimed albums. Some albums were voted No.1 at many international genre specific radio stations and music magazines, and got nominated for best Prog-Rock Album in 2015 & 2018. As an on-demand drummer he played also many musicals like "Evita", "Linie 1", „Feet of the Flames" or "Hair"… just to name a few. Dirk Brand is author of highly acclaimed drum books "1000 Faces of Drum Styles", "Future Drumming", "Chart Reading" and "Pocket Rhythms for Drums" and also a DVD "A Band Concept". For German drum magazine „Drums&Percussion" he writes a monthly column about „Electronic and Hybrid Drumming" and “Double Bass Drum Playing”. As an international clinician and product specialist he has demonstrated and performed all over the World, sharing his wide style of different drumming skills on tons of drum festivals, like: TamTam Festival (Spain), Warsaw Drum Festival (Poland), Drums&Percussion Paderborn (Germany), Bag’Show (France), India, Vietnam, Singapore, Music Russia, Music Fair Norway, Music China, Malaysia, Dresdner Drum Festival (Germany), Drummer Meeting Koblenz (Germany) and many many more. Dirk Brand is also closely working together with Pearl Drums for their electronic systems, like: e/MERGE and MIMIC Pro. For 8 years he has been a member of the Westfälische Wilhelms University in Münster and since 2009 he is the Drum Department Head of the Rock-, Jazz-, Pop-, Academy called short RPJam in Gießen close to Frankfurt.   How I Can Help: I have in-depth knowledge about the e/MERGE, am product specialist already for 20+ years when it concerns e-kits, am also a very versatile drummer, therefore completely flexible and open to talk about any drum topic you wish to know more about.   For the lesson I will use: e/MERGE Drum Kit several cameras, therefore being able to create different perspectives   Pearl artist page for more info and details: https://pearldrum.com/eu/artist/dirk-brand/13191     Miguel Lamas Genre: Fusion, pop   Lesson available in language(s): English Spanish   Social media links: https://www.instagram.com/miguellamasdrums/ https://www.facebook.com/miguellamasofficial https://www.miguel-lamas.com/   Quick introduction: Miguel Lamas (Ferrol/Spain, 1993) is a Latin Grammy Award winning drummer and playing drums already from 4 years old. He has worked live and in studio with artists like Dani Martín, Melendi, Amaia Montero, Miriam Rodriguez, Abraham Mateo, Maldita Nerea, David DeMaría, Zahara, O'Funk'Illo, David Bustamante, Soraya Arnelas, Lérica, Andrés Suárez, Tomasito, Juanito Makandé, Pepe Bao, Canijo de Jerez, Lin Cortés, Nani Cortés... just to name a few. Sa far he released two solo albums and also an album with his trio together with Raynald Colom & Jorge Vera. He performed at some of the greatest drum events around the world, like: The UK Drum Show (UK), Bag’Show (France), TamTam Drumfest (Spain), Meinl Drumfest (Germany), La Rioja Drumfest (Spain), NAMM Show (USA), ZonaSoul (Argentina), Clinic Days (Peru)... and many others. Also did he share his expertise during several online lessons at OnlineLessons.tv   How I Can Help: There are for sure some points that I‘d like to bring to your attention: Timing, Sound, Creativity and Precision. But I am also completely flexible and open to talk about any drum topic you wish to know more about.   For the lesson I will use: e/MERGE Drum Kit several cameras, therefore being able to create different perspectives   Pearl artist page for more info and details: https://pearldrum.com/eu/artist/miguel-lamas/19231     Riccardo Merlini Genre: Rock, pop, metal   Lesson available in language(s): English Italian   Social media links: https://www.instagram.com/riccardo.merlini/ https://riccardomerlini.com/   Quick introduction: Italian drummer, fastest hands on the planet, graduated at Conservatory, student of Mike Mangini in Boston, teacher, clinician, awarded world fastest drummer who discovered and developed the fastest hands technique reaching 400BPM with single stroke roll with drum sticks and 300BPM with bare hands. High profile and international renowned drummers from all over the world take lessons from Riccardo, like: superstar percussionist Eric Bobo (Cypress Hill), Mike Reid (drummer of Janet Jackson, Rhianna) and many others from around the world.   How I Can Help: My technique is very useful and teachable to anyone from the first approach and it's very useful for every kind of expression and style on the drum set or percussions. It helps to reach more flexibility of wrist and fingers. Developing the right movements for a better control and grip functionality.   My intention during this lesson would therefore be to explain you how my Super Fast Hands Technique works, at least for the first half an hour. I’ll show you many examples and give you exercises to develop and understand the benefits of this innovative method that helps you reach the fastest single strokes possible in a natural way, without tricks or shortcuts. Also I’d like to introduce to you one of my favorite tutorials: Hands&Feet Extreme Coordination… a system that I created to develop crazy independence and control of your limbs. But of course I’m also open to other requests like: just Double Pedal exercises (Doubles, Heel/Toe Technique, Singles…), Time Keeping especially at fast tempos, Chops etc… I speak English (C2 Level) and of course Italian.   For the lesson I will use: e/MERGE Drum Kit iPhone 11PRO front view Mac Book Pro Action Cam HD for my feet   Pearl artist page for more info and details: https://pearldrum.com/eu/artist/riccardo-merlini/14061     Cédric Hilaire Genre: Rock, pop, fusion, alternative   Lesson available in language: French   Social media links: https://www.instagram.com/cedric_hilaire/ https://www.facebook.com/cedric.hilaire.drum https://www.youtube.com/user/myckadow1?app=desktop https://www.d-clickonline.com/   Quick introduction: "Cédric Hilaire a commencé à faire de la batterie ainsi que ses premiers concerts à l'âge de 17 ans. Il écume les scènes européennes avec différents projets (Zetlaskars, EARL, Fouad Nohra, Kulbuto, Konami Code, Bonobo Circus, Ape’s O Clock, Tomawok...) et cumule près de 900 concerts. En parallèle, le batteur développe une passion pour la pédagogie. Il rejoint l’écurie Yamaha en tant que professeur (la Yamaha Popular Music School près de Rennes) à l’âge de 23 ans et y donne des cours particuliers et collectifs pendant plus de 10 ans. En 2014 Cédric a créé son école de batterie en ligne, D-Click Online, pour transmettre ses connaissances et sa vision de l’enseignement au plus grand nombre. Il a déjà prodigué ses conseils à plus de 300 élèves à travers le monde. En 2019 il a construit son studio, le Studio DCO, pour pouvoir acceuillir des batteurs en stage sur un ou plusieurs jours pour qu'ils puissent  progresser le plus efficacement possible dans un confort optimal. Depuis ce studio il diffuse aussi des vidéos pédagogiques sur sa chaîne Youtube (25 000 abonnés) ainsi que pour sa rubrique mensuelle "Les cours de Cédric Hilaire" dans le magazine spécialisé ‘Batterie Magazine’.”   How I Can Help: I am completely flexible and open to talk about any drum topic you wish to know more about… e/MERGE, it’s module, bass drum techniques, coordination, groves, and so on… Whether you are a beginner or an expert, I enjoy teaching to all levels, all styles and all ages and am a competent and very experienced drum teacher that will meet your expectations.   For the lesson I will use: e/MERGE Drum Kit several cameras, therefore being able to create different perspectives   Pearl artist page for more info and details: https://pearldrum.com/eu/artist/cedric-hilaire/1332196     Jason Bowld Genre: Rock, metal, urban   Lesson available in language: English   Social media links: https://www.instagram.com/jasonbowld/ https://www.facebook.com/jasonbowldmusic https://www.youtube.com/c/JasonBowld http://www.jasonbowld.com/   Quick introduction: “Hey there! I’m Jase the drummer for Bullet For My Valentine of which I’ve been part of for the last five years now. I’ve toured worldwide at a stadium level for a long long time now and prior to Bullet. Some bands I have played with include Pitchshifter, Killing Joke, Fightstar not to mention Axewound - a cool side project with myself and Bullet singer Matt. I’m a keen educator too, being a writer for Rhythm magazine for the last 14 years and also having played many drum clinics worldwide. I teach privately/remotely from my home studio where I also compose music for T.V. sync purposes - Is there anything I can’t do? Well yes - I’m terrrrrible at Golf and you could deffo kick my ass at Crochet’ I hope to see you in 2021 when we tour our brand new Bullet album which features some of my deadliest drumming. Peace x"   How I Can Help: In your lesson with me, I can cover subjects such as: double-kick, linear drumming, fill/groove ideas, rock, funk and Drum ‘n Bass - I can also teach Nu-fusions of world styles fused with modern styles that you love that will also further your technique.   For the lesson I will use: e/MERGE Drum Kit several cameras, therefore being able to create different perspectives   Pearl artist page for more info and details: https://pearldrum.com/eu/artist/jason-bowld/17326     Kai Hahto Genre: Rock, metal   Lesson available in language(s): English Finnish   Social media links: https://www.facebook.com/kai.hahto.96 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu-0SJCRozg   Quick introduction: Kai started playing the drums at the age of 6. Since he was 13 years old, he started playing in local bands till late 80’s… and after in the 90’s he got his name cemented in especially international heavy metal drum community as being part of Rotten Sound. But Kai also played with more Blues/Rock and Dixieland/Street Jazz music styled bands. Since Kai wanted to expand his technical abilities even more, he moved to New York for one Summer in 2002. His teachers were: Freddy Gruber, Joe Morello, Jim Chapin and John Riley and gave him a completely new direction in technique and drum set control. In 2004, Kai marked a new chapter in his life by co-founding Wintersun. And in 2009, he also became part of Swallow the Sun, having him record two studio albums with them and playing hundreds of shows around the world.  In between touring, he has also been very active in the studio as a drum tech/tuning guy for bands like Nightwish, Children Of Bodom, Ensiferum… just to name a few… This leads us to 2014 when he was asked by Nightwish to play on their new album “Endless Forms Most Beautiful” and join on their upcoming worldwide tour… and he has been with Nightiwsh as official band member ever since. Kai has done tons of clinics and masterclasses, and has been highly acclaimed because of his live, studio and teaching work.   How I Can Help: Get up close and personal with ‘one to one’ industry professional tuition. The lesson is designed around you to your needs. I will design your lesson using the information you provide me regarding your skill level be it beginner, intermediate or advanced. The number of years you’ve been playing, your favourite styles, your age, techniques and styles you wish to develop will all be factored into your lesson alongside insightful advice on becoming a session player (live and in the studio) and a stadium level live drummer.   For the lesson I will use: e/MERGE Drum Kit several cameras, therefore being able to create different perspectives   Pearl artist page for more info and details: https://pearldrum.com/eu/artist/kai-hahto/13196  

Proudly we welcome the following artists to the Pearl Family!   ALEKSANDRA ŠUKLAR - https://www.instagram.com/aleksandrasuklar/ product: malletSTATION, PTM Concert Maple Double Head toms, Symphonic Aluminum snare, MCT Masters Maple Complete drums   MICHI HUBERT - https://www.instagram.com/michi.hubert/ product: STS Session Studio Select series   HENRY CHAUHAN - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMD1NpYXZOl0fnvAe6vOM2A product: Masterworks series   TOBINES - https://www.youtube.com/user/nesarajahdrummer product: Crystal Beat series  

As the world is suffering with the corona virus pandemic, Japan has been no exception with the number of daily infections hitting over a hundred, people finding it hard to adjust themselves into the new normality and many drummers being unable to find a place to play the drums under such circumstances. In the face of these most challenging times, Pearl has taken a whole new step and invented a very unique product to combat the virus in the most "rhythmical" way and that is a hand sanitizer stand. As you may be thinking, there are many hand sanitizer stands out there and it itself is nothing new, however this, our friends, is not just a hand sanitizer stand, but it is converted from a Pearl Hi-hat stand. This simple, yet innovative hand sanitizer stand has so much more to offer than you may think it does.   First, as it is converted from one of the most selling Pearl Hi-Hat stands, H-830, it is light, yet very sturdy for ensuring a quick mobility as well as an extreme stability. Second, of course, it has inherited the "height adjustable feature" from the original product so that you may adjust the height as required for children or any special occasions. Third, the specially made slide-plate allows a flexible positioning of the sanitizer bottle you may place on the tray, which is also specially made for this use. We could go on and there are many more features to add, but if we are allowed to mention one more thing about the product, it would be the fact that you do not need to use your hands to push the hand sanitizer bottle, but you would just need to step on the Hi hat pedal with your foot, just like when you play a Hi hat as usual, which would then pull the slide-plate down to the point where it pushes down the bottle top then you can sanitize your hands completely hands-free!!!   Who would have thought that a Hi-hat stand would actually turn into a hand sanitizer stand, except a long existing drum manufacturer who has been always trying to offer something people might need? Although it is still nowhere near to an end to this pandemic we  are pleased to be able to play a roll in combating the virus.   We wish you all and your loved ones are safe and well and hope we will see a light at the end of the tunnel soon.

Live Streaming Durability Experiment   Have you ever wondered how long can a drum pedal live? How many shows and practice sessions can it survive? To answer all these questions once and forever Pearl set up the Eliminator Redline Pedal Durability Experiment. We built a special robot to see what is the limit to this pedal and for how long can it resist a beating. You can watch it online or follow its Twitter account to get regular updates. Will it last a month, a year or will the robot break before the pedal? Stay tuned to find out.   Pearl’s original PowerShifter Eliminator was a giant leap ahead in bass drum pedals. The world’s only pedal featuring the patented Interchangeable Cam System, Eliminator’s virtually unlimited tunability lets the player lock in totally personalized feel, power and speed. The Eliminator Redline is the next step forward. Like having four kick drum pedals in one, Redline fuses the stunning power and flexibility of the original Eliminator pedal with the fluid speed of our Demon series pedals. With a host of radical improvements, Eliminator Redline unlocks the perfect feel by choosing a cam, further pushing the boundaries of bass drum performance. Want to know more? Visit Pearl Eliminator Redline page.

We are proud to announce that Dirk is now one of our main Pearl e/MERGE ambassadors.     Last weekend, during the UK Drum show, we had an honor to reveal a new international e-drummer that is now playing Pearl e/MERGE electronic drum kit. We are very proud to announce that this e-drummer is Dirk Brand. "My name is Dirk Brand. I am very proud and very happy to introduce the new Pearl e/MERGE drum kit. This drum kit is totally unbelievable. Pearl and KORG did a collaboration together and they build a totally new system, new e-drumming experience." - Dirk Brand. Visit his artist page: Dirk Brand

Get your sticks ready, because this long-awaited e-drum set is finally here. When the world’s leading drum company spends five long years working hand in hand with the music industry’s leading electronics company, great things are bound to happen. Please welcome e/MERGE, an all new e-drumming experience like never before. We are excited to announce the final launch of this electronic drum set, it is now available to order at your official Pearl Dealer. Acoustic-like Feel Wave Trigger Technology of the Pearl e/MERGE allows every nuance of your playing style, and even your choice of stick to infinitely color the sound produced. It is faster than anything simply trigger based. The patent pending PUREtouch Electronic Pads were constructed by Pearl and KORG engineers with six layers of material that work together to create the most natural feel of any electronic pad available. Visit one of the upcoming events to experience e/MERGE yourself:  o   Italy – Oct 20th – Musika Expo in Rome o   France – Oct 27th – La Bag Show in Paris o   Germany – Nov 1st/3rd – Musicpark in Leipzig o   Spain – Nov 3rd – TamTam DrumFest in Sevilla