The first thing you’ll notice with these Pearl Student Snare Drum kits is that they are not covered by the same warranty Pearl places on its regular drums and hardware. Instead of a lifetime warranty on the drum shell and three years on the snare drum stand, this product only offers one year on manufacturing defects (See their Educational Product Warranty disclaimer). Upon further inspection of the product, you realize why. The snare drum and case are made in Taiwan. The padding on the case is very thin and would not protect the drum if it is dropped from more than 6 inches from the ground. The snare drum itself is also very flimsy. What’s even worse is that the “Pearl” name badge is nothing more than a sticker, and so is the serial number on the shell. The concert height snare stand is probably the best part of this product, however the plastic “wing nut” for the snare basket adjustment is very flimsy and will probably crack after a year or two. To be honest, I was shocked with the poor quality, especially since this is a name brand company. All I can guess is that Pearl, like Yamaha and the resurrected “Ludwig” brand name, on their student snare drum kits, has done nothing more than licensed their name to a lower grade manufacturer. The final “nail in the coffin” for this product was how it was shipped. Instead of being boxed independently (like most drum kits), everything was packed in the backpack, which is then sealed in a plastic bag. The first arrived with a torn backback, and now the second arrived with the snare drum’s rim bent. The seller has been good with handling the returns, but the delay has been horrible. Hopefully the third time is the charm. Pearl definitely needs to find a better supplier for these educational kits, inspect them before they ship to the retailers, and package them better for transport.

I ordered this for my son to start 5th grade band and I am so pleased with my purchase. Everything that we needed came with it and is high quality. I read all the other reviews and was hesitant, but I am so glad I went with this set. I know someone said the bag was cheap, but it really isn’t that bad. It is nylon, but it isn’t super thin nylon that would rip easily. The stand is very very sturdy and well made. If you can’t tell – I was really impressed! We had the choice from our local musical instrument company to basically buy this kind of set used for 0. So glad I decided to look for something else on here.

Nice starter snare drum kit. The rolling case is perfect for my 9 yr old. Makes it easy for him to get around in school. He loves this drum kit.