After I made this video, 66samus got one and single handedly resurrected online interest in the Emerge. If that will translate large sales numbers remains to be seen, but it's very interesting
But, here's the kicker, I read online today that it DOES NOT work with Pearl's own Mimic Pro. WTH. I really like this set as it had the look and feel I wanted in a set. I was going to buy the Emerge and a Mimic pro, along with an extra cymbal and maybe a tom. Now? Ehhhhhh..... Roland's TD50 is looking good right about now for less than those two combined. Problem now too is the Mimic seems to be getting no updates. Both could end up as paperweights. Hard to make the investment knowing all of that. Thoughts Justin?
While Pearl was partnering with Korg on the eMerge, we Mimic Pro owners feel abandoned with no software or sound updates for over a year, which doesn't exactly inspire brand loyalty. Pearl has arguably the best module on the planet, but are ignoring it.
I've had the mimic for over a year now and... meh. No matter how much you do to the trigger settings, it still doesn't respond as well as a Roland module with roland pads. Also there aren't any synth sounds. I do love the touch screen and the direct outs as well as the realism of the sounds.
One issue here is that Pearl is a hardware company. They have a long history of delivering physical products that don't need any ongoing manufacturer-supplied maintenance. With a software product, that type of maintenance is essential. As a potential customer, I'm happy to hear your experiences, but I'm sorry it's not any better. If I ever decide to upgrade the module that came with my TD-17KV, I'll probably look at 2box.
@@arbogast4950 I have Roland pad, actually I get much better dynamic in mimic then Roland module, the only things I had to change are my cones, they where wear out and creating hot spot and bad dynamic. Tightening the mesh make all the difference, input gain lower then 10, capture top velocity and crosstalk suppression. All the rest are sound editing.
"No software or sound updates for over a year which doesn't exactly inspire brand loyalty"....then how do you explain Simmons being around for so long and selling so well? They're the epitome of having the same sounds for years
This drum set is awesome, I bought it today. There is nothing wrong with the technology, and if it's only for wrong marketing strategy that it didn't sell, it's easy to solve this issue, rebrand it and sell it again using a different marketing approach. It is better than most high-end e drum kits selling today. About the closed ecosystem, Roland's new digital series snare and hi-hat controllers are propriety as well. They don't work with any other brand module, even Roland's older modules. I also sacked two cymbal pads and the snare pad from my old Alesis Surge kit (using it as a 4th tom) and they work fine triggering the Pearl module, yes this kit allows easy expansion. I can't believe you didn't notice how realistic the snare sounds, all the variations in between hitting the center and closer to the edge, it is not midi, it is the kit and the module that creates this, and I plan to record the direct outputs of the module rather than midi triggered sample library on the computer because of that.
i worked in music retail in 2018 when this product series launched, and didn't know it existed. i was stoked as hell about the brain, the way they were trying to integrate internal mics to create simple hybrid live kits, etc, and knew all about the pricing of every accessory they had... oh wait, no, that was a yamaha product, and i was able to sell several of them, because the sales reps the company hired actually did their jobs and told on the floor sales people about it. pearl did not.
Price and piece count is always a factor. I’m not swayed by the latest and greatest when some of the pieces these manufacturers put out look cheap and brittle compared to my older Roland pads and cymbals. The industry is pricing their products largely out of the range of the masses. Competition should bring down prices but it sometimes feels like there is collusion to keep the prices at a certain range or level. I just can’t get excited about most of it anymore when it is so out of reach.
I started following another RUclips creator, "Demonic Sweaters" and he shows what can be done with older Roland modules. He makes custom kits for his hybrid drumset using Roland TD-6 and TD-8 modules he bought online. I went back and listened to those modules and was so happy to hear sounds that I really like (of course we can't forget the dog-awful sounds, either! 🤪). That's probably the route I'm going to take. Triggers on an acoustic kit, plus some old pads and an old Roland module.
I think the one big problem here is Korg isn’t that well known for drum sounds in general. Why not partner with a plugin company, like Native Instruments for eg?
Justin, why aren't you the head of one of these big e-kit companies as an R&D and/or technology demo player?! You're incredibly smart, have great "stage presence", you're humble, knowledgeable, not a jerk, and, your love of all things e-drums is evident in every video. Dude, you should have job offers pouring in! Yamaha, Roland, Alesis, Ef Note. All these companies could really benefit having you onboard.
I played that same kit at the summer NAMM show a couple years ago. It played great and I would consider one, if I didn’t already have a Roland kit. Since then, I have not seen one in a store anywhere. I don’t think they promoted the WaveDrum aspect well enough either.
They could have created a full WaveDrum kit and promoted it as a way to play with brushes, mallets, hands, etc provide a lot of high quality percussive sounds and differentiate themselves while using the Korg tech they bought, i know a lot of Professional drummers who would buy it in an instant cause there really isn't any other kit like that available in the market.
The first thing any new edrum kit has to be is cheaper then roland. Second, don't be a closed off system unless you're bringing in some kind new technology that's game changing. Even with the digital pads roland has stated to slowly integrate they still keep it where you don't technically need to use them.
Great points. They price this at $2000/2500 and maybe it becomes an attractive option for people who want a good self-contained kit from a brand they trust, especially if they're new to the e-drum world.
@@Andrew-wb2zq-At that price point they certainly would've sold way more units. Have to give 2 crashes at this price point too, especially when getting a 2nd one isn't easy.
The day a manufacturer ealises no one wants a module with hundreds of sounds and actually just want a vst level sound set with a small number of kits which is absolutely possible in 2021. This like many 'new' kits released, they sound terrible and no different to edrums we have had for years.
@@Andystuff800 But you can't replace the kits that come with the module. If you want to have nothing but your own samples in the module, you can with the 2Box model.
Maybe this exists but if you're recording you'll probably want to track midi and trigger a kit in your DAW. All we need are nice feeling pads and a simple module. Most people aren't recording produced audio out of these modules are they?
I am a Pearl fan and tried really hard to get excited about it, but just couldn't. I actually did play a floor model on 3 separate occasions and just left with a 'meh' feeling. Funny, the thing Justin hates is what I really like: the styling. I dig the chrome wedge and red accents. I also really liked the rack. Am still undecided about the feel. It was different than mesh, but not sure better. For me nothing feels as good as acoustic drums still to this day.
@@65Drums one thing that really killed it for me is when you change kits there is a period when if you hit pads no sound will come out while the module processes the kit change. That's something that I can't live with for live gigs.
@@DouglasLippi But there is the Roland patent so noone else seems to be *allowed* to use their approach with addressing sounds in memory, so to my knowledge that's the main reason only Roland modules switch kits instantly with the change going live immediately, even while a cymbal still rings... Acoustic drums are a different instrument, it doesn't even make sense to compare both.. If I could return back in time, for sure I would have spend the money I put in e-drums into renting a rehearsal space and putting in it a mid-tier acoustic set with some decent cymbals... Which I eventually did later on anyway, LoL :)
I've researched both the Alesis Strike Pro SE and the Pearl e/Merge. I first fell in love with the Alesis but after finding out about the ride cymbal pad trigger problems, I'm gonna grit my teeth and save up to maximize a Pearl e/Merge.
As a Pearl drummer i just think dor the amount you can spend to buy this you can buy an Acoustic pearl kit and customize it yourself to be a accessory for acoustic/Ekit. Ive done it for half the price and its one of the best kits ive ever played/owned.
I’m listening to this at the ONE YEAR mark since you made it. … and I have never heard of this drumset until today. Yet that dang MIMIC has been like A LEGEND for so long that I have to just agree with every criticism you have brought here. What the heck, Pearl?! I think Pearl should go back to the drawing board with all this in mind, and come out with a new drumset in this bracket, and call it the RE-EMERGE! 😄😄 And they should PLAY ON THAT! And acknowledge how they dropped the ball with the first one, say “our bad!” and then SHOW US how they’re back! We’d all LOVE THAT! 😄👍👍 If they did roughly most of the things you talked about here, I think they’d have a huge hit on their hands, and I think that drummers would have a whole new respect for them for BEING DRUMMERS! Yeah, we’re kinda flakey, but we’re HONEST, and we’re BIG HEARTED. Come on PEARL! Do something awesome! “Put a ding in the universe”! 🤘😎🤘
When I think electronic sets, I think Roland, Alesis, and Yamaha. I can only play one drum beat (guitarist), but everywhere I go those are the brands I see and test out. I know if I buy a Roland, it’s an asset that can always resell if needed. Overall them and Yamaha are just known reliable brands.
Reading the emerge manual I notice there is indeed trigger settings for OTHER pads, I think a regular pad/cymbal will work with the emerge, what they meant at the beginning by saying third party pads are not compatible is the wavetrigger technology but the rest will definitely work as it’s just piezos and switches, now someone like drum-tec or edrumcenter who have a emerge kit and a mimic pro can connect both and let us know
The drum got released 3 years ago, (2 years prior to this video) the electronic drum market is fucking niche at best to start off with. When I used to sell drums I used to sell the ''latest'' TD model that was, at the time, already 4 years old on a regular basis. It wasn't cause it was the best on the market (which it was) it's cause the technology advanced enough the price dropped like crazy. It's hard enough to sell drums, most people don't want to start on electronic drums, and the few people who actually choose to play drums regularly probably figure out they need a fucking drum space to do so. Then there's the people (which are most of them) that don't play in their parent's basement. Electronic drums are amazing when it comes to sound reduction, but unless you live on that first floor, or over a business, that kick stump passes through. The best E-Drum on earth won't flop cause it sucks, it'll flop cause e-drums are hard to sell.
I've never played this kit, but I do own a pair of Korg Wavedrums and I intend to buy a third. I started playing acoustic drums in the early 80s and began adding electronics when I received a Roland SPD8 for Christmas 1989. I've played on everything over the past four decades, and the Wavedrum technology is the most impressive accomplishment in the history of electronic percussion. It tricks my brain into believing that I'm playing actual acoustic percussion instruments. If wonder if they managed to capture that same magical playability with their drum kits
I would have to agree with you on the second crash cymbal. I've always liked having 2 crash cymbals even on an acoustic set. and I would agree that they should have made this drum kit more compatible with other pads.
I've been playing drums for 10 years ish and only reluctantly got into electric kits recently. I spent a couple months looking for the best one for me and Pearls electric kits didnt come up once.
Pearl does this with everything they release. They hype it up and forget about it 6 months later, never upgrading, and when the production stops you will never be able to get parts to fix it.
Yes, it never made any sense why they paired this up the the Korg module when they had such an amazing product in the Pearl Mimic Pro. If they were betting on people buying both, well, they were wrong 😑
I would say the reason pearl went with the korg module was because pearl borrowed korgs pad technology which operates on a korg module. Pearl would have had to revamp the mimic pro to work with the pad, since it is korg's patent, they had to use korgs product.
I bought an E/Merge. I dug out my Simmons SDSV because I'd rather play on plastic hexagons that sound absolutely incredible. I actually made an adaptor to make my SDSV pads work with an EMU DRUMULATOR.
@@StanPuftone I did find an emerge bass drum used for 200.00 a month ago. I put that on my td27, because I hated the floppy Roland kd-10 kick tower thing. Roland wants 1k for the same, realistic size bass drum. Works great
@@cory-o-cookies95 That's a good find, as the bass drum was about the only good thing about it. The Pearl distributor here in Aus', sent it to my store for us to test, & to give an honest opinion about it, before they decided whether or not to bring it into the country. The pads are extremely noisey - like hitting cardboard boxes with stick, so it wouldn't work for apartment living. For all the so called hybrid tech in the snare, the thing machine gunned like crazy & missed ghost notes. The hi-hat was hit & miss, & the sounds were ok, but nothing special. Even the guy who sent it to us didn't like it, but the distributors here were forced by Pearl to bring it to the country anyway. They missed a trick by not doing something with their own Mimic module. Why they thought partnering with Korg was a good idea, given that the Wave drum tech is over 10 years old, & no doubt it has forced the pricing of the kits up.
i got the red n black edition alesis nitro mesh kit n I gotta say it’s really good kit with what it has for $480 I got 4 toms, 2 crashes, n a ride but that’s with the expansion kit added other then that you got stuck with 1 crash so if you do want the alesis kit ORDER THE EXPANSION PACK. you won’t regret it
Although I liked the sound of this drum set and its drum heads and was familiar with the technology, being an enthusiastic player of the Korg Wavedrum, I wasn't interested in buying it as it has no midi input. For one drum like the Wavedrum, that's okay by me. I regard the Wavedrum as an acoustic instrument and I do quite well as a percussionist. As for electronic drums, I want to be able to edit my recordings the same way as my keyboard recordings. I am no virtuoso on drums and it's been 34 years since I used to play them every week. I watch almost every video of yours in order to decide which drum set is best for me. I really appreciate your advice and reviews. I played a Roland in Japan and to my surprise, I could play rolls very easily on the digital snare. I think I will go for a future Roland VAD including the digital hihat, unless Alesis releases a follow up to the Strike Pro SE with less latency or some other company surprises me. But up till now, Roland has offered the best feature set that suits my demands.
yeah the snare drum sensors are a "Cool" feature, but usually (not always though!) when someone plays a snare near the edge, it's to control volume, something that's not necessary on an electric kit since you can just turn the volume up or down to your liking.
It flopped because it got lost in the shuffle among the other millions of electronic sets that are already out there and have been out there for 550 years
I think the korg wave drum tech is very cool but the sound quality they pair it with is inferior at least when compared to the mimic. What would have been reall cool is if they integrated that tech into the mimic module and added open source multi sample capability like was originally promised using full positional sensing utilizing the wave drum tech if they did that it would have been game over and they would have destroyed their competition
Man how do they come up with selling price? I just bought the Td17 and $1,400 bucks was a bit much considering what you said..1 crash cymbal. My wife said if I be good maybe I can get a few Roland cymbals to expand the kit.
The closed off/walled garden approach killed any long life this kit was ever going to have. It wasn't an amazing-sounding module to begin with, but the ability to upgrade it to a Mimic would have been a huge boon.
It didn't sound any worse than any other electric kit out there, there's an overabundance of electronic drum sets, this kit just got lost in the shuffle
@@Am71919 I guess I just didn't prefer how it sounded, not that it was awful or anything. To me it didn't sound like $4500. Put a Mimic there in place and the package looks way more attractive.
Pearl MIMIC needed a kit, eMerge should be med kit at 2999 price point$. I just changed from Roland to Mimic, what a difference, once you get used to it, everything sound way much better, and a lot more option for triggering, for various manufacture, I can't complain after some time spend everything run and play great.
You have some nice videos here! Very helpful! I am considering the Pearl e/merge and Gewa G5, but I am really not sure wich one I should go for. They are in the same price range - if you had to chose one of them, wich one would you go for?
From what I’ve seen and heard the kick drum can be used with several different modules. Roland, ect… Do you know if this is true? Will it work with the Alesis Strike?
Hi! I know you're not from Europe so it will be difficult. But will you cover the millenium MPS-1000? I think it's amazing for the price! As all millenium products are really (I have a mps750, and as a non drummer I have quite the fun with it). Back to the MPs-1000, I think for 1000 euros, having a full wood shells kit with huge cymbals is a big of a deal.
CMIIW. I don't think Pearl have ever been competitive since they made ePro 11 years ago. They're just not good enough in making e-drums. Except Pearl Mimic Pro. Just my opinion.
I think you are dead on. I'm a big pearl fan but their electronic side doesn't seem cohesive. They use amazing tech but not in the right way. Why couldn't they use the mimic with the emerge to make a true flagship. Add two more crash cymbals and it becomes a beast. The emerge module looks cheap for a 4 grand kit.
Yeah crazy price compared to the Alesis strike se or even the crimson 2 se add extra Tom, superior drummer 3 and plenty of SDX libraries and still save money
They sound nice and look nice but they are insanely expensive, I think of they brought the price down to be more competitive and/or released a more affordable budget version it would have taken off.
the fact there's only ONE - very expensive - model is a huuuge factor I think . It's not like everyone has $4000 lying around .....and as you correctly point out : you can't open any musicstore website without immediately seeing models from Roland , Alesis and Yamaha at every price range ( with all sorts of bundle-deals as well ) .It's an example of extremely bad marketing from Pearl
Nobody knows what happened behind the scenes, but I am afraid that Pearl International was a bit overwhelmed by Pearl USA working with Steven Slate on the MIMIC while Pearl International worked on the E/Merge. Initially the Mimic should be for sale in the US only but after many people asked for it, the Mimic was for sale in Europe as well. And Pearl still needed to market the expensive E/merge on which they had worked for years and paid lots of money to Korg. We all know what happened next. No real sound updates and no kits, pads, cymbals for the Mimic and a bad marketing for the E/merge. And this is not the first time Pearl fails.
yep i own a mimic in nz and glad its awesome i had a td20 paid a crap load for it and its gone a flagship model gone so that turned me off roland, mimic sounds are really good, it triggers well, when you know what you are doing, upgraged sounds really? if you buy a acoustic kit you don't get upgraded sounds lol just saying, but i have had one round of upgrades already since i brought it and you can get sound packs made up by drumtec or online sound stores like vexpressions etc
I just want a drumset that gives a damn about stock sounds. I prefer feeling over sound because I can just slap on a plugin but there are soooo many companies to chose from, my fckn head explodes 😪
The emerge kick drum might be the best off the shelf e-kick. I ordered a 12x18 for $439. FAR superior to the kick towers that come on many e-kits. Far better than the roland td-180l for $200 less.
I'm probably not the market for this, but I can't understand why anyone would put $4k down on an electronic kit when you can get a really nice acoustic kit and cymbals for half that! I've always wanted to venture into electronics but can't stand the feel of the cheaper kits and am unwilling to put down a lot of cash for something worth playing. As somebody that has been educated in and worked in electronics most of my life, I don't understand where the cost is coming from.
Its the noise factor. Period. We all would love to bang acoustics all day but its not possible. Its the reason I converted my Ludwigs to electric. So instead of staring at them I can actually play them any time of day.
I've only seen Ricardo and Samus play it, and with their videos I came to the conclusion that the sounds aren't that good, they could be better, it doesn't really worth it for the price
The price is terrible. It's more like $6k if you add enough cymbal pads to make it feel like a real kit. And why do I need another rack, even more cymbal stands and another snare stand. Anyone who is going to spend that much cash on new shells and a module is already going to own lots of hardware.
Now, it's even way more expensive, at 4800 bucks. It's very expensive, you can get the TD-27KV for 1500 bucks less with the digital snare and ride and a better sounding module (in my opinion). Kinda disappointing, since I'm a huge Pearl fan. 😕
I was in the market for a new electronic drum kit around the time this launched, and it fell out of the running quickly because of those tacky cymbals. I wasn't going to pay that much money for something that looks so awful. And the module looks terrible too. If I'm going to be shelling out thousands of dollars I want a product that looks premium, not like a toy from the 90s. The raised rim sections also look bad.
It’s certainly becoming a competitive market! I love the Mimic Pro module but I’d probably get it with a different kit. Great video 👍 Side note about Sam Ash: I asked them if I could purchase a Roland td-27 module by itself. It was like pulling teeth as they kept ignoring me. When I finally cornered a rep he wanted to charge me $1549 even though I showed him it’s going for $1249 everywhere else. Very strange.
After I made this video, 66samus got one and single handedly resurrected online interest in the Emerge. If that will translate large sales numbers remains to be seen, but it's very interesting
It will end up like the mimic, abandoned in a corner
But, here's the kicker, I read online today that it DOES NOT work with Pearl's own Mimic Pro. WTH. I really like this set as it had the look and feel I wanted in a set. I was going to buy the Emerge and a Mimic pro, along with an extra cymbal and maybe a tom. Now? Ehhhhhh..... Roland's TD50 is looking good right about now for less than those two combined. Problem now too is the Mimic seems to be getting no updates. Both could end up as paperweights. Hard to make the investment knowing all of that. Thoughts Justin?
Well said, Bro! You should request a commission!
@@synonyx dude. thats retarded. why the hell would they do that? its like they were trying to make this thing fail.
They owe you some money lol
I didn't know this thing existed until I saw 66samus did a demo with one
Yeah lol, now I'm seeing it everywhere
Me too
Samee
Same.
I know right?
While Pearl was partnering with Korg on the eMerge, we Mimic Pro owners feel abandoned with no software or sound updates for over a year, which doesn't exactly inspire brand loyalty. Pearl has arguably the best module on the planet, but are ignoring it.
I've had the mimic for over a year now and... meh. No matter how much you do to the trigger settings, it still doesn't respond as well as a Roland module with roland pads. Also there aren't any synth sounds. I do love the touch screen and the direct outs as well as the realism of the sounds.
One issue here is that Pearl is a hardware company. They have a long history of delivering physical products that don't need any ongoing manufacturer-supplied maintenance. With a software product, that type of maintenance is essential.
As a potential customer, I'm happy to hear your experiences, but I'm sorry it's not any better. If I ever decide to upgrade the module that came with my TD-17KV, I'll probably look at 2box.
@@arbogast4950 I have Roland pad, actually I get much better dynamic in mimic then Roland module, the only things I had to change are my cones, they where wear out and creating hot spot and bad dynamic. Tightening the mesh make all the difference, input gain lower then 10, capture top velocity and crosstalk suppression. All the rest are sound editing.
"No software or sound updates for over a year which doesn't exactly inspire brand loyalty"....then how do you explain Simmons being around for so long and selling so well? They're the epitome of having the same sounds for years
This drum set is awesome, I bought it today. There is nothing wrong with the technology, and if it's only for wrong marketing strategy that it didn't sell, it's easy to solve this issue, rebrand it and sell it again using a different marketing approach. It is better than most high-end e drum kits selling today. About the closed ecosystem, Roland's new digital series snare and hi-hat controllers are propriety as well. They don't work with any other brand module, even Roland's older modules. I also sacked two cymbal pads and the snare pad from my old Alesis Surge kit (using it as a 4th tom) and they work fine triggering the Pearl module, yes this kit allows easy expansion. I can't believe you didn't notice how realistic the snare sounds, all the variations in between hitting the center and closer to the edge, it is not midi, it is the kit and the module that creates this, and I plan to record the direct outputs of the module rather than midi triggered sample library on the computer because of that.
i worked in music retail in 2018 when this product series launched, and didn't know it existed.
i was stoked as hell about the brain, the way they were trying to integrate internal mics to create simple hybrid live kits, etc, and knew all about the pricing of every accessory they had... oh wait, no, that was a yamaha product, and i was able to sell several of them, because the sales reps the company hired actually did their jobs and told on the floor sales people about it. pearl did not.
Price and piece count is always a factor. I’m not swayed by the latest and greatest when some of the pieces these manufacturers put out look cheap and brittle compared to my older Roland pads and cymbals. The industry is pricing their products largely out of the range of the masses. Competition should bring down prices but it sometimes feels like there is collusion to keep the prices at a certain range or level. I just can’t get excited about most of it anymore when it is so out of reach.
I started following another RUclips creator, "Demonic Sweaters" and he shows what can be done with older Roland modules. He makes custom kits for his hybrid drumset using Roland TD-6 and TD-8 modules he bought online. I went back and listened to those modules and was so happy to hear sounds that I really like (of course we can't forget the dog-awful sounds, either! 🤪). That's probably the route I'm going to take. Triggers on an acoustic kit, plus some old pads and an old Roland module.
I feel the same way. And, I have yet to purchase any electric drum set. Always seem a little too out of reach.
For me I think the sounds from this kit is better than most on the market. I'd definitely buy one if the price drops
I think the one big problem here is Korg isn’t that well known for drum sounds in general. Why not partner with a plugin company, like Native Instruments for eg?
UPDATE: They just updated the eMerge with new kits!
ruclips.net/video/8bl-7ISyxd0/видео.html
Looks like they're not abandoning it after all!
Ive played quite a few electric kits including this one and it reminds me so much of the original Roland td-12.
I think pearl are 10 years behind
I currently have a td12 and this Pearl e/merge blows THAT out of the water...but you do you...
Justin, why aren't you the head of one of these big e-kit companies as an R&D and/or technology demo player?! You're incredibly smart, have great "stage presence", you're humble, knowledgeable, not a jerk, and, your love of all things e-drums is evident in every video. Dude, you should have job offers pouring in! Yamaha, Roland, Alesis, Ef Note. All these companies could really benefit having you onboard.
He's only 31 and drumming for 23.
100% Agreed and I’ve thought the same thing for so long.
Work for a corporate, you are hit by politics, and independence to even tell the truth gets compromised.
I played that same kit at the summer NAMM show a couple years ago. It played great and I would consider one, if I didn’t already have a Roland kit. Since then, I have not seen one in a store anywhere. I don’t think they promoted the WaveDrum aspect well enough either.
They could have created a full WaveDrum kit and promoted it as a way to play with brushes, mallets, hands, etc provide a lot of high quality percussive sounds and differentiate themselves while using the Korg tech they bought, i know a lot of Professional drummers who would buy it in an instant cause there really isn't any other kit like that available in the market.
The first thing any new edrum kit has to be is cheaper then roland. Second, don't be a closed off system unless you're bringing in some kind new technology that's game changing. Even with the digital pads roland has stated to slowly integrate they still keep it where you don't technically need to use them.
All very true
Great points. They price this at $2000/2500 and maybe it becomes an attractive option for people who want a good self-contained kit from a brand they trust, especially if they're new to the e-drum world.
I just think this drum set got lost in the shuffle among the millions of other electronic kits out there
@@Andrew-wb2zq-At that price point they certainly would've sold way more units. Have to give 2 crashes at this price point too, especially when getting a 2nd one isn't easy.
@@Am71919 - Especially when Roland is in that shuffle.
The day a manufacturer ealises no one wants a module with hundreds of sounds and actually just want a vst level sound set with a small number of kits which is absolutely possible in 2021.
This like many 'new' kits released, they sound terrible and no different to edrums we have had for years.
This is how 2Box carved their spot in the sun. You can literally replace every single kit in the module with your own sounds.
@@BrunodeSouzaLino The Alesis Strike lets you import VST samples too. They still have a lot of bad sounding kits but the good ones are really good.
@@Andystuff800 But you can't replace the kits that come with the module. If you want to have nothing but your own samples in the module, you can with the 2Box model.
Maybe this exists but if you're recording you'll probably want to track midi and trigger a kit in your DAW. All we need are nice feeling pads and a simple module. Most people aren't recording produced audio out of these modules are they?
I am a Pearl fan and tried really hard to get excited about it, but just couldn't. I actually did play a floor model on 3 separate occasions and just left with a 'meh' feeling. Funny, the thing Justin hates is what I really like: the styling. I dig the chrome wedge and red accents. I also really liked the rack. Am still undecided about the feel. It was different than mesh, but not sure better. For me nothing feels as good as acoustic drums still to this day.
It was a mixed bag of great and bad features. A bit confusing to be honest. I agree about the drum rack, I like it a lot
@@65Drums one thing that really killed it for me is when you change kits there is a period when if you hit pads no sound will come out while the module processes the kit change. That's something that I can't live with for live gigs.
@@DouglasLippi But there is the Roland patent so noone else seems to be *allowed* to use their approach with addressing sounds in memory, so to my knowledge that's the main reason only Roland modules switch kits instantly with the change going live immediately, even while a cymbal still rings...
Acoustic drums are a different instrument, it doesn't even make sense to compare both.. If I could return back in time, for sure I would have spend the money I put in e-drums into renting a rehearsal space and putting in it a mid-tier acoustic set with some decent cymbals... Which I eventually did later on anyway, LoL :)
@@pumpalBo interesting. Well they should find another way. Whatever the case, if Pearl can't do it then they lose. That's the way it goes I guess.
@@DouglasLippi the bottom line is this kit just got lost in the shuffle among the other millions of electronic kits
I've researched both the Alesis Strike Pro SE and the Pearl e/Merge. I first fell in love with the Alesis but after finding out about the ride cymbal pad trigger problems, I'm gonna grit my teeth and save up to maximize a Pearl e/Merge.
As a Pearl drummer i just think dor the amount you can spend to buy this you can buy an Acoustic pearl kit and customize it yourself to be a accessory for acoustic/Ekit. Ive done it for half the price and its one of the best kits ive ever played/owned.
I’m listening to this at the ONE YEAR mark since you made it.
… and I have never heard of this drumset until today.
Yet that dang MIMIC has been like A LEGEND for so long that I have to just agree with every criticism you have brought here.
What the heck, Pearl?!
I think Pearl should go back to the drawing board with all this in mind, and come out with a new drumset in this bracket, and call it the RE-EMERGE! 😄😄 And they should PLAY ON THAT! And acknowledge how they dropped the ball with the first one, say “our bad!” and then SHOW US how they’re back!
We’d all LOVE THAT! 😄👍👍
If they did roughly most of the things you talked about here, I think they’d have a huge hit on their hands, and I think that drummers would have a whole new respect for them for BEING DRUMMERS! Yeah, we’re kinda flakey, but we’re HONEST, and we’re BIG HEARTED.
Come on PEARL! Do something awesome! “Put a ding in the universe”!
🤘😎🤘
I got an Old TD20K, still up to date after all this time...
🖖🏻🇫🇷😎🇫🇷😎🇫🇷🖖🏻
Another big difference with the E-Pro Live was you could remove the pads and modules and have a working acoustic kit.
I like this drum set...
-65 Drums
When I think electronic sets, I think Roland, Alesis, and Yamaha. I can only play one drum beat (guitarist), but everywhere I go those are the brands I see and test out. I know if I buy a Roland, it’s an asset that can always resell if needed. Overall them and Yamaha are just known reliable brands.
Reading the emerge manual I notice there is indeed trigger settings for OTHER pads, I think a regular pad/cymbal will work with the emerge, what they meant at the beginning by saying third party pads are not compatible is the wavetrigger technology but the rest will definitely work as it’s just piezos and switches, now someone like drum-tec or edrumcenter who have a emerge kit and a mimic pro can connect both and let us know
They’ve obviously seen this video, panicked and sent a bunch of free kits to RUclipsrs to review... like 66Samus 😂
💯 Realest comment of the day
Here we are OVER a year later and its closer to 5k now for this set!
The drum got released 3 years ago, (2 years prior to this video) the electronic drum market is fucking niche at best to start off with. When I used to sell drums I used to sell the ''latest'' TD model that was, at the time, already 4 years old on a regular basis. It wasn't cause it was the best on the market (which it was) it's cause the technology advanced enough the price dropped like crazy.
It's hard enough to sell drums, most people don't want to start on electronic drums, and the few people who actually choose to play drums regularly probably figure out they need a fucking drum space to do so. Then there's the people (which are most of them) that don't play in their parent's basement. Electronic drums are amazing when it comes to sound reduction, but unless you live on that first floor, or over a business, that kick stump passes through.
The best E-Drum on earth won't flop cause it sucks, it'll flop cause e-drums are hard to sell.
I've never played this kit, but I do own a pair of Korg Wavedrums and I intend to buy a third. I started playing acoustic drums in the early 80s and began adding electronics when I received a Roland SPD8 for Christmas 1989. I've played on everything over the past four decades, and the Wavedrum technology is the most impressive accomplishment in the history of electronic percussion. It tricks my brain into believing that I'm playing actual acoustic percussion instruments. If wonder if they managed to capture that same magical playability with their drum kits
66Samus has just started playing one.
I would have to agree with you on the second crash cymbal.
I've always liked having 2 crash cymbals even on an acoustic set.
and I would agree that they should have made this drum kit more compatible with other pads.
Shite, give me 10 crashes, 8 , splashes, dual high hats and a partridge in a pear tree or something....
66Samus seems to love this set, too.
I've been playing drums for 10 years ish and only reluctantly got into electric kits recently. I spent a couple months looking for the best one for me and Pearls electric kits didnt come up once.
Pearl does this with everything they release. They hype it up and forget about it 6 months later, never upgrading, and when the production stops you will never be able to get parts to fix it.
Yes, it never made any sense why they paired this up the the Korg module when they had such an amazing product in the Pearl Mimic Pro. If they were betting on people buying both, well, they were wrong 😑
I would say the reason pearl went with the korg module was because pearl borrowed korgs pad technology which operates on a korg module. Pearl would have had to revamp the mimic pro to work with the pad, since it is korg's patent, they had to use korgs product.
I had no idea it was a thing until I saw only one on Facebook and they wanted over 4k
I bought an E/Merge. I dug out my Simmons SDSV because I'd rather play on plastic hexagons that sound absolutely incredible. I actually made an adaptor to make my SDSV pads work with an EMU DRUMULATOR.
Had my choice of This Kit, Roland Td-27 or the Alesis Strike Pro SE. Went with the Roland, for the long tested and proven durability they have
Good call! The Emerge is awful!
@@StanPuftone I did find an emerge bass drum used for 200.00 a month ago.
I put that on my td27, because I hated the floppy Roland kd-10 kick tower thing. Roland wants 1k for the same, realistic size bass drum. Works great
@@cory-o-cookies95 That's a good find, as the bass drum was about the only good thing about it. The Pearl distributor here in Aus', sent it to my store for us to test, & to give an honest opinion about it, before they decided whether or not to bring it into the country. The pads are extremely noisey - like hitting cardboard boxes with stick, so it wouldn't work for apartment living. For all the so called hybrid tech in the snare, the thing machine gunned like crazy & missed ghost notes. The hi-hat was hit & miss, & the sounds were ok, but nothing special. Even the guy who sent it to us didn't like it, but the distributors here were forced by Pearl to bring it to the country anyway. They missed a trick by not doing something with their own Mimic module. Why they thought partnering with Korg was a good idea, given that the Wave drum tech is over 10 years old, & no doubt it has forced the pricing of the kits up.
i got the red n black edition alesis nitro mesh kit n I gotta say it’s really good kit with what it has for $480 I got 4 toms, 2 crashes, n a ride but that’s with the expansion kit added other then that you got stuck with 1 crash so if you do want the alesis kit ORDER THE EXPANSION PACK. you won’t regret it
How does the hi-hat compare to the digital Roland one, as far as catching very intricate and fast playing accurately?
You can have a Strike Pro SE for literally HALF that. HALF! It's a no-brainer
That $4600 price tag probably didn't help...
New 65 drums im in and early 😁
Although I liked the sound of this drum set and its drum heads and was familiar with the technology, being an enthusiastic player of the Korg Wavedrum, I wasn't interested in buying it as it has no midi input. For one drum like the Wavedrum, that's okay by me. I regard the Wavedrum as an acoustic instrument and I do quite well as a percussionist. As for electronic drums, I want to be able to edit my recordings the same way as my keyboard recordings. I am no virtuoso on drums and it's been 34 years since I used to play them every week. I watch almost every video of yours in order to decide which drum set is best for me. I really appreciate your advice and reviews. I played a Roland in Japan and to my surprise, I could play rolls very easily on the digital snare. I think I will go for a future Roland VAD including the digital hihat, unless Alesis releases a follow up to the Strike Pro SE with less latency or some other company surprises me. But up till now, Roland has offered the best feature set that suits my demands.
It has a midi output. If thats what you meant
yeah the snare drum sensors are a "Cool" feature, but usually (not always though!) when someone plays a snare near the edge, it's to control volume, something that's not necessary on an electric kit since you can just turn the volume up or down to your liking.
Just saw this drumset at El Estepario Siberiano studio/house video,
so I guess he knows what he uses to practice.
I did not know about it...
It flopped because it got lost in the shuffle among the other millions of electronic sets that are already out there and have been out there for 550 years
I think that the Mimic Pro would warrant a 4,000 price tag. But without it there is really no reason to spend this kind of money on this drum set
First! Interesting topic. I'm going to watch it while hanging up the last of my acoustic foam for my drum room :)
I think the korg wave drum tech is very cool but the sound quality they pair it with is inferior at least when compared to the mimic. What would have been reall cool is if they integrated that tech into the mimic module and added open source multi sample capability like was originally promised using full positional sensing utilizing the wave drum tech if they did that it would have been game over and they would have destroyed their competition
Man how do they come up with selling price? I just bought the Td17 and $1,400 bucks was a bit much considering what you said..1 crash cymbal. My wife said if I be good maybe I can get a few Roland cymbals to expand the kit.
dude ,my woman bought me a Roland td17 kvx for my birthday lol you got to up your game a little bro just saying 🙂
@@macaronisalad5 haha. I used to be a pimp but not to much after 45 haha
ziljian GEN 16 cymbals .... YOU NEED TO DO those for a episode please. thanks... I love mine and im not sure why zildjain not making them anymore...
I think the best E kits I saw were the Roland and the Alesis kits but I had no clue that Pearl had a E kit
I have the 18” kick. It’s awesome. Feels fantastic. Great price too. Use it with a TD50x
and my TD17…
The closed off/walled garden approach killed any long life this kit was ever going to have. It wasn't an amazing-sounding module to begin with, but the ability to upgrade it to a Mimic would have been a huge boon.
It didn't sound any worse than any other electric kit out there, there's an overabundance of electronic drum sets, this kit just got lost in the shuffle
@@Am71919 I guess I just didn't prefer how it sounded, not that it was awful or anything. To me it didn't sound like $4500. Put a Mimic there in place and the package looks way more attractive.
@@Andrew-wb2zq you have to use the right kind of amplifier, electronic drums will ALWAYS sound better coming from a bass guitar amplifier
Pearl MIMIC needed a kit, eMerge should be med kit at 2999 price point$. I just changed from Roland to Mimic, what a difference, once you get used to it, everything sound way much better, and a lot more option for triggering, for various manufacture, I can't complain after some time spend everything run and play great.
3:05 Strike Pro SE @1500USD????? it is 2400EUR right now on Thomann. wth?!
1500 less than emerge
You have some nice videos here! Very helpful! I am considering the Pearl e/merge and Gewa G5, but I am really not sure wich one I should go for. They are in the same price range - if you had to chose one of them, wich one would you go for?
I would get the e/merge if choosing between them
From what I’ve seen and heard the kick drum can be used with several different modules. Roland, ect…
Do you know if this is true? Will it work with the Alesis Strike?
If they sold it for a competitive price it would have sold like hot cakes. Or if it came with the Mimic pro.
Haruna from Lovebites did an amazing demo of this kit.
Hi! I know you're not from Europe so it will be difficult. But will you cover the millenium MPS-1000? I think it's amazing for the price! As all millenium products are really (I have a mps750, and as a non drummer I have quite the fun with it).
Back to the MPs-1000, I think for 1000 euros, having a full wood shells kit with huge cymbals is a big of a deal.
CMIIW. I don't think Pearl have ever been competitive since they made ePro 11 years ago.
They're just not good enough in making e-drums.
Except Pearl Mimic Pro.
Just my opinion.
That module is an absolute eyesore - it looks like the cheapest toy devices. If they spent a lot of money on this, surely none was on a designer...
I think you are dead on. I'm a big pearl fan but their electronic side doesn't seem cohesive. They use amazing tech but not in the right way. Why couldn't they use the mimic with the emerge to make a true flagship. Add two more crash cymbals and it becomes a beast. The emerge module looks cheap for a 4 grand kit.
Korg never marketed this kit. Sw two years ago at Sweetwater's Gear Fest.. But, that's about it...
Yeah crazy price compared to the Alesis strike se or even the crimson 2 se add extra Tom, superior drummer 3 and plenty of SDX libraries and still save money
That intro was COOL!
Thanks Bob!
They sound nice and look nice but they are insanely expensive, I think of they brought the price down to be more competitive and/or released a more affordable budget version it would have taken off.
Word...money is scarce and this s/b about $3k not 4...excellent points all well taken...thanks!
Ricardo ask you to pay him, if you ask any drum question. His drum shop is 800$ American btw.
I actually think it's a really cool kit. Hopefully they start blowing them out for super cheap hehe.
When they go on sale, I think that will signal the drum set is being discontinued
the fact there's only ONE - very expensive - model is a huuuge factor I think . It's not like everyone has $4000 lying around .....and as you correctly point out : you can't open any musicstore website without immediately seeing models from Roland , Alesis and Yamaha at every price range ( with all sorts of bundle-deals as well ) .It's an example of extremely bad marketing from Pearl
Sweet one of my comments made it in the video
If they sold this with the Mimic module they would basically dominate the edrum market
Great stuff j bomb
Nobody knows what happened behind the scenes, but I am afraid that Pearl International was a bit overwhelmed by Pearl USA working with Steven Slate on the MIMIC while Pearl International worked on the E/Merge. Initially the Mimic should be for sale in the US only but after many people asked for it, the Mimic was for sale in Europe as well. And Pearl still needed to market the expensive E/merge on which they had worked for years and paid lots of money to Korg. We all know what happened next. No real sound updates and no kits, pads, cymbals for the Mimic and a bad marketing for the E/merge. And this is not the first time Pearl fails.
yep i own a mimic in nz and glad its awesome i had a td20 paid a crap load for it and its gone a flagship model gone so that turned me off roland, mimic sounds are really good, it triggers well, when you know what you are doing, upgraged sounds really? if you buy a acoustic kit you don't get upgraded sounds lol just saying, but i have had one round of upgrades already since i brought it and you can get sound packs made up by drumtec or online sound stores like vexpressions etc
They still ask 4000+ euros in shops that have them here in the Netherlands.
At this point the price should trend downward because of how old the kit is
@@65Drumsits 3000 currently
Most drummers I know don’t even use the sounds in the drum brain
SD3 is always a go to
Not gonna lie, it looks like they wanted it to fail.
Did it get discontinued already? I think it's a great kit just expensive
I just want a drumset that gives a damn about stock sounds. I prefer feeling over sound because I can just slap on a plugin but there are soooo many companies to chose from, my fckn head explodes 😪
the price tag has that wow-factor.
yeah, never heard of it, and I'm kind of into e drums.
like other people...until i watched this video i did not know this drum set existed.
The emerge kick drum might be the best off the shelf e-kick. I ordered a 12x18 for $439. FAR superior to the kick towers that come on many e-kits. Far better than the roland td-180l for $200 less.
It’s awesome, I loved playing on it
I'm probably not the market for this, but I can't understand why anyone would put $4k down on an electronic kit when you can get a really nice acoustic kit and cymbals for half that! I've always wanted to venture into electronics but can't stand the feel of the cheaper kits and am unwilling to put down a lot of cash for something worth playing.
As somebody that has been educated in and worked in electronics most of my life, I don't understand where the cost is coming from.
Its the noise factor. Period. We all would love to bang acoustics all day but its not possible. Its the reason I converted my Ludwigs to electric. So instead of staring at them I can actually play them any time of day.
@@johndef5075 I can understand where you're coming from.
$4k plus on a kit is obscene, their total addressable market was slim to start with!!
I've only seen Ricardo and Samus play it, and with their videos I came to the conclusion that the sounds aren't that good, they could be better, it doesn't really worth it for the price
Doesn't Samus use it with EZDrummer?
It was the price/value for dollar that made it a non-starter for me.
How are the comments not filled with awe of Riccardo lol
The price is terrible. It's more like $6k if you add enough cymbal pads to make it feel like a real kit. And why do I need another rack, even more cymbal stands and another snare stand. Anyone who is going to spend that much cash on new shells and a module is already going to own lots of hardware.
Now, it's even way more expensive, at 4800 bucks. It's very expensive, you can get the TD-27KV for 1500 bucks less with the digital snare and ride and a better sounding module (in my opinion).
Kinda disappointing, since I'm a huge Pearl fan. 😕
Yeah this had so much potential, a few different decisions along the way would have made the whole industry change.
holy smokes ricardo merlini is a magician
Because it’s $4,600. You can get a done-up Roland for cheaper than that.
The In Flames drummer did not look like he even liked the set.
One minor point of dispute. Korg is more of a tuner company.
Just kidding.
They say to this day, this man has 65 drums… I’m sorry lol
I was in the market for a new electronic drum kit around the time this launched, and it fell out of the running quickly because of those tacky cymbals. I wasn't going to pay that much money for something that looks so awful. And the module looks terrible too. If I'm going to be shelling out thousands of dollars I want a product that looks premium, not like a toy from the 90s. The raised rim sections also look bad.
4k is way too much for a e kit. It should've included the mimic module for that price.
It’s certainly becoming a competitive market!
I love the Mimic Pro module but I’d probably get it with a different kit.
Great video 👍
Side note about Sam Ash:
I asked them if I could purchase a Roland td-27 module by itself.
It was like pulling teeth as they kept ignoring me. When I finally cornered a rep he wanted to charge me $1549 even though I showed him it’s going for $1249 everywhere else.
Very strange.
Dang there that cheap??????
LOL! There is one dislike so far. It's the one guy that bought it. Sorry had to point that out. :)