WHAT IS IT?
Kapur is a wood that is twice as dense at Mahogany with unique properties. With the idea originating from the Pearl limited edition Kapur snare drum, the guys at Australasian Music Supplies have designed this kit in these specs for the Australian market only. That makes is a bit of a collectable. The kit itself features completely custom sizes, fittings, bearing edges and colours. The bass drum is probably the initial stand out with its more traditional depth. It looks great too. The drums also feature Vision lugs, bass drum spurs from the Masters Series kits, full colour on the bass drum hoops and a slick limited edition Pearl badge. You get a Pearl Iso-Mount so you have the choice to mount the rack tom off a stand or just use a snare stand and do the vintage vibe. Also, and most importantly for the delivery of sound, the Kapur has Task Specific bearing edges.
HOW’S IT SOUND THEN?
Great! The kit I tried had some Remo Vintage Emperors on it and they sounded the biz. The first thing you notice is the kick drum. The shorter depth gives you real punch and a shorter sound but it’s still big. I had nothing in the bass drum and it was usable and full. Very controllable. The toms speak beautifully, with minimal overtones accompanied by a very focused and true sound, with real cut and projection. The tone is very favourable and instantly musical. Overall, the Kapur timber gives dryness to the sound and combined with those rounded bearing edges, reminds you of something more vintage rather than modern. This makes it super groovy and cool. The sensitive snare drum cuts can be tuned up or down – in fact I liked it a little lower to get it fatter – and suits the feel of the kit as a whole.
The Pearl Kapur is a no nonsense affair. It’s not pretending to be a Masters kit, nor does it have to. It retails at $1499, which I think is a steal given the sound it can offer over other mid range kits. The sizes make it cooler too. I think it’s a cracker of a drum kit. Pity there’s only 18 of each colour being made. Get on it quick!