The Pearl Sensitone series has been available for over 25 years and has always represented timeless standard sounds at a relatively low price. Since the most diverse variations have popped up over the decades, the manufacturer is now going back to the roots of the popular series with the Heritage Alloy Edition, and is offering a new edition of the classic versions made of steel, aluminium, and brass. The shells are each available in standard sizes of 14"x5" and 14"x6.5" and are largely comparable to the early models in terms of hardware. And a particularly gratifying aspect is that, while creating this new edition, Pearl has also lowered the price.
In its brass version, the Pearl Sensitone snare drum delivers a rich and complex sound. The shell, which features a black-nickel coating, is made of 1mm thick sheet brass with a seam and, like all models in the series, comes with a 45° bearing edge and a bead in the middle. The triple-flanged 2.3mm Super Hoop II hoops are each attached to CL-Bridge lugs via ten tuning screws, which are just as familiar as the classic SR-017 throw-off from the early Sensitones. The overall workmanship of the hardware is beyond any doubt, and the Pearl Sensitone will also impress across the board with its Remo heads (Ambassador Coated and Ambassador Hazy Snare Side) and the 20-spiral snare wire from Ultrasound.
As a modern classic, the Pearl Sensitone series impressively proves that a snare drum that meets professional demands does not have to be overly expensive. If you want to use the classic sounds of steel, aluminium or brass snares, you will find excellently manufactured models with the newly launched Heritage Alloy Edition, which present themselves as solid workhorses with practical equipment both in the studio and on stage. Even if the brass variant is the most expensive representative of the series, the relationship between price, workmanship and sound remains excellent.
The Pearl company was founded in Japan in 1946 and has been making drums since 1950. After initially manufacturing exclusively for other brands, it began to produce drums under its own name in the 1960s. Initially, the company was strongly oriented towards American models, but over the course of time, more and more of its own designs were developed, and ultimately established themselves on the market. Today, Pearl is one of the world's leading manufacturers of drums, percussion instruments, and accessories. A milestone in Pearl's history is the Export Drumkit, introduced in 1982, which is believed to be the best-selling drum kit of all time.
The Pearl Sensitone Brass offers the typical properties of a high-quality brass snare drum and delivers a warm and complex sound with powerful attack and the characteristic bell-like frequencies that are often associated with iconic vintage classics of comparable design. While rock drummers will in many cases prefer the 6.5" deep variant, the 5" version also offers a voluminous, balanced and versatile basic sound that impresses in many different tunings. In the brass version, the Sensitone is equally interesting for use on stage as well as in the studio.