Pearl "Set me Free" (Floater) Snares
Pearl Drum History – 101
Pearl was founded in 1946 by Katsumi Yanagisawa who began manufacturing music stands in Tokyo. By 1950, Yanagisawa shifted his focus to the manufacturing of drums and named his company "Pearl Industry, Ltd.". Quickly capitalizing on a post-war growth in musical instruments worldwide, the company changed to "Pearl Musical Instrument Company," around the mid-1950's.
Pearl manufacturing expanded to include drum kits, marching drums, timpani, Latin percussion instruments, cymbals, stands, and accessories.
Moving to the 1960’s, Pearl introduced its first professional drum kit, the "President Series" and continued production of all types of percussion equipment, growing manufacturing operations in Taiwan and China where they remain today.
The Free Floater
In the early 1980s, Pearl revolutionized the design of snare drums with their Free Floating Snare Drum, which removed all hardware from the shell, increasing the resonance of the drum and improving its projection. Since it's introduction, Pearl has added new shell types, materials, and sizes to its patented Task-Specific Free Floating series, giving a choice for nearly every style of music and environment.
Pearl marketing states: “Pearl’s elite craftsmen created the perfect drum shell chassis to allow the shell to “float” unencumbered by the resonance-robbing mass of lugs and strainers. For the first time in history, drummers were able to experience true Purity of Sound.”
On a Free Floater, the throw-off, lugs and other hardware are part of the special edge ring which holds the drum and heads together. Over the years the unique drums were available in copper, brass, steel, aluminum and maple with shell depths of 3.5", 5", 6.5" and 8". In 2011, the copper and brass models, as well as the 8" shell depth, were discontinued along with the aluminum shells.
The hardware was very unique to this drum as the first-generation snares had a bulky, more adjustable, and possibly more fragile and fiddly throw. The second has a simplified, less adjustable throw. Both first and second generation used longer snares that extend past the edge of the shell while the third and current generation free floater snares uses a regular throw-off and standard-length snares.
I had owned the Brass 14 x 8 free floater pictured below since around 1985 and used it regularly for hard rock and classic rock gigs until recently selling it. While I no longer play hard rock, I enjoyed playing this snare for many years in club and outdoor festival situations. It is by far the heaviest and loudest snare drum I have ever owned and dusted it off once in a while when playing in classic rock gigs.
Over the years, owners of free floaters have come to love the finicky nature of free floaters and come to love their sound. Pearl has introduced these models in Maple, Maple/Mahogany, African Mahogany, Stainless Steel, Brass, Phosphor Bronze and Aluminum among other various woods and metals. I say finicky, given the evolution of the snare beds, frames, nuts and lugs over the years, some early models were difficult to tune with minimal ring without adding in some MoonGel, a taped wallet or gaffers tape.
30th Anniversary Snare - 100 Pieces
Introduced in 1984, Pearl Drums introduced its legendary Free Floating Snare System and changed snare drums forever. To mark this milestone in 2014, Pearl are offering a limited edition run of one hundred 30th Anniversary Free Floating snare drums. These drums feature a 3mm brass shell hand finished in an aged patina complete with a custom leather carry case and signed certificate of authenticity originally priced with a retail sales price of $1,499.00.
For me, I have kept the passion for the free floater and in 2017 purchased the brand new 5 x 14 Maple version with die cast hoops pictured below. (PS: I don’t think I have ever purchased a BRAND NEW drum in my entire life!) It’s my every day live and recording snare and it remains an amazing and innovative product line.
