Well i march tenors in our drumline and we march a full dynasty drumline. The tenors are the best sounding tenors i have ever heard and the basses are also very good. I have heard alot better snares though but if you ask me dynasty is the way to go!!

Whatever you do, do not get used drums from a drumcorp. We made the mistake of buying some of the Bluecoats old line of Pearls. While we have the coolest looking drums in the area (Chrome, as opposed to the white or black everyone else has), and they were a lot cheaper, They are so warped, hardware isn't in that good shape, and We blow through so many heads, both snares and tenors, because of the caved-in shells, cracked shells, warped shells, etc. so it might end up costing us more in maintenence, and lots of stress.

Wow all the dis on Dynasty. Personally, I love both brands. Pearl is great and so is Dynasty. Personally though I like Dynasty a little bit better. I mean most of the problems you will run into with any drums is the tuning. All the people out there that are saying that dynastys sound like crap and pearl sound like crap. That's because its not tuned right or you might just have a bad head. Any hardware will crack and rust. If you are worried of it rusting...wipe it down after any part of the drum gets wet. It all depends on how you take care of it. Our line has had dynastys since 2000 and we have not had any problems but the sound from the snares which is a drum head problem. We are using evans Gold Standard (which sounds like a wet carboard box until you switch the top snares on) with it. I put on a black max once and it sounded beautiful. Also you have to realize that any company will have some defaults in drums and they might not be sturdy or what ever. They make mistakes they are human....and machines. No one or nothin is perfect. I say try both brands and see what you like better. And try other brands too maybe you will find that you like pearl over dynasty. But then you try yamaha and you find you like it better then pearl. Its all based on personal preference. Well my hands are tired so I'll shut up. Lol. Just thought of something lol. Look at all the corps that are using Pearl, Dynasty, Yamaha, and Premier. Obviously they are not having any major problems with them because I'm sure that if BD had any continuous problems, they would return them and not use them any more. The same with Scv with pearl, Cavies with Yamaha. Sure they have sponsorship by them. But I'm sure that with the status they have as drumlines they could get sponsorship from other companies that are comparable.

Also, I have one more thing to say. From my experience (everybody else has probably noticed this), less talented lines tune their instruments down to cover up their dirtiness. I have also seen a few lines use tightly tuned double-snare Yamahas, and they were much dirtier than other lines who were not as good as them. My point is that with pearls, because of their very round bearing edge, they still sound good when they are tuned low. Ours are tuned VERY high, but we have a lot of pressure to play clean, so we work at it. Other brands (Dynasty, Yamaha) don't sound very good when tuned low. To me it sounds a bit too....fuzzy..... for lack of a better word. So, if you are an inexperienced line (consult your BD on this), then I would suggest the pearls. But, this is not to say that Pearls are only good for bad lines. To me, with the proper equipment and tuning, they are the best drums with the best carriers and prices on the market.

Just going to throw this out there because it's something everyone can benefit from knowing.

Last week I spoke with a fmm from Capital Regiment and they were explaining how almost once a week they needed to strip all of their drums and retighten the hardware because it would vibrate itself loose.

Between all the lawsuits, quality issues and lackluster sponsorship deals, I can't see why anyone would go dynasty.

So I remain just as curious as AdamP152, why does everyone get slap happy over these things given their track record?

Probably because the Blue Devils use them and the deals on brass.

Our staff wants to go dynasty pretty soon, and I'm just glad that I'll have graduated before they replace our pearls.

I understand what the people from Capital Regiment said, but they are a drum corps, and they are very rough on the equipment. Pearls are VERY durable to this abuse, so they would probably be the best choice for every high school and Drum Corps line who is not interested in deals for brass. If you want it just for casual playing at home, get a Dynasty, because generally they aren't as loud because they aren't free-floaters, and you shouldn't be abusing them unless you have mean siblings. If you want drums with a brass deal, get Yamaha. If you want the best drums and carriers, get Pearl. It all depends on your situation.

Has this turned into a Dynasty Slam-fest?

I personally like Dynasty. I like the look, feel, and sound of Dynasty.(I'm going to probably get slammed for that). However like previously said, Its all personal preference.