So I was shopping around tonight for some field drums. I came across Pipe drums while I was at a website. They look the same and everything. Are there any differences between the two? Or is it just a fancy name for a field drum.

Here's the basic layout for them:

Traditional Field Drum (Today's Drum Corps Drum):
- Comes with one or two sets of snares
- One set of snares is usually a "Gut" snare (usually under snare side head)

Pipe Drum
- Two Set of Snares
- Both sets of snares are Coil Snares, not gut.

Pipe Snares are also traditionally referred to as "Side Drums."

Pipe snares are made the way they are with coil snares in order to provide a quicker way to get a wet, scratchy, snare sound. To achieve the sound of a pipe drum, with a corps style drum would take a little longer, and would require some tricks & techniques. As for a traditional "field" drum, you might think of something they used back in the American Revolution. If you've seen The Patriot or something, where the red & blue coats march at eachother with their muskets, you hear those old field drums playing simple little cadences to hold up the "mood" of the battle. Those are "field drums", which is now a term commonly used to describe the more modern high-tension capable drums we have today. If you purchase a pipe snare, you can use it for other things besides a bagpipe band or a pipe & drum corps, but there's no point when you can buy a modern day corps-style drum. (It sounds like that would be more up your alley)

Ok, I Have a question. (I've ben wanting to ask, but I didn't want to start a topic) but what is so good about the pearl Philharmonic drums. They just look like older, crappy field drums to me. But they are also very expensive...so can anyone tell me about this? and sorry for getting off subject....

Well, for Pipe & Drum Corps (or Bagpipe Band if you will), Pipe drums are preferred. But yea, if you're looking for a marching band or drum corps style drum, don't look at Pipe snares.