Yamaha Rydeen vs Pearl Roadshow

Today we pit two popular beginner drum kits in a head to head battle to find out which is a better option for drummers.

We’ve written our detailed findings below, but for now here’s a summary of their differences:

Yamaha Rydeen vs Pearl Roadshow

	Yamaha Rydeen	Pearl Roadshow
Type of drum kit	Entry Level / Beginner Drum Shell Pack	Entry Level / Complete Beginner Drum Kit
Who is is for	There are configurations catered for adult and children beginners.	There are configurations catered for adult and children beginners.
Configurations	2 configurations Depending on the configuration you choose, you'll get:	4 configurations Depending on the configuration you choose, you'll get:
Bass Drum	20" or 22" bass drum * Bass drum equipped with P3 type Bass Drum Head for a more powerful bass drum sound.	20" or 22" bass drum
Toms	10"/12" toms 14" or 16" floor tom	10"/12" toms or 12"/14" tom 14" or 16" floor tom
Snare	14" snare	13" or 14" snare
Shell Material	Poplar (6 ply)	Poplar (9 ply)
Drum heads	All drums come with both batter and resonant drum heads; Snare drum - Coated drum head (batter), s-side (resonant) Toms - Clear drum heads Bass Drum - Clear drum head with ring mute (batter), Ebony drum head with ring mute (resonant)	All drums come with both batter and resonant drum heads; Snare drum - 1 Ply Coated drum head Toms - 1 Ply Clear drum heads Bass Drum - 1 Ply Clear drum head with Self Muffling Rings
Cymbals	Cymbals pack will vary depending on the vendor who package the complete drum kit.	Comes with: 16" Crash/Ride 14" Hi-Hat
Hardware	Tom mounts Bass drum legs Pipe Clamps	Tom mounts Bass drum legs Snare drum stand Pedals (bass drum and hi-hat) Hi-Hat Stand Cymbal Stands
Additional Items	Nil	Drumsticks (Maple, 1 pairs) Stick Bag Throne Pearl Drum Poster (only available with selected configurations)
Purchase options	1) Shell pack 2) Shell pack with Hardware 3) Complete kit with Cymbals	1) Complete kit with Cymbals
Finishes (Color Options)	6 finishes to choose from: - Fine Blue - Mellow Yellow - Hot Red - Burgundy Glitter - Black Glitter - Silver Glitter	5 finishes to choose from: - Jet Black - Wine Red - Aqua Blue Glitter - Charcoal Metallic - Bronze Metallic
Price Range	$$$$$	$$$

We’ll dive into the differences between the Yamaha Rydeen and Pearl Roadshow below.

With this article, we’re using a slightly different format.

Instead of breaking down each drum kit individually, we’ll highlight their differences and give our feedback.

Let us know if you find this format more useful as compared to the format used in the Yamaha Rydeen vs Gigmaker comparison.

Differences between Yamaha Rydeen and Pearl Roadshow

1 – Type of drum kit

The Yamaha Rydeen is a drum shell pack designed for beginners. It may be bundled with cymbal packs and hardware by different vendors. If you are purchasing the Yamaha Rydeen, do remember to check the components that are included in your package!

On the other hand, the Pearl Roadshow is a complete drum set designed for beginners who want a fuss free solution to owning a good quality first drum kit.

We have also compared 5 other similar drum kits in our Best Beginner Drum Sets for Adults article previously. If you are serious about purchasing a good drum kit that lasts, you will want to read that article.

2 – Price

Both the Yamaha Rydeen and the Pearl Roadshow now costs about the same, depending on where you shop.

Although the Pearl Roadshow is a great option as a first drum kit for beginners, there are two ‘flaws’ you must note:

1. the cymbals of such complete drum kits are usually not the best sounding metal plates out there
2. you may need to change the drum heads for better sound quality after some time. (although this applies to the Yamaha Rydeen’s stock drum heads too, imo)

Although we have not experienced this first hand, you’ll notice that a couple of Pearl Roadshow users mention about the poor finishing on their drum kit. You can read more user reviews about the the Pearl Roadshow here.

Other than these two jarring ‘imperfections’, there are little differences in the quality that we could pick up.

In our honest opinion, it might be worth the risk to go with the cheaper Pearl Roadshow drum kit if you are looking for your first drum kit and are still unsure if you will be drumming in the long term. Keep your costs low if you are not fully committed to drumming yet.

However, if you are looking for a drum kit that will definitely last, the Yamaha Rydeen is the safer bet.

3 – Sound Quality

With acoustic drum kits like the Yamaha Rydeen and Pearl Roadshow, you don’t have the option of having multiple sound profiles (unlike electronic drum kits).

Hence, you’ll want to ensure that you are getting a drum kit with a sound profile that you enjoy playing.

Warning: You’ll probably never be able to hear how an acoustic drum kit really sounds like through videos because of the recording and the potential use of sound engineering. Hence, you’ll want to head down to a music store to experience the real deal before you make a decision.

With that said, it is also rare for music stores to display cheaper drum kits. It might be difficult for you to find a store that will let you test out both the Yamaha Rydeen and the Pearl Roadshow.

Therefore, we are still going to use videos to give you an idea of how these two drum kits sound.

We have chosen videos that have little background noise, with drums at similar tuning and most importantly, sound as close to the actual kit as possible.

Here’s how the Yamaha Rydeen sounds like:

Video by: Drums Bonedo

Do take note that the cymbals may vary depending on the Yamaha Rydeen complete drum kit bundle that you purchase. Hence, it would be more accurate to focus on the sounds of the drum kit.

You can watch the full video to hear the difference at the medium and high tuning settings.

Click to check the latest price of Yamaha Rydeen on Amazon here

And, this is how the Pearl Roadshow sounds like:

Video from: JamStageCZ

This video has slightly better recording of the drums compared to the one above.

But you’ll notice that the Pearl Roadshow drums generally sound more ‘bass-y’ and fuller, which is due to the thicker drum shells. (and to a certain extend, due to the better recording quality of the video)

You’ll also notice that the cymbals sound pretty thin and ‘plastic-like’.

At this point, we’d like to remind you of the difference in price points between these two drum kits.

If the sound quality of the drums are pretty similar to you, you could consider the cheaper option (i.e. Pearl Roadshow in this case).

With it, you can start jamming away without having to worry about having to purchase any other components of the drum kit.

4 – Hardware

If this is the first time you’re buying a drum kit, take note of this section!

The Yamaha Rydeen tends to be offered as a drum shell pack, which means your bundle may not have all the required hardware. Do check with your music store before you purchase!

Comparatively, the Pearl Roadshow is usually retailed as a complete kit with all necessary drum hardware.

Yamaha Rydeen Hardware

As the Rydeen is a drum shell pack, you’ll get minimal hardware if you purchase the skeletal drum shell pack configuration, in which you’ll only get:

• Bass drum legs
• Tom clamps
• Pipe clamps

These will feature Yamaha’s unique tom mounts that feature a ball mount which allows for flexible positioning of your toms as well.

However, if you purchase the configuration that comes with additional hardware, you’ll get:

• a snare drum stand
• a chain driven bass drum pedal
• a hi-hat stand with pedal
• 2 cymbal stands

Pearl Roadshow Hardware

The Pearl Roadshow is usually sold as a complete drum kit, so you’ll get all the hardware you need, including the drum throne.

Pearl’s hardware are build to last, featuring double braced legs and reinforced stands.

They also allow for flexible position with various angle and height adjustment features.

You’ll also receive the bass drum pedal and hi-hat pedal with the Pearl Roadshow drum kit.

5 – Additional Items

As a complete drum kit, you can expect to get cymbals, drumsticks, a stick bag and even the drum throne with your purchase of the Pearl Roadshow.

Comparatively, the Yamaha Rydeen drum shell pack only includes the drums.

Cymbals, sticks and thrones can be bought separately.

There are vendors who have pre-bundled these items along with the Yamaha Rydeen.

You can look out for such bundles if you want a fuss free and high quality drum kit.

Similarities Between Yamaha Rydeen and Pearl Roadshow

Now that we’ve compared their differences, let’s take a look at some of their similarities that could help you choose between the Rydeen and the Roadshow:

1 – They are both 5 piece drum kits

5 piece drum kits usually come with a bass drum, a snare drum, a floor tom and two tom toms.

This set up is the most versatile option because it allows you to play most genres of music, making them the best option for beginner drummers.

There are also:

• 3 piece drum kits that are popular among Jazz drummers
• 4 piece drum kits that are usually sold as ‘budget’ drum kits or ‘pop’ music drum kits.

2 – Shell Material

Both the Yamaha Rydeen and Pearl Roadshow feature Poplar wood shells which are known to produce great mid range sounds.

However, there is a slight difference between their shells – Yamaha Rydeen uses 6 ply drum shells while Pearl Roadshow provides 9 ply drum shells.

The slight difference in thickness results in slightly different range of tones produced by these two drum kits. You can listen to their demo above.

3 – Drum head

Both kits include pretty similar drum heads for their drum shells.

Pearl Roadshow comes with 1 ply drum heads for all their drums.

Yamaha doesn’t specifically state the thickness of the drum heads, but we’d assume that those are single ply drum heads as well.

If you know the exact thickness of the Yamaha Rydeen stock drum heads, do let us know in the comments below!

4 – Brands

Ok, technically they are different brands but here’s why we’ve placed this under our ‘similarities’ section.

Both Yamaha and Pearl are giants in the drum manufacturing industry. Although some would argue that Yamaha is the ‘bigger’ brand.

They have both been around for decades (Yamaha was established in 1887 while Pearl in 1946).

These two companies are from Japan.

And, they are trusted by amateur and pro drummers across the globe.

Both brands are known for making top quality acoustic drum kits, with Yamaha moving into the electronic drum space quickly.

5 – Configurations

Although the Pearl Roadshow has more configurations to choose from, you’ll notice that both Rydeen and Roadshow do provide similar configurations.

They are:

Smaller Kit Option

• Yamaha Rydeen (RDP0F5)
• Pearl Roadshow (RS505C/C)

This configuration is a small drum kit that features a 20″ bass drum with 14″ snare drum, 14″ floor tom, 12″ and 10″ tom toms.

Larger Kit Option

• Yamaha Rydeen (RDP2F5)
• Pearl Roadshow (RS525SC/C)

Their larger drum kit configuration features a 22″ bass drum with 14″ snare drum, 16″ floor tom, 12″ and 10″ tom toms.

If you have the luxury of space and want to play more comfortably, go for the larger drum kit configuration.

However, if you are purchasing this for a child, the smaller kit might be more suitable.

Conclusion

We’ve listed 5 differences and 5 similarities in our Yamaha Rydeen vs Pearl Roadshow comparison today.

It’s a rather long comparison, so I’d encourage you to refer to our comparison table. You can click here to skip to it.

Ultimately, it’s down to a battle of quality and value.

Our recommendation is for you to test out these two kits if your local music store allows you to.

Our Verdict

If you are looking for a drum kit just for fun and don’t mind having one that may not last for years, go for the Pearl Roadshow.

You can check the Pearl Roadshow’s latest pricing on Amazon here.

However, if you want a drum kit that could probably last for decades and can be modified as you grow as a drummer, the Yamaha Rydeen is for you.

Yamaha is known for its high quality hardware that lasts. (it’s not just our opinion either)

I’d urge you to go for a complete kit that includes better cymbals, like Zildjian cymbals as well.

The last I checked, there is a bundled Yamaha Rydeen kit that comes with the Zildjian Rock cymbal pack. You can check for its latest availability on Amazon here.

As always, feel free to reach out to us via the comments function below 🙂