Pearl Export vs Tama Imperialstar | Which first kit?

If you are buying a first real drum kit, you have almost certainly narrowed it to these two. The Pearl Export is the best-selling drum kit ever made. The Tama Imperialstar is the kit that has spent fifteen years being the other one. They cost about the same, they come with the same things, and every shop will tell you either is fine. Both are. This page is about which one is fine for you.

The short answer

Buy the Imperialstar if you want the better sounding cymbals in the box, a pedal you will not replace in a year, and a kit that is set up to play in an evening. Buy the Export if you want the warmer shell sound, the wider choice of finishes, and the kit that will be easiest to sell on when you upgrade, because everyone knows what it is.

If that still leaves you torn: the Imperialstar is the better complete package on the day you buy it. The Export is the better set of drums. Most beginners are buying the package.

Spec	Pearl Export EXX	Tama Imperialstar	Our take
Price band	🇬🇧 UK: £700–£850🇺🇸 US: $850–$1,000🇪🇺 EU: €800–€950	🇬🇧 UK: £750–£900🇺🇸 US: $900–$1,050🇪🇺 EU: €850–€1,000	Street prices, new, at the time of writing. They move; the links below are live.
Shells	✓6-ply poplar and Asian mahogany, 7.5 mm	6-ply poplar, 8 mm	The mahogany plies give the Export a rounder low end. Not night and day, but audible on the floor tom.
Sizes (five-piece)	22×18 kick, 10×7 and 12×8 toms, 16×16 floor, 14×5.5 snare	22×18 kick, 10×8 and 12×9 toms, 16×16 floor, 14×5 snare	Standard rock sizes both. Fusion configurations with a 20-inch kick exist for both too.
Tom mounting	Opti-Loc isolation mounts	Star-Mount isolation mounts	Both keep the hardware off the shell so the toms ring. Tama’s is a little quicker to set up.
Hardware in the box	830 series: double-braced stands, hi-hat and snare stands, cymbal stands	Stage Master: double-braced stands, hi-hat and snare stands, cymbal stands	Equal. Both are heavier than a beginner kit needs and will outlast the drums.
Pedal	P-930 single chain	✓HP200P, Iron Cobra family, single chain	The HP200P is the pedal a lot of players never upgrade. The P-930 is fine; the HP200P is good.
Cymbals in the box	Sabian SBR brass: 14 hats, 16 crash, 20 ride	✓Meinl HCS brass: 14 hats, 16 crash, 20 ride	Both brass, both replaceable in a year. The HCS are the more musical of the two.
Snare	14×5.5 poplar/mahogany wood shell	14×5 poplar wood shell	Both are the weak link and both get replaced first. A draw.
Finishes	✓Eight or more wraps, plus lacquer on the EXL	Five or six wraps	The Export wins on choice. The lacquered EXL is the best-looking kit at this money.
Sound, stock	Warm, rounded, forgiving of tuning	Bright, punchy, a bit more attack	Taste. The Export flatters a beginner’s tuning; the Imperialstar cuts better in a room with guitars.
Resale	✓The best-known kit there is; sells fast	Sells fine, a little slower	Everyone has heard of the Export. That matters the day you upgrade.
Where to buy	Guitar Center 🇺🇸Gear4music 🇬🇧Thomann 🇪🇺Reverb · used	Guitar Center 🇺🇸Gear4music 🇬🇧Thomann 🇪🇺Reverb · used	Affiliate links to the shop for your region; buying through them costs you nothing extra.
Rows won	3 of 10	2 of 10	A count, not a verdict: the rows that matter to you are the ones to weigh.

✓ marks the row's winner. Prices are bands, not quotes: 🇬🇧 UK · 🇺🇸 US · 🇪🇺 EU. Full review: Export Full review: Imperialstar.

The shells

The Export changed in 2013 from a poplar shell to a poplar and Asian mahogany mix, and that mix is the reason it sounds the way it does: a little softer in the attack, a little bigger underneath. The Imperialstar moved the other way, from a mixed shell to all poplar, which is a touch brighter and punchier. Put stock heads on both and tune them the same and you can hear it, mostly on the floor tom. Put decent heads on both, which you will, and the gap closes to a matter of taste.

Neither is a bad-sounding drum. The thing to know is that either one, tuned properly, sounds better than most of the kits you hear in rehearsal rooms. Tuning is the whole game at this level; our drum tuner will get you further than any difference between these two shells.

The pedal and the cymbals

This is where the Imperialstar earns its place. Tama’s HP200P is a cut-down Iron Cobra, and it is the part of the package that a lot of drummers simply keep. Pearl’s P-930 is a perfectly good single-chain pedal that most people replace within a couple of years. If you were going to buy a pedal anyway, that is a wash; if you were not, it is a point to Tama.

The cymbals are brass on both and you will replace them. Meinl HCS have a slightly more pleasant crash and a hi-hat that closes more cleanly than Sabian’s SBR. It is a small thing that you will notice every time you play until you buy proper cymbals, at which point it stops mattering. Our cymbal buying guide is the next thing to read after this.

Finishes and the second-hand market

Pearl offers more wraps and, on the EXL version, real lacquer. If how the kit looks in your room is part of the decision, the Export has the wider range and the prettier top end.

Resale is the quiet argument for the Export. It is the most famous drum kit in the world and it sells second-hand in a weekend. An Imperialstar sells too, a little slower and for a little less. If you are the kind of buyer who knows this kit is a stepping stone, that is worth something. And if you are shopping used, both are everywhere: our guide to buying used drums online covers what to check.

Who should buy which

• A first kit for a teenager, and the parent buying it wants nothing else to buy. Imperialstar. The pedal and the cymbals mean there is nothing to replace on day one.
• A returning drummer who already owns a pedal and cymbals. Export, shell pack only. You are paying for the drums, and they are the better drums.
• Anyone who cares about the finish. Export, ideally the EXL.
• Anyone who expects to upgrade in two years. Export, for the resale.
• Anyone who plays with a loud guitarist. Imperialstar, for the attack.

Read the full Pearl Export guide and the full Tama Imperialstar guide before you spend the money, and whichever you pick, spend an hour with the tuner before you judge it.