Katsumi Yanagisawa founded Pearl Drums in 1950. Pearl was the first drum manufacturer to produce valiant and creative drum kits. Pearl's shells were made of wood fibreglass and designed to be undersized so the drumhead would extend over the drum. Today, Pearl uses Superior Shell Technology (SST). SST utilises hand-selected wood, formed in a perfect cylinder to create optimum sound. Pearl's drum line includes: Rhythm Traveler | Target | Forum | Vision | Masters Custom | Masters Premium | Reference | Masterworks and the revolutionary new E-Pro Live electronic kit. Joey Jordison (Slipknot), Dennis Chambers (Santana), Ian Paice (Deep Purple) and Virgil Donati proclaim Pearl is the best reason to play drums!