This set was packaged well and arrived in great shape. After unboxing I assembled the bass drum and tuned the toms and I am very happy with the sound. The included bass drum pillow is pretty crappy but since I didn't even realize it came with one I had already purchased one separately so no big deal. This is where it gets interesting, the last drum I pulled out was the snare, I had not paid much attention to it since it was already fully assembled and I figured I could just use it as is, but I was wrong. When I picked it up I heard debris kicking around from inside the drum and when I looked through the resonant head I noticed little metal shavings all over the place! So I started taking the head off to clean the drum out and as I started disassembling the snare I noticed a few other things like one of the tension rods was missing and the hoop was very unevenly tensioned around the head...frustrating but I'll probably replace these heads and the kit comes with some spare rods so no big deal. BUT, as I kept disassembling I noticed that a number of the tension rod casings were loose...so lose that there was a visible gap between the casing and the shell. Once I got the resonant head off the drum I looked inside and discovered where all those metal shavings were from, someone had stripped all the screws that hold the tension rod casings to the body when this drum was assembled and they didn't even get them tight in the process, they were both stripped and loose! I was unable to tighten them with a Phillips screwdriver because they were ALL completely stripped but fortunately the screws have a hex head on them so I was able to tighten them with a socket. I inspected the bearing edge and there wasn't any visible damage to the shell from the metal shavings (fortunately!) so I proceeded to reassemble the snare. The resonant head had been seated at an angle when first assembled so it was shot but the batter head was fine. When putting the heads back on the drum I discovered why that one tension rod was missing...the lug had been cross-threaded by which ever moron had assembled this snare...again, fortunately the set comes with spare parts so I took the head back off the drum (again) and took the casing off to replace the cross-threaded lug and got everything back together. I don't know if the guy assembling this snare was a trainee or a drunk, but I hope this shoddy work was eventually discovered and the moron was fired. I am surprised this made it through quality control given the numerous problems with the snare assembly. HOWEVER, once I had the drum back together everything looks good, sounds good, and I'm no worse for wear except having lost a few hours to refurbishing this snare. I've been playing on the set for a few weeks now and I have to say I really like the set, it was a good value and the drums sound great. I did have to take the snare apart a second time after a few weeks when a screw fell out...apparently I missed one when I went around re-tightening all the mounting hardware the first time. If I had bought this snare separate from the kit I would have returned it but since it was part of a kit I didn't want to go through the hassle. I'm disappointed though, I expected more from PDP (and by extension DW). Even the no-name brands manage to screw their drums together correctly. If not for the problems with this snare I am sure I would have given the set five stars. I have to say that I'll have to think twice before buying or recommending PDP equipment to anyone because of this experience.

Pretty, excellent and good material, I love it

I'm the type of person, especially with music gear, that always refers to the old saying, "You get what you pay for." This drum set is an absolute beauty in person and the sound really will surprise you! Go with Evans G2 on tops and G1 on the bottom and your set! I use these in a studio, mic'd with sub par mics and the sound will still blow you away. Are there better kits out there? Of course, but I'm definitely not going to pay $6,000+ for a DW. The only kit I would consider buying over this one is a Yamaha Live Custom. But again, about a $700 price difference.

Bottom line, most of us musicians will never hit the big stage. Most of us will play shows in front of people who know absolutely nothing about gear quality. Unless you just have the money to blow, most of us don't need anything more than this. Great product, great price, 5/5

These drums are fantastic and even better when you consider the price. I have a DW Collector's series also and am using these as gigging drums now. They really sound great and mic up very nicely and maintain their tune. I have the 7 piece kit and could not be happier. If money is no object go for the Collector's but if you are looking for a great sounding all around kit definitely consider these, you will not be sorry.

Santa brought them to my grandson and he was thrilled. They are fantastic.