The big box materialised in the lobby and caused a great deal of consternation. Was it a washing machine or was it the notorious yawning gap in the English defence?

Somebody suggested we open it and so we did, tentatively at first but then, as the first glint of chrome appeared the remaining packaging was ripped away in a frenzy to reveal the embryo of a drum kit.

After some brooding and a short time in the incubator the embryo developed into a big, strong drum kit called Export. Export, by Pearl, out of Milton Keynes.

The sticks arced cruelly through the air and cracked down onto the naked skin. Export responded with a series of booming cries. Crack! Crack! Crack! Boom! Boom! Boom! As the sticks flashed down with greater and greater venom so the drums responded with greater and greater power. This drum kit was no chicken. (Would you pay £532 for a chicken?)

There was a big bass drum (22"x16"). This would boom enormously unless damped with a blanket or something similar. Once the blanket had been applied the boom became a thud, a pulse. This bass drum was held steady by two legs which fitted through the shell and had the option of rubber feet or spiked ends. The heads were held on by metal hoops and these in turn were secured by six T-handle bolts and two square-headed bolts on each. The latter were located at the bottom although reasons for this were unclear since the necessary key was practically the same as the T-handles.

There was a rubber insert provided to fit into the hoop holding the batter head in order to give the attached pedal a firm grip.

On top of the bass drum was a bracket which held the tom tom holders. The good thing about having separate tom holders is that you can adjust the height of each tom individually. These holders also had memory collars which slid along the tubes and slotted into the brackets on the drums. Once in position the collars were tightened around the tubes using a drum key. With the collars secured in position the tom toms could be dismantled from the kit and then quickly set up in exactly the same position as before. A useful and simple time-saving device.

Hanging provocatively from the aforementioned holders were two power toms (12"x10" & 13"x11") which also boomed enormously and required a little damping although the tone was pure and strong.

The 16"x16" floor tom, however, was not as resounding as the other drums and sounded excellent (powerful, driving, solid) without any damping whatsoever.

The chrome snare drum (14"x6¹/₂") had a reasonable crack to it but rim-shots were a bit tame and it rang too much after the impact.

It's good to have a resounding drum kit because you can always make the necessary adjustments yourself but built-in dampers would have made it easier.

Then there was the 800 series hardware. A straight cymbal stand, a boom cymbal stand, a snare drum stand, hi-hat stand and a bass drum pedal.

The pedal was connected to the beater by a plastic belt and the tension was applied by a single spring. This was adjusted by a knurled knob which screwed upon the threaded pin which attached the bottom end of the spring to the frame.

The hi-hat stand, like the other stands, stood on single-brace legs and the pedal was connected to the inner rod by a chain. The tension was adjusted by a big, black, plastic screw on a big, black, plastic thread around the bottom shaft.

The cymbal stands, though having only single-brace legs, supported some (impossibly heavy) Zildjian Z series cymbals throughout a violent attack without shifting or wobbling.

The overall appearance of the kit was as brilliant as any acoustic drum kit looks. The colour was 'smokey chrome' on the kit we received but other available colours are black, white, (pillar box) red, blue and wine red.

Once Export was fully prepared and all the necessary adjustments made the sound was fantastic. For a drum kit that generally retails at around £450 it surpassed all expectations. Soon it would have to return to its box but until then it would be hit at every opportunity. Well, nobody likes a smart-arse, do they?

PEARL EXPORT 5500 drumkit: £532