FROM THE TOP PEARL DRUMS I MAX IISHI
INTERVIEWED BY MICHAEL GALLANT
HOW DO YOU START YOUR DAY? My morning routine is kind of like a little ritual, but noth- ing special. After I wake up, I drink water and do some light stretching to get my blood flowing. I go through the latest news and current affairs from different sources, then see if there are any urgent messages for me to check. After that, I have a set breakfast and head out to work. On the way to the office, I think about the tasks for the day. WHAT’S NEWEST AND MOST EXCITING FOR YOU AT PEARL? The most exciting thing is definitely our 80th anniver - sary, which is this year. It’s a really big milestone for our company. I’m also excited that we’ve introduced a lot of new products, including our top-end flagship Masterworks drums, snare drums, professional drum pedals, electronic drums and more to honor the anniversary. WHAT DOES THE ANNIVERSARY MEAN TO YOU? It means a lot because 80 years is a really long time! It’s also significant because when our founder started Pearl in 1946, it was right after World War II. That was a very, very difficult time to build a new company in Japan, and he did it in the spirit of determination, resil- ience and creativity. Those qualities still guide us today. We follow our founder’s example and try to do business according to those same values 80 years later. And even though the company has been around and successful for many years, right now still feels like it’s just the starting point. It’s a very exciting time to be working with Pearl. RESILIENCE IS SUCH A VITAL QUALITY RIGHT NOW, BOTH IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY AND IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS AS A WHOLE. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO YOU? Resilience is really important in so many ways. We live in a world of uncertainty where tomorrow, anything can happen. It’s been like this for five or six years since the pandemic began and there was massive supply chain chaos and economic disruption. Living with uncertainty is something Pearl knows about, and our company has devel- oped institutional resilience over time. Looking back over 80 years, it’s never been easy, and we’ve always had to be creative in how we adapt. When we started manufac- turing products in Taiwan, for example, that shift helped us keep our prices competitive. We‘re always trying to do new things to overcome uncertainties, and that move is just one example. Right now, we’re trying to expand into new
territories and new categories of business in which we can grow. And we’re always trying to think of what we can do better. Really, that’s what resilience for Pearl means to me. WHAT TERRITORIES ARE YOU LOOKING INTO FOR BUSINESS EXPANSION? We have some big territorial growth areas. South Ameri- can countries like Chile, Argentina and Brazil are doing well, and our business there could be strengthened even more. India is growing a lot, and the U.S. is our biggest global market. We’re targeting all of these areas for growth. IT MUST BE CHALLENGING LEADING A COMPANY WITH GLOBAL REACH. When I started leading Pearl, one of my most important objectives was clear and consistent communication — how do I let different people in different countries know what the company was about? I came up with the slogan “One Pearl.” No matter where you are, we are all part of the same company and we are all working on the same vision. The “One Pearl” slogan was very simple and easy to un- derstand, and I used it to help explain who we are, what we value and what our mission is. It’s been about eight years with everyone working towards one goal. I believe in thinking globally and acting regionally, and I think people are really understanding as a result. The strategy has been successful, and people are following the same directions. I’m very happy about all of it. YOUR HEADQUARTERS ARE IN JAPAN. WHERE DO YOU MANUFACTURE YOUR DRUMS? We have factories in China and Taiwan. WITH FACTORIES IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES, HOW DO YOU MANAGE QUALITY CONTROL? We’re a Japanese company, and we approach every- thing with a rigorous, traditional Japanese manufacturing spirit where product quality and attention to detail are very important. We always have top engineers from our head- quarters in Japan living in every area where we manufac- ture, managing local employees. So our core Japanese en- gineering concepts guide our work everywhere. HOW HAVE YOU HANDLED SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTIONS OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS? It’s always very challenging to make sure we have ev- erything we need, exactly where we need it. Sometimes it doesn’t work exactly as we had hoped. We work with
26 I MUSIC INC. I AUGUST 2026
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