Pearl PCB-6

I bought this bell to augment my cowbell set.

The mount is very simple, not the usual eye-bolt and wing nut but a pretty sturdy winged bolt (not as thick as LP bolts) going through a fixed nut, very old school (like you'd find on a JCR bell). It works fine although I'm more anxious about threading the mounted nut than I would be about threading the replaceable bolt on, say, an LP mount.

The bells are coated in black paint with a satin finish.

Tonally the bells are a little thinner than the higher end ECB bells and naturally more resonant, but there's enough 'click' in the sound to make it playable on a rack. The foam damper is pre-fixed and well-placed.

Generally, it seems Pearl have extended the quality of their more expensive bells down into this budget range; the bell sounds far better than other black bells in this price range.

It's tricky to choose a cowbell without visiting a drugstore and trying it; luckily Thomann's sound samples solve the problem. I wanted a fairly lightweight sound without heavy rock depth - for playing gentle latin accompaniments. The PCB-6 does sock it to you if you strike it hard, but it is medium pitch and cuts through well for what I need - and it did match the impression I got from listening to Thomann's sound sample online. Pearl's finish is smart matt black and the whole thing gives an impression of good quality. My local store had only three cowbells in stock, all much more expensive - but I chose from a dozen or more, and am well pleased with the one I picked.