Yamaha Live Custom Drums with Remo Vintage Emperor heads... (video)

SgtThump

Platinum Member
I pretty much described everything in the video description, so I"ll just paste it below. Sorry to be so impersonal. lol...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0aNBUXrPjw

Just put some Remo Vintage Emperors on the toms (12" and 16"), a Coated Powerstroke 3 on the bass drum batter side (22"), and Smooth White Powerstroke 3 on the bass drum reso side. 5" hole in the reso head with an Evans EQ Pad pillow thing and an AKG D-112 inside the bass drum.

Also, two Sterling Audio ST51 mics as overheads.

Drums are Yamaha Live Custom oaks in 14"x22", 15"x16", and 8"x12" sizes. Snare is a Pearl Sensitone Elite brass version that's 5"x14" with a coated Remo Ambassador on the batter side. All cymbals are Paiste Giant Beats - 15", 18", 20", and 24" ride.
 
your kit sounds great! im liking the beat you got going on. keep up the good work!

so jelly you can play right now, i tore the achillies in my right foot tuesday at work, so i cant play. i gonna just have to just practice some snare rudiment action for the time being. :(
 
Thanks guys! I like this Yamaha kit! The toms are big and beefy sounding with lots of volume.
 
Sounding very good. Nice playing too. Drums are delivering perfectly with a 3 mic setup for live band stage. I prefer the snare sound with the gel off. Livens up the whole kit vibe.
Slightly less practical for gig mic'ing, but have you tried putting the D112 out front of the bass drum?
 
Sounding very good. Nice playing too. Drums are delivering perfectly with a 3 mic setup for live band stage. I prefer the snare sound with the gel off. Livens up the whole kit vibe.
Slightly less practical for gig mic'ing, but have you tried putting the D112 out front of the bass drum?

Thanks man! Im experimenting with bass drum mic positions alot recently. Is your preference just peeking in the port or out farther?
 
Just put some Remo Vintage Emperors on the toms (12" and 16"), a Coated Powerstroke 3 on the bass drum batter side (22"), and Smooth White Powerstroke 3 on the bass drum reso side. 5" hole in the reso head with an Evans EQ Pad pillow thing and an AKG D-112 inside the bass drum.
.


Here is one with the sort of lame Yamaha remo heads.. and No Hole in front. Sounds OK for the stock heads..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD3zGdqj2JE
 
Here is one with the sort of lame Yamaha remo heads.. and No Hole in front. Sounds OK for the stock heads..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD3zGdqj2JE

Yeah, those sound massive in that video. Mine sound the same in person with clear heads. The stock heads are supposedly real Remo Emperors, Ambassadors, and Powerstroke 3s.

I put clear Ambassador on the batters for a little while and they sounded like cannons, but weren't the easiest to tune IMO. I just kinda went the opposite direction a few days ago by putting on these thicker Vintage Emperor coated heads and the coated PS 3 on the bass batter and PS3 smooth white on the bass reso.

They are alot easier to tune, but I think I'm hearing alot more of the head than the shell at this point. The shell does make the toms project alot, though. This rack tom is the loudest 12" rack tom I've ever owned without a doubt.
 
Sounding very good. Nice playing too. Drums are delivering perfectly with a 3 mic setup for live band stage. I prefer the snare sound with the gel off. Livens up the whole kit vibe.
Slightly less practical for gig mic'ing, but have you tried putting the D112 out front of the bass drum?

Nevermind the question asking you about your favorite bass drum micing positions. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoGLAH1kYIc

Your Guru videos are out of this world. Very, very, very nice recordings, outstanding playing, beautiful drums, etc...!
 
Whooo hooo a Vintage Emperor test clip! Although I was hoping to see the clear ones lol. Nice video anyway though, thanks.

I have to be honest, your kit has made me check into the Live Custom and from the videos on Youtube I have come to really really like it. They sound great and the bass drum sounds monstrous! I would love to get the 5 pc in the black wood finish and then add a coated Ambo on the reso side of the bass drum with a black Yamaha logo! Sweetness right there! :)
 
Whooo hooo a Vintage Emperor test clip! Although I was hoping to see the clear ones lol. Nice video anyway though, thanks.

I have to be honest, your kit has made me check into the Live Custom and from the videos on Youtube I have come to really really like it. They sound great and the bass drum sounds monstrous! I would love to get the 5 pc in the black wood finish and then add a coated Ambo on the reso side of the bass drum with a black Yamaha logo! Sweetness right there! :)

A white coated Ambassador on the bass drum reso with a black Yamaha logo? HA! That's exactly what I did too. :)

The attached pic is from a few days ago, right before I put this smooth white PS3 on the bass reso. I will very likely put a black Yamaha logo on the PS3 too. :)

Thanks man! I've watched several videos of the Live Custom too and they sound really freaking big in all of them, which tells ya something. That's how these drums sound!

PS - Oh yeah, the kickport doesn't seem to do anything to the sound of this particular bass drum. Not sure why, but I like it better without it now. I LOVE a kickport on my Pearl bass drum, though.
 

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Ah ha, see I knew I had good taste when it comes to the look of drums! :)

That's awesome man! Though the Ambo doesn't look as white as I expected, maybe just the lighting in your shot? Either way it looks great and is exactly what I had in mind. I absolutely LOVE the sound of my X7 maple kit. Short sustain with a wet fat punch to it and just couldn't be happier with the quality of it all and it being the kit I bought to get back into drumming with. That said, had I taken a bit of time to research and looked at the finishes of sets from each company before I did the spur of the moment purchase I probably would have went with the Yamaha Stage Custom in matte black! Cause right now, after seeing a Pearl Reference Pure set in piano black, with the chrome tube lugs and a white bass drum reso, it has my mouth watering for a set with that look. I especially like that the Stage Custom has finished bass drum hoops. The unfinished maple on the X7 is beautiful and of great quality, but I like the look of a finished hoop more so myself. Only thing is, the X7 has rubber inserts on the lugs to protect the finish on the shells and hoops, which the SC doesn't have but that's probably not something to look down upon when it comes to the quality and sound.

Anyway, sorry I'm derailing this thread. Kit looks great and as far as the Kick Port, yeah the optimum effect is going to be just outside the port I believe. It's just like a ported box for a sub woofer, if you've ever put your hand next to the port on a sub box, you can feel the air coming out and the distance it travels. I'd say maximum effect would be around an inch or so out or in. Seems you have the mic a bit too far into the Kick Port to notice any of the effect. Also have to be careful of placement just outside of the Kick Port as the wind noise may distort the mic, which then you would want to place it a little further back until it stops or maybe off center of it just a bit. Just some ideas is all. :)
 
...Cause right now, after seeing a Pearl Reference Pure set in piano black, with the chrome tube lugs and a white bass drum reso, it has my mouth watering for a set with that look. I especially like that the Stage Custom has finished bass drum hoops. The unfinished maple on the X7 is beautiful and of great quality, but I like the look of a finished hoop more so myself. Only thing is, the X7 has rubber inserts on the lugs to protect the finish on the shells and hoops, which the SC doesn't have but that's probably not something to look down upon when it comes to the quality and sound.

I have three sets - these Live Customs, the turqoise maple Fibes kit, and.... wait for it... a Pearl Reference in piano black! You have absolutely FANTASTIC taste in drum sets. :)

Also note that the new Yamaha Live Custom has better hardware than the previous Yamaha drums. That's my opinion, anyway. I compared the Live Custom to an Oak Custom and the Live Custom seemed nicer to me. Just an opinion, though.

Anyway, sorry I'm derailing this thread. Kit looks great and as far as the Kick Port, yeah the optimum effect is going to be just outside the port I believe. It's just like a ported box for a sub woofer, if you've ever put your hand next to the port on a sub box, you can feel the air coming out and the distance it travels. I'd say maximum effect would be around an inch or so out or in. Seems you have the mic a bit too far into the Kick Port to notice any of the effect. Also have to be careful of placement just outside of the Kick Port as the wind noise may distort the mic, which then you would want to place it a little further back until it stops or maybe off center of it just a bit. Just some ideas is all. :)

Yeah, I did everything wrong with the Kickport in the Yamaha video. I definitely should've had the mic outside of the drum, so I'll do that differently next time.

But besides that, I'm not sure the Kickport makes a difference in the room on the Yamaha kit. On my Pearl kit, the bass drum sounds enormous with it installed and wimpy without, but not so with this Yamaha kit. Not sure what that's all about. Does the depth make a big difference in how the Kickport works? My Yamaha bass drum is only 14" deep, whereas the Pearl is 18".
 
But besides that, I'm not sure the Kickport makes a difference in the room on the Yamaha kit. On my Pearl kit, the bass drum sounds enormous with it installed and wimpy without, but not so with this Yamaha kit. Not sure what that's all about. Does the depth make a big difference in how the Kickport works? My Yamaha bass drum is only 14" deep, whereas the Pearl is 18".

just read this and thought depth too. it might be that. more air inside a deeper drum coming out at once.
 
I have three sets - these Live Customs, the turqoise maple Fibes kit, and.... wait for it... a Pearl Reference in piano black! You have absolutely FANTASTIC taste in drum sets. :)

LOL! Yeah I know, I followed your "saga" I believe regarding either selling your kit(s) or buying more lol! I seen your Pearl kit as well and it's sharp. :)

just read this and thought depth too. it might be that. more air inside a deeper drum coming out at once.

As for the depth. Well in general and going by building a box for a subwoofer, I'm led to believe that if the box (or in this case bass drum) is too small in cubic inches either in width or depth, it may not be moving enough air to get the desired effect of a lower or more pronounced note or thud. Even with a port, it may not help that much. A box has to be certain size to get an optimum medium of both types of bass, tight and detailed and possibly low and muddy. You can also choose to go more in the direction of either one. For example the larger the box, the more boomy it will be and the lower it can go in Hz. The smaller it is, the tighter the bass will be and the less it will be allowed to go down in the Hz range. Same thing with a ported and unported bass drum reso or bass drums in the 22x20" range. A sealed sub box is more so for tighter and more detailed bass like kick drums in music, a ported box is for extreme dB's of bass like with bass music and bass competitions. I would think the 4 inch difference would have an effect but I'm not sure.
 
I shouldve also mentioned that the Pearl bass drum is 18"x20". The Yamaha (and Fibes too for that matter) is 14"x22". So the diameter is different too. Havent tried a kickport in the Fibes (and dont really plan to anytime soon.)

Thanks for the interesting discussion.
 
...Also note that the new Yamaha Live Custom has better hardware than the previous Yamaha drums. That's my opinion, anyway. I compared the Live Custom to an Oak Custom and the Live Custom seemed nicer to me. Just an opinion, though...

I feel like I should clarify that statement. The new sleek Yamaha drum hardware definitely looks nicer to me, but it also feels nicer. The bass drum claws are die cast with plastic or rubber protector gasket things, the new bass drum tom mount is smaller and much cleaner looking, etc... Those types of things.

I started gettinv interested in a Yamaha kit a few months back and was wanting to buy the MIJ Oak Customs, but I held out to see the new Live Customs first. Wasnt sure if the quality woukd be worse, but its not IMO. I think the changes are improvements.
 
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