New Yamaha Oak Custom Kit...

The slave hats on the right side kinda makes up for the left hats being so far away in a double bass setup, but I still think I wouldn't like reaching for them. Tomas Haake only uses the left hats with the pedal, so he said in an interview.
 
Lovely kit you have there Adam, the Amber finish looks pukka too!
Have you experimented with heads on the Oaks at all as you have had them for a while?
 
Beautiful, with lot's of versatility on set up configurations (number of drums and different sizes). And I've always been a fan of the 1 up, 2 down with double bass.​
 
Send me a link for that piece of hardware if you don't mind!

Have you tried raising and inverting your ride even more like his?

How is the snare?

Thanks and good to see some DC appreciation/attention to detail. The tom/cymbal stand is a combination of these three things:
Yamaha WS904A Heavy Weight Double-Braced Tom Tom Stand
Yamaha CH755 Medium Boom Arm
Yamaha TH945B 3-Hole Tom Holder w/ (2) CL945B Clamps for YESS Mount
I got the stand designed for floor toms, because I knew I wouldn't need to go very high with it, as you see with the extra extension on other Yamaha tom stands. The 3-hole tom holder w/ the two clamps already came with the bass drum, but I included them in case you need that part too.

I've tried the ride like he does for fun, but it wasn't really for me. I much prefer a Matt Cameron ride position, especially if I ever use more of a crash/ride... Just my comfort zone. I found placing it that high bothered my shoulder joint after a while of playing. When I tried it, I did like the option of having room for other toms or cymbals though.

The snare is a gentle giant. It's definitely a monster when I need it to be, but also a very sensitive, articulate snare. I was surprised at the warmth of the Bronze shell. This snare also destroyed the here-say that seems to surround 8" deep snares as well. I see it also when people talk about going from 5" to 6.5". This is a real solid snare. There is no difficulty in tuning or focusing the sound... But I like a lot of body with my snare sound. With the die cast hoops, it helps tone down the overtones a little, but more so adds even more crack. I'm also enjoying Evans coated reverse dot heads on it.

Lovely kit you have there Adam, the Amber finish looks pukka too!
Have you experimented with heads on the Oaks at all as you have had them for a while?

Thanks John, kudos on your kit as well.... I wish I had a 13" in my setup! I've only tried what came on them (clear ambassadors) and the current heads, smooth white emperors. A very thin, generic single ply batter came on the second bass drum... So, I wouldn't recommend that unless you're going for an awful sound haha. I feel at home with Powerstroke 3's with this kit.
 
Thanks Adam, these Oak customs are great aren't they!
How are the toms with the White Emperors? I was going to try the the vintage Emperor on mine but haven't got that far yet, so far i have tried G2's and Pinstripes and have put Ambassador reso's on the 4 rack toms.
You mention the 13" tom, it took a while to dial it in but it now sounds like a 14 floor! BIG sounding drum that one, though they all are!
So now you have lived with it for a while and obviously like the kit to have added a second bass drum, how do you rate it against say, your previous kit's or others you may find similar at all?
 
I was so fixated on the setup I forgot to say I love it. I've seen a red lacquered oak custom in the flesh and it blew me away, seriously beautiful drums.

What other kits had you been through previously?
 
Beautiful drums.

And I really like the clever use of the tom/cymbal mounting hardware - nice and symmetrical.
 
So now you have lived with it for a while and obviously like the kit to have added a second bass drum, how do you rate it against say, your previous kit's or others you may find similar at all?

I was so fixated on the setup I forgot to say I love it. I've seen a red lacquered oak custom in the flesh and it blew me away, seriously beautiful drums.

What other kits had you been through previously?

In the past, I've owned 2 PDP's (one maple, one birch), a DW Collectors, Gretsch Renown Purewood Oak, a Keller shell custom maple and now this one. I do still own a Ludwig CM in Bonham sizes, and I love that for what it is (in other words, would never sell unless I had to). For a "bigger" kit, I love the power of Oak. As Bo mentioned, Oak shares many similarities with Bubinga. I won't knock the other companies, but I will say that the other maple kits just didn't have the power, shell resonance and low end that you find in the Oak Custom. The Gretsch kit had the same power, but the Yamahas definitely tune down much lower, not to mention I love the single-point lug, and mounting method a lot more. Another downside with the Gretsch was the inability to buy add-on drums.
 
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