Periphery drummer Matt Halpern leaves Mapex for Yamaha

Agreed. Some artists don't necessarily switch for the instrument, many switch for profile enhancement reasons. let's not forget, it's a two way street.

Personally, I don't take one tiny bit of notice of who is playing what, but I know I'm in the minority on that. Certainly, a player who annually flips from one brand to another is telling me nothing about the drums, & mostly much about themselves, that's for sure.

Players often change brands for reasons outside of the instrument itself too. I've already mentioned exposure, but depth of international support logistics, clinic earning potential, etc, all are part of the deal under consideration.

I'm with you on not noticing who plays what. The music is more important than what brand of your chosen instrument you play. And once you're playing instruments that are at a pro level, they're all going to be good quality and sound good. It all becomes a matter of personal preference at that point, but you can really put all the pro level companies' names on a dart board, close your eyes and throw a dart, and end up with something you can record and tour with, so it doesn't really matter which one you choose.
 
Lots of drummers know about Yamaha, but how many play them? And what does the greater public, including want-to-be-new-drummers, know about Yamaha? Anyone who reads the Gear / Drums forum here can see that Yamaha isn't nearly as strongly represented as other brands. And then looking at people who aren't drummers (yet), how many "what drums should I buy" threads even mention Yamaha? Heck, those threads have a crazy amount of Ddrum, but hardly ever any Yamaha.

Yes, musicians know the brand. But in terms of mindshare, Yamaha isn't turning heads and standing out.
 
Its weird because Halpern was so ecstatic over the Mydentity line. He was The Guy for it.

I think they were having him push those harder than he wanted to. He only played Saturns before the Mydentist line, and... well that's not exactly a step up.
 
Flip it round.

Never heard of Matt Halpern, had to look him up.......Yamaha, I most definitely didn't need to Google.

Until about a month or so ago, same here. I had never heard of him, or his band, until he showed up on the cover of Modern Drummer a few issues back.

Lots of drummers know about Yamaha, but how many play them? And what does the greater public, including want-to-be-new-drummers, know about Yamaha? .

Yamaha has never really been great at getting a huge piece of the the entry level market.

But when it comes to intermediate and high end kits, they have been a strong seller since the late 70's, early 80s.
 
Not sure about their sales, but Yamaha has the most impressive artist roster of any drum manufacturer out there. Even DW can't match them. Just the sheer number of elite players is amazing. And they're very visible on TV because of it.
 
Lets see, I have a Yamaha outboard, a Yamaha digital mixing console, 4 of their motorcycles, a snowmobile, I think they are doing ok! :)
 
Of the shops I frequent, two of them sell the mydenties, and neither of them have sold a single kit. Maybe they wanted a new guy?

Well it kind of defeats the purpose of designing your own kit, to buy one off of the floor. I think they are there more as billboards of the possibilities, which are vast.
 
Well it kind of defeats the purpose of designing your own kit, to buy one off of the floor. I think they are there more as billboards of the possibilities, which are vast.

That's what I meant, no one has ordered one. One guy told me someone almost did, but went with a back stock meridian instead.
 
That's what I meant, no one has ordered one. One guy told me someone almost did, but went with a back stock meridian instead.
Well they are all over Mapex/Facebook. They have sold tons of them!
 
Lots of drummers know about Yamaha, but how many play them? And what does the greater public, including want-to-be-new-drummers, know about Yamaha? Anyone who reads the Gear / Drums forum here can see that Yamaha isn't nearly as strongly represented as other brands. And then looking at people who aren't drummers (yet), how many "what drums should I buy" threads even mention Yamaha? Heck, those threads have a crazy amount of Ddrum, but hardly ever any Yamaha.

Yes, musicians know the brand. But in terms of mindshare, Yamaha isn't turning heads and standing out.

Bingo.

202020202020
 
They're primarily ordered online, through Mapex' kit configurator.

No, you configure them online. You still place your order through your preferred Mapex dealer.

I was at Dale's Drum Shop back this summer, and the guys there told me they'd sold a number of Mydentities from their display inventory; they had a half-dozen kits in the store, ready to go. I guess there are a number of people who want instant gratification.
 
He only uses 3 drums anyway.. Usually a metal snare, muffled kick and a detuned floor tom, how different can he sound?

But if we're being fanboys/brand conscious then Mapex probably needed more of a boost than Yamaha, and Matt would be pulling the younger demographic who can afford a Saturn but not a Custom or a Pheonix, so really it's the naive teens who lose out if all they see is the logo on the bass drum.

I bet Matt has already attracted loads of little metal heads/djent lovers, many who already bought and love mapex kits so it's not all bad.

And whoever said Yamaha weren't represented on this forum probsbly isnt arpund enough to see that Yamaha has a league of loyal outspoken fanboys, kinda like Sonor guys.
 
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