i got my Yammies !

Ainulindale

Gold Member
hey everyone, hope Christmas was a good one and good luck in the new year!

so thanks in part to the great advice from everybody here at DW, i went and ahead and got the Yamaha Stage Custom Birch, natural laquer finish, 22/14/10/12/16, and my initial reaction is WOW - just a fantastic, quality kit thats a blast to play right out of the boxes!

i'm afraid this will be a stupid long post - so short version first ;

+the laquer finish is awsome
+the drums tune up real easy
+an excellent snare with a wide tuning range
+hardware makes quick adjustments a breeze
-the "factory" heads are less than desirable - think thin wet paper...
( and i now understand the 'attack' of birch )

Specs ;
17x22 bass, 5.5x14 snare, 8x10 tom, 9x12 tom, 16x16 floor tom
100% birch shells, 6 ply

and pics...
 

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Very nice 5-piece drum-set, mate.
I was going to ask you for the specifications, but you already added. How is the sound, coming along?

Enjoy it as much as you can!!!

Cheers,
 
thanks alot guys!
yes, heads are the first thing on the list, along with a patch of carpet and a decent drum throne - i'm using an old computer chair right now :-(
and tuning! i forgot how much time it takes to tune a single drum, i've had every drum in the kit stripped and tuned at least twice - but tinkering really is half the fun!

so now the longwinded post... my computer crashed several weeks ago and with Christmas and drums and trying to save for school, repairs got sent to the bottom of the list - actually picked up the Yammies on the 21 of Dec, then Christmas and then repairs... just happy to have drums again, its sad to think i lost 12 years of playing, but better back later than never!

Snare
5.5"x14" 6ply / 6mm shell
got a free Remo Ambassador in my cymbal pack, put it on and had tuned in minutes, it likes a tighter tuning and has this tight marching band snare sound going on, love it!

Bass
17"x22" 7ply / 7mm shell
dont get me wrong, i think with good heads this drum would sound thunderous and punchy - but the factory batter is junk. also not a fan of the pedal, maybe just rusty ol' me but i cant seem to get much response outta it, gonna work on tecnique and keep tinkering...

Floor Tom
16"x16" 6ply / 6mm shell w/legs
even with a thin clear single ply head it rumbles! nothing beats big floor toms, lots of fun, i cant wait to get a coated 2ply on this monster!

Tom
12"x9" 6ply / 6mm shell
this is my favorite drum of the lot, it can tune low and growly or high and cutting, no kidding - easily the most versatile drum in the kit!

Tom
8"x10" 6ply / 6mm shell
i'm afraid the last really is the least this time. not sure if the head is bad or my tuning skills are'nt good enough, but i just cant get a good sound out of this drum :-( right now i have the kit set up as a 4pc. and i'm quite happy with it! once the rest of the kit gets new heads, maybe i will try different heads on this guy as well, so heres hoping...

i have to say again how easy these drums tune up ( so maybe i should'nt be so hard on the factory heads ) maybe the best feature considering its a 'begginers' set :)

almost forgot my cymbal pack!
Sabian B8's that came with 14" hihats, an 18" 'crash/ride' but dont let the name fool ya - its a 'powerful crash' through and through, and my favorite new cymbal - an 8" splash i keep upside down for a great accent sound, this pack also came with a free pair of VicFirth 5a's and a coated Ambassador, so not bad for 150 bucks, they will get me through 2 months of school anyway!

so...hope all of this helps anyone looking at buying one of thes great kits or just the pathalogically curios like myself :)

good drumming!
 
First of all, congratualations on the new kit! I have a set of the Stage Customs myself (same size rack toms, but with a 20 inch kick and 14 inch floor tom), and the quality is amazing considering how little they cost. The lacquer finish and bearing edges were almost flawless, and I really like how the grain of the wood looks when it catches the light. You're right, the factory heads are absolute trash, but with professional-quality heads the drums can reach their full potential. One of the unusual things I noticed is that to get the best sustain from the toms, I have to tune them while they're on the mounts; this applies if the toms are mounted on the bass drum or on cymbal stands. I assume this is becuase the YESS mounts are bolted directly to the shells, but I'm not too concerned about it.
 
Merry christmas! They look great. My church drummer has used maple stage customs for a couple years and they always sound great. Extremely quality stuff for the price.
 
Suggestion: Home Depot/Lowes carry an interlocking set of 4 approximately 2 ft squares of dense poly foam,often used for gym floors,home exercise,etc. They are very inexpensive,and would protect the bottom of that kick. None of my busines,but hate to see any damage...
 
Suggestion: Home Depot/Lowes carry an interlocking set of 4 approximately 2 ft squares of dense poly foam,often used for gym floors,home exercise,etc. They are very inexpensive,and would protect the bottom of that kick. None of my busines,but hate to see any damage...

no worries, you can't see it in the pictures, but the bottom of the drum is never closer than a 1/4" from the concrete - you are right though, i need carpet underneath the kit, its 'step one of stage one', believe me :)

thanks all for the comments!
 
Nice little kit you got there my friend.
 
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