Xero Talent
Silver Member
Regarding Yamaha discontinuing their lines:
I’ll step in here and enter the discussion.
We are at the beginning of an exciting time at Yamaha Drums, and there are a lot of fantastic things coming. Many of you have seen our Live Custom Series, which was launched at Winter NAMM and received rave reviews by dealers, artists, and press. It is the first drumset out of our Yamaha-owned factory in Xiaoshan, China. And this is just the start.
It’s important to remember that all of the techniques and processes that have made Yamaha one of the most respected names in drums were, in fact, created by Yamaha. The transition to our new state-of-the-art factory has allowed us to update and improve these processes and tools utilized by the craftsmen to build our drums. Also important to note is that the Xiaoshan factory was built from the ground up as a Yamaha factory and is ISO 14001 certified. Yamaha has been building pianos and wind/brass instruments in that facility for years; as a result, each craftsman is very familiar with our high standards and expectations, being trained not only in how but why we do things the way we do.
Ultimately, Yamaha drums will be better, while becoming more affordable: not by downgrading the quality of the materials, but by making the processes more efficient and still crafting some of the world’s best-sounding drums.
Actually, the original Oaks were made with Chinese Oak. When the badge changed to silver, that's when the Japanese Oak was used, so we returned to the original wood source. You have to remember, just because a tree grows in China instead of Japan, that doesn't make it an inferior tree.
We appreciate your loyalty and believe me, the new factory is an amazing facility and will allow us to improve on our already amazing drums. For all the Yamaha fans out there, it's going to be great.