Ever have a drums finish sway you away from purchasing it?

[TheDrummerFromAmsterdam]

That's interesting. I have seen two Live Customs in a shop (one in amber shadow, one in emerald green shadow) and their lacquer was absolutely smooth, no ripples on them. Aparently someone did not check the laqcquer job properly before sending the drums out.

Those are quite bad pictures shot with quite some dust on the shells, you can clearly see that. Not really fair to judge a line by these.

Yamaha's lacquers are bare none. I do say these are more stroked lines then on other LC's (and could be applied by accident) but it is consistent over the whole kit.

The LC does have a more stroked lacquer appliance then the more brushed Oak Custom finishes.

 

[steverok]

I absolutely hate the latest trend of burst / fade finishes. Otherwise, I would have a houseful of drums.

 

[Tommy_D]

Those are quite bad pictures shot with quite some dust on the shells, you can clearly see that. Not really fair to judge a line by these.

Yamaha's lacquers are bare none. I do say these are more stroked lines then on other LC's (and could be applied by accident) but it is consistent over the whole kit.

The LC does have a more stroked lacquer appliance then the more brushed Oak Custom finishes.

The dust and fingerprints are not what is wrong with the finish, and the quality of the image is just fine for showing the real issue. While I have already stated I have seen images of Live custom kits without this "brushed" finish, I have not seen them in person, and I have seen a few of these kits at various music stores around me. So it looks to be hit or miss.

Here is a cleaner image of another Live custom for sale on eBay right now:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yamaha-Live...570573?hash=item43f19f7ecd:g:jOYAAOSw7XZXhGT6

 

[Wave Deckel]

Yeah, hit and miss, it seems. But I could live with such ripples on such wood shells. As long as the drums sound great, this is not a big issue for me, to be honest. Other things are more scaring.

 

[Tommy_D]

Yeah, hit and miss, it seems. But I could live with such ripples on such wood shells. As long as the drums sound great, this is not a big issue for me, to be honest.

Considering the society we live in today, it's really nice to hear that. I've become accustomed to seeing people post threads where a bearing edge has the slightest bit of a nick in it and have droves of people say "Return it! The drums should be perfect!" Blah, blah, blah... There's a thread on DFO right now where a guy is concerned about his Ludwig floor tom that has a tiny knot in the inner ply. People are saying to return the kit, ask for a free snare drum, have Ludwig re-wrap the drum, etc. I told him to just play it and move on with life.

http://www.drumforum.org/index.php?/topic/137892-knot-on-shell-interior/

As for the finish on the Live Customs, I've seen plenty of lower end drums have this waviness in the finish, but none of the higher end stuff. Considering Yamaha charges $1900 for a 4 piece Live Custom, I was hoping for a bit better quality control. That's okay though. Its not really the finish that's driving me away from Yamaha. It's their entire line up.

 

[Camshaft]

I like this color. I'm particularly fond of DW's powder blue with WMP hoops and inlays. This Tama achieves a very similar look and vibe. Very cool! I like bold color choices. Stopping short of day-glo though. The days of a stained wood grain and me have parted ways indefinitely. My first kits featured cheap wraps and I couldn't bring myself to own anything but stained wood grain for almost twenty years. I've turned that corner though, and now am in love with big glitter wraps in almost any color.

I'm 100% with you. I feel like you can have bold drums without being gaudy. As Coco Chanel said, "Luxury is the opposite of vulgarity."

 

[T_Weaves]

The dust and fingerprints are not what is wrong with the finish, and the quality of the image is just fine for showing the real issue. While I have already stated I have seen images of Live custom kits without this "brushed" finish, I have not seen them in person, and I have seen a few of these kits at various music stores around me. So it looks to be hit or miss.

Here is a cleaner image of another Live custom for sale on eBay right now:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yamaha-Live...570573?hash=item43f19f7ecd:g:jOYAAOSw7XZXhGT6

They look terrible. Looks like they used a broom !

 

[cbphoto]

YAWN

 

[LittleLegs]

I absolutely hate the latest trend of burst / fade finishes. Otherwise, I would have a houseful of drums.

What's not to like Steve?






They disliked this finish so much they even photographed it in the dark!





(I'm being a bit mean perhaps? My taste is probably very dull to many : )

 

[PlayTheSong]

I'd definitely take the Maple kit over any of the bursts/fades that followed.

 

[steverok]

What's not to like Steve?


(I'm being a bit mean perhaps? My taste is probably very dull to many : )

Ha, thanks for the laugh. I even hate the more subtle burst / fades, but these are garish beyond description. What ever happened to lacquered finishes in a solid color ? Is that just too obvious or something ? Even if someone was playing the most incredible sounding kit I've ever heard, if it's a burst / fade, I would not be jealous.

 

[cbphoto]

Best lacquer finish ever.

Really great sounding drums, too.

 

[PeterBowman]

for me it really depends,..... if I'm getting a beater kit just to bash around on then finish isn't too big of a deal. But if I'm going to be shelling out a lot of money for a kit then you better believe that finish could be a deciding factor. I'm not going to shell out hundreds if not thousands of dollars for a kit if I'm not 100% sold on the finish.

 

[JohnnyG]

When new folks ask what to buy, I always list in order, budget, features, then finish. It would have to be a great deal for me to buy green, purple, pink(?) or silver-chrome.

 

[JohnnyG]

Best lacquer finish ever.

Really great sounding drums, too.

I would love to see that without the black faded part.

 

[mitkoni]

Probably not everyone's cup of tea, but when I saw it and couldn't resist and bought it. Pearls Masters All Maple.

 

[Push pull stroke]

I happen to enjoy the look of natural wood grain with dramatic-looking grain, like zebrano wood. Unfortunately, I don't especially prefer the sound of zebrano.

 

[Groov-E]

Probably not everyone's cup of tea, but when I saw it and couldn't resist and bought it. Pearls Masters All Maple.

Very nice kit, I bet they look awesome under stage lighting as well.

 

[mitkoni]

Very nice kit, I bet they look awesome under stage lighting as well.

Thanks Groov-E. I'm sure they will Haven't had the chance to put them to work yet because just got them. It was one of those impulsive buys, that I wasn't planning on.

 

[Rabid]

Psychological for me, but I don't want anything with a "tobacco" finish. I've lost too many friends and relatives to cancer. Time to come up with a new name for brown burst.