Looking to add a 10” tom to my Yamaha 9000 Kit

Paul Blood

Junior Member
Hi I have a Yamaha 9000 series drum set ( 22, 12, 13, 16) in a natural wood finish.

I got it in 1979 or maybe 1980. It was made in Japan. I believe the shells are birch. I absolutely love these drums , and they have served me very well. They definitely have stood test of time and I plan on keeping him as long as I’m alive!

The kit looks exactly like this:


I’d like to add a 10 inch Tom and I supposed be probably close to impossible to find an original 9000 series 10 inch Tom.

Does anyone know if you Yamaha make something comparable now?

Any thoughts? Thanks!
 
Beautiful kit. I guess it depends on which is more important to you .... a sonic match, or a visual match.

If it's sonic, I'd search for a 10" Recording Custom drum. The 9000 series ('78/'79) is what I consider pre-Recording Custom. I have an 18, 12, 16 kit. In 1980, Yamaha went to the long, high tension lug. But it's the same 100% Birch shell. Yamaha still makes that Real Wood finish.

Yamaha 1978/1979 had two series. The 9000 and the 7000. And they referred to it as a system. With common finishes, they were marketing a mix-and-match strategy. Info pdf. here ..... http://www.drumarchive.com/Yamaha/Yamaha1978.pdf So, while it's gonna be rare ..... you might be able to find a 7000 series drum.

A few years after the 9000 got the long lug, the older split lug got put onto the 7000 shell, and that then became the 8000 series (Tour Custom). So, you might be able to find one of those, also.

I had 2 different Recording Custom kits, in that Real Wood finish. Nice drums!!!
 

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Thanks guys. I haven’t able to a recording custom anywhere, I figure a 9000 series 10 inch Tom would be really hard to find!

I do see they make a similar finish in a birch shell with the stage custom in the honey Amber finish. I’m wondering if the Sonic timbre would be nice sonic match to my 9000?

://www.musiciansfriend.com/drums-percussion/yamaha-stage-custom-birch-tom/j07122000001003?cntry=us&source=3WWMWXGP&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI08yrxZ3e6AIVyJ-zCh2vIw6lEAQYAiABEgJVjPD_BwE
 
Hi Paul,

Beautiful drums. Kudos to you for caring for them all these years.

It’s been a long time since I played a late ‘70s 9000 so my memory of their timbre is dated. However, playing a good number of Yamaha kits with birch, maple and hybrid shells since the early ‘80s, I do recognize some of the tonal nuances between their various series over that time.

In my humble opinion, and not to distract from Harry’s excellent input (his knowledge and experience are above reproach), I believe the current SC may actually better approximate the tone of the 9000 than a vintage RC. To my ears, the RC delivers a more focused overall sound than the SC and I primarily attribute that to the hi-tension single lugs on the RC versus the split lugs on the SC. Here, the heavier hardware most likely overshadows the differences in birch wood source (potentially different densities) and shell construction. Given this, and appropriate heads and tuning, I believe the SC tom could be a good timbre fit for your 9000 kit. You certainly can’t go wrong with the price or 45-day return policy.

As far as finish, think the SC Honey Amber would indeed be a better match than the SC Natural Wood. The SC Honey Amber has a glossier and deeper golden appearance than the 9000 Real Wood, but much closer nonetheless.

BTW, you may also want to consider buying a newer YESS series tom arm (i.e. CL-945B instead of CL-940B) along with it. The newer YESS arms have a shorter hex-rod (since they don’t penetrate the shell), and you may not be able to adjust the sustain to your liking with the longer hex-rod.

Best regards.
 
A Tour Custom tom will match better visually with its satin finish. I have the Stage Custom and that shiny gloss finish will stand out from your vintage Yamahas.
 
I ended up getting the Stage Custom in honey amber, and it sounds great! Yes, it does stand out a bit cosmetically, but I'm not doing high profile enough gigs for it to matter! Now I'm considering getting a few more SC toms to put together a big ole kit! Funny, I've been a one rack tom, one floor tom player since 1985, now I'm using 10,12,13,16! If I ever get a call to play out again, I'd probably bring a (much) smaller kit, but it's really fun for now playing this four tom set up at home. Blame on the Corona!yamaha drums.jpg
 
I'm still debating replacing the 13' mounted tom with a 14" mounted tom, or going with a 10"12" mounted toms, and adding a 14 inch floor tom.
Actually, the 13" sounds fine.... I no problem getting a good interval between the drums, I'm just curious if having a 2" difference between each tom
will sound even better?
 
My vote is to add the 14" floor tom. I'm "mostly" a 1 up. 2 down kinda guy ..... but one of my RC's was 12x8, 13x9, 14x14, 16x16.
 
I have 10,12 mounted on the bass and a mounted 13 as a "floor" tom on my Yamaha kit, and I find the 13 to be a perfect floor tom for my needs... ymmv, etc.

BTW, OP, good looking kit. :)
 
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