Yamaha Stage Custom

Nice-looking shells. Very low-key and classic.

I don't believe I've ever played a bass with a 17" depth. If I have, it's been on a backline/house kit, and I haven't been aware of it.
 
A very nice kit for the money indeed. Suggested it as a shared band-kit for the guitarist in my band last year, he had no clue what to get, then it's hard to go wrong with SC's I told him, especially the newer ones. Only thing I slightly dislike is the 1,6 mm hoops and shallower toms, but I've learned to live with it. They look good, sound great and hold up as far as I can tell. And after he got that and I could use it regularly, I got bitten by the practicality of the tom-mounting and general quality of the kit, so I bought a higher-end Yamaha kit myself :). I think the SC kit kind of rekindled that old Yamaha spark in me (my first kit was a Power V Special, kind of the predecessor to Stage Customs).

But yeah, nice kit :)
 
That honey amber finish is really striking. Everything about the Stage Custom looks really classy and understated, and while there are a few details that betray their cost, I think they have it where it counts. Getting a good discount makes a nice kit even better. Congrats!
 
Lots to like about Stage Customs. I had one of those modern birch kits for a little over a year and still have my 2nd generation kit. I think the toms would benefit from an extra inch of depth and the unfinished bass drum hoops are a bit disappointing but those are minor quibbles. I paid $725 CDN for a five piece which is less than $600 USD. You just can't go wrong at that price.
 
Great review. I've got the Mk. I version (silver/grey badge). But honestly ...... my admiration for these drums goes all the way back to the beginning 5000/stage series (when they shared the same lug as the 7000 series).
 
Winston_Wolf said:
That honey amber finish is really striking. Everything about the Stage Custom looks really classy and understated, and while there are a few details that betray their cost, I think they have it where it counts. Getting a good discount makes a nice kit even better. Congrats!
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Honey Amber - are they drums or a dancer? :ROFLMAO:

EDIT: Guitar Center had a tag on the drums saying they were honey amber, but they're actually natural wood.
 
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Just bumping this thread because of a comment on another current thread about SC bearing edges.
The edges are just about as perfect as a CNC machine can get them.
I'm sure there's not a lot (if any) fine hand sanding by humans after they're cut.
You can see very miniscule machine tool marks if you get up close and look really hard.
Those could be sanded out with 600 or finer grit if someone was really a perfectionist.
But it wouldn't affect the sound, because the shells are flat and true, and the edges are in the proper sector.

1645029107185.png

There was another comment about the finish. The finish is flawless, as you would expect from a
no touch, climate controlled, automated process. I'm very happy with the finish and have absolutely no complaints about it.

The last comment I wanted to address was about the chrome. I haven't really seen what I would consider exceptional chroming
since about the 1970's or so, when environmental regulations went into effect.
The chrome on the Stage Customs is not the best, but it's acceptable. Look closely enough and you can see slight,
unpolished, tool marks beneath the thin chrome in some areas. This is standard on lower cost drums.
I have seen a lot better chrome on higher cost kits, but that's to be expected.
I would think that it's an acceptable trade-off for the lower cost of the kit.

Anyways, I figured it might be better to put these comments here, rather than cluttering up another thread with them.
 
wildbill said:
Just bumping this thread because of a comment on another current thread about SC bearing edges.
The edges are just about as perfect as a CNC machine can get them.
I'm sure there's not a lot (if any) fine hand sanding by humans after they're cut.
You can see very miniscule machine tool marks if you get up close and look really hard.
Those could be sanded out with 600 or finer grit if someone was really a perfectionist.
But it wouldn't affect the sound, because the shells are flat and true, and the edges are in the proper sector.

View attachment 114636

There was another comment about the finish. The finish is flawless, as you would expect from a
no touch, climate controlled, automated process. I'm very happy with the finish and have absolutely no complaints about it.

The last comment I wanted to address was about the chrome. I haven't really seen what I would consider exceptional chroming
since about the 1970's or so, when environmental regulations went into effect.
The chrome on the Stage Customs is not the best, but it's acceptable. Look closely enough and you can see slight,
unpolished, tool marks beneath the thin chrome in some areas. This is standard on lower cost drums.
I have seen a lot better chrome on higher cost kits, but that's to be expected.
I would think that it's an acceptable trade-off for the lower cost of the kit.

Anyways, I figured it might be better to put these comments here, rather than cluttering up another thread with them.
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Beautiful kit.
 
Tiges said:
Why are the toms 1inch less than the traditional sizes of today on those drums?
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12x8 and 13x9 are actually true traditional sizes - that’s what attracts a guy like me to them. The 10 being 7 deep is a relatively new idea because a 10” tom was also 8” deep. The 16” floor Tom being only 15” deep is a new thing, but makes sense against the 18x16 floor Tom. I think Yamaha just took to the “1-inch less” idea applied around the 12x8 and 13x9 toms.
 
I feel they are about as good as it gets, given their price. Good workhorse drums, been using one for several gigs last year, got great feedback from every sound engineer I've worked with. The only thing that bothers me about it is 1,6mm hoops, when played hard, rods has a tendency to get loose near the place I hit and I have to re-tighten them more often than on high end kits with 2,3mm or Die-Cast. This is under very heavy playing though (metal, no triggers) so I guess it's not a big problem for most drummers... There is not many kits in that price range, if any, that has better hoops so it's not a dig at Stage Customs, really.
 
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1st gen all birch sizes that I have ..... 8x7, 10x8, 12x8 and 12x9, 14x13, 16x16

2nd gen all birch sizes ......... 8x7, 10x7, 12x8, 13x9, 14x13, 16x15

so, they kept some the same, shortened some. Wish I had a complete list of the 1st gen line ..... because I think they had a few more add-on size variations.

Yamaha 5000 "stage" series first appears in the US catalaog in 1980 ..... however, the "stage custom" 6000 line started in 1995 (I believe). Either starting point you care to use, Yamaha's been putting out this line for quite a while.
 
petrez said:
I feel they are about as good as it gets, given their price. Good workhorse drums, been using one for several gigs last year, got great feedback from every sound engineer I've worked with. The only thing that bothers me about it is 1,6mm hoops, when played hard, rods has a tendency to get loose near the place I hit and I have to re-tighten them more often than on high end kits with 2,3mm or Die-Cast. This is under very heavy playing though (metal, no triggers) so I guess it's not a big problem for most drummers... There is not many kits in that price range, if any, that has better hoops so it's not a dig at Stage Customs, really.
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That has to do with the lugs.

The higher range Yamaha kits have lug nuts with build-in locks.

These are not on the SC as far as I can tell.

The Stage Custom line was born in 1996.

Here is the 1997 catalog, 1st gen Stage Custom scan:4DBE6824-AF25-4BA5-84A6-A35C0571D543.jpeg59014504-BBE0-4C23-9949-15E7923420FE.jpeg
 
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petrez said:
I feel they are about as good as it gets, given their price. Good workhorse drums, been using one for several gigs last year, got great feedback from every sound engineer I've worked with. The only thing that bothers me about it is 1,6mm hoops, when played hard, rods has a tendency to get loose near the place I hit and I have to re-tighten them more often than on high end kits with 2,3mm or Die-Cast. This is under very heavy playing though (metal, no triggers) so I guess it's not a big problem for most drummers... There is not many kits in that price range, if any, that has better hoops so it's not a dig at Stage Customs, really.
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This seems to be the biggest “complaint” of the Stage Customs. So, serious question - wouldn’t adding those DW rimshot locs, Tama tension locks or something similar solve that problem? If so, I may get them for my SC.
 
Jml said:
This seems to be the biggest “complaint” of the Stage Customs. So, serious question - wouldn’t adding those DW rimshot locs, Tama tension locks or something similar solve that problem? If so, I may get them for my SC.
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I think this would only be a problem for snare drums. For the occasional rim shots on the toms, I think you’d be fine?
 
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