My Yamaha Tour Customs

[Norske]

So I needed a practice kit so that I could leave the kit I gig with in the cases -- just saves me an awful lot of time and effort. I was looking for a used kit, but couldn't find what I wanted.

I ended up buying a new Yamaha Tour Custom kit in Brown Sunburst. Man, the finish looks like fine furniture!

Sizes:
22 x 17 kick
10 x 8, 12 x 9 rack toms
16 x 16 floor tom
14 x 6 snare

The hardware is the Yamaha 700 series. Incredibly sturdy stuff. I just got the kit set up, and put up a couple of cymbals to try them out, so not as full as my normal setup will be. But we had some rare sun today, so I wanted to take some pics in natural light while I could. I'm still tweaking the setup and fine tuning.

[stasz]

That kit looks beautiful! Do you play open-handed? Are the Tour Customs maple?

[kung_f00]

Man, very nice! I was up in the air about Tour Customs. I got an Oak Custom 3pc shellpack, but I kinda dislike not having a second rack tom. I bet they sound great!

[driver]

I played a set of Tour Customs not long ago. Great kit. Very good for the price. The kick sounded really great out of the lot!

[Norske]

That kit looks beautiful! Do you play open-handed? Are the Tour Customs maple?

Yes, I've been playing open handed since before it was an acceptable practice. It just feels more natural to me. So the position of the ride gave me away, huh? LOL. And yes, they are maple.

Thanks guys, they do sound awesome! I put coated Ambassadors on the toms (both sides) and that makes a huge difference. Something about those Asian made Remos that just don't sound right? But I like the kick the way it is for now. I can always throw on a Superkick if I decide it's not the sound I want.

[rritter]

Are you sure that is a 14 inch floor? Sure looks like a 16 in the pictures.

[Drummer Karl]

I really wonder how they feel....and sound live.
By the way, isn`t the 12" rack tom 9" deep?

It`s definitly a pleasure to look at these drums. Beautiful finish...and I`m curious again: What maple is used for the shells? North American? Or Asian?

Congratulations, I`m sure you can`t go wrong with a Yamaha maple kit!

Karl

[GRUNTERSDAD]

Did you get your free pedal. Coupon Available on the Yamaha website.

[burnthehero]

Are you sure that is a 14 inch floor? Sure looks like a 16 in the pictures.

That's exactly what I was thinking. Anyway, that's a sharp looking kit. These mid-level kits just keep looking better and better.

[GRUNTERSDAD]

From the website.....For tour customs.

[fourstringdrums]

From the website.....For tour customs.

They make 18" basses? I could have put together a nice little 18/10/14 kit if I had known that. Too bad though I'm not a huge fan of the colors.

[Norske]

Ooops, sorry guys! Yes, it is a 16" floor tom, and the rack tom is indeed a 12x9. I had looked at the floor model in Sakura white which had a 14" floor tom and I had to order the kit in the color I wanted. Doh, and I did have to buy 2 16" Ambassadors! Sheesh. It's been a long week!

No idea what kind of maple they use, but the drums are made in Indonesia.

Thanks, Gruntersdad, I did not know about the free pedal! I will definitely send that in.

[Cymbalrider]

How are those heads working for you?

[Trip McNealy]

Truly fantastic! I love Yamaha drums and hardware, my kit is Yamaha as well.

I don't even bother to get hardware in the 800- or 900-series anymore... The 700 series are just enough weight and sturdiness... I think my Throne is an 800-series though.
I also love the YESS mounting system.. non-intrusive and doesn't really let the toms shake as much as DW, PDP, and other mounting systems.

I also like the specs of their bass drums lately... 17" depth... I find 16' too shallow nowadays and 18" is good but can be too boomy for some musical styles.

My next kit will probably be Maple Customs or Tour Customs as well.

[punkdrummer1]

very nice kit. Isen't that the same drum kit they use in the add? :D

[Norske]

Cymbalrider - the heads are great! I took the advice of my local drum shop guy on that one, and he was dead on!

Trip - this is my gigging kit now, and believe me the lighter weight of that hardware is becoming very important. And it's solid as all heck, no complaints!

Punkdrummer - yes, it is. I didn't like the Sakura white they had in stock, and loved the pics of this finish, and it exceeded my expectations once I actually saw the drums.

Although this kit now stays in the cases until I load it for gigs, I did set it up with my full cymbal setup over the New Year's weekend and broke it in properly.

A couple of updated pics of the setup I use -