Upgrade from Yamaha Stage Custom

Tonzo91

Member
I have owned a Yamaha stage custom standard kit for well over a decade now and have finally decided i have some spare cash to throw at a better kit. I guess at this point I'm looking for recommendations in the 500-1000 dollar range. There are way too many kits to make up my mind.

My only requirement is a 20" bass that is not 20" in depth. I almost bought a mapex meridian maple only to find out that the bass drum is a 20x20, which I loathe. I considered buying it an having it cut but that seems unnecessary.

Any thoughts?
 
Honestly I can't seem to pull the trigger on the Gretsch so I've kind of ruled that out altogether. Now I've looked at Tama silverstar, Gretsch catalina, mapex birch and maple, pdp concept, pearl vision, ludwig epic and element. And to be honest they all sound good.

I guess I was hoping to hear from some people that might own one or several of these kits to see their own opinion.
 
I have owned a Yamaha stage custom standard kit for well over a decade now and have finally decided i have some spare cash to throw at a better kit. I guess at this point I'm looking for recommendations in the 500-1000 dollar range. There are way too many kits to make up my mind.

My only requirement is a 20" bass that is not 20" in depth. I almost bought a mapex meridian maple only to find out that the bass drum is a 20x20, which I loathe. I considered buying it an having it cut but that seems unnecessary.

Any thoughts?

Would you consider spending the same sort of money for a top-shelf kit in used condition? They are out there, and if you know how to shop selectively and carefully you could end up with a quantum leap "upgrade" compared to the single step buying new might get you. Also, don't dismiss buying something vintage... they're prized for a reason.
 
I'm something of a drum collector....40 snares and 13 full kits. I have some $1500 dollar kits and some $800 dollar kits....and I have got to say that the Ludwig Element I have....the birch...is as good as any kit I have owned or played....the tone is really great and the craftsmanship is also fantastic.

I also regularly play a dw collectors series that a friend has....you will find that the more expensive kits have more refined mounts, better and more viscous feeling threading of Tom mount screws, etc....but if you know how to tune, the hardware is plenty sufficient and the drums sound really great.

I also have a yamaha stage custom birch which sounds really great....as soon as you get the kit, whatever you get, pop the heads and run your finger over the bearing edges...then put the drums on a very flat surface or ligtht table and check them that way.....send them back and get replacements if there are issues...otherwise, tune away and go.
 
What amazes me is that there are such good drums available for such low prices these days.

I have a Pearl Masters from 1995 that is still my 'best' kit. When I bought it the 'budget' kits on the market were good, but they are so much better today. I recently was in a position to get a second kit and I bought a used Gretsch Catalina Maple. I am amazed at how good this kit is for the money. I have gigged it and been told by sound engineers that it sounds better than my other kit (the Masters)!

So personally I would recommend the Catalinas. I haven't But as Shemp says, Ludwig Element sounds good too. Meanwhile the Stage Customs are still good kits. Honestly I would have thought my Catalinas would be at a similar level to your Stage Customs. (I have played Stage Customs as house kits and rented kits, and they are good too!)

Everyone has their own reasons for making their choice. Me, I have Pearl and wanted something different for this kit. I love the Gretsch pedigree and the fact that they're making great sounding drums now, but they have to sound and play right too (and they do!). You could say the same about Ludwig, Tama, or Pearl Vision too. (no disrespect to Mapex, PDP and the others, I've just never tried them),


If they all sound good to you, then you need another reason to choose. Maybe it's the sizes that will decide it for you. My Catalina kick is a 22x18 which is a bit deep for my tastes, but I like a 22, and it still sounds good to me. Maybe you could check out the kit configurations that are available as a way of getting the kits down to a shortlist?
 
Hunt for a 2012 mapex saturn in studio sizes.

Your yamahas are nice enough (I have them too), the mapex will be louder, brighter, just bursting with tone by comparison. So you'll have 2 different kits with different sounds to go between.
 
I have this kit in the see thru cherry finish....the craftsmanship, finish and hardware exceeded my expectations wildly. In fact it is the kit that is setup in my drum room at the moment and I just finished playing it for a couple hours....I do love this kit as well.

I have had a challenge getting the 12" Tom to explode with low resounding tone the way I like...both with the supplied heads, which are reasonable heads, and an evans ec2 sst. It surely could be my choice of batter head so I'm going to go to a G2...it is close to where I want it to be after messing with it more today.

My second irritation is the octagonal (or is it 6 sided?) shape of the Tom mount arm which is not a big deal, but it does snap to those positions and takes more time to get your preferred position initially.

Other than that it is a top notch kit and I have no qualms using it in any situation.





Hunt for a 2012 mapex saturn in studio sizes.

Your yamahas are nice enough (I have them too), the mapex will be louder, brighter, just bursting with tone by comparison. So you'll have 2 different kits with different sounds to go between.
 
I personally don't like the Gretsch Catalina and just can't understand why it gets so much love everywhere. I very much prefer the Yamaha stage custom kit over it and almost any Mapex.
 
I have had a challenge getting the 12" Tom to explode with low resounding tone the way I like...both with the supplied heads, which are reasonable heads, and an evans ec2 sst. It surely could be my choice of batter head so I'm going to go to a G2...it is close to where I want it to be after messing with it more today.

Try a G14 :)

Maybe I should make that my signature, I'm recommending them everywhere. But really, I had the same problem with my old Tama Superstar. Tried all manner of 2-ply heads. As soon as I put on clear G14s (and had switched to clear resonant heads from coated), my 12" and 14" sprang to gut-wrenching metal life. On my new stave kit, the G14s have almost too much attack, but that's something to be expected with stave. I'd get G14s, make sure you have high quality reso heads (i.e. real ambassadors or g1s, not sure if Mapex supplies them or knockoff versions) tune to the same reasonably low pitch top and bottom, and voila!
 
Thanks for that insight....I will try the G14 over a G1.... That sounds like a good combo. Gut wrenching is exactly what I'm looking for.



Try a G14 :)

Maybe I should make that my signature, I'm recommending them everywhere. But really, I had the same problem with my old Tama Superstar. Tried all manner of 2-ply heads. As soon as I put on clear G14s (and had switched to clear resonant heads from coated), my 12" and 14" sprang to gut-wrenching metal life. On my new stave kit, the G14s have almost too much attack, but that's something to be expected with stave. I'd get G14s, make sure you have high quality reso heads (i.e. real ambassadors or g1s, not sure if Mapex supplies them or knockoff versions) tune to the same reasonably low pitch top and bottom, and voila!
 
Thanks for the insight guys. Honestly I think I will look into the shell pack sizes more. Ideally I'd like a 10/12/16/20x16 setup but most likely I'll end up with a 10/12/14/20 seeing how popular 14 inch floor toms are these days.
 
I personally don't like the Gretsch Catalina and just can't understand why it gets so much love everywhere. I very much prefer the Yamaha stage custom kit over it and almost any Mapex.

I agree. I strongly suggest to the original poster you try and get yourself a new 2009 onwards Stage Custom Birch. They come with 20 x 17" kick drums, 10" 12" and 14" FLOOR tom. Not one of those silly dingly dangly ones.

I have a SCB in those sizes and it has just been great to me. $1200 new (australia) and the hardware and finish is just so crisp for the money. I've looked at silverstars, masters, sessions, PDP, mapex, premier and I keep coming back to Yamaha. They just have a unspoken quality about them.

I made the mistake of buying a gretsch renown maple thinking it was an upgrade over my SCB, WRONG. What a boring dreadful kit that was (no offense any renown owners) but the quality was not the same in terms of sound result. Those maple shells are very soft and spongy and not 'rock' maple. Mapex Pro M's had a nice hard maple shell as did the Pearl session SMX I've had.

Where the SCB wins is its thin shells. They really are lively and resonant. Pearls come with thick shells and excessive hardware, and Mapex just cut too many corners in their QC from my experience. I had a Pro M that had wax filler in some of the wood splits with bigger washers to cover the holes - not cool.

ymmv
 
I made the mistake of buying a gretsch renown maple thinking it was an upgrade over my SCB, WRONG.
So did i except with a Catalina thinking it was an upgrade over my Mapex. I've played the SCB kit too and even though i think it sounds awesome and the hardware is top notch, i prefer a Mapex with Gibraltar hardware like i own.
 
So did i except with a Catalina thinking it was an upgrade over my Mapex. I've played the SCB kit too and even though i think it sounds awesome and the hardware is top notch, i prefer a Mapex with Gibraltar hardware like i own.

What mapex do you have? I really like the saturn with the thin shells. Just finding one with a 20" kick and a nice finish is tricky. After Yamaha, I've had 3 different Mapex kits and they have all been great.
 
Yea I'm finding the biggest issue is finding a kit with a nice finish and a 20" bass drum that is NOT a 20x20. Those are really popular now apparently. I may have to bite the bullet one anyway. I can always have it cut down some day
 
I agree. I strongly suggest to the original poster you try and get yourself a new 2009 onwards Stage Custom Birch. They come with 20 x 17" kick drums, 10" 12" and 14" FLOOR tom...

I like mine and would recommend it to anyone looking for a new kit with those sizes and in that price range.
I would have preferred 14" depth on the bass drum, but 17 is a lot better than 20 - ha ha.

Not sure what's available in used kits for that price and size.
 
I like mine and would recommend it to anyone looking for a new kit with those sizes and in that price range.
I would have preferred 14" depth on the bass drum, but 17 is a lot better than 20 - ha ha.

Not sure what's available in used kits for that price and size.

+1 on the SCB. Unbeatable value, top notch quality. Only disappointment is the snare, but that may have been my lack of tuning skills...

Dutch
 
Well I've finally come to my decision. After listening to a million sound clips and finding out I have a big tax refund on the way that I'll be purchasing a Mapex Saturn. They have a 10/12/14/20 configuration and I may add a 16" floor tom to that as well.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I really did consider the Stage Custom Birch too but it wasn't quite the sound I was looking for. Although, if I find a used Saturn kit for a good price I may consider getting a small bass drum so I can turn my current yamaha into a bebop kit!

Now to drum hunt...
 
You are aware that an upgraded SCB (as introduced at NAMM recently) is about to hit the shop floors?

Dutch
 
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