New kit on the way

Congratulations on your new Stage Custom Birch Yammy's. Exciting waiting for a new drum set. Some of ye guy's mentioned poor bearing edges. It's highly likely that Yamaha will have this fixed and I found them to have a good customer service, that looked after me. The only issue I ever had were loose tri-pod legs on cymbal stands. I got new ones sent to me by Thomann.de our GC, Musical Friend for Europe through Yamaha.
 
Congratulations on your new Stage Custom Birch Yammy's. Exciting waiting for a new drum set. Some of ye guy's mentioned poor bearing edges. It's highly likely that Yamaha will have this fixed and I found them to have a good customer service, that looked after me. The only issue I ever had were loose tri-pod legs on cymbal stands. I got new ones sent to me by Thomann.de our GC, Musical Friend for Europe through Yamaha.

Thanks, man. The wait is hard but I've been cymbal shopping in the meantime. Picked up a 16" Paiste 2002 crash today for those times when smaller cymbals are more appropriate.

I'm not super worried about getting a dodgy kit from Yamaha. It's just not their style and like you, I think they will nip any issues in the bud well before they get out of hand and tarnish the brand.

It's probably too much to ask for but I've got a gig in two days and it would be great to have the new kit by then. If not, my current Stage Customs are freshly tuned and raring to go!
 
Thanks, man. The wait is hard but I've been cymbal shopping in the meantime. Picked up a 16" Paiste 2002 crash today for those times when smaller cymbals are more appropriate.

I'm not super worried about getting a dodgy kit from Yamaha. It's just not their style and like you, I think they will nip any issues in the bud well before they get out of hand and tarnish the brand.

It's probably too much to ask for but I've got a gig in two days and it would be great to have the new kit by then. If not, my current Stage Customs are freshly tuned and raring to go!
Fair play, have a nice time. I love Paiste 2002s
 
Your kit show up yet? What did you think?

I have been removing hardware from my toms to ship them. I am going to send mine in and have all of the edges done. I like the standard 45 with back cut well enough if they are level. I am debating using a round over on the reso side of floor toms to tighten up the sustain of those drums. It's easy to reduce sustain, hard to add it so I am leaning towards not doing that.
 
The kit hasn't arrived yet. It's taking longer than expected. I attribute some of that to the Christmas break. That said, they really should be here now. It's just a retail shell pack, after all.
 
As long as they are good, the wait is minor in the big picture.

I really am disappointed in Yamaha. First, that this has happened at all. I selected Yamaha in large part for their rep of quality builds. Second, they offered to warranty replace if GC agreed they were bad. I have to rely on a GC flunky to make that call? Even if they did agree, who is to say the replacements would be better?

While i do like the kit overall, this has really sucked the joy out this for me...
 
As long as they are good, the wait is minor in the big picture.

I really am disappointed in Yamaha. First, that this has happened at all. I selected Yamaha in large part for their rep of quality builds. Second, they offered to warranty replace if GC agreed they were bad. I have to rely on a GC flunky to make that call? Even if they did agree, who is to say the replacements would be better?

While i do like the kit overall, this has really sucked the joy out this for me...

It's just so unlike Yamaha. Automation has taken over so much of the manufacturing process that there should be virtually zero chance of error.

Whatever the cause I hope:

a) that my kit is as flawless as my other three Yamaha kits
b) that they do right by you
 
The drums are in! I'll pick them up at the store tonight and will report back this weekend. Can't wait to see them!
 
Assembling the kit now!

First impressions: great quality and I absolutely love the colour. The lacquer is really nicely done and I've found zero flaws in the finish and hardware so far. Zero issues with the bearing edges either. The kick drum edges are slightly rounded (by design) compared to the toms.

Loving the absolute lugs. They're nicely chromed and very elegant. Die-cast bass drum claws are a nice touch as well. The kick drum legs are solidly constructed and give me zero cause for concern.

It's taking a while to put together due to the fact that I'm swapping heads as I go. I cut a port in the kick drum reso head though I put it on the 'wrong' side since I worked on the backside of the head but located the hole as if it were the front. Oops!

Lastly - the badges are among the nicest that Yamaha has given the Stage Customs to date. Classy and unobtrusive.

I'll probably write up a mini review in a separate thread. This one is getting a bit long ?

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The Yamaha SC badges are some of the best looking, at any price point. And considering they're on an affordable kit makes them even more noteworthy.

Contrast them with the Ludwig Accent badges. *dry heave*

Can't wait to see how you like the kit!
 
Assembling the kit now!

First impressions: great quality and I absolutely love the colour. The lacquer is really nicely done and I've found zero flaws in the finish and hardware so far. Zero issues with the bearing edges either. The kick drum edges are slightly rounded compared to the toms.

Loving the Absolute lugs. They're nicely chromed and very elegant. Die cast bass drum claws are a nice touch as well. The kick drum legs are solidly constructed and give me zero cause for concern.

It's taking a while to put together due to the fact that I'm swapping heads as I go. I cut a port in the kick drum reso head though I put it on the 'wrong' side since I worked on the backside of the head but located the hole as if it were the front. Oops!

Lastly - the badges are among the nicest that Yamaha has given the Stage Customs to date. Classy and unobtrusive.

I'll probably write up a mini review in a separate thread. This one is getting a bit long ?

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View attachment 89645
Boy, that chrome quality looks like a step up from what I've seen on older SCs. Are the hoops chromed to the same quality? Hoop chrome quality seems to be short on a bunch of kits that I see.

GeeDeeEmm
 
Boy, that chrome quality looks like a step up from what I've seen on older SCs. Are the hoops chromed to the same quality? Hoop chrome quality seems to be short on a bunch of kits that I see.

GeeDeeEmm

I would say that the hoops are the least outstanding part of the kit, but they're still quite good.

The kit sounds GREAT despite not being as meticulously tuned as my other kits. I'll do a proper job of it tomorrow.

The finish looks pretty light in this photo but my eyes perceive it to be substantially darker. The overhead lights are halogen and a bit harsh. The first two photos (above) were taken with daylight coming in through the window. The photos below were taken after dark.

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Toms.jpg

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The Yamaha SC badges are some of the best looking, at any price point. And considering they're on an affordable kit makes them even more noteworthy.

Contrast them with the Ludwig Accent badges. *dry heave*

Can't wait to see how you like the kit!

Okay, I LOVE this kit already!

As mentioned, they're not even tuned optimally yet they still sound amazing. It's scary just how close they come to my Birch Custom Absolutes ?

The 16" floor tom is amazing. I feel it in the seat of my pants when I play the thing.

I'm going to order every other shell in this finish while I still can. I plan to keep it for a very, very long time so why not?

I feel like I got a very good deal, too. In US dollars, I paid $688 for the six pieces (shell pack plus extra floor tom) and that's regular retail. Hats off to Yamaha for what they've done here. Guess that move to China wasn't a bad idea after all.
 
I am glad it turned out well for you. I almost got the red finish but opted for the natural.. My toms are packed and ready to ship.. If all goes as hoped I should have them back in 7-10 days
 
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I am glad it turned out well for you. I almost got the red finish but opted for the natural.. My toms are packed and ready to ship.. If all goes as hoped I should have them back in 7-10 days

My older Stage Customs (seen in my avatar) are finished in Matte Natural It's a great choice and very versatile as far as blending in goes.

Let us know what you think of the recut edges, especially if you opt for more rounded ones.
 
Ugh, after seeing the red finish I am second guessing the black I got. Beautiful

Thanks, man! (y)

Black is timeless - it goes with everything. I would have gone with black this time around but for the fact that I sold these Tamas to partially fund the new kit. As you can tell, the colour is similar though this is a wrap instead of a lacquer. I really liked them:

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The kit is all tuned up and sounding fantastic. :)

The snare drum sounds remarkably good despite the plain Jane factory heads. It's respectably sensitive and has good body. I've been playing metal snares exclusively for the past year and a half so the wood snare is bit of a breath of fresh air.

The kick drum sounds huge and I barely put any effort into tuning it. The batter side is about 1/4 turn past finger tight and the reso side is just above finger tight. Again, just using factory heads for now. I did toss a thin pillow in there for dampening.

The Pinstripes add warmth and focus to the toms beyond what the 1.6 mm hoops can provide on their own. They definitely have that characteristic pre-EQ'd sound that we talk about all the time. Nice and warm with a fairly short sustain. Good pitch bend, too.

All in all, I'm extremely pleased with the kit. The build quality is top notch but more importantly, it sounds fantastic.

I snapped a few photos of the assembled kit. I may not gig with all of this stuff but then again, I might!

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I'm a bona fide Yamaha fan, having owned RCs and MCs, and spent a lot of time on BCAs and Beech Customs. Their hardware is first class, too.

Your SCs are simply gorgeous. It would be a hard choice for me between your red and the natural. I assume that the natural finish is high gloss, as well?

I don't tune my drums low anymore, having discovered the joys of higher tuning and the tones that accompany that. I don't use any pitch- bend at all, so I end up with a good solid tone that hits, has minimal sustain, and goes away quickly. I find that the higher tuning delivers a discernable tone that easily punches through stage noise and completely eliminates any "cardboard" semblance.

I say all of this as a hint as to what I'd love to hear if you get around to posting any video of the kit.
Would like to hear it with your normal tuning juxtaposed with higher tuning to give us some idea of the versatiliy of those gorgeous shells. Thanks for allowing us to enjoy the fun you are having with a new kit!

GeeDeeEmm
 
I'm a bona fide Yamaha fan, having owned RCs and MCs, and spent a lot of time on BCAs and Beech Customs. Their hardware is first class, too.

Your SCs are simply gorgeous. It would be a hard choice for me between your red and the natural. I assume that the natural finish is high gloss, as well?

I don't tune my drums low anymore, having discovered the joys of higher tuning and the tones that accompany that. I don't use any pitch- bend at all, so I end up with a good solid tone that hits, has minimal sustain, and goes away quickly. I find that the higher tuning delivers a discernable tone that easily punches through stage noise and completely eliminates any "cardboard" semblance.

I say all of this as a hint as to what I'd love to hear if you get around to posting any video of the kit.
Would like to hear it with your normal tuning juxtaposed with higher tuning to give us some idea of the versatiliy of those gorgeous shells. Thanks for allowing us to enjoy the fun you are having with a new kit!

GeeDeeEmm

Thanks for the kind words, GD. I'm going to do my level best to keep the kit looking new.

The natural finish is indeed glossy. I've seen it in person and it's quite nice. If I didn't already own a natural finish kit (my avatar, in fact) I might have gone with those instead.

I'm with you in preferring higher pitched drums for live performance, especially in unmiced situations. The tuning I'm using now is kind of in-between. You can hear the exact pitches I'm using in the excellent DCP Ludwig Shootout linked below. They were kind enough to post the Tune-Bot settings they used so I plunked those values in. I love what they did with those kits. You can hear each individual drum at around the 34:00 minute mark.


I'll have to get in gear and record the drums soon. I'm a neophyte at that so everything is a big production still ?
 
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