New Renown Finishes

.

@SnickSound @Iristone

the guy has been upset literally for years that the Stage is made by a contractor..

Yamaha has always had that terminology up on it's website stating where their drums are made however this below is Yamaha Drum Manager Jim Haler setting the record straight.. you think he would make something like this up for the heck of it ? You think Yamaha would have the more expensive Tour made by a contractor but somehow they would make the Stage in their own facility (and make any money on these kits) ? Remember.. Stage has quite a few q/c issues here and there which is normal but something like that would NEVER be allowed to leave the Yamaha facility as you can see with the Live, Absolute and Recording which you basically cannot find a complaint about.

below you can see Yamaha drum manager Jim Haler (user drumnhands) on Drumforum.org setting the record straight and BELOW that you will see Dutch Musiqman ACKNOWLEDGING that they are made by a contractor..
I had to help the guy get anti-depressants after this below he was so upset ! 🤭 kidding



Screenshot 2024-09-30 11.27.12 AM.png

Screenshot 2024-09-30 11.41.24 AM.png
 
Wow, I thought Stage Customs were outsourced. Either way, the Tour Custom seems outsourced, since Yamaha's own drum factory is in the mainland, not Taiwan.
The Tour Custom badge reads "Made in Taiwan." The Stage Custom badge reads "Made in China." It is weird that just that kit is outsourced even though all the hardware is Yamaha--that is, Yamaha sells the Tour Custom as using the Absolute series lug that have inner tuning stability.
 
.
Even thought the Stage Custom is made by a contractor in China.. they do a pretty good job and there are some q/c issues but they still sell so many of them. ..... Yamaha Drum Manager below.

Screenshot 2024-09-30 11.27.12 AM.png
 
Many different factors I think contributing to a great sound like the room and if the drummer knows how to tune etc.. Do you have any vids of drummers making an attempt on the B/B or W/B ? I have seen the one with the dude with two floors.. that guy is possibly confused or something IMO which you can tell because he leaves the floors tuned extremely low where as the rack he did ok but as a whole not a testament or representation of what the drums can do.

The Renown I have seen only a couple that are pretty good and the Tour I have not seen any.
Here’s Jimmy MacBride rocking a Stage Custom bebop kit and it sounds pretty darn good (his solo around 7:40):
 
  • Like
Reactions: jda
Sort of reminds me when Elvin went with Yamaha. A higher sound bright cutting. His solos on Michael Brecker's Time Is Of the Essence Lp really showed the "Yamaha" sound.. as the solo (on smaller series above does
Here (wood hoops on snare..
Elvin tracks 1, 4, 9
the other tracks are Bill Stewart and Tain Watts
 
Last edited:
On a long enough time scale, every drum thread ends up discussing the Yamaha Stage Custom

And that all started with a new Champagne Sparkle finish, which is definitely not offered on the Stage Custom.
Yes, and sorta frustrating that the discussion about the new Renown finishes got overrun. Went south real fast. :oops:
 
Here's the Piano White (though strangely the hoops look die cast, not 302):

View attachment 150903
That’s an RN-1 Renown, back when they still had die cast hoops. The current RN-2 Renowns all have gas cap-style tom mounts on the bass drums, in addition to 302 hoops.

Id forgotten that RN-1s came in piano white, but now I recall seeing that finish on those.
 
That’s an RN-1 Renown, back when they still had die cast hoops. The current RN-2 Renowns all have gas cap-style tom mounts on the bass drums, in addition to 302 hoops.

Id forgotten that RN-1s came in piano white, but now I recall seeing that finish on those.
The new finish is real Piano white, on the RN-1 it was Satin white. It didn't last long in the catalogue.
I guess it was hard to manipulate de shells without smearing them.
 
The new finish is real Piano white, on the RN-1 it was Satin white. It didn't last long in the catalogue.
I guess it was hard to manipulate de shells without smearing them.
OK, that’s great to know. I thought the finish was supposed to be lacquer white, like you were saying, and this one is clearly satin. I should’ve looked more closely at the hoops before I posted the pic. Apologies, folks.
 
That’s an RN-1 Renown
where's that "RN-1" terminology come from TK.
Weren't the 1st Renowns this square badge as I recall..

what are those (below) Renown called "O.G." 😁

(I was in the store the day they first arrived as this bebop set - was the first config- then afterwards standard configurations arrived)

GretschRN2005.jpg

GretschRN2005.jpg
 
where's that "RN-1" terminology come from TK.
Weren't the 1st Renowns this square badge as I recall..

what are those (below) Renown called "O.G." 😁

(I was in the store the day they first arrived as this bebop set - was the first config- then afterwards standard configurations arrived)

View attachment 150977

View attachment 150977
The first Renowns (the ones with square badges in chrome and then later in black) were just called Renown Maple. Then in 2013, they made some changes and started calling them Renown Maple RN-1. RN-1s only lasted three years, because in 2016 they tweaked the formula again and started calling them Renown Maple RN-2, which are the current Renowns.


 
I like the square badges on the RN1 - but as I said it looks cheap with champgne sparkle, being too similar to the old Catalina Clubs.
I'd prefer cast hoops if I play Renowns, to get more of That Great Gretsch Sound out of it. I'd also saw down the bass drum to 14" deep.
 
I like the square badges on the RN1 - but as I said it looks cheap with champgne sparkle, being too similar to the old Catalina Clubs.
I'd prefer cast hoops if I play Renowns, to get more of That Great Gretsch Sound out of it. I'd also saw down the bass drum to 14" deep.
RN1s actually had round badges. The square badges were from back when they were just called Renowns. I agree with you on the die cast hoops. I own an older square badge Renown kit with cast hoops and they sound very, very close to USA Customs when using the same heads and tuning (and yes, I have done a side-by-side comparison).
 
RN1s actually had round badges. The square badges were from back when they were just called Renowns. I agree with you on the die cast hoops. I own an older square badge Renown kit with cast hoops and they sound very, very close to USA Customs when using the same heads and tuning (and yes, I have done a side-by-side comparison).

yeah afaik that first version was the only one with basically most of the same hardware as Customs. Rims, Die Cast, most brackets and bass hoop claws where as now there is none of that.
 
yeah afaik that first version was the only one with basically most of the same hardware as Customs. Rims, Die Cast, most brackets and bass hoop claws where as now there is none of that.
You’re correct about everything except the bass hoop claws. Those are still die cast on the older Renowns (and the current ones as well), but they’re a different design than USAs.

Renown die cast claws (this is one of my kits; I updated the tom mounts to the current GTS mounts a while back)
IMG_0554.jpeg

USA Custom butterfly-style claws (not my kit)
IMG_0289.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Back
Top