PDP vs Yamaha Stage Custom

R

Rolltide

Active Member
I know, birch vs maple but I am asking about quality, finish, hardware and overall tonal qualities - thx
 
The SCs are light as a feather, by comparison. Their note is short and punchy, as a posed to the warmer with longer sustain of the PDPs. Last I checked, SCs were more available and a better price than PDP. The HW on the SCs are nicer, but tom tree goes way lower on the PDP. The stock heads on the PDPs may be a bit better. Haven’t checked lately, but the bass drum logo on the Yamaha wins.

None of it matters if you like the looks of one, but the tone of the other.
 
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I haven't checked out the PDPs in person but I bought a new set of Stage Customs a few months ago and their construction and build quality is top notch. Everything about them is a pleasant surprise, including the snare drum.

The one thing that I don't love about the Yamahas is the fact that the inner surfaces of the kick drum hoops are unfinished. I'm rectifying that with some brush-on polyurethane this week but it would have been nice for that to have been done at the factory.
 
well you also have to expand your options too, if you really like the SC then go for it but most brands have an intermediate level option, for instance, the Mapex armory is a mix of maple and birch, the Gretsch Catalina line is an all-maple shell, maybe check those out too.
 
I personally never played the Concert series from PDP. But I played Yamaha Stage Custom for a couple of years and it was really awesome!
 
It's a tough choice for me. If I were interested in buying a drumset in this price range it would either be the Vintage Concept Maple (with the wood hoops) or a Stage Custom. I've had a wood hoop set before and I really like the sound and the vintage vibe and the Stage Custom is very classy and understated but still looks "modern." Both also offer bigger drums beyond the typical 10/12/16/22 sizes and after going to bigger sizes I wouldn't want to go back, and they both offer finishes I like. So either one would be a satisfying kit to play.

None of the other kits is this price range really speak to me at all.
 
I'm very opinionated on drum sets, but honest to gosh, this choice would have to end in a coin toss for me. I much prefer the lugs on the Yamaha, but the PDPs offer such a beautiful choice of finishes, and I lean toward maple. But the Yamahas have the YESS mounts, and I love those. See what I mean?

In the end, though, I wouldn't buy either of them new. This depressed drum market simply offers way too many bargains on like-new drum sets for low prices. In this market, you could spend the same amount of money on an excellent used set of Tour Customs.

GeeDeeEmm
 
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