Yamaha Hipgig

D

Dutch

Senior Member
I'm looking at buying a Yamaha Hipgig that is on offer locally, but am puzzled by the model... It is not the Rick Marotta signature model, but I can't find any documentation on this version. The bassdrum model ID is BD16HG, and the snare is SD12HG. Pictures below; can anyone help?

Cheers,

Dutch
 

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D

Dutch

Senior Member
Don't have a pic of the whole kit, but the bass is 16" and has the extra spurs. The two halves of the bass drum have a slightly different colour, and I suspect they originally did not belong together (although they are both Yamaha).

I know it's not the RM-signature hipgig (those model numbers were different), but this one isn't in any of the Yamaha documentation I have seen.

Thanks for your help!

Dutch
 

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TheDrummerFromAmsterdam

TheDrummerFromAmsterdam

Platinum Member
Looking at it again..

It looks like a first generation (with the mount and legs on the front part of the kick) Hip Gig Jr. model with its 16'' size. The laquer looks stripped and a strange mount (no Yamaha part) attached to the bottom. It also looks like the carrying handle is switched to the bottom and there were two support brackets attached to it (this is a thing one would only see at the bigger 18'' Sr. version)

This is a first gen model:
jhkgt0secndus794nuef.jpg
 
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D

Dutch

Senior Member
Thanks for the input and I'm confused by the positioning of the brackets and handle as well. But also: unlike the kit in your pic there is no reference to Rick Marotta, this is a different model. Very different lugs on the tom as well.

Cheers,

Dutch
 
TheDrummerFromAmsterdam

TheDrummerFromAmsterdam

Platinum Member
Its strange indeed, because the number says 16'' kick, but everything (the lugs, the two supportbrackets) screems Sr. (but that means 18'' kick)

I know they made some custom versions of it, but that big chuncky round off mount is not an original Yamaha part and has never been.
 
B

Blisco

Senior Member
The finish seems off to me. Not just the kick. I don't recall seeing a natural birch finish. Yellow was the original.

What if this is a Keller shell reproduction using some OEM parts?

Unless the deal is stoopid, I'd pass.
 
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drum4fun27302

Gold Member
I'd get it. I mean, someone would get into the trouble of duplicating yamaha tags that says exactly what it is (bd16hg and sd12hg)??

I had a rick marotta in red and looks pretty much the same except that handle and extra mount. I believe the handle was on the stool/hardware storage and not on the kick.

My best guess would be it is a hipgig yamaha made before they decided to out the rick marotta name on it.
 
B

Blisco

Senior Member
Never saw a blue one like that. And judging the kick shell finish on that, that natural one could very well be the real deal.

Still, if it's a prototype or limited edition, you might find the resale market poor. Kind of like building a custom kit with no badges/name.

I think you are wise to pass. For half that price, it might be worth a chance.
 
D

Dutch

Senior Member
Thanks for the input but I decided against it.. It looks like the two halves of the bassdrum belong to different versions (it now has two tom mounts on top) and the kit is also incomplete: the 10" tom is missing.

I like to try out kits and pass them on after a while and moving it may be difficult with this one.

Cheers,

Dutch
 
vtec

vtec

Member
Ok, maybe dumb question about Rick Marrotta Hipgigs. I think they stopped making them in 2011 but when was the first year? I can't seem to find any info on the dates anywhere. And how long were the first generation models made? I had one first gen, and own to later models, one of which has the turning latches for the throne, spring typed for the bass drum, the other is all spring type latches.
 
RickP

RickP

Gold Member
I previously owned a Yellow Hip Gig kit, really wanted to like it but found too many issues with it for my taste and soon sold it. I ended up replacing it with a Whitney Nesting Penguin 16 kit that IMHO is the bear perfect nesting kit.

Issues I had with the Yamaha Hip gig :
Very heavy when nested
Tom and snare positioning was clunky at best and I could not position the snare and Toms where I wanted them .
Cymbals could also not be positioned exactly how I wanted them.
The Tom sounded really nice , the snare not so much.
I tried a number of head combinations trying to get an acceptable bass drum sound. I ended up with an Evans Hydraulic on the batter side.
The padding on the throne is not very firm and flattens out quickly.

Advantages of the Whitney
Very lightweight - entire kit nested weighs less than 40 lbs.
The Quickstand is very well engineered.
Tom and cymbal positioning is excellent.
They sound great. Toms, bass and snare are all equally good.
 
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