Yamaha Recording customs

kjaer84

Junior Member
Hi,

I'm new here at this forum

I'm considering a 2012 Yamaha Recording Custom (Japan) 12x10", 13x11" , 16x16" and 22x16"

It's a demo from a store

They are asking 1900 $

Is it worth the price?
 
Re: Yamaha Recording Custom

Snap it up. Probably the easiest quality kit to get a great sound out of. I am poor at tuning but I found it a doddle to dial in to what I wanted. They can sound like a miced up professionally processed kit, even when they are not. If that is what you want. Wish I had never sold mine.
 
Re: Yamaha Recording Custom

Can not go wrong with one of the most recorded kits out there. They sound amazing and that price isn't bad at all
 
Re: Yamaha Recording Custom

I have one. Beautiful kit's. The one that I will never sell :)

Get it bought.
 
Great kits, but I think you can do better in price and sizes. Because with these you probably will end up selling them again. Not for the sound (because that is, well.. sound) but the sizes.

Price wise, I wanted to get a 18x14 bass drum add-on to my existing kit and the best quote I got was 1650$cad (roughly 1300$usd) before taxes.

So if they are in good shape and you like the sizes, it seems like a fair deal.

Needless to say I am not buying the bass drum at that price, I'll just get a nice bop kit down the road.
 
Great kits, but I think you can do better in price and sizes. Because with these you probably will end up selling them again. Not for the sound (because that is, well.. sound) but the sizes.

What sizes would you prefer then?

Any advantages with a japanese set vs new chinese set?
 
What sizes would you prefer then?

Any advantages with a japanese set vs new chinese set?

Sizes preferences are up to you. If you are or will be happy with 12/13/16, then fine.

The new Chinese kits are fantastic. They are more-or-less the same. Couple differences in the design of the hardware, but that's about it.

I own a late 80's set of Japanese RC's. 10/12/14/16/22. I will take this to my grave!!
I've only taken it out on one gig, I use it at my studio for my own daily practice and typically only bring it out for recording sessions. It's never had issue in the studio, and the vast majority of recordings I've used it on producers stay hands off with the sounds. Little to no EQing, no sound replacing. It's almost always left natural because they just already sound dialed in.
 
Great kits, but I think you can do better in price and sizes. Because with these you probably will end up selling them again. Not for the sound (because that is, well.. sound) but the sizes.

Nothing wrong with the sizes. Mine are the same as these with an added 10" tom. I love them :)
 
Get them! My favorite kit ever. If they're black and you want an 8x8 Tom, I'll have one for sale in the next week!

Seriously just get them. One of the most iconic kits there is.
 
What sizes would you prefer then?

Any advantages with a japanese set vs new chinese set?

Those toms are a bit on the deep side, which will mean that they sit high. If you like power toms, go for it.

The new Chinese Recording Customs sound better as far as I'm concerned, and I've owned Recording Customs from both the early era (mid-80s) as well as more recent (2010). The new ones have a bit more low-mids and the bass drums are much beefier.
 
My apologies. I was talking about the depth sizes. The diameter is perfect. But the depth is not really modern. Unless you dig toms high up there, are very tall or just in the 80's style.

Considering those depth sizes and that they are used (a demo is used too) the price is to high.

But if they are love at first sight, get them!

The new RC's have more presence/balls from a players perspective (something I've always missed in the older ones and I owned a fair share of them in all shapes and sizes) but I know some other drummers swear by one of the several older ones Yamaha has made (they changed a bit regarding bearing edges over time)
 
My apologies. I was talking about the depth sizes. The diameter is perfect. But the depth is not really modern. Unless you dig toms high up there, are very tall or just in the 80's style.

Considering those depth sizes and that they are used (a demo is used too) the price is to high.

But if they are love at first sight, get them!

The new RC's have more presence/balls from a players perspective (something I've always missed in the older ones and I owned a fair share of them in all shapes and sizes) but I know some other drummers swear by one of the several older ones Yamaha has made (they changed a bit regarding bearing edges over time)

What is a fair price then?
 
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I've owned 2 different RCs. The first I had was a 1983 kit and it sounded awesome. Then it all got stolen except for a 12" tom and a 16" floor tom. I ended up buying 3 more matching toms for it and a gretsch bass drum to go with it. Probably the best sounding toms ever made imo

You should consider a few things when you buy these drums though. I've found that if you buy each drum individually, you can find really good prices for them. And the finishes Yamaha uses will usually always match pretty well between individual drums, especially if you go with black which is really easy to find used. Plus if you went this route you'd be able to pick the exact sizes and depths of each drum. Maybe you should look into how much it would cost piece together a used kit.

Another thing is that you might want to compare the bass drum to other bass drums. It sounds weird, but a lot of professionals will use RC toms with a different bass drum. I've heard of pros using a maple custom bass, or I've heard of one using a PHX bass. They've said that the don't like the sound of birch that much in the bass drum and like the sound of other woods better. I have an old gretsch bass drum that I put recording custom lugs on. Unless you see the gretsch badge on it you wouldn't be able to tell it wasn't a Yamaha RC bass, so it matches my kit perfectly, but it sounds better imo. Nothing is wrong with the RC bass, just I think other bass drums sound better to me.

Another thing that you might need to know if you're looking into RCs are that the newer Chinese kits and the older Japanese kits are not the same. Different wood is used and it is made in a different factory, so they sound different. Whether one is better, worse, or very similar to each other I'm not sure because I haven't played a new one yet. Just keep that in mind when you are looking into it.

The last thing I want to say is, I think the price is a little high. I've seen RC kits owned by professionals that were only about 30% more. I saw a Steve Jordan RC kit from the 70s with a beautiful sunburst finish that was pretty close to that price, and I saw two kits go for sale on reverb.com by a drummer who's name I can remember. I think it was Russ something? Both had custom finishes and sizes and they were way bigger kits but not too much more than what this guy is asking. I think a sunburst kit is for sale in the classifieds on the site for less than the kit your talking about.

Sorry for the long post, I just really like these drums and I want you to get the exact kit you want. Compare sound and price and find the kit that works the best to you
 
Thanks for all Your response

Definitely some useful advice

The price is now 1750 $ and it's only 10 miles away (no shippingcosts) - so I'm still considering the deal........
 
I had the same exact size set, for 3-4 months. I felt like a little kid behind it and never got comfortable, couldn't wait to get rid of it. The 12 tom is OK but that 13 is one big tom to hang in front of you. I just couldn't get used to it. I have a 1983 RC in cherry wood 10, 12, 14, 22 (not YESS mounts) in nearly perfect condition that I may be selling soon for around that price range.
 
A couple of years ago I purchased a RC an old 80's one cherry finish 8x8 10x10 12x10 14x12 15x12 20x16 second hand for 1100 it has some scuffs but from 3 feet away it looks great. I mostly use the 10 12 15 20 set up. I have owned played and gigged a lot of high end kits and I must say that these kits were built to work. they are not fancy or over engineered they are functional not even the most wow sounding more a controlled well behaved pre eqd sound but so consistent room to room a dw might sound better tuned well but will wreck your head with over tones and tuning room to room RC are easy to tune and knock a sound out of even in a bad room. I prefer toms mounted on kick as it feels sturdy and like a unit and faster to set up and tear down. I was also unsure about the 10x10 but it is the best ten tom ever also a six lug which is good so full sounding as tens can lack. people say that the kicks lack i don't think so I changed the reso for eq3 and it sounds great so punchy. I also like the pre yess as rims systems are pain in the ass and unnecessary on the pre yess there are points along the hex arm that choke resonance but there are sweet spots too and it is unobtrusive simple and sturdy. As I mentioned I have a few kits but always fall back on the RC for gigging as it plays ball and gives no hassle a true work horse!
 
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Thanks for all Your response

Definitely some useful advice

The price is now 1750 $ and it's only 10 miles away (no shippingcosts) - so I'm still considering the deal........

What color is it? If you want to add or replace some tom, or re-sale the kit, the color may make a huge difference on the price.

Black is a classic, should be easy to find and will sell quick.
The red is beautiful, but more rare.
I love the real wood, but these can be really tricky to find (but matches well with the new Chinese version).
I'd stay off the white.
 
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