Yamaha Stage Custom Advantage for Worship

[CTater]

Hey all, new member here. I recently acquired a Yamaha Stage Custom Advantage from a local production company. It needs a lot of work, finding (tension rods, adding on a floor tom, and new heads) but I want to know how they sound, especially in a church setting. The music we play is mostly Passion, Elevation Worship, etc. Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[harryconway]

What type of heads you put on that kit are gonna greatly affect its sound. Those are birch shells. And typically, birch is a little brighter than maple. Yamaha called birch the 'recording' wood, focused and punchy, 'pre-eq'd' ....

Coated heads will add warmth .... clear heads will accentuate attack/brightness. And then, you can go from single ply (wide open) heads, like the Remo Ambassador ..... to a pre-muffled head, like the Remo Pinstripe.

Also, are the drums going to be mic'd? Behind a sound shield? All parts of the equation. But they certainly are up to the task. A lot of Stage Customs (and birch drums in general) in churches.

 

[CTater]

What type of heads you put on that kit are gonna greatly affect its sound. Those are birch shells. And typically, birch is a little brighter than maple. Yamaha called birch the 'recording' wood, focused and punchy, 'pre-eq'd' ....

Coated heads will add warmth .... clear heads will accentuate attack/brightness. And then, you can go from single ply (wide open) heads, like the Remo Ambassador ..... to a pre-muffled head, like the Remo Pinstripe.

Also, are the drums going to be mic'd? Behind a sound shield? All parts of the equation. But they certainly are up to the task. A lot of Stage Customs (and birch drums in general) in churches.

I have coated Emperors for the heads and the drums will be mic‘d and we are working on creating some DIY shy baffles for them.

 

[yammyfan]

Those are birch shells. And typically, birch is a little brighter than maple. Yamaha called birch the 'recording' wood, focused and punchy, 'pre-eq'd' ....

Also, are the drums going to be mic'd? Behind a sound shield? All parts of the equation. But they certainly are up to the task. A lot of Stage Customs (and birch drums in general) in churches.

Only the single outer ply is birch but they're still great sounding drums. They're constructed from Falkata and Philippine Mahogany.

I use Remo Pinstripes (clear) on everything including my 2nd generation Stage Customs, like these. They're the most versatile heads I've tried to date and I've tried most of 'em.

 

[harryconway]

Only the single outer ply is birch but they're still great sounding drums. They're constructed from Falkata and Philippine Mahogany.

I use Remo Pinstripes (clear) on everything including my 2nd generation Stage Customs, like these.

OK. My bad. So these are pre-100% birch shells. Nothing wrong with a mixed wood shell. Especially from Yamaha.

I have coated Emperors for the heads and the drums will be mic‘d and we are working on creating some DIY shy baffles for them.

Well, coated Emperors is a good place to start. I use those heads on a few of my kits, for that warm, vintage tone.

 

[yammyfan]

Nothing wrong with a mixed wood shell. Especially from Yamaha.

Amen to that!

I think that most of us agree that heads, bearing edges and tuning make more of a difference to a drum's sound than its composition. Hoops and lugs matter more, it seems to me.

Coated Emperors are good heads too. They were my go-to heads before I rediscovered Pinstripes.

 

[gdmoore28]

I had a set of the long-lug Stage Customs (the noted falkata/birch shells) and didn't care for the sound quality at all. Tried several models of Remo and Evans heads, but could never cure their thin, boxy sound.

If they are going to be miked, though, I think you should be able to make them sound their best with Emperor's over Ambassadors.

GeeDeeEmm