That honey amber finish is really striking. Everything about the Stage Custom looks really classy and understated, and while there are a few details that betray their cost, I think they have it where it counts. Getting a good discount makes a nice kit even better. Congrats!
Beautiful kit.Just bumping this thread because of a comment on another current thread about SC bearing edges.
The edges are just about as perfect as a CNC machine can get them.
I'm sure there's not a lot (if any) fine hand sanding by humans after they're cut.
You can see very miniscule machine tool marks if you get up close and look really hard.
Those could be sanded out with 600 or finer grit if someone was really a perfectionist.
But it wouldn't affect the sound, because the shells are flat and true, and the edges are in the proper sector.
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There was another comment about the finish. The finish is flawless, as you would expect from a
no touch, climate controlled, automated process. I'm very happy with the finish and have absolutely no complaints about it.
The last comment I wanted to address was about the chrome. I haven't really seen what I would consider exceptional chroming
since about the 1970's or so, when environmental regulations went into effect.
The chrome on the Stage Customs is not the best, but it's acceptable. Look closely enough and you can see slight,
unpolished, tool marks beneath the thin chrome in some areas. This is standard on lower cost drums.
I have seen a lot better chrome on higher cost kits, but that's to be expected.
I would think that it's an acceptable trade-off for the lower cost of the kit.
Anyways, I figured it might be better to put these comments here, rather than cluttering up another thread with them.
12x8 and 13x9 are actually true traditional sizes - that’s what attracts a guy like me to them. The 10 being 7 deep is a relatively new idea because a 10” tom was also 8” deep. The 16” floor Tom being only 15” deep is a new thing, but makes sense against the 18x16 floor Tom. I think Yamaha just took to the “1-inch less” idea applied around the 12x8 and 13x9 toms.Why are the toms 1inch less than the traditional sizes of today on those drums?
Can't go wrong if Dave likes themSeems like this thread might be an appropriate place to post this clip of Dave Weckl interrupting his review of his own Sabian HHX Evolution cymbal line to heap praise on the Stage Customs:
That has to do with the lugs.I feel they are about as good as it gets, given their price. Good workhorse drums, been using one for several gigs last year, got great feedback from every sound engineer I've worked with. The only thing that bothers me about it is 1,6mm hoops, when played hard, rods has a tendency to get loose near the place I hit and I have to re-tighten them more often than on high end kits with 2,3mm or Die-Cast. This is under very heavy playing though (metal, no triggers) so I guess it's not a big problem for most drummers... There is not many kits in that price range, if any, that has better hoops so it's not a dig at Stage Customs, really.
I feel they are about as good as it gets, given their price. Good workhorse drums, been using one for several gigs last year, got great feedback from every sound engineer I've worked with. The only thing that bothers me about it is 1,6mm hoops, when played hard, rods has a tendency to get loose near the place I hit and I have to re-tighten them more often than on high end kits with 2,3mm or Die-Cast. This is under very heavy playing though (metal, no triggers) so I guess it's not a big problem for most drummers... There is not many kits in that price range, if any, that has better hoops so it's not a dig at Stage Customs, really.
I think this would only be a problem for snare drums. For the occasional rim shots on the toms, I think you’d be fine?This seems to be the biggest “complaint” of the Stage Customs. So, serious question - wouldn’t adding those DW rimshot locs, Tama tension locks or something similar solve that problem? If so, I may get them for my SC.