Yamaha Oak Custom

[ed4644]

I've had a stage custom for a little over 7 years, and no problem with the YESS system. This is partially the reason why I want to stick with yamaha...oh yeah they sound great too.

-Ed

[likedachuch]

i remember talking to joe testa of yamaha at a clinic in pasadena few years back and i mentioned the same thing (my concerns) about the YESS system. he's told me that they'd never had any returns in all the years of implementing the yess system. yet, i still opt for floor toms starting from 14" on up. i guess it's a psycological thing.

on a side note, does anyone else hate the fact that they moved the wing nut over to the side, on their boom stands? you know where the angle and height adjustment of the boom arm were controled by wing nuts opposite eachother? now they put one on the side so when i try to just swing the arm the other way, the dang wing nut's there! what a design flaw. all they needed to do was put a memory clamp with a small notch on that round axle and it would've been perfect. now they have that logo there instead. i still think they have the best grade metal for all their hardwared.

[Daniel LeClaire]

I have Maple Customs and use to have a set of Beech Customs and have never had a problem with the YESS mounts. I like the YESS mounts over any other mount I've tried. They seem a lot more adjustable than the other manufacturers.

I've never really got the whole RIMS thing. Do you really think there would be a discernable tonal difference? If there was a small difference wouldn't it just get lost in the band mix?

[erskoman]

I say "yes" to YESS.

PE

[mja61]

I bought the new, authentic RIMS for my 10" and 12" toms last year. They make the toms sound just like they do if you suspend them from your thumb and forefinger. The problem is that my 12" sounds great when suspended, but the 10" sounds only marginally better than with the old shell-mount bracket. So, the RIMS do exactly what Gary Gauger claims...they don't "supercharge" a drum that is flat or dead sounding (like my 10" tom).

Some thoughts:

- The do tend to reduce cross-talk between different drums.

- The authentic RIMS are a pain in dupa, however. You have to make sure the collar closely follows the contour of the hoop/shell so that the RIMS mount does not put any "inward" or "outward pressure on the drum, which would severly choke it. Also, you have to line up the movable links right to where the tension rods are (for the same reason).

- And....you need two assistants and a full repertoire of curse words when changing the batter heads. [img]mad.gif[/img]

It's not impossible, and it's worth it for the sound improvement. Overall I'm happy with them.

It would be neat to take a heavily-used, 10-year old Yamaha 16" floor tom with YESS mounts, and give it a detailed screening for roundness, wood distortion and stress, etc. I will say that the YESS system seems to be the least cumbersome system of any I've seen.

I've had some ideas for the ultimate mounting system for a while....maybe I'll get to work on a prototype sometime this century. [img]eek.gif[/img]

Mitch G. (the guy that runs Bison drums) is not too far from me...I think I'm gonna bring that 10" in for an inspection. He really seems to know his stuff!

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ December 13, 2004 09:52 PM: Message edited by: mja61 ]</font>

[mja61]

I haven't played the Oak Customs, but I've heard nothing but great reviews....I'm definitely going to check them out when I get around to shopping for my next kit.

I can't find it, but on one of the threads, someone mentioned the YESS mounting system leaves something to be desired. It's a neat idea in the sense that it doesn't add the inconvenience of RIMS (like when changing heads), and doesn't force you to space the toms farther apart.

However....

I always thought that mounting the drum like that surely MUST put undue stress on the wood somehow or other over time, especially for a big 16" tom. Also, while it probably improves resonance, I can't believe it does as good a job as RIMS.

Any thoughts?

[likedachuch]

that's a cool ad. i looks like they're adding gloss finish with a smooth surface for them. i like the fact that they're making it available in nouveau style lugs. they look really high end. now if they would make some in wrap finishes.

[CLWarunki]

Yamaha make some great drums, with great endorsers and a great (recent) history.

The only thing that bothers me about them is the fact that they also make motorcycles, boats, keyboards, etc... Imagine if dw did this!!! I opt for drum companies that are 100% drums personally. I wonder though.. as an endorser of Yamaha drums if one would get a discount on their boats and/or bikes as well! [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Oh and their "Nouveu" lugs bug me too.

I am curious about the new Jimmy Chamberlin snare drum though...anyone try it?

[matricks]

The fact they are such a big corp did, i am sure, contributes to the problems with customer service that i have had. HOWEVER, that is a BIG HOWEVER, when i finally got in touch with the right man, who is THE MAN, it was all worth it. Dave (last name unable to spell but sounds like Syche... as in: cy-key), hooked it up ALL THE WAY. I had a double bass pedal problem, and since i am a lefty and pedals are all backwards, made it hard to get info on returning it. I actually was past warrenty, but Dave hooked it up. I hadn't even sent the pedals back yet and UPS shows up with the NEWER model on my doorstep. It was less than 4 days after i talked to Dave, when i received them, so that means they must have gone out the NEXT DAY after we talked... and they paid for all the shipping. Of all the wrong connections, due to a huge corporation, when i finally got in touch with the right guy... it was 110% worth it. A buddy of mine wanted to know about some custom questions as far as having them do things like stopping the production line, pulling a set off early and sending the drums without finishing lacquers... things like that. The Yamaha guy in the states had to send a properly worded email to Japan, so that is could be translated properly, then get it send back, translated again... it made it time consuming, but as i said, once you get the big corp, inherent problems, out of the way; i have heard nothing but good stories from all i have talked to.
Example: Guy i know had a set delivered to the store... opens it up, the 12" doesn't match the other toms, not even CLOSE to the color! Calls, Yamaha... two days later the regional rep shows up, sees the tom and calls in to have every 12" tom, in that color, in the nation shipped to that store. Within a week every tom shows up (it was surprizingly less than 10 toms in the nation!). The regional rep shows up again, apologizes, credits him something for the inconvenience and has a happy customer, therefore. No one has ever said 'no' to anything i have asked for, and they did everything before the expected deadline given to me... that to me is worth it, i would rather have that than an easy to get a hold of company that tells me 'no' when i have a problem.
Ah, but don't push it... i wouldn't ask for like 24k gold toms at no extra charge or anything [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[matricks]

Oh, and that was in response to what Chris said about the big corp... to ease his worries [img]wink.gif[/img]
Chris, those last two stories, the one about the producion line stop, and the store that got the funky colored drums... that is Mike Cota, so you can ask him so you know i am not making it up [img]wink.gif[/img] [img]tongue.gif[/img]