Buying new Yamaha drums, need input......

I got a set of Birch Absolutes in the vintage finish a few years ago, and I must say that I LOVE them. It seems like these drums can do about anything! Ihave worked through countless head combinations and they ALL sound great on these drums. I am currently enjoying the good old G2 on the top and G1 on the bottom combo. I have had tons of compliments on how great they sound. Birch Rocks! BTW I also have the Birch Gadd sig. snare. All of the above statements apply to this drum as well. Crazy thing is, No matter how I tune, This snare is practically designed not to buzz sympathetically. You guys have to check it out. Yamaha has always made me happy. (got my eye on those Gretsch renowns though!) Happy tuning!

BTW--Evans Emad Kick Head + Yam. Bass Drum= DEADLY kick drum sound!! just awesome for contemporary stuff.

Hey Tombo.....

If this dude has lotsa money, I'd go with the Gretsch Maple customs. That's the only thing that is keeping me from buying the Gretsch's.

As far as tom depth.... another drummer friend told me that the whole "powertom" concept produces the exact opposite effect of what you'd think. Supposedly, the shallow toms actually resonate more because the heads are closer together, whereas with a "powertom" they don't because they're father away.

I think the Birch toms with a Maple kick is probably the way I'll end up going. It's one of those "eenee, meenee, miney, moe" deals. Just close my eyes and hit the "send" button on the computer.... then I'll be committed.

If your guy is looking for a great Bass drum but along the same lines as DW with the toms, look into Pork Pie. They're right here in Canoga Park, and they're still small enough to give you that one on one personal service and killer workmanship. In my opinion, DW has become another mass produced product..... nice..... but it seems like everyone has them.

Hey Derek?? Does DW make their own shells or do they buy the Kellar shells and put their own stuff on them??

My dream kit??

A Pork pie 22x18 B.D.(killin machine!!), Gretsch gumwood toms, & Yamaha hardware.

DW makes their own shells and as I mentioned, I think they will even make custom ply configs for you. (without timbre matching)

Birch toms and maple kick would be GREAT! I also always use shallow toms though it seems to matter much less for the large drums. (if you like floor toms with legs I find the depth is not as big an issue on 14+ drums) My 8 and 10 toms are both 8" deep.

Actually on a 14" with legs in both a 14x12 verses a 14 squared there is a difference in depth of tone, I did a session not long ago where they just did not dig the 14x12, so I pulled the 14x14 and that was the sound they wanted.

yeah I was thinking 14x12 mounted vs. 14x14 w/legs.

I haven't heard a 14x12 with legs. which kit is that? The Pacific?

For what it is worth, I just got a DW kit (18X20 with a 8X20 bass drum woofer, 8X12 rack, and 14X14 floor tom on legs) and I am very happy with it. I did have the drums custom made with no timbre matching for the shells. Garrison, who is the artist relations manager at DW, put the kit together for me, so it is not your average kit you would purchase at Guitar Center, Sam Ash, etc...

There has been some talk about DW drums in our forums, and from what I gather, most here at HOD are not DW fans... Well, it is probably because Vinnie is a Gretsch player and used to be a Yamaha endorsee.... I too am guilty of being partial to those companies for that same reason, but I own kits made by all three companies and I have to say that DW builds a world class drum set and they sound amazing. Bar none, Gretsch drums are in a class of their own, but I had the worst experience dealing with them! Out of the box, my custom made Gretsch kit that cost $$$$$$$ took 8.5 months to get, every drum had to be sent to Drum Paradise to have the edges re-cut, and if that wasn't enough the 9X12 tom was completely out of round and had to sent back to the factory..... That took an additional 2 months. My Yamaha kit sounded great right out the box, no problems! I had the same experience with DW.

John, DW is also a very good alternative to Yamaha and of course the more expensive and problematic Gretsch option.

Good luck with you desicion!
Scott

Yeah, I had my Pacific floor toms made with legs. At this session I took that drum and an Ayotte 14x14, the Pacific was not deep enough in tone for the recording so we switched out the floor toms and sure enough adding those 2 kore inches gave the engineer what he wanted.
That's not to say i don't like the 14x12 for I use it all the time.

I knew I could always rely on the great experience and input of you guys. Thanks alot for the input.

Well.. I did it. I ordered 8,10,12,13, (std depths) & 14,15,16 Toms (in power sizes) and a 22x18 and a 20x18 B.D.(for Bebop stuff) All in the Maple Absolute Neuveaux in Cherry Wine. I'll hear back from them if I can get the suspended floors in the Floor tom depths (12" vs. 14") and have the rims stuff put on them.

I figure with this many drums, I should be covered to do any kind of gig/music that calls for a certain "sound". The only bummer is that it'll take 3-4 months to get the drums.

I'm excited!!!!

Thanks again guys

ps... Randy... I did the same thing with my Peral Birch kit, which is just as big as the Yammy kit I'm ordering. I swapped out the 14x12 I used to the left of my High Hats to the 14x14 I have and it shakes the ground with low frequency!! Really cool when your doing snare/Dbl. B.D./floor toms licks. Gives you this thunderous sound. [img]graemlins/rain.gif[/img]

pss... hey Derek?? Do you know Dave Karisony?? He spent alot of time with DW back when he 1st started to get going. His comment about the timbre matching was kind of luke warm. He felt he didn't hear any difference between a kit that had the shells acoustically matched vs ones that didnt. Not that I've ever got to compare the two. Have you?? What are you feelings about that??

psss..... Lorenzini. That sucks you had such a bad experience with Gretsch, but I've heard similar stories from others too. And the funny thing about those Jasper shells, according to Karisony's dad, is that they are not all that well made!!?? I guess because Jasper is actually a furniture company and not a drum maker, they weren't too concerned about concentricity. It was kind of a hit or miss thing with the shells. But it's still amazing the sound they give considering?? Probably something to do with that "gumwood"?? I just cant stand the hardware. It just plain sucks.

I don't know Dave. I have heard 2 kits that were not timbre matched and thought they sounded better than the kit I had at the time. (long since sold)

man, on the Yammies, I'm totally JEALOUS. New drums are the best. Personally, though all my kits are hanging floors I wish they all had legs. I'm totally sick of having to have a stand and they're a bitch to reposition. Also, RIMS floor baskets are TOTAL ass. I've got a 14 and 16 of the newest series that I need to unload if you want them but otherwise, take my advice and have legs put on.

Pics when they arrive!

Derek..... I can't get floor tom legs to sit high enough as to where I feel comfortable playing.

Did you have trouble using the suspended floors with Yamaha hardware?? Because I think Yammys hardware is soooooo easy to adjust on the fly. Are those rims your selling Yamaha Y.E.S.S.??

The second reason I like using the stands (especially w/susp. floors) is because of the Yamaha "triple mount". It allows me to combine many things onto one stand.

With my current kit, I have one stand off to the left of my B.D that has my L.tom, and 2 cymbal stands, one stand off to the right of my B.D. that holds my R.tom, and 2 crashes, and another stand farther off to the right that holds my R.Susp Floor, Ride and another crash. I use a snare stand for the floor off to the left of H.H., but if room does not allow, I don't use it. But with this set up, it makes for easy tear downs and is quite compact for as many cymblas and drums that I use.

I can't wait either!!!

ps.... Randy?? On the floors you mentioned?? Were the 14x12 and 14x14 on legs or stands?? And have you heard any sound difference in regards to using either or??

Thanks again guys!!