Yamaha's mighty oak: Shane called it right

Scott · Newbie Joined: Mar 10, 2006 Posts: 21

Ok, there I was...still partially jet lagged, I drove some 220 miles to the drum shop on Monday the 7th.

It was like the gates of Valhalla opening, sans the angels heralding entrance with trumpets. I had never been to a 5-star shop before.

I fiddled around and tried:
Mapex saturn and orion (nice finish BTW)
Sonor delite (warm)
DW collectors (warm and expensive)
DDrum diode acrylic (loud but soulless IMO)
Yamaha maple and birch nouveau (nice like sonor)

The drums that impressed me most:
1) Pearl reference. These almost got my vote. I certainly thought they had the others beat with the complex sound and power.

2) Yamaha oak custom. At first, they lagged the reference because they seemed to lack midrange. The oak were heart-stoppingly loud and cutting. the 24" kick drum was a lease-breaking titan. I almost walked away...except: I asked Chris to please swap one of the Yamaha clear ambassadors with a coated amb or emperor. The 12" was swapped out with a coated amb. It made a *startling* difference. This wasn't some subtle foo-foo hard to discern change. It was like the heavy sonors of days gone by. The drumhead made a world of difference. The 12" cannon was now much more dimensional and warm. Here is the yamaha oak kit as I see it:

- Eye-watering power. Best kick drum of any kind. Bonzo would have begged for this kit. it would have made him forget the vistalite and maple Ludwigs.

- Brutal attack: The drums cut through anything.

- Tight focus (like birch custom)

- Very clean tone, with delightfully few overtones.

- CRISP and powerful snare drum.

- Immaculate construction and fine furniture finishes.

These left no doubt that the oak custom are my favorite wood drums, period. IMO, they can be used for jazz (thanks to tuning range) to metal (thanks to raw power) It was great to have my umpteen questions answered in just a few hours. Oak will be my choice. And oh yeah, the honey amber has my vote!!!

Shane was not kidding. The oak simply own!

Post note: remo smooth white emperors were recommended.

Slice847 · Newbie Joined: Jun 25, 2006 Posts: 4

The oak customs are awesome. An extremely punchy and powerful drum, yet with a very soft and nice decay.

I just wish Shane would sell me the 10" and 12" oak customs toms he has in matte badlands!!!

Scott · Newbie Joined: Mar 10, 2006 Posts: 21

I was told that the last of the brown colored drums sold, and yamaha discontinued (r.i.p.) the blue ridge.

I will not bother with sparkle or black, as I feel that those finishes obscure the *awesome* oak wood grain.

Pictures cannot do it justice but...

I got to try a honey amber kit this week. I was floored. It was like any high end Gretsch, Brady or DW exotic finish. The grain swirled under a glassy finish that looked like liquid honey over oak.

The 14x5.5" snare is like my 13x6.5 but with more bottom end and projection. It's got to be in the top 3 best wood snares of all time.

I am going with the following setup:

8,10,12,13,14, 16 rack and 18" floor tom with 24"x 17" kick and 14x5.5 snare.

I'll have to try a flying dragon solid link double pedal as well.

These drums sound just like they do on Akira Jimbo and Keith Carlock's recording. Just a tap brings out rich tone, and a heavy hit will rattle teeth. Cool

Slice847 · Newbie Joined: Jun 25, 2006 Posts: 4

The matte finishes are still available by special order.

Scott · Newbie Joined: Mar 10, 2006 Posts: 21

Matt badlands and the others are quite nice. The more I have looked at it, the more the honey amber has just grown on me. It showcases the wood grain, and the lacquer gives it a nice sheen that matt finishes lack.

But... Yamaha does such a spectacular job with the drum finishes there is not a bad one in the bunch.

The odd man out is Mapex Orion, which has a spectacular burl finish at a much lower price than Sonor or DW.

Incidentally, PDP and RMV are quite underwhelming quality-wise.

Shane · Newbie Joined: Feb 13, 2004 Posts: 191

Go oak. If I were to buy any kit on the floor, it would be that habanero sparkle oak kit. I love it.

Scott · Newbie Joined: Mar 10, 2006 Posts: 21

That is a nice looking kit. Sounds great as well.

For me personally, I am after a woodgrain finish, and that 24" kick.

I tried that "offset" pedal, it's not bad.

No one seemed overly crazy about the v-1 detonator or the flying dragon. Though, I do like the solid connection.