What's with old school dudes and Yamaha?

Roy haynes

Jabo Starks

Clyde Stubblefield

Freddie Gruber

And about a billion jazz dudes.

These guys grew up with the "great American brands" and here they are playing Yamaha.

What am i missing about Yamaha?

Might i mention my hands on experience is only that of Stage Customs and Oak Customs.

They make good stuff, and give them sponsorship is my guess...

I don't know, I haven't got to try out their high end stuff either. But I do know Peter Erskine was with Yamaha for many years and switched to DW a couple years ago.

They make good drums. Once the phx line really gets rolling, everyone will probably play them.

the {censored} holds up.

If you lived closer, I'd let you'd play my Recording Customs... All your questions would be answered immediately.

... And drummers endorse drums, not the other way around. (Although, I'm sure even this golden age rule has been broken for free {censored})

But I'd still love to have a set of Vintage Ludwig/Gretsch/Slingerland in my collection.

My next high end kit is going to be a Ludwig Classic Maple...

old school dudes play ludwigs and rogers

Recording customs, any of the absolute series, maple customs... man sit at high end yamaha kit and everything makes sense. If I'm going to shell out a few grand for a kit, I'm getting maple custom absolutes.

You know yamaha is like this with many other things too....guitars etc...

They aren't the first name people think of when they think of the best of the best....say sonor DW etc....but in the end their high end stuff is basically as good as anyone else.

I personally think there is just a very slight stigma attached to their name for some reason. Maybe cause they make so much different stuff people couldn't possibly think they could make the best of any ONE thing...I don't know.

Yamaha should have full blown department stores like Sears. Have a huge music section, then in the next room 4 wheelers.

it's cause the Japanese know how to make good quality gear. period. I have owned two of what i would consider higher end kits: a DW collectors and this yamaha oak custom. And I can proudly say that I would rather play the oaks than a set of DW's. To me, they are punchier, louder, they get the tone that I like, and aren't as picky when it comes to heads. the 20" yamaha blows away the dw kick. I also feel that Yamaha has got it right with their pricing. I would rather pay the 3500 for an 8pc lacquer sparkle finish yamaha than a 5pc sparkle wrap dw for the same price. (on ebay now)

DW is just too expensive and overhyped, IMO.

just my 2cents.

Big company, extensive artist relation/development program, they've done the ground work spreading it around.

Well, it's not as if the company decided one day that they wanted to make more money, so they figured they'd make some drums. They've been making drums for a long time and are damn good at it.

There's no doubt Yamaha musical instruments are of high quality but I could never envision myself sitting behind a drum set displaying a logo of a corporation that since day one has always been associate with combustible type transportation, Maybe I've been out the music to long,but I do remember wrenching on Yamaha snowmobile engines in the early seventies not a drum set:lol:

I'll always regret selling my Maple Customs (original, not absolute). The kick drum on that thing was the fart of god and the whole kit tuned itself. 12 years of hard gigging and I sold it for a couple hundred less than I paid for it (used).

Their recording custom kits are awesome, their entry level kits are great for the money, and their hardware is second to none. Compared to DW, the QC consistency is night and day while not charging the world for it.

I know what ya mean. When i first took home my sunlite kit back in 7th grade and wanted to upgrade the snare, i thought "Yamaha?!?!! They made my moms stereo and my neighbors motorcycle, they don't do drums! Pfft!"

I was a dumb child as you can tell.

Coupla Triumps, Yamahas, D.M.Zs.

Kawasakis!

Pursangs!

Swedish fireballs!

Many folks don't know this, but Yamaha has been making musical instruments for well over 100 years. (did you notice their logo is three tuning forks?) I have a Yamaha classical guitar that I'd put up against ANY other. It's just an amazing piece of art.

Put a different Reso Head On... :poke:

c'mon, just tell me you wouldn't hit that

Oh hai...

i love my oak custom 22 14 12 13 16 18.

but its VERY loud, so i wouldn't mind a dw collectors in fusion sizes for something a little less more timid.

Number one, Yamaha makes good gear. Number two, IMO the older you get, the less you want to hassle with tuning freakin drums, you just want to play. For some reason it's been my experience that Yamaha drums are easy to tune and they stay in tune and they seem to sound good even if you don't know how to tune. If they were only lighter and easier on the back for the rest home gigs, then they would be the ultimate old dude's drums. I hear they are developing a wheel chair throne.

Coupla Triumps, Yamahas, D.M.Zs. Kawasakis! Pursangs! Swedish fireballs!

:thu:

LOL!

So true.

Same with Misubishi.

Cars in one room, TV's in the next...

I used to play a Yamaha HipGig Jr. It was great - cheap kit, sounded awesome, and everybody loved to play it. I purchased their 5.5" x 14" copper snare, and it really is beautiful. Sounds warm, resonates nicely, and is loud or soft, depending on how I play it - it's a very dynamic drum. Their hardware is excellent. I prefer the sound of my Gretsch drums, but the Yamaha's sound superb in their own right. Not a bad music company at all.

c'mon, just tell me you wouldn't hit that

Just goes to show you,I had no idea Yamaha has been making quality instruments for over a hundred years:facepalm: but you might be able to bait me in hitting your beautiful snare:lol: What model and year is it? I think it's great that Yamaha adventured out of the box to bring some exotic wood flavored shells to the market rather than the norm of maple and birch.