£700 vs £3000 Drum Kit - Blind Sound Test RESULTS!
Вставка
- Опубліковано 28 січ 2023
- Last week we asked you guys to take a listen to 2 kits: a £700 Yamaha Stage Custom and a £3000 Yamaha Absolute Hybrid Maple. The only trick is, you couldn't see which was which! Well today, we put a name and price to the sound...
See Part 1 here: • £700 vs £3000 Drum Kit...
How many of you guessed correctly? And the big question: does the sound reflect the price difference? Give us your thoughts down in the comments!
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For more in-depth lessons on all things drumming, check out our site where you can explore full-length lesson packs! - drum.dog
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Gear Featured:
Yamaha Absolute Hybrid Maple - 20, 10, 12, 14, 16"
Yamaha Stage Custom (All Birch) - 22, 10, 12, 14, 16"
Tama Starclassic G Copper Snare - 14x5.5"
Meinl Byzance 15" Dual Hats
Meinl Extra Dry 19" Thin Crash
Murat Diril 21" Mosaic Ride
Istanbul Agop 22" Dark Thin Crash
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I play a dw kit, every time I hear a stage custom I wonder why I own such an expensive kit. The stage custom are an astonishing kit.
This is straight fact brotha;) the pdp concept maple (European maple new version) sounds as'good'as performance and collector kit.
Also With a stage custom we can do everything very versatile drums. Cheap drums are professional drums these days. Except I don't like tama, until i was a kid i didn't liked Tama.
It absolutely is an astonishingly good kit! I love mine, and the steel snare too. Multiple thumbs up. My vintage Recording Customs can rest easy at home or at select studio sessions now, although I really think the Stage Customs will do just as well under close micing.
WOW! I was totally wrong and now I am even more impressed with the Stage Customs! Excellent video!!
Well I'll be damned!! I genuinely preferred the sound of the Stage Custom and really thought it was the Absolute Hybrid Maple when listening blind. It has more tone and resonance to my ears, which is what I like from a kit. I think in hindsight, there are 3 things about the Stage Custom which likely contributed to it being my preferred sound. It had the deeper toms, the triple flanged hoops and the 22" bass drum - all things which are my preferences when choosing a kit. I think it goes to show that it's all very well getting a kit with expensive shells but the actual dimensions of the shells possibly ends up determining the sound more than the wood itself. Very interesting experiment!!
What you said makes perfect sense. The physics of drum tone is far more relative to the diameter of the plastic membranes you hit than the type of wood that the cylinders are made from. Following that, the mass of the shells is somewhat important, then perhaps the density of the material from which the shells are made. Yet, in order to sell higher priced kits, drum manufacturers spend a great deal of time educating you on the nuances of the plywood shells - DW being the biggest culprit. Having said that, I own two DW kits! Guilty.
Yamaha should pay you. What a great video
I have played a Stage Custom for three years and am very happy with it. So why am I looking to upgrade? Simply to have a beautiful, custom kit that I am super proud of every time I look at it. To me, that's worth paying a little more to enjoy my hobby.
Did you get another kit yet? I just got my yamaha custom stage kit. And personally it's stunning looking in classic white, with a couple add ons making it a 7 piece beauty I have to look at when I pass by.
@@T.Maximus No, but I did upgrade the snare to a Ludwig Black Beauty.
@@bacbladerunner 👍👍
@@bacbladerunner I want to have a 2nd kit, a mapex saturn possibly for the maple, and keep the yamaha for my birch kit...but the saturn is pricey.
@@T.Maximus Sorry Sir. I own two Saturn kits and I´m thinking of purchasing a thirth one this days (I'm looking at Yamahas also). The Saturn are fantastic drums for the price, and they sound great! But they are no maple kits. You have Yamaha Tour and Tama Imperial (I think) at medium priced kits for this purpose... (I'm also proud of being using Saturns since 1990 and lots of Mapex snares that I'm using to this date.)
Every time I hear a Stage Custom demo, I'm blown away by how good they sound and how relatively inexpensive they are! In 2010 I bought a Pearl Vision Birch 5pc(incl. Snare) for $650! Did plenty of gigs with it. With lower priced kits, I think getting better heads, and being able to tune them has a lot to do with getting a good sound out of them. Being a decent player helps too of course.
Pearl vision birch 5 pieces for 650!!! you're lucky mate
As a proud owner of a Yamaha Maple Custom kit, I loved this. I did guess correctly & very much preferred the Yamaha Stage Custom's over the Maple here. For the price, ($800 US) you can't beat them! I'd gig with them any day of the week.
A solid mid-level name-brand kit with upgraded heads makes for a solid rehearsal/ club gigging kit.
Invest in a sweet collection of legit cymbals!! 🎶🎵
I got it right, but it definitely wasn't obvious. They both sound fantastic
From the test,I wasn't going to deem one more expensive, just that one sounded better overall. I thought kit B was better, but have to admit that if I listened to the test video with audio only and not looking at the screen with a relaxed ear to the entire comparison...... for the most part it was impossibile to even distinguish between which one was being demoed. Amazing the huge price difference versus not much difference in sound, if any for most of it. Anyone who thinks otherwise, try skipping around the test vid randomly without looking at the screen.....and you won't know which kit for sure without verifying it on the screen. Thanks for posting guys, mission accomplished without question - considering these 2 kits have identical mounting/setup hardware, its a waste of $$$$$ all around to pay 3 or 4 times as much.
Got it wrong! The stage customs sound fantastic! Thanks for the great video. You put a lot of work into these👍🥁🥁
I've seen Jonathan Pinson, Will Kennedy, Eric Harland, Brian Blade, Vinnie Colaiuta, Dave Weckl, Jimmy McBride who played on yamaha stage custom and they loved this kit.
Well that's me buying a Stage Custom, then.
Thanks for the video, guys.
Crazy! I definitely thought A was the AHM and that B was the SC. Thank you for running the blind test!
Agree, I thought A was the expensive kit by far !
@@bucknaked2742 you’re hilarious
Me 2!
Just an awesome test, guys. This is one of my fav drum channels on YT. The SCs are no joke if you have the right heads. Birch > maple to my ears. Less expensive, killer tone, can tame them and mics love it. Well done, gents.
Very true , i've seen lots of drummer who played the stage custom from different concert, Chris jazz café, i've seen will'Kennedy, Eric Harland, Jimmy McBride, Jonathan Pinson, Marcus Gilmore, Dave Weckl, Vinnie Colaiuta, tommy igoe and so on who played and loved the stage custom.
The most natural interaction I've seen between people on the internet in a long time. It's probably because you're actually genuinely friends. New sub here.
I got it right and my thought were that the absolute maple had shallower toms and therefore would resonate less and have a more focused sound. Now i see that it had die cast hoops on it and that might have been the deciding factor for what i thought soundwise.
Great test and very good tuning from you guys :)
Hey guys great video on this subject.
Now I would like to see you guys do another video dealing with two kits of different eras, such as the (90s) Tama Rockstar basswood and the ('19s)Tama Superstar Classic all Maple. And to hear your take on this kits. Plus the all important question "Does the different wood makes a difference?"
Stage customs are the most common backline kit for rentals I've ever played. Now the mapex armory seems to be the contender. Honestly any big name drum company mid line kits these days are going to be just fine for anything. I've played so many kits over the years. Masterworks. Dw collectors. Pdp. Drumcraft( my studio kit. Has a certain thing under mics). Yamaha absolutes. (Love the new oak hybrid). Mapex saturn. Ludwig classic maple. Tama star classics etc etc. the stage custom is very proper pro kit. The old premier kits like the genista birch were great as well. Top $ kits you get premium hardware and finishes. Sound wise most drums are good enough. Player is biggest factor. Heads and room next.
Very useful video. thx!
Love the stage custom more
I have a Stage Custom set and they sound awesome
I liked the hybrid better but not $3000 better. That stage custom kit is an amazing deal for really great sound!
Same for me: It's hard to think of spending 3500€ having a kit that comes "so" close for 850€.
I prefer the toms on the maple kit but the kick on the birch kit is crazy good!
Almost every well constructed drum kit today sounds good, even the more accessible ones, you just need to choose good drum heads and know how tune well. And 8:43 if they go through mics and sound plug-ins, the difference is almost aesthetics and quality materials used in construction, the sound is almost the same if you use the same heads, tuning.
hah! i actually got it right...i think the giveaway was the smaller bass drum. quite stoked, as i'm in the process of gathering a 24/14/18 stage custom with a recording custom snare...i reckon it'll sound killer...
fun video/s. thanks. rokk on!
I thought that Kit A had better attack and was crisp, and that Kit B was ‘musical’ …a bit like a Sonor SQ series kit or an expensive Tama kit. I liked both …I guess maple does give drums a musical tone compared to birch - dunno if I’d spend thousands more for the warmth and roundness. The snare kind of evened it out between the kits, for me anyway.
I own a white custom stage kit with a couple add ons from yamaha making it a 7 piece..and mainly sabian aax cymbals, love my kit! 🤘🥁
I guessed absolutely wrong to be honest! I actually sold my DW collectors kit after hearing a dinky Tama birch kit, couldn’t believe how good it sounded for the price so I bought it. The DW was incredible too to be fair (I kept the awesome snare though), but not for the vast difference in price. Throw a Supraphonic into the mix and I wouldn’t swap that kit for anything!
just proof positive how good a properly tuned lower level kit can sound!
Exactly!
The diecast on the most expensive kit made it easier to identify I.M.O. it had less sustain, but most of the time, (talking about Yamaha drums) is almost impossible to distinguish the sound of a cheap and an expensive one. Yamaha make one of the best drums in the world no matter the price tag.
Hi all I own a stage custom birch kit I love it! Iv played on a 80s yamaha kit same as Dave Weckl used back in the day that sounded incredible and DW colectors which was wow ! Totally out of my price range! I think the stage custom is your best bang for your buck change the stock heads I'm using Evans coated G1s tuned up just about the wrinkles I get a sharp attack with some warm punch. So keep your hard ernt money in the band or upgrade your cymbals
More videos like this... great Channel , greetings from Mexico.... Stage CUSTOM BEST VALUE $$$$, ABSOLUT WHY?
There were a few things that stood out for me. One was the dynamic range; the Ab Hybrid has a certain clarity to the toms at lower volumes that wasn't there with the Stage Custom. There was also something happening with the fills on the Ab Hybrid, a kind of piano like synergy. It sounded like a more cohesive instrument in all. Great video and well recorded, thanks.
Agree...The hybrid seemed more focused and controlled.
Um, no. Just no. "a kind of piano like synergy.", "more cohesive instrument in all"? lol. Come on man. These descriptions don't mean anything objectively.
Horse pucky
The best kit I ever owned was a 7 piece from a little known brand called Drum World UK and the complete kit with hardware (including 3 boom cymbal stands) was about £800, and it looked and sounded amazing. I only sold it eventually because I was broke!
I honestly prefer the sound of the stage customs. The stage customs come with 1.6mm hoops on the toms, i wonder if a set of 2.3mm hoops would improve the sound even further? Perhaps 2.3m hoops might bring the sound very very close to recording customs even know recording customs have 1.6mm hoops aswell, but they have the full length lugs which helps EQ the sound with the overtones. Stage customs do not have those lugs but maybe 2.3mm hoops might make up for much of the difference and produce a similar sound :)
Got it right, as I did believe I could hear the difference in attack & warmth between the 2, I do agree though that BOTH kits sound great!! I also think that the high end price tag has much to do with the aesthetics of a given kit as well as the sound. Some of the high end companies finishes, fixtures & fittings etc really do look cool. I have a Pearl Masters now that I had an absolutely AWSOME looking custom paint job done by Leigh Smith at Cariad Custom Drums in Wales, still blows me away when I look at it!! Upgraded the optimounts to the full chrome ones that come with the Pearl Reference and Masterworks series and it looks F**KING SEXY!! Now does it sound any better than it did beforehand?? No, not at all, sounds the same but as said above it looks the NUTS and I feel that having n instrument not only sounding great but looking gorgeous in a way justifies the extra cost if you want to spend it, if this isn’t something that is important as it were then don’t and you’ll still end up with a lovely sounding kit 👊🏻👊🏻
I have to like the looks of the kit first and foremost!! Lugs, finish etc. All my kits have had that visual attraction for me. Sorry, but same for dating. I just can't get it going if the looks are not there. Would rather be alone!
Now, I just don't like the look of those new lugs the maple hybrids now sport. So I would pass on them if you can believe, and I am a big Yamaha fan!
What would happen if I was a big name endorser?? I would make them build me a custom kit with Absolute lugs!! And I could never play a DW kit because I hate the Turret lugs!!
I think at the 3:40 Mark,is where these drums shine. The sound when rolling through them is awesome....
I just bought a stage custom last week.its my first real drum set.ben playing 20 years,and for 16 I've had these earl exports that just sounds bad no matter how I tune,new head,different types....the Yamahas...,I haven't even had to tune them,they just kinda sat in tune out of the box,turned a couple lugs a few little tweaks and they're good.so I'm real happy in my purchase.i was Gunna go with mapex armory studioease. I was dead set on em after going back n forth.i thought 'yea I want maple..all maple" and I was looking at pdp concepts 7's as well as Tama superstars 7 pieces..I'm pretty pleased with the yamahas.my friend had a redeem kit years ago and I was always pretty happy with the sound tey produced.. good test,good kits..good results!
Good video!!
🥂
I'm just now learning to drum... the blue ones sounded hollow, and the brown/yellow ones sounded "full", and complete.
I'm not sure what the blue's were missing but, they were.
Looks like I just prefer birch to maple, whatever the price point!
I bought an expensive (birch) drum kit, not because it sounds so much better, but because the hardware was more reliable and the drums tuned up and held time much better than less expensive kits. I think ease of use is what really accounts for most of the difference in price, not sound quality.
Ohhhhhhhhh shit!!!! Very nice video guys, thaks!!!! From argentina!!!
You can't go wrong with either Yamaha kit, they are $4$ the Best Drums and Hardware on the Planet. I keep my PHX kit in my studio, and gig with my Stage Custom, and often get complimented on how good they sound, plus the FOH is always surprised at how easy the SC's are to mix with. Evans UV1 tops and G1's on the bottom.
the lo end consistancy and balance between the 12 and 14 toms on the the mapple kit is there during the transitions, there's a lot more lo end on the 14 of the birch kit coming from the 12". But for studio recording no doubt I would take the birch, it sounds snappier and it's easier to mix with a full band and it sounds so close to a Yamaha vintage recording kit that for 1000$ and under for a 2nd hand it's definitely the best bang for the bucks.
I honestly think what we hear in the minor difference is the Maple V Birch shells and it’s all based on what you prefer / what you can fucking afford 😂
I just bought a Yamaha Maple Absolute Hybrid kit and I wouldn't trade it for anything,.
Bravo!
I've seen lots of legends who played on Yamaha stage custom: Nate wood, Will Kennedy, Brian Blade, Jonathan pinson, Dave Weckl, Éric Harland, Jimmy McBride, Vinnie Colaiuta, Tommy Igoe and so on and they liked the stage custom.
Damn I guess the B was the more expensive kit within 30 seconds of clicking on a random part of the last video😂 I work in a studio so I don't count. To me the bee kit sounded a lot more focused and the kick drum sounded way better right off the rip. I liked the toms on both of them but b just sounded way more focused like a note
Keep in mind too the absolute kit will tune up higher and lower than the stage customs before choking out. Also the snare drums are no contest. Yamaha makes awesome gear. Guitars to and basses. Wish more people played the guitars. The PHX series is almost too fancy. I could not get them to tune. The shell is so thick and low pitched it was like a science experiment.
What if you'd compared maple or birch kits with each other? For example comparing Stage Custom to the Recording Custom, or the Tour Custom to the Absolute Maple.
That's one of the keys to understand this videos properly... Great idea!
I have stage custom bop kit it’s legit good people 💪🏻
In my limited experience, you are paying more so for the hardware/lug upgrade than the shell material. And I'm actually fine with that. As inexpensive kits usually skip on lug count and tunablilty/tune hold.
Phew, I actually had the right guess. The expensive sound more warm and with less overtones.
Wow, i was totally wrong. I saw a lot of other people were too, must have been the extra depths of the birch.
Preferred maple in first vid 😭 still love my stage tho, £600 brand new cranberry red 🤩
So if we drill a second air vent hole in each of the Stage Custom Birch toms/floor toms and Kick we might get the very same tone?!!!! as the more up market Absolute Hybrid shells sound. just an idea to prove !!!!.. Video well done Guys.
A matching snare belonging to each kit, would have been more interesting.
It’s the most important drum in a kit.
I wonder how they would have gone up against a vintage kit…
When it comes to instruments, most of what we hear is what we see. Once heard someone claim they can hear 10% more low end from maple kits compared to birch 🙄
I could hear that punchy 20” bass drum!
guessed it wrong.oh my.
I was agnostic about which kit was the expensive one, I just liked the sound of the "A" kit better. Turns out its the inexpensive one. Ha. For me it came down to (as it often does) the overtones of the Hybrid kit sounding sour to me. Didn't care for that. Otherwise both kits sounded great.
the maples had more tone, at least in the 12 , and the stage customs have a higher tone at least in the sustain, mainly with the 14, i had it right but i really like the stage custom and the price make them damn near perfect,
Stage custom for me
I actually got it right. But I think both kits sound good. And especially for Toms and Kick you dont have to pay more than like 1500. The quality wont be much better. As long as you put good heads on it and tune it well. Different story for snare and cymbals though. Because with the snare you have to factror in the throw off and the snare bed. And well cymbals you cant tune them ;-)
I am actually thinking right now about downgrading from my 2200 custom shell set (without snare) to like a yamaha stage custom or similiar kit (pdp concept maple, mapex armory, pearl decade etc.)
Also you have to consider that todays mid prize sets were the high end kits just a few years ago. For example the tama starclassic line before they put out the stars.
I liked the Stage Custom better, didn't see the first video and honestly thought it was the more expensive kit! Lol
Last Oct I bought a full Stage Custom Birch kit, to maybe allow me to leave my Recording Customs home more. It's a fantastic kit!! We don't get that exact finish here in the US, though, and the badge is different. But still... Fantastic! And the Stage Custom steel snare is also incredible! Yamaha nailed it with this kit all around.
Agree. Stage Custom Steel is a steal. 😂. I’m always getting comments on how good it sounds. Got it on sale a couple of years ago at $119 😊. And I gig with the Stage Customs too.
@@brianfoster7486 haha a steal! ;) I was marveling again just this week how good this snare sounds and feels, even with just a good stereo recorder. And especially with the S-Hoop batter hoop I put on it a couple months back (HIGHLY recommend). I don't think I've had to tune it since getting that hoop dialed in - and I woodshed almost daily. I can't wait to get these drums out under a full set of mics!
@@williemammoth11 nice! thanks for the tip on the S hoop. will try it.
@@brianfoster7486 I predict full satisfaction :) I've only swapped the batter hoop, not the reso hoop. There is one potential issue - normal mic clips don't like the S-Hoop profile, so be aware of that (I've found one model that seems to work, and I think LP Claws are said to work too). I'm considering putting them on all my toms too but need to solve the mic clip problem - ie $$ - first ;) good luck!
@@brianfoster7486 Gavin Harrison uses S-Hoops for snare and toms, so whatever he's using to mic up would also work.
Yeah, but how well do they stay in tune and feel when playing? I’ve found cheaper kits don’t sound good in all tuning ranges.
I have MCA and SC kits. I couldn't tell the difference, sonically, given good heads and tuning. There is a huge difference in quality of materials, however. The MCA tunes quicker, easier and stays in tune.
I am so happy to be wrong!
Actually, scratch that. I thought the hybrid was the cheaper one. I prefer the stage custom.
Man I’ve known this for so long but we all want the prestige of a pro kit, we convince ourselves it sounds better and it doesn’t! It just sounds slightly, ever so slightly! Different. What it really says is Yamaha makes great drums!
Ok, I got it 100% wrong ! I thought the Kit A floor toms were much better. And I was listening to it with good headphones. But this is not new with the Yamaha SC. Watch how it hold's up to the entire Yamaha line up. All the way to the Phoenix. DCP did a great comparison video of the Yammy's. ua-cam.com/video/7gNuqdQqB-U/v-deo.html
whenever I see videos like this, they always only talk about the sound. what you're paying for when you buy an expensive kit is build quality as well. longevity, reliability, durability, intonation, ergonomics, fit and finish, etc. These are all factors in the price that youtubers never talk about in comparison videos.
Yes, the secret is out! You stated it clearly "the point of diminishing returns". I have a Yamaha Maple Absolute and a Stage Custom and they both sound great. Tuning and quality heads!
I can take out the Stage Customs and not worry about them getting dinged or stolen because they are so affordable. A 5000.00 kit just doesn't make sense to me anymore.
In this video the stage customs had more sustain
I didn't notice a huge difference between them.
To my ears they sounded basically identical, but if I had to choose I would have chosen A as the AHM.
ohh no im wrong, im sure with my ear the birch bass drum is kit B
I like the stage custom better...the bass drum sounds more focused
Thankfully you don’t need to buy expensive drums when mid level drums are just as good as expensive drums I have a 7 piece Tama superstar classic maple drumset that is awsome it sounds just as good as a high end drum set I don’t think I’m going to upgrade because they sound so great
Is the more expensive kit easier to tune/stay in tune?
It probably would be in this case given the die cast hoops etc 👍
Probably. I’ve owned a Stage Custom and it required tuning frequently.
That's a great and important question.
Yes, stage customs do not stay in tune long unless you upgrade the hoops to 2.3mm or die cast. They sound a lot better with upgraded hoops as well, in my opinion.
@@petheato3291 yes agree mate
I’ve got turner fish lug locks on the 12” Tom with the original 1.6mm hoops & that works really quite well, but will upgrade the 14 floor Tom hoops I think..
Yeah, i was wright 🙂🙂
I guessed correctly... all from the sound of the 12" maple rack tom, it was more controlled. Very minute difference, definitely not 2,300 much of a difference
I got it wrong- guess I don't have such a discerning ear- lol.
Like i said unce , you can't beat Yamaha stage custom with any drumkit made on this planet. Not for that money...and yes, the fact is ,more expensive kit you buy, less difference you hear...drums above 1000$
Well, I guessed it right.
wanted to buy a stage custom, but now.... I need to save a ton of money
I had it wrong..........
I actually prefer the stage custom!
The drummer makes the drum…not vice versa…
yes! i win!
without the cymbals my kit cost 120 dollars from facebook marketplace 😐
I'm questioning that if the Stage Custom Birch is so good or the Absolute Hybrid Maple is not that good. I have Maple Custom kit (not Absolute) and sounds better than this.
I've been playing Yamaha Stage Custom since 95. On my 3rd kit...and I always get compliments on the sound from fellow players, band mates, and sound techs. If you want to spend many thousands on a kit, thats your choice...and your bank account. Its cpmpletely unnecessary!!!!
Totally wrong here. Nevermind I firmly believe that the Stage Custom is one of the best mid range kits Money can buy.
🏆
I quickly go back to delete my comment 😅
Got it YEY 🤣 A lot of distinct well-based comments last week, got really curious for this one! The maple 16" floor tom was the differential in my case as I own one and could feel it on kit B. IMO both kits sound like pro drums, the stage custom is so good that becomes only a matter of personal taste. That was fun, thank you DRUM.DOG
Drummers buy drum kits with their eyes, not with their ears.
It's because the sounds mostly comes from the heads and tuning everything else is marketing.
Even in the 80s Japan versions still ridiculous spend all this money. Now all is made in China and still charging a lot of money.
From the comments I realize that alcohol is a big problem... let's not joke, the stage custom is an excellent drum, but the hybrid has its own note, an extraordinary sound.
YAMAHA STAGE CUSTOM MAKE ME HAPPY WITHOUT BREAKING BANK...