Yamaha New Recording Custom Drum Set

100
| MARCH 2016 WWW.MUSICRADAR.COM/RHYTHM
GEAR REVIEW
maple. Add to this the shell-enclosing effect
of those lugs, which allows the head tone to
come through more. Choice of head becomes
paramount and most will be happy with the
supplied Ambassador Coated batters. With
the perfectly round shells, sharp, level edges,
and standard 1.6mm steel hoops, tuning is
easy as ever, and the tuning range as wide
as it gets. The interval encompassed by a full
turn on the rods takes you from deep roaring
blast to high pinging bebop, clean and
controlled. This adaptability of head choice
and tuning range are strengths of the RC.
I’d be lying if I said I detect any great
difference from my own 1983 Yamaha 9000
toms. If pushed, the new ones are slightly
snappier with their sharper 30° edges. They
sound superb anyway. The shallow classic
depths give the extra punch that is also
characteristic of RCs. Gadd popularised the
10" tom at one end and the 14" fl oor-stand
mounted tom at the other. There is so much
tone in that little 10"x7½", it’s a right little
belter. And the new 14"x13" has that speed of
action and arrested sustain that characterised
the 9000 Gadd sound. I also preferred the
16"x14" fl oor tom to my 1980s 16"x16" as it
easier and quicker than drum-key
operated screw bolts, with elaborately
moulded lightweight black insert grommets.
The review fl oor toms have traditional legs
– not as funky as the original Gadd-inspired
fl oor tom stands, but more stable.
There are also seven new RC snare drums
with stainless steel, aluminium and brass
shells. Look out for a full review soon, but
meantime here’s the 14"x5½" in 1.2mm-gauge
brass, fi nished in a natural satin-matt ‘Hairline
Clear’. Bearing edges are 45° and there are
2.5mm snare beds. The crucial new feature is
the Ludwig-like convex (outer) centre bead,
which is again a suggestion of Gadd’s.
Hands On
Since the original RC, Yamaha has developed
mostly ever-smaller lugs, honing in on
lab-tested nodal point positioning. Here
the opposite tack is taken with a massive
full-length lug, more bulbous than the
original. The lug bucks the trend in that it sets
out to contain and focus the resonance. The
9000 was described as the recording drum
and birch gained a reputation as the ‘focused’
wood with a darker fundamental tone than
VERDICT: The Recording Custom is
possibly the most recorded kit ever, and
certainly one of the best ever built.
Yamaha is smart in keeping the marque
and making these subtle updates.
BUILD QUALITY
PLAYABILITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
RATING
Also try…
1
SONOR
VINT AGE SERIES
We say: “ Beech shells,
rounded bearing edges,
teardrop lugs. Sonor’s
Vintage Series is
another classic culled
from the history of
epoch-defi ning drums. ”
2
TAMA
ST AR MAPLE
We say: “ Another step
towards Drum Heaven…
at an eye-watering
price. Tama has gone to
great lengths to achieve
its goal of maximum
shell resonance and
woody tone. ”
Gavin, why the new
Recording Custom?
“When we moved high-end
production to China and we
stopped producing the [old]
Recording Custom there was an outcry. We
brought out the fat and warm Oak Custom, the
bright and versatile Absolute Hybrid Maple. The
RC was always going to be birch. So each range
has a different sound.”
How was Steve Gadd involved?
“He did two evaluation sessions in the USA and
had lots of conversations with the design team.
His main focus was the bass and snare drums.
The toms were always fi ne. But he swapped the
RC bass drums for maple because there wasn’t
enough bottom end for him.”
The heavy lug bucks current trends…
“All we learned over the years about nodal
points, shell harmonics, shell materials, etc,
was to enhance shell vibration. But for the
Recording Custom we wanted pretty much the
reverse – to control the shell sound, because the
inherent RC sound is focused, shorter and
tighter. So we increased the lug weight. Steve
[Gadd] tested three or four different weights
and decided which sounded better.”
GAVIN THOMAS Drum Product
Marketing Manager for the Pro
Music Division of Yamaha Music
Europe GmbH (UK)
They say…
FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE NEW
RECORDING CUSTOM KICK IS OF AN
INTENSE, DARK SOUNDING, FAST
RESPONDING AND PIERCING TONE
also has that bit more control and immediacy.
When the fashion shifted back to maple in
the 1990s, Gadd eventually opted for a maple
bass drum which he felt had more bottom/
warmth. Thus one main brief for the new RC
was to boost the birch bass drums by making
the shells six-ply where they were previously a
slightly thicker seven. It’s a subtle adjustment
and the feel will never be as open as maple.
I always liked the 9000 bass anyway, which is
focused like the toms, and fi rst impressions of
the new kick is of an intense, dark, fast-
responding and piercing tone.
Barely space for the briefest word about
the 14"x5½" brass shell snare drum. For the
fi rst time it has a convex perimeter bead, like
Gadd’s favourite Ludwig SupraPhonic. The
‘Q’-type strainer is superbly engineered and
the 5½" drum also came with a choice of
20-strand snare or 10-strand Steve Gadd-type
snare. (The 6½" drum has a 25-strand snare.)
Swapping to the 10-strander the sound
becomes crunchier, a little harder and more
discreet, actually recognisably Gadd-like.
HEAD TONE
Shell-enclosing effect of lugs
allows head tone to come
through; kit is supplied with
Ambassador Coated batters
RHY252.gear_yamaha.indd 100 22/01/2016 15:24