Yamaha Oak, Maple, Birch Drum set for studio??

[MREVOL]

Been doing a lot of reading but just wanted to ask. For modern rock which kit would you lean towards. Yamaha Oak Custom, Birch Absolute, or Maple Absolute?? Or if you want to throw in another

Thanks

[Cody]

Didn't like Oaks in the studio, but they were great live.

I just bought a DW Performance Series kit. Couldn't be happier! I have been a die hard Yamaha person for a while, but I switched to these and love them for rock. Try them!

[ludvista29]

I would recommend a Yamaha Maple Absolute Custom for studio use. I absolutely LOVE my set. Very versatile drums. It is very easy to get many different sounds out of the kit.

[bbgallaway]

Another vote for the Maple Custom Absolute. They make a great studio kit!

[BLUElightCory]

I personally prefer birch for modern rock stuff - it's usually a bit punchier and tighter sounding to my ears than maple. Maple generally sounds a big beefier to me, but doesn't punch quite as much. Either material would sound great.

I haven't tracked a Yamaha oak so I can't comment on them.

[msquared]

Maple and birch kits have been studio staples for decades. Either wood sounds great and you would be hard pressed to identify the wood type when listening to a finished recording in a double blind test situation. A lot of the difference doesn't have so much to do with the sound but with the response. In a lot of ways it's like the difference between maple and rosewood fingerboards on a bass guitar.

Birch tends to decay more quickly, which is a property that lends itself more to pop music and anything involving a lot of clusters of notes. Maple has more of a ring to it. Most rock and almost all jazz music is going to tend to be suited to maple. There are caveats to both of these rules, for instance the majority of the Dream Theater albums have a maple kit involved.

The thickness of the shell and the type of heads used have a lot to do with the end result, I'd say as much or more than the actual type of wood in the drums. If you're splitting hairs to the point that you care about maple vs birch then it makes sense to do some research on these other variables as well.

I have been building my own drums for almost a decade now but if I went back to buying premade stuff, Yamaha's Maple Custom Absolute is absolutely what I would put in a studio. They are fantastic kits. The DW suggestion is also a good one IMO.

[FireMoon]

Worth having a listen to these drums, something a little different, not cheap but damn good. About KD Drums

[giraffe]

Originally Posted by BLUElightCory

I personally prefer birch for modern rock stuff - it's usually a bit punchier and tighter sounding to my ears than maple. Maple generally sounds a big beefier to me, but doesn't punch quite as much. Either material would sound great.

I haven't tracked a Yamaha oak so I can't comment on them.

+1 exactly what i would have said. now i have to type less.

[James Lugo]

I use all 3, they all sound great. I own a Yamaha Oak Custom kit that just kills in my room (13, 16, 18, 24). Most drummers say it's one of the best sounds they've ever gotten. I don't think you can go wrong with any of them. I love Yami kits, sound great with great hardware.

[MREVOL]

Ok so here's the next question. Would u rather have an older recording custom or newer (still used) birch/maple absolute? This also might be a dumb question but is there a big difference from the birch absolute to the recording custom

[Steffmo]

The real deal is that everyone might have a preference based on their own experience. I've been playing and recording drums for 45 years and have recorded many top flight drummers from Steve Gadd to Wil Calhoun to Matt Smith to Joe Franco, and more than a few others.

They all play different brands, or they play whatever my current studio kit is, and they all sound great. Why, because good drums, well tuned to the taste of the drummer usually sound well....GOOD.

For your own taste, finding the right heads and tuning range of the kit will have a lot more to do with it than any brand or type of wood, although obviously both those things have some effect.

Point is, when Wil Calhoun shows up with Tama kit.....it sounds great. If Gadd sends a DW....you can bet it will sound good. Artie Dixon's Sonor kit is killer.

[Bubbagump]

I play a maple kit live, but I have found for under the mic, I prefer a birch kit and even at times a well tuned mahogany kit can do really well. As others mentioned, it comes down to the amount of ring you are after. My maple kit will ring forever which can get in the way of a big rock mix and maybe a lower line mahogany kit works better in those cases. (Or have fun with gates to cut the ring) I guess I would worry less about the wood and 100 times more with the heads and tuning used. Look for something of good quality that you can get parts for. You would be very surprised what sounds good miced/in a mix and how it sounds like ass acoustically and vice versa. Though that rule is broken in a setup where you have only over heads or the like. One fun thing about drums, unlike a Marshall or Mesa crunch channel... you can get a lot of variations out of a drum kit with heads, tuning, and dampening.

[Gamelan]

Maple will be the most versitile. You can dry up a maple kit to sound more like birch but you can't wet up a birch kit to sound like maple. Oak and other denser woods are great for live projection, the heavier the better, but I think some of that benefit is lost in the studio. That said, I really like the crispness of a good birch snare paired with the warmth of maple toms.

[jono]

and now for something completely different: Head Drums builds custom drums and percussion instruments

I met Steve for the first time last Sunday at the Austin Jazz Society shindig. His kit was being played onstage. He has some very interesting ideas and methods regarding drum construction, materials, etc. It's worth a phone call just to hear him out.

I think we're going to be recording a variety of his product here at my place....it will be interesting to hear them in a controlled environment. Oh - and the kits are freakin stunning to look at.

Also - below is a discussion of wood-types from his site:

All of our shells are made from wood that we have carefully selected for great tone, character, and appearance. We constantly experiment and search out new materials to offer, looking for woods that will produce amazing drums for our players. The woods are grouped by density (or “hardness”), which is directly related to the tone the drum will produce. Our goal is to help you find your perfect drum!

Soft

Soft woods tend to sound warm and woody, with attack that is not too aggressive. They have excellent side-stick and cross-stick tone.

Douglas Fir (fine grain)

Blond, sometimes with bands of pink running through it.
The tone is deep and woody with a cross-stick like a huge chopping block.
The “fine grain” variety of this wood is indistinguishable from Alaskan Sitka Spruce, only more readily available.


Ambrosia Maple

Blond with broad bands of blue, brown and gray natural staining, caused by a beetle that also produces worm holes in this wood.
This soft, low-density material produces a great, mellow tone—very controlled.
Butternut
Tan wood with yellow undertones and brown grain.
A member of the Walnut family, but unlike Walnut, it is a bright, loud wood with great tone and lots of attack and focus.

Mahogany (African)

Medium brown with very distinct grain and complex highlights.
This wood is incredibly sensitive, yet lightweight and subtle, with low fundamentals. It is very controlled.
Makes a great kit for acoustic jazz and a great all-around snare drum.
African Mahogany is the finest of the mahoganies grown anywhere in the world. That’s why we use it!


Spruce

Blond appearance with very fine darker grain, ages to a dark amber color.
Very sensitive with incredible cross-stick and side-stick. Low fundamental.
Great for acoustic music of all kinds.


Medium

Medium woods are a bit harder and denser, which adds more volume and attack, as well as brighter overtones, to the drum’s sound.

Lacewood

Brown color with “scaly” grain figure.
Warm, woody, midrange tone, great woody crack to the drum tone.
Great midrange sound that fits a wide variety of musical styles.


Ash

Blond wood with open grain. This wood may look familiar to you; it’s the favorite for Fender guitar bodies.
The warm, woody response of this material makes great drums.


Maple

We look for pieces of wood that are dense and have unique color, to add visual interest to this blond wood.
The warm tonal qualities that maple brings to a plywood drum set are even more pronounced in our thin-stave shell.
There are many maple species in North America, with the northern, cold-temperature woods being the best.


Birch

Blond with darker “heartwood” that contains a lot of “flame-grain.” We look for pieces with “heartwood” so there is a dark-to-light transition in the appearance of the shell.
Characteristically bright sound, with plenty of attack.


Timeless Timber Birch

Blond with light brown grain, the “heartwood” is brown.
Warm and woody, with a bright crack and an incredible presence.
Our supplier is The Timeless Timber Company, which salvages wood from all over the United States, and conditions the wood for use in new projects. They have provided us with forty-year-old heart birch with eye-popping flame and brilliant tone.
This material makes your drum or set an instant classic, with incredible tone and presence.

Yellowheart

Bright yellow with slightly darker veins.
Bright sound with warm, woody overtones.


Bird’s Eye Maple

Blond with round figuring.
Bright sound
We prefer to work with Bird’s Eye maple for its superior beauty and sound.
A favorite with drummers in every genre of music—from classical to punk rock.


Oak

Blond with very recognizable grain pattern.
Lots of midrange “pop.”
Makes a great “workhorse snare.” Suited to many musical styles.


Zebrawood

Another great African hardwood, Zebra is fibrous and has alternating stripes of brown veins on a tan background.
Excellent woody crack, full-bodied sound.
It makes great drums with great visual presence. This wood makes an especially great side snare for funk and R&B.
Teak
Orange-brown in appearance.
Has the mysterious quality of being the loudest sounding drum shell ever, with a crack that is simply unmistakable.
We use Teak from Burma, as it is the best of all the varieties.


Hard

Hard woods are extremely hard and produce a lot of attack, often equaling the sound of metal-shell snares, without their thin “ringy” tone. Hard wood snares combine lots of loudness and attack with sensitivity and stick response that is not possible with other materials. The exotic woods are also very complex, with tonal range that is quite unique.

Padouk

Bright red African Padouk is a really unique material. In addition to its great look, this wood produces drums of outstanding sound quality and sensitivity.
Very sensitive and lots of sustain. Very “ringy,” snare can be played like a timbale.


Lyptus

This wood is cherry colored, pink to red, with the grain of a fine mahogany.
Bright and loud, with naturally low fundamentals.
Lyptus is a new, hybrid species that is being plantation-grown in Brazil. It is a cultivated hardwood and has been certified a “sustainable-growth” wood by Brazil’s forestry conservation organization: Cerflor.


Purpleheart

Deep purple. And yes, the tree naturally grows in this stunning shade. We don’t stain the shells.
Brightest of the hard woods, Purpleheart is the wood you go to for metal shell brightness and pure attack.
It makes great toms and basses with incredible definition and thunderous bottom.


Hickory

Hardest of the North American woods.
Varied color from blond with veins of dark “heartwood,” to predominantly dark, wavy color.
Bright, articulate, lots of attack, lots of sustain.
Makes great drums, especially snares, toms and basses.


Wenge

Dark chocolate or espresso color with light beige veins.
Bright, articulate, lots of attach and sustain.
Loud, bright-sounding drums.
Bubinga
This African Rosewood is medium brown with darker stripes in waves on the grain, with a very dense and complex structure.
Makes loud and in-your-face snares, as well as great-sounding kits.


Tulipwood

Pale yellow with strawberry pink/red stripes in it. This lovely wood looks like pulled taffy and is the most spectacular looking wood you’ll ever lay your eyes on.
Bright and loud.
It is a Brazilian tropical hard wood, and a cousin of Brazilian Rosewood.


Cocobolo

Color ranges from orange, to brown, to the occasional purple, usually with black striping.
Very bright and articulate, with a low fundamental. The drums made from Cocobolo are outstanding.
This variety of Rosewood grows in the Central American region, with Honduran and Nicaraguan sources being the most dense and hard. If you like the look of Brazilian Rosewood, the similarity in appearance makes this an excellent substitute at a better price, with greater availability.


Ebony

The Hardest of the Hard Woods.
Black with some figuring in cream, gold and brown.
Ebony produces the best articulation and stick response of all the wood species we work with.
This is IT. Head Drums’ Ebony snares are consistently evaluated by players as superior, even when compared, rim shot for rim shot, with legendary instruments such as the Black Beauty.





jon

[lobsterinn]

Originally Posted by BLUElightCory

I personally prefer birch for modern rock stuff - it's usually a bit punchier and tighter sounding to my ears than maple. Maple generally sounds a big beefier to me, but doesn't punch quite as much. Either material would sound great.

This is my experience as well. Maple works better for some things / some drummers, birch for others. If you can swing it, get one of each!

[biggator6]

If I'm going Yamaha - Recording Customs.. birch.

[Suspects]

We have Recording Custom and Maple Custom Absolutes and added an Oak Custom Kit (10,12,14,16,22) after Christmas. After getting the Oaks set-up, the other two kits haven't come out of their cases this year. The Oak Custom does take set-up, we ran through probably $200 worth of heads getting the right tones, and they are not very versatile, but if you like loud, punchy and powerful - that's your drum kit. Very good for rock (including modern rock).

As mentioned earlier, any of the Yamaha kits listed would work great, it's more about personal taste and the skills of the drummer than anything...


Dave/Suspect Studios


www.suspectstudios.com

[Sk106]

Many times I prefer birch to play on, but I have to admit Maple is easier to deal with, easier to tune, and have a more versatile tone. I mean maple overall here, not just Yamaha, whose maple models tends to be more snappy than maple in general. I've always felt the meaty maple tone lends itself better for mixing, it's more moldable by eqs/expanders/compressors, but maple also produces a bit more sympathetic ring in adjacent toms and snarebuzz.

[peeweedrummer]

yamaha recording customs.... punchy, fast attack, quick decay, gets in and out, very easy to tune.

maple drums ring for alot longer, great when you have a sparse arrangement and heaps of room for the drums in the mix but lets face it, in modern music when is there any spare room in the mix? were always cutting at things to fit something else in!

i would go yamaha recording customs as my staple kit any day of the week!

[Flogger59]

I was a Yamaha rep for a decade, and in the words of my drummer boss, Maple kick and Birch toms!

[MREVOL]

Ok so I have it narrowed down to a Yam Recording custom or a Pearl Master Studio birch (which I can get a great deal on).

Opinions

[MREVOL]

Oh yeah the pearl is a 20x18 kick and the yam is a 24x16 kick.

Im gonna be recording mostly rock type stuff.

[cdog]

Go with the Yammy. I have Maple Custom kit with a 24"x16 kick, and it owns. It own hard. You will get a much lower and bigger kick sound with a 24," at the cost of some speed and punchiness. I think really any serious studio wants 2-3 kits though, and realize that many drummers wouldnt dream of using anything but their own personal kit on a recording.