Yamaha Review: Rydeen

History:

Purchase: This was the kit that was used as a practise kit at my school. When they asked for some advice of good quality kits for cheap money I told them to get either a Pearl, Yamaha or a Tama. I think it cost around £400, but bearing in mind this is a discounted price.

What I Like About This Yamaha Rydeen: The hardware is brilliant. It is made in the same factory as the motorcycles so its bound to be good. A hi-hat and a straight stand are included (no boom stand unfortunately). The tom mounting system is easy to adjust and get used toand i'm sure with some decent heads they'd sound pretty good.

What I Do NOT Like About The Yamaha Rydeen: For the money the snare drum isn't bad, but not brilliant, and is not easy to tune. The quality of the wood on the snare I played looked a little ropey, but what do you want. There was only one thing (apart from the heads, which are pretending to be Remo's) that annoyed me about this kit. This was the stupid mounting system of the floor tom. The legs are held using the same tension rods that are used for tightening the heads. The problem with this is they have an occasional tendency to work loose and collapse and if you forget your drum key, your screwed. This happened to me when rehearsing for a school show, so I was effectively playing a 4 piece kit. I however replaced these with more traditional hand screwing rods which I took from their old Pearl Export that was falling to bits. Another small complaint is that kit does not come with a chain drive bass pedal, but after a while you get used to the strap.

Yamaha Rydeen Quality Rating: The quality of this kit is both sterdy and well constructed and I am sure will last for years. The only thing that isn't really that good is the heads that are supplied with the kit, but this is a budget kit! The quality of the stands are excellent!

Review Summary: A great beginner kit. Not for someone that has been playing for years as the kit is quite small, but it is fine for anyone under the age of 15. The sound is good for a basic kit but any experienced drummer will find the sound a little tiring at times. As long as you fit decent heads and some nice cymbals it should keep most kids happy for years, until they start begging their parents for a DW or a Tama.

Rating of this Yamaha product: 4

This Yamaha Rydeen Drums Percussion Review Submitted By: Robert

Review Date: 2005-01-05