Yamaha Review: Maple Custom Absolute 5pc

History:

Purchase: I bought this kit at mars music during their going-out-of-business sale. It's fusion sizes (10, 12, 14, 22, 14x5.5) and was way marked down-i got it for about $1300. I was looking for a good intermediate kit to move up to-like a stage custom or an export, but i found this for only a few hundred dollars more and it was definitely worth it. I also wanted it because of the maple custom reputation, and because a lot of my favorite drummers play yamaha.

What I Like About This Yamaha Maple Custom Absolute 5pc: I tried this kit out at the store with a pair of timbale sticks-the only sticks left in the store- and loved the sound, especially the snare. When i finally got home and played it more, it sounded even better. The toms cut through so well, yet were still so warm and musical. They sound just as good laying into them really hard in rock music as they do playing very lightly or with brushes. The bass drum makes a deep, dense, huge sound that you can feel through my entire house, and the snare has a lot of warmth and crack to it as well. The sea blue maple finish is very nice, looking darker from a distance and shiny up close.

What I Do NOT Like About The Yamaha Maple Custom Absolute 5pc: I have few complaints, if any. The YESS system lets the 14" tom wobble just a bit when hit really hard, but that's not a very big issue and is common with big mounted toms. But I really have nothing to complain about overall.

Yamaha Maple Custom Absolute 5pc Quality Rating: The drums are of the highest quality and i have had no problems regarding construction and quality. The finish is durable and i've had no scratches or other damage to speak of, although i do take good care of these drums. the bearing edges are smoother than possibly any other drum i've seen.

Review Summary: Overall an excellent drumset. Comparable to any other drumset on the market, although some people say that DW, pearl, etc. are better, but i really think that drums are ultimately just a personal preference, especially when comparing top-model kits. To be honest, i definitely prefer the yamaha to the one DW kit i've played and the pearl masters i heard a guy playing, but i'm just as biased as anyone else. but it's definitely worth getting a high quality drumset if you can afford it or find it on sale for cheap enough.

Rating of this Yamaha product: 5

This Yamaha Maple Custom Absolute 5pc Drums Percussion Review Submitted By: bradford

Review Date: 2003-10-31