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The first Yamaha budget kit made entirely fom birch

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Yamaha's current reputation was founded on birch drums, with the famous Recording Custom Series introduced at the close of the '70s. Although there was nothing new about using birch to make drums (European manufacturers have always done so), Yamaha cleverly promoted this beautifully constructed series as the ultimate recording kit.

It also helped that Steve Gadd came on board as the company's ultimate endorser. Previously, Yamaha's Stage Custom Series, first seen here in 1995, had an oak or birch veneer over plies of Philippines mahogany and falkata. It's taken until now for Yamaha to make a budget kit entirely in birch.

Build

Yamaha offers three set-ups, with 'universal' size toms 24"x17", 12"x9" and 16"x16"; the review 22"x17", 10"x8", 12"x9" and 16"x16"; and 20"x17", 10"x8", 12"x9" and 14"x14".

The 22" and 20" kits have a 14"x5 1/2" birch snare, while the 24" has a 14"x6 1/2" steel snare. You can extend your kit with individual add-on drums from a good range, which includes an 18"x15" bass drum and 18"x16" floor tom.

The talking point here is the all-birch shells and they're superb. Bearing edges are expertly cut, with a razor-sharp 45˚ to the inside and a smooth curve-over to the outer wall. There's a light seal on the pale honey-coloured insides, with a tiny bit of unsanded nap left for timbre.

The grain pattern of the birch is mundane as always, but the transparent lacquer over the cranberry red stain of the review kit was flawless. Yamaha badges always look corporate, but this new one is rather attractive – tasteful silver and grey on a black-backed plaque (try saying that with false teeth) that stoutly proclaims the kit as 'Made in China'.

A few years ago, that fact would have been kept quiet, but today it increasingly denotes a well-made product.

Cost-saving

One sign of cost-saving is the presence of 16 rather than 20 lugs on the bass drum. There are also no plastic or rubber mounting gaskets beneath any of the lugs – a refinement we've come to expect. The lugs are now proper, low-mass, chromed-metal jobs, replacing the FRC (fibre-reinforced composite) of the previous incarnation.

Yamaha's YESS isolation mounts are small and relatively unobtrusive. Whereas RIMS-style mounts have extended brackets floating off the lugs, the YESS mount is simply held by two bolts, fixed at the nodal plane of the shell.

While you may wonder about its strength, we've never heard of any breakages. Incidentally, the newly designed mini-floor tom leg brackets are also mounted at the nodal shell points for increased sustain. The full 700 Series hardware package that is included looks handsome and has all the refinements you'd hope for.

Is birch best?

Yamaha's astute marketing of birch drums back in the '80s fostered – or, more accurately, foisted – the idea that birch was the best choice of wood for recording, claiming that the RC-9000 sounded 'EQ'ed'.

This is now also true of the Stage Custom. The snare comes with a 3/4" (19mm) wide perimeter 'O' damper that effectively chops out the ring from shell and metal hoops, leaving you with a taut, dry and crisp beat.

You just know a close-up microphone will deliver a sharp and punchy sound. Actually, for today's tastes, the complete 'O' is heavy-handed. A third or half circle is plenty to give you a dark, fat beat while retaining a healthy dollop of ambience.