Yamaha Recording Custom Drums, The Best Kit EVER Made?

Sean McNally, drummer for The Villains, is not a man of few words when it comes to his Yamaha Recording Custom Drums. He says the kick and toms may be the best kit ever made. And he isn't shy or lacking for detail as to why. His interview and answers are also instructive on drum kits, materials used in making drums, drum maintenance and what makes a great kit, in a general sense.

You say the Yamaha Recording custom kick and toms may be the best ever made. Can you elaborate as to why?

Well, when they came to the fore-front in the mid to late 80s, the Yamaha Recording Custom drums were a revolution in manufacture and philosophy. They pretty quickly dethroned the American manufacturers like Ludwig, Slingerland and Gretsch, who all seemed to be having trouble with consistency. Yamaha was able to procure excellent wood stock for the shells, and produce drums with near perfect roundness and flawless bearing edges. The accuracy of the bearing edge allows great fine tuning without as many unwanted overtones. They are super solid, and fairly thin, without needing internal reinforcing rings.

The hardware is top notch and featured full length lug casings which many proponents believe allow the shells to resonate more freely by taking some of the structural stresses of head tension. Pair that with some R.I.M.S. isolation mounts and you have a drum that wants to sing. The drums have no un- necessary junk bolted to them, like some of the elaborate and ill conceived internal dampers of the past. Nothing there that could make any weird buzzes or rings. The 22" kick has just the right combination of attack and low end woof, not much treatment needed to dial it in. Another nice touch on my own set, is the "Piano Black" finish inside and out. It's the same finish lacquer they put on their high end concert grand pianos. They shunned thick, glued on plastic wraps that would dampen the shell. The dimensions of the drums we're also different from the norm. Deeper overall than most manufacturers of the time, they were considered "power sizes" (now it's industry standard, and to get shallow shells you have to order "classic" or "bop" dimensions)Tune them badly with old heads, they sound great. Tune them great with new heads, they sound like heaven's engine room.

What I love most is the way they record. I like my drums to sound the same way I hear them when I play them. If you solo out my drum tracks and close your eyes it sounds like you're behind the kit. It's a more organic and honest sound in my opinion. Classic.

Any downside to these drums?

If there is a downside to these drums, I have yet to discover it. My kit has done in the neighborhood of 2,000 gigs and hundreds of hours in the studio ( who knows how many hours rehearsing). When I'm right, they're right. Other than the usual tweaks required of something you pound with a stick hour after hour, problems are usually pilot error.

The shells are birch; can you tell me what makes birch specifically desirable in a drum shell?

Birch has a more defined mid-range response than something like Maple or a hardwood blend. This is what gives the recording customs the reputation for sounding "Warm". This is especially desirable when recording in a highly controlled sonic environment where the subtle differences can be heard. Hence the name "Recording Custom".

Once again, weird high end overtones are the enemy of good drum sounds, and Birch naturally helps to edit these. The live realm is a bit more vague, as the mics are just trying to grab as much sound as they can, and push it into the mix. Some will say Maple projects better, especially in the high end, but a competent tuner can grab any of that with the Birch as well. I always take warmth over volume, all my heroes have warm drum sounds.

You also not the kit is aging. How does a drummer protect a kit? How do you extend the life as long as you can? What are the primary issues with an aging drum kit? Good and bad?

I must admit it really bums me out that these drums are showing their age more and more. This kit is like an extension of my own body. Their once perfect piano black finish is now a patina of scratches and dents. I guess we are both getting more character with age.

They have been under tension so long that metal fatigue is taking its toll on some of the hardware and they are getting a bit creaky. But really, other than the "road rash" finish issues, the shells are in pretty good shape. Barring any bad drops off of stages or fat-ass roadies sitting on them( it happens), if kept in a reasonably controlled humidity and heat, they should be around forever. Wood that ages properly seems to develop more defined sonic qualities ( the same as a violin, or guitar). Every year that goes by, younger and younger growth trees are used to make these instruments. Younger trees don't have the compact and stable grain of older trees, and resonate less overall. (I once found a pair of drumsticks from the 50's at a garage sale, you wouldn't believe the difference. Super stiff and no chipping or cracking for several months! Try that with young hickory).

Dents in the bearing edges are a bigger problem for getting them in tune without undesirable rings, and I've accumulated some doozies over the years. When the metal stuff starts breaking, you have to source parts, which is challenging. As far as day to day care, I have some packing and un-packing routines I go through every time I play. First I make sure my designated space is dry and free of loose junk that can dent heads and scratch shells. (Moisture is the enemy of the wooden instrument.) When I un-pack I take the drums out in the order they get mounted, so they never sit on the ground for more than a second. I have had more damage done to my drums on the ground by buzzed bandmates tripping on them etc. than any other way. "Out of the case and on to the stand", every time. Each drum that comes out of a case gets inspected for loose lugs or tears in heads. A common symptom of age is lugs that work loose while moving. A quick tap of the finger on the lug lets you know if it's loose.

Every time I change a head, I check all the bolts on the inside that hold the hardware on. The hardware needs love too, if it is designed to move, keep it lightly oiled. This will keep it functioning and avoids over tightening. Over tightening is terrible for the metal parts and is un-necessary for a well maintained kit. Finger tighten only. After the gig, everything goes straight back into the cases wiped down with a towel and checked for loose stuff again. Never put a drum in a case wet, you are asking for rust and warpage. Finger tighten all wing nuts so they don't come loose in the case and float around scraping heads and finishes. Drums under high tension get de-tuned a little to take the pressure off a bit and extend head and lug casing life. Cases then go in a dry cool place. I have a discipline for putting everything away, the same way, every time. Then do a final "dummy check" for things left out, you are much less likely to lose something that way. I have a million tricks for dealing with gear emergencies but prevention is the best one.

Tell me about the other drums you use with the Yamaha Custom kick and Toms. What snare do you use and why do you find it (or they) complements the kick and toms?

My workhorse for most stuff is a Yamaha "Power Pic" 13"X4" cherry custom. I wouldn't say it has a distinctive sound of it's own, but it responds well to a lot of different tensions/ pitches and is very versatile. It always sounds pretty good straight out of the case. I also like to make Franken-snares from old shells that I update with more modern and reliable hardware. They all sound different and have distinct character.

I usually record with several snare drums on hand for whatever the music calls for. Are you going to play with brushes? Cross stick rimshots? Usually one drum struggles to do all these things very well. I avoid drums on sessions that are too close in size and pitch to the rack toms I'm using that day to avoid sympathetic ringing. I may use any combination of 10", 12",13" to the ring range of my 14" wood snare drums. On the Villains record I used the 13" X 4" yamaha power pic, my Olympic 14" X 5" steel snare ( found dead at roadside in Atlanta, and rehabbed with new hardware), and an olympic 14"X 4" wood snare with a super thin shell. In case your curious, Olympic was a Premier "B" line back in the day. I have no idea why I ended up with two of them that sound great.

You say you use a mish mash of cymbals. How much do the drums you use change what cymbals you use or do you pick cymbals for the sound IN and of themselves?

I try to pick a cymbal setup that is appropriate to the kit size and dimensions for the occasion. I generally choose cymbals that are less harsh and have a longer decay, to match the classic warmth of my kit. In general the equation for me is larger and thinner. Small thick cymbals tend to sound more bell-like and I find it less appealing.I'm a big believer in the 18" crash. I also advocate the 15" hi-hat setup. 7

The second Villains single You Don't Have To Say just hit Radio and the band will be touring to support it, as well as the upcoming (Summer or Fall) full-length release. They are also writing new material. Everyone in the band does session work. McNally says that while music is its own reward, "If you bought our record, that would be cool too."