Yamaha Absolute Hybrid Maple

[Paul Marangoni]

Does anyone here own a set of these? What do you think? I may pick up a set soon.

[Steve Holmes]

I think Luie Palmer may have gotten a set of those? If so any of his recent vids with the white Yamaha kit is them. I think they sound great - but I prefer the phx still. Also my rental in NY was a maple custom absolute which sounded amazing as well.

[Matus]

Great stuff. I'm not a huge fan of the snare drums, but bass drum and toms sound awesome, with lots of depth to them. The construction is flawless, as usual, and the lugs work wonderfully.
But I miss the huge finish chart of the Absolute Series. I'm still using my MCA kit, but might end up switching to the Hybrids to change sizes.
And yeah, the PHX is still the unbeatable line. Never tried anything like it in the studio.

[Julián Fernández]

Maybe it´s a good to time to find a NOS Japan-made Absolutes... I find one and I LOVE that kit... No doubt Hybrids sounds good though.

[Paul Marangoni]

Maybe it´s a good to time to find a NOS Japan-made Absolutes... I find one and I LOVE that kit...

I had a set of the Maple Custom Absolutes. They were nice, but very generic sounding. No special "character". I think the Hybrid drums have more of an identity.

What worries me about the lug on the Hybrids is the fact that they are attached with one bolt (I think). I worry that over time, especially under high tension (like with a snare drum), the lug could eventually distort into the shell.

As for the Phoenix line, I've heard that their tuning range isn't as wide as the Hybrid's. The PHX tend to favor a lower tension.

[mcraeh]

Should be great, i have the older maple customs (90's) and they sound nice and are really starting to sound almost vintage to me. my practice kit is a saturn and is huge difference. man im curious to try the phx though, mc's are great but I've had them so long feel like i need a change!! are phx still same quality from Yamaha? i know there was a change in the company etc..?

[Odd-Arne Oseberg]

Dave used them on last years intensive. Sounded huge with a lot of presence.

[Julián Fernández]

are phx still same quality from Yamaha? i know there was a change in the company etc..?

PHX was never made in the Sakae factory, and it´s the only line that´s still made in Japan.

"PHX series is still hand made by only 3 craftsman in our Yamaha Music Craft facility in Hamamatsu Japan." -Dave Jewell, Marketing Manager-

[bored at work]

The problem with a lot of the videos that Yamaha have made to advertise the new Maple Hybrid drums all feature the drums with the standard stock Taiwanese made Remo heads that come with the drums. Those heads have no tone and I can really hear them in the sound of the videos.

Swapping those heads out for some better Remo heads or anything others really makes a difference to the sound of the drums, as can be heard here.



I've seen a couple of kits in the UK, in particular a set in the white and I think I'm likely to get a kit when funds allow.

[jem]

What Yamahas are these?