Yamaha Stage Custom Advantage Nouveau

Like the other reviewer I bought this kit around three years ago, and so have had plenty of time to formulate a good opinion of this kits true worth. I have played many live shows, have played various different types of music and had countless different heads on the kit.

I brought it in blue to black fade, and have to say that it looks absolutely great. One of the best things about yamaha drums (this is the second yamaha kit i have owned, and several of my friends play yamaha) is how they look - vintage but contemporary, the hardware and colours are always pleasing in a minimal and simple way. Features wise I would have to say that this kit (being fairly old) isn't going to compete with all of the more modern mid price drum sets, some of which are fantastically well specd for the price, but then it has not been left behind either - it is made of birch, mahogany and falkata shells, with yamaha's patented air seal system, comes equipped with the brilliant YESS mounting system and a full set of lightweight yet durable hardware including two boom stands.

The Stage Custom Advantage drums have a pretty good sound, particuarly suited to someone looknig for versatility in their kit. The included heads actually turn a fairly decent performance in, but i would definitely encourage replacement.

Kick - with the EMAD coated head that I have, this drums turns in a great tone for recording, but is quite quiet, and not so well suited for live sound. Plenty of muffling is recommended, and careful tuning, but you will get a good sound. The only thing that bugs me is that my first yamaha kit, a YD, had a much better sounding bass drum (with an evans EQ3 head and three holz). Then again, I really haven't heard many kick drums that sound as good as that, I think it must have been an anomoly!

Snare - The one aspect of the kit that i find dissappointing is the snare. Yamahas more expensive snares are a joy to behold - not so with this. The sound has no real focus and is too shallow (with any head you care to try) - the biggest problem are the snare wires, which sound too buzzy and cannot be stretched tight enough to get a decent sound. I replaced this with a similarly priced pearl export snare, which has a great sound.

Toms - have a great tuning range - I can get the 14" tom to sound like a 16" without too much trouble. I have Evans G2s on at the moment, but ideally the toms suit something with overtone damping, the two best for these being Remo Pinstripes and particuarly Evans EC2s which sound lovely.

Overall, I would say that this drum kit has a good sound which fits well into any mould, but the truth is that these days makes like Tama and Pacific are producing kits that really do sound close to professional at this price.

Mostly this kit is fairly durable. The stock heads last quite well, the hardware is tough as nails despite its single braced nature and the heads stay tuned for a good length of time. I do have a few issues with mine though -

- For a period whilst I had the kit mounted on a drum rack, the 10" tom used to come into contact with the snare drum rim, and although it never took any serious knocks this way, there are still some pretty significant marks, which show up white and stand out. However other than that the finish is in great shape, and I suspect it is of a high quality is it still looks very desirable after a long time.

- The cymbal stands, although completely adequate, are not the toughest, and particuarly large cymbals mounted at awkward angels will slip over time. The legs could be a little longer, too - my 22" ride has caused the stands to topple over if I place it carelessly.

I have never had to contact yamaha, which I suppose is a testament to the kit.

Overall this kit is of a completely acceptable standard, and if the look and style of yamaha drums is your thing (which it should be!) then there isn't a better kit for the money (until second hand tour customs start appearing on ebay in large numbers). But to be brutally honest drum kits in this price bracket have gotten so much better in the past few years that this kit has been outclassed. It sounds great when miked up, so suits recording, and works for gigging, the look is awesome, and you can probably find a second hand one for an unbelieveable price now, but for it's street price, it's not in the top 5.

My kit is a 5 piece Matte Oak finished Stage Custom Advantage Nouveau. It has a "fusion" sizes of a 17x22 Bass drum; 8x10, 9x12 and 16x16 toms; and a 5.5x14 snare. The Matte Sienna finish is stunning, the matte finish looks professional and eye catching in person and looks like this under stage lights: http://s73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/sudzdrummer/?action=view¤t=IMG_5315.jpg

ALL of my ratings will be in consideration of the price/value of this kit and not as it is compared to a DW custom drum kit... duh!

The hardware with this kit is all fairly high quality. Having owned the kit for almost 3 years I've not had anything break or strip on me. The YESS mounts and tom ball holders are great. The bass drum mounted tom holder has memory locks to prevent vertical slippage and the ball mounts allow for virtually any tom placement you can think of. The cymbal stands are single braced but of sturdy quality and provide memory locks as well. The hi-hat stand is middle of the pack, it's sturdy enough but I've had it slide around on me a bit in the past. Lastly the bass drum pedal is actually pretty good for a stock model. I've recently upgraded it but I don't have many complaints. If you're looking for a bunch of adjustment options on your pedal you should definitely upgrade it.

One of the big chages in the nouveau line is the advent of the nouveau lugs. They're made up of a composite material that more or less is like heavy-duty plastic. These lugs are a mixed bag. They're great for quickly changing your heads. They also hold their position quite well even when I hit my drums hard. This is important so the drums don't go out of tune (a problem with some mid-level kits). The lugs however CAN be broken if you don't use them correctly. When I first got my kit I was experimenting with the snare sound and cranked the lugs far too tight breaking a few of them. However, since then I haven't had any issues at all.

All Advantage Nouveau kits come with 8 ply wood shells. Included is an inner ply of falkata wood, 6 middle plies of mahogany and an outer ply of either birch (laquered finishes) or oak (matte finish). The shells produce a pretty distinct tone. I haven't heard any drums that sounds like my stage customs... other than other stage customs of course. With the proper tuning and some good heads this kit can have attack AND enough low end to shake beer bottles off of the PA speakers at your local venue! (seriously... my floor tom does this in soundchecks. But that doesn't explain why people put beer bottles on sub woofers...)

The stock heads are actually somewhat decent but I'd recommend outfitting the kit with some new heads ASAP... especially if you're going to be doing any recording or live performances. I find Coated Remo Emperors or Coated Evans G2s work well on the toms with a Coated Ambassador on the snare... experiment with head choices to find your ideal sound!

For the money you'll pay, the features of this kit are pretty good. Most companies offer similar features and for the most part the SC's hardware is run-of-the-mill. BUT... it's sturdy, practical and hasn't let me down yet. What more can I ask for from an intermediate level it?

Alright, this is the important stuff, right? There's been a HUGE influx of all maple or birch intermediate level kits come out in the last few years. Because of this I've been paying particular attention to the kits in the SC's pricepoint. I can honestly say that (in my opinion of course...) the Stage Customs CAN compete in every way with Mapex's M series, PDP's CX, MX and LX series, Tama's superstar series etc etc etc... The key is that the mahogony shells produce a fundimentally low but UNIQUE tone.

That being said... the toms have a fair bit of attack tuned high but really shine tuned lower. When tuned higher the toms produce a tone with noticible mids but I've found the highs to be a little bit distorted and pitch-bendy. This could be due to my head choices though (currently evans g2 coated on batter and clear remo ambassadors on the resonant side). When tuned down the toms groan with full low end and a clear voice. I honestly believe that the toms can sound as good as a maple kit's if they're tuned and headed well!!

The bass drum is the shining star of the stage customs. at 17x22 it's big enough to sing if it's opened up with no dampening inside. Currently I'm running a Remo Powerstroke 3 batter head with a Remo fiberskyn ambassador resonant head with absolutely no muffeling. Even without mics the kick produces a low fundimental tone with the signature stage custom tone within. If you tune it up a bit and throw a small pillow inside you can get it sounding "clicky" and defined enough to cut through louder music. For instance, a friend of mine plays SC's in a speed metal band and needs a pronounced kick sound while I play in an alt-rock band and prefer a big "boomy" kick tone. This drum can do it all.

The snare is the enigma of the Stage Custom kit. I honestly wasn't impressed with it. It didn't provide much versatility and struggled to provide presence. I did find that it can crack pretty good when it's tightened waaaay up but that also caused the polymer lugs to break...hmmm... I solved this issue by buying a 6x14 maple snare.

Overall I LOVE the sound of the toms and bass drum. While they aren't maple they DO sound unique and when tuned, headed and mic'd properly can sound professional. My band played a show recently in which my stage customs sounded bigger, fuller, deeper and all-around more badass than another drummer's PDP LX kit.

As I've said I haven't had many problems with reliability. Try not to overtighten your clamps or add-on cymbal arms as I've left some unsightly dents in some of my cymbal stands. The polymer lugs are a double-edged sword but for the most part are a nice feature. The finish is beautiful and professional looking. Make sure you use the provided "scuff-guard" for the bass drum pedal clamp or you'll get some wear on the inside of your hoop.

I've gigged with this kit for almost 3 years and have NEVER had something fail on me on stage. In comparison, in at least 75% of the times I used a house kit or another drummer's kit I've had things strip, break and altogether fail. This kit is road/tour worthy as long as you get it some cases to preserve its beautiful finish!

I've never had a problem worthy of contacting Yamaha but my kit came with a 1 year warrenty. Contact your local drum store for warrenty terms before you make your purchase.

I spent months researching my first "real" kit. I chose the Stage Custom because it was a price I couldn't pass up ($800CAD brand new w/ hardware and a 16" zildjian A thin crash) and because it posessed all of the features I was looking for. It SOUNDED GOOD out of the box, looks great (I get lots of compliments) and has good hardware.

After hearing hundreds of kits on stage since I bought this kit I've gotta say that I wouldn't change my mind. This kit can sound great if you put effort into getting it there. Don't get me wrong... It's NOT a custom maple drumkit with top-of-the-line features. But for the money you're paying I wouldn't hesitate to endorse this kit to my best friend let alone other drummers.

Good luck and keep swingin'!