£700 vs £3000 Drum Kit - Blind Sound Test! 

My drum teacher always told me that a set of good heads and good tuning can make any drum set sound good, but you never cheap out on cymbals

I would consider the Stage Custom a 'pro' kit. There are hundreds of professional drummers playing Yamaha Stage Custom drums on stages and elsewhere.

I definitely prefer the tones of Kit A - it sounds fuller and more resonant to me. Kit B still sounds good though. I have to take my hat off to whoever tuned the kits - really great job!! I'm going to tentatively say Kit A is the Absolute Hybrid Maple and Kit B is the Stage Custom. But we'll see...

A Maple, B Birch

I think kit "A" is the birch kit, and kit "B" is the maple kit. I agree the two kits sound very similar. I play a 20 inch bass drum and kit "B" has a punchier kick sound, which is typical of a 20 inch kick. Looking forward to the reveal..

Kit A was the Maple Absolutes, Kit B was the Stage Custom Birch. The telling clues for me were in the floor tom sustain (kit A sustained for much longer), the consistency in sustain growth (with kit A, the toms started to sustain more the more you moved from drum to drum), and the general character of the drums (kit A’s drums sounded more full and had more width and growth to them; kit B was more straightforward and strident, which is a good sound for many applications). With that said, both kits sound great, and if judged specifically by the notes of the toms and the character of the kick alone, it’d be really hard to judge a difference between them.

Kit B is the Stage Custom, it sounded deeper because the toms are deeper. I am a birch lover and kit B sounds like birch to me.

I think these comparisons between Yamaha are so awesome

I just bought a stage custom My first decent kit after playing 20 + years

Kit A is the definite pro kit!

I think kit B sounds better, it’s the Absolute. You can hear the bigger difference in the 10” Tom. Kit B has more headroom and tone. Kit A compresses a bit when hit hard and doesn’t have as much shell resonance. I used to own a Stage Custom kit myself. Totally acceptable for bar gigs, less so for the studio.

Interesting topic and really well done, thanks guys!

Im going to guess kit B as the more expensive kit. That is only based upon the size of the toms and that they sounded less resonant.

Both sound great but I guess kit B is more expensive.

Kit b is the stage custom… ? Based on the kick drum sound.. but there is no bad sounding Yamaha kit. Or any kit that has good heads and tuned properly..

I think that kit B is the more expensive. I like the sound quite a bit.

Tough call- I'm guessing that kit "B" is the Stage Custom. They seem to have just a bit more of that birch bite. Great comparison video- both sound great.

By next sunday I ll be dead of curiosity 🤣 This was harder than I expected regarding the price difference, I think KIT B is the high end one just because I felt more maple vibes in the floor toms but considering that birch and maple sound quite similar to my ears, I was thinking if the floors in KIT B are sounding better because of the high end construction, lugs and so on or if it is just the maple that gives this extra "uunf" to them. Amazing content guys 👏

Awesome video! I sat and deliberately tried to just loosely listen, not analyse the sounds or focus on comparing, and the kits have a lot in common, more in common than differences. I gig with a Pearl Export, because it sound good. Same I hear people say about the Stage Custom. it simply sounds good! You can sometimes when you pay more, get more capabilities in sounds, more stable tuning and better durability. But those factors on the £700 kits are not bad at all.

I preferred Kit A as it seemed to be more alive and musical to me, Kit B sounded fine also but I am not sure which is which, I'm new to this drumming game so perhaps I still have lots to learn 🙂

Im guessing that kit B is the stage custom only because the bass drum sounded larger. I didn’t listen to on the greatest speakers tho.

B is expensive A is affordable.both sound great,makes you wonder if spending $3000 compared to $700 is worth the money.I know the hardware,bearing edges,and fit and finish is better on the maple kit but sound wise does it really command $2300 more in price.? Especially if you just do occasional gigs.

Kit A sounds deep 👍🏼

To my ears, Kit A was *slightly* richer, thus making me think that Kit A are the Maple Hybrids...but both sounded very, very good. Can you say more about how they were recorded, mics, EQ, etc?

The extra low end on B makes me think that it is the Absolute Maple. But there's definitely a lot to be said for the Stage Customs! They deliver a lot of the same tone and articulation - still a great kit.

Good video!!! I think the B kit is birch. I have a friend who plays. He spent 7k on a Tama star bubinga kit. It's lovely!! Sounds quite pretty to. I have a stage custom birch kit I paid 650 for. It sounds fabulous!! We both use the same heads, with similar tuning.

The B kit definitely sounds like the birch yamaha recording custom kit

super cool video because my situation is just wanting a kit that I can play at home to learn the drums on and the quality not be so crappy it is distracting from learning or hampering inspiration. I've played on some drum kits where the sound just makes me want to just explore all the little different tones because it sounds so nice and that inspires me whereas there are some that sound like you are hitting some paper heads or something like that. So i think for my case that I'm looking to get a kit after many years of not having one, probably the more economic choice is best.

I own a 1960s premier kit from the 1960s. 80s and 90s yamaha was made by premier. How you tune and how you play is the key. Cheap drums can sound great. Cheap hardware needs replacing, but Yamaha hardware is top notch.

Great video and not surprised at all that both sound so good it's hard to tell which was better. Now, any chance you all would like to compare your red 90's long lug stage customs with the Beech customs? I want to see if there's objective evidence to my theory that this series sounded best

They both sounded awesome

this comparison shows drastically that there is absolut NO reason for an expensive kit. I listened to this a couple of times and changed my mind every time.....btw, i own both kits! Ok - what if you changed A and B after every take ?!?! puuuuh..... my final opinion: A = SC, B = AHM

Kit A has got to be the stage custom, I have one of them myself and it sounds fairly close to mine. Plus they've got a slightly higher fundamental from what I hear Kit B ill say is the absolute maple, I've also played a maple kit for several years and the lower tones all around and more punchy sound seem to confirm my thoughts While both kits sound amazing, I'd say I prefer the sound of kit A, with the slightly higher tones it seems a little more cutting than kit B which is what I go for coming from a hard rock/metal point of view Edit: didn't realize this video was a week old already lol, gonna go watch the results now

No , because most of the club gigs and tours you do internationally will be on house or rented gear. Sad but true.

Kit A. Why? It almost sounds like a high-end Ludwig Classic Maple kit.

No. A pro can make a Pearl Vision kit sound incredible with good heads and good cymbals. The Mapex Armory sounds incredible and is very affordable. I have a Gretsch Catalina Club with a 20 inch bass drum. It sounds incredible.

Kit A is stage custom and kit B is Maple, it does sound better, but not 4 times better

Kit B has the most sensitivity in the softer dynamics. Kit A was a bit dead when hitting very softly. My guess is kit B is the expensive one.

I prefer kit A overall. I like the floor toms on Kit B better but the snare and bass drum on Kit A. Great tuning on both kits👍

I preferred the sound of kit A. It had greater resonance and attack to my ear. Am I hearing the focus of the diecast hoops, or the extra attack and growl of birch? Looking forward to finding out.

Maple or Birch? Don’t matter. They’re both plywood drums. Check out WoodFella Drum Co. Solid hardwood drums. Better sound better looking

Kit A is the Maple and more expensive, but both sounded great. Nice grooves too guys. Really enjoy this channel 👍🥁

I think kit b is the stage custom with the bigger bass drum and the floor tom sounds better, more tuned better than anything.

I liked the B kit and saw the result video .. not bad. .

I like both kits, but I would want to try some coated Ambassadors on kit B.

The maple kit has sustained powerful notes in the floor toms

Why the snare is not the hybrid maple? Is it not included when purchased?

I’d like to hear the room mics…

A Maple, B Birch. I'm actually split. Prefer the maple snare, the top three Tom Toms Birch, lower floor Tom and the bass drum maple.

They both sound good. B sounds a bit richer in the mids and fuller in the lows. I'm thinking it's the Absolute Hybrid set, but there's obviously not a huge difference between the two of them. In a really open mix you might hear the difference. They both sound good, but I wouldn't be able to tell the difference in a rock mix.

I have the Absolute, so I'll go B as Absolute, but like Paiste, Yamaha kits sound great. I may be wrong here?

Earned a sub.+like! Love it!

B for the expensive set?

Kit A sounds more like what we're going for. Kit A sang better than kit B. Head to head Kit B sounded more dead. However both make a world of difference when it comes to price point. I would still go for a cheaper option maybe other brands like Pearl Vision or Top favorite PDP Maple by DW

I think b is the absolute. It doesn't sound much better.i think the bass drum sounded a little bit less thuddy, and more ringy. But they're so close. Makes.me.so.happy that my stage custom that I just got two days ago,in natural finish (so beautiful) can sound this good. I was deliberating for two plus weeks on wether to go Yamaha, or Tama superstar.than I was Gunna get the pdp concept maple.but for a week I was dead set on the mapex armory studio ease on emerald green,or purple night sky. They're beautiful .but I went Yamaha. My friend had a redeem kit several years back and it sounded fat. So I figured Yamaha wouldn't disappoint and so far with the stock heads,no complaints other than the snare isn't amazing.but that's just reality..either way,stage custom for the win! Of course tuning,mixing,micing,head choice and the player are more important than the kit,which absolutely the truth of any and all instruments,so long as they are in the instrument itself and not a very poor version of the instrument. Drums have come so far.i bought my pearl exports in 2006 and they've always sounded kinda like ass.they costed 580$. Now for about the same money 16 years later, 750$, I have real Shells that sound great with stock heads.and they'll be even better when I switch em out

A novice drummer here trying listen from a purely "music bystander's" ear on my smartphone's speakers. The sound differences to me are there but negligible especially if they were to be played with other musicians in a song context. Liked Kit A slightly better.

A is the expensive kit, B is the cheaper kit. The dead giveaway is the lack of high end in kit B.

Kit a is the maple hybrid for sure but much prefer kit B the stage customs

Not gonna predict which kit is which, and both kits sound great, but my ears prefer the sound of Kit B...whichever one that is.

I like kit A overall. I think it is the birch kit.

B is Absolute, A is stage custom. It’s the die cast hoops that make most of the difference, not the wood.

They sound so close to same for me I can't tell. Of course, my hearing isn't very good....

I’m thinking A is the more expensive kit. Funny how , to me , A sounded better so I automatically think it’s the expensive one and B doesn’t sound bad at all. This is interesting.

Dollar for dollar the best drums and hardware on the planet.

B for me, I’m hoping it’s the stage 🤞👀

I'm gonna say A is the Stage Custom, B is the Absolute. Slightly unfair because the Stage Customs are probably the best bang for buck "budget" kit you can buy! Other kits in that price point won't be as good...

Kit B expensive. Better tone and liveliness but I’d say there was 15-20% difference max. Not 400%

I like both of them. And if I must choose, I take A.

Stage Custom: A, Absolute Maple: B

I preferred Kit A all around.

Drum A is stage custom Edit* I answered before watching the results!

Kit A to me. Fuller and deeper but no strange ringtones. I think A is AHM and B is SC. My brain want to be right but my bank account don’t.

Kit A maple, KIT B birch

Kit B is the better sounding one no matter what the cost

Kit A = higher price

A - Stage Custom, B - Absolute Maple

One thing is clear here ,there is not, even a hint of £2700 sonic difference here.....

B is hybrid IMO.

I like the sound of kit B better

Kit A AHM, Kit B SC

Kit A: Birch Kit B: Maple

I'd prefer Kit A

Jonathan Pinson solo at 14:07 of the video (on a Yamaha stage custom ): m.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8d3gOxBk9O4.html Eric Harland on a Yamaha stage custom: m.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-i4472WXUBWE.html Nate Wood solo on a Yamaha stage custom: m.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-R5QEgbZtEEI.html Will Kennedy playing on a Yamaha Stage custom: m.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1EHO-RtJd9Q.html Jimmy McBride playing on a stage custom : m.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-DpzN7kfjdw0.html

I thought A was the expensive kit. I look forward to being proven wrong.

I think Kit B is the expensive one... :D

I reckon kit A is the birch & B the maple obviously. I have owned a Pearl BLX birch shell, I now have a Pearl masters maple. My first full kit was a Pearl Export back in 1985, I then got the BLX in 1990, personally I could 100% hear the difference in quality. These are not Pearl kits though so my conclusions could be wrong.

Kit A Absolute Hybrid Maple

Just so I can embarrass myself I'm going to say A is the expensiver one but it hardly makes a difference.

B for me

Kit b is the money maple kit.

Absolutely not. I spent a huge amount of time as a young drummer understanding how to tune, how drum heads effect sound as well as types of shells and sizes. I am confident that I can make any drumset sound decent. We actually experimented long before the youtube days with recording a Walmart drumset with nice heads and shockingly got a pretty impressive recording. Buy the best you can afford without breaking your wallet and learn how to make it work for you. I've owned everything from a cb 700 kit to a dw collectors and some amazing kits in-between.

kit A the birch

Short answer NO. The kit does not make the drummer. 90% of drum sound is heads and tuning , wood species, lugs make smaller barely noticeable difference especially once you ate playing with other musicians

You don't need expensive kit, you need reliable kit and your bag of rudiment drum tricks, that's all

Snare from Kit A, Rest from B

A the best

A is hybrid maple

A. Maple kit

A, Stage custom

A absolut B STAGE CUSTOM.