Yamaha Absolute Hybrid Maple - Drummer's Review 

it sounds good in all of them

Jake Staffin Remo made heads for Yamaha are the same quality as retail made Remo heads. There’s no difference in quality. I bought a Yamaha and a Gretch snare recently both with a Remo heads and the quality is the same as regular are o heads. I lucked out since I always have fresh Remo heads ready for any new drums I buy. That’s ALOT of heads considering my preference for Tama drums. I’ll tolerate an Evans resonant bass drum head but that’s about it. Check out the recent Remo factory tour from Drummerzone. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Ag30fq-dJxQ.html

Nolly's remaining indoors, if you ask me

Nolly's not coming back, get over it.

Neal Babbitt didn’t know the Drummers Review Channel had deep enough connections to summon the GREAT Neal Babbitt to enforce resourceful (not at all out of the ass) replies for them, It makes you wonder why Nolly left🤔

@@aaronsepulveda2874 Great?! LOL. Nolly was cool....it is, what it is. We got to move along. It's a great channel anyway. Do you follow covenofficial on Facebook? I have an Instagram versatone. #coven6669

@@NEALBABBITT 😂😂😂 i think we all miss Nolly

Damn good score!

What's your opinion after a year of owning?

I've got a set of the oak hybrids. They're very nice!!!!

@@rongriffin5980 I've not heard a set of the new Hybrids, but apparently, Yamaha listened to the complaints, and toned them down from the first series. The tone they produced was killer, but they were obnoxious for a lack of better words. That first line would've been the perfect kit for when I was playing in the 80's and battling stage volumes from hell. As far as RU-vid video's go, the Hybrids I've heard sound really, really nice....but, since the new line came out, they're almost as expensive as the Hybrid Maples now, which to my ears is right there with the Phoenix line. But, yes, I agreed the new ones have a really music warm to them. Congrats on the kit! 👍

@@phillamoore157 Very well stated. I agree the AMH do sound like the Phoenix and Yamaha is pricing these kits super high. You're probably right in saying that for the money maybe the AMH is the way to go.

@@rongriffin5980 ...your comment came to mind the other day, Ron. I finally got to sit behind a set of the Oak Hybrids, and they sound absolutely stunning! It's a different kit (IMO) than the old ones. These were more like the Recording Customs on steroids. Very musical, and live, without being "boomy"....and that kick is awesome. Kudos again, if you've still got them. Yamaha killed it. I'm having a custom kit made as we speak, but if that wasn't the case I would've bough them on the spot. 👍

Your mom

Absurd.

They are good kits. Just preference.

I had a Saturn a while ago and it was nice but to me the Yamahas to mate better in every way I have 6 piece AHM and the low end the wedge gives just melts perfectly with the maple tone. They are the best drums I have ever owned. I have had: Gretsch USA custom (2nd best) DW collectors maple Mapex Saturn The one kit though that might replace my AHMs are the Canopus RFMs The versatility of the AMHs is awesome they are receptacle to different heads unlike the rest of the kits here. Just my two cents

@@AMx39 Hi Anthony. I'm thinking about getting one of theses kits. I currently play Gretsch Usa Custom. What do you like about these drums vs the Gretsch USA Customs? Thanks

@@davidedwards7448 Hey there man. First off, you have great taste my friend. Them USA customs are something else. Definitely one of the absolute best lines out there. Gretsch USAs have what I would call a “sweet” sound to them. They are very musical and focused. They are amongst the few high end kits that actually have a distinct character to their sound. To me, Gretsch USA’s tom are phenomenal, they simply just sing and have a nice higher pitch/ focused tone them. The floor toms however always sounded “confused”. By this I mean that I was never able to get a growly deep tone out of them. They always wanted to be tunned a little higher than I wanted ( they wanted to sing vs growl). The bass drum sounded good but just that and I always just wanted more out of it but could only get good enough tones and punch out of it (22x16). Now one huge factor for me is drum feedback. By this I mean that aside from they drum projecting a nice tone outward, I love drums that project that same tone towards the player. In addition and equally as important is the feel/response of those drums when you hit them with your sticks/ pedal. DW for example has an amazing “live tone to them. They have an amazing “generic” tone to them. They are the punchiest drums, probably the loudest and their projection in my opinion is unrivaled. However, they lack both character ( tone wise) and the biggest issue for me was the response. No matter how I tunned them or heads I used both from remo and evans, they always felt stiff almost like hitting cardboard boxes (only exception was the kick, probably best kick I’ve had). The Gretsch weren’t as bad. They actually had the opposite going on with the toms sounding and feeling great but the kick felling stiff and a bit chocked ( only a little though). That was the same issue I had with the mapex Saturn kit. Toms were amazing but the kick never sounded as good as the rest of the drums. So now onto Yamaha. To me Yamaha has always had a perfect balance of everything I want out of a drum set. The hardware is simply amazing and super functional. I’ve owned 3 kits from them (stage custom, tour custom, and now AHMs) and though they have obvious tonal differences, they always fell great to play and they sound clean. That is how I can describe the typical Yamaha sound. They are clean and balanced drums. The AHM are very unique though. Tonally, the wenge middle of the drum adds not only warmth ( just enough) but also depth. They remind me of how the mapex saturns toms sounded but without the loss of attack. The rack toms on this Yamaha sound focused and full with a good balance of tone, punchy ness and volume. They sing with Blake the USAs but with a bit more extra. The floor toms are just as good. They are deep and punchy with great low end that still has focus to them. They are seriously the best floor toms I’ve played on and heard. Now, I really like the toms/ floors on this kit but my favorites have to be the kick and snare. The kick is only a 22x14 and it sounds just amazing. They amount of low end and punch it puts out just didn’t make sense for its dimensions. It has it all it has great attack, warmth, tone, punchiness and projection and fell/ response. The volume of the kick is about 30% more then the rest of the drums. Not as loud as a DW but enough for it to easily stand out. This kick is just fabulous man. I play it unported with a small evans pillow in it mainly for taming the bouncy ness of the unported drum. The snare drum is plain and simple the best wood snare I’ve ever played with the DW collectors coming in second. That thing is fat and crispy. The response is amazing. The only other snare drums that sound this good would be the Canopus “the maple”snare drum and the Ludwig black beauty/ supraphonic. I really like these drums man they just offer superb tone, great projection, great fell/ response, full and dynamic. The more you dig into them the more they give back. Hit em soft and they’ll sing, dig in and they will growl and everything in between. The drums just have all kinds of character to them. I have tried different heads with them and each one sounds different and great. It’s like they work with the drum heads to give you actual different tones all while still sounding balanced and clean. That would have to be the one thing that has bothered me with the Gretsch drums, no matter what heads you put on, they still retain that same character and some heads sounded “forced”. Now don’t get me wrong, that great Gretsch sound is one of the best but I really like drums that I can make sound different. The Yamahas will give you that. They sound great live, they record amazingly and when I play them I just smile because they feel as good as they sound. My only 1 1/2 gripe about these drums are the fact that they are made in China and not Japan. The quality though is there so I just overlook that because I’ve come to learn that it’s not so much where they are made but how they are made that makes for great drums. Lastly I wish the kick was just a tad bit louder. It’s not that it’s kinda week or anything like that, it’s just that the drum sounds so damn good I want a little more of it 😂. I might add a 22x16 in the near future. Oh and the finish in them is A+ too. All in all man I’d say get them. They Gretsch es you have are amazing drums these will probably be more versatile though. For me they are the best value in drums, you get a lot for what you pay especially if you get them on sale. Get them man I think you will love them. Other drums worth looking into as well are the Canopus RFM kits man, drum center of Portsmouth has a video on them I believe. The kit in that video sounds pretty similar to these Yamahas but a bit more crisp. I think they might be better by a hair or two 😂. They are definitely on my list and I’ve been debating on getting those to replace my Yamahas but they are so similar that the extra 1k I’d spend for the same setup doesn’t seem completely worth it. Idk I love those canopuss drums man. Anyway hope this helps man sorry for the essay I just get really excited about these drums because I have tried so many and these just give me 95% of what I’ve always wanted out of a drum kit. Thanks again stay blessed and stay safe my friend God bless you.

@@AMx39 Thanks for responding back Anthony!! Your assessment is spot on in terms of my Gretsch! The last time I had a Yamaha kits was in the mid-90's. I had two of the maple kits with the brass square lugs and probably 3-4 recording custom kits and about 5 Dw Collectors kits during that same time frame so appreciate hearing drum experiences!! Just sold my Sakae Almighty Maple kit which was loud ,but they didn't have the range or character of my Gretsch. You mentioned Canopus, I actually have the"Maple" 14x6.5 which sounds great, I'd rather have a 14x5. I am thinking about selling the Canopus which is mint and replacing it with a Gretsch USA 14x5. I've played the shorter depths all my life and wanted to try a deeper drum when I purchased the 14x6.5. Let me know if you are interested and I'll send you pics. Have you ever played a Canopus kit in person? Thanks Anthony!!

There’s a Power Stroke 3 on the bass drum. Trust me, these AHM bass drums have more ooomph than the older, Maple Custom Absolutes. I played them, both.

I think he has it tuned a bit too low. Lots of head sound, but no boom!!

I agree, when you bring the tuning up. it punches. I play a 22x14. It pounds! @@davidedwards7448

What? 22x18 is a cannon. And with all the vents I can leave the reso head unported without bouncy pedal.

Ronnie K Boring finish?...How about calling it something that works in every gig visually WITHOUT being too over the top...

They also come in some nice sparkle finishes Ronnie.

@@johnnygarr6 True but in some situations even some sparkle,oyster, & other finishes may too flashy on certain gigs from a visual stand point...Another example of why a natural matte finish will work in ANY situation..

Very subjective comment. :) Anyways, there are several different finishes to choose from.

The vintage finish is cool, it darkens over time to a really nice finish

I like finding great deals on used stuff myself.

Low mass Tom holder, funny that some manufacturers have been raving about this kind of thing for years but now you can also buy a top line kit with extra weighted design lugs designed to give a beefier sound! Well I think they will say anything if it makes more 💰.

@@johncollins5552 There are definitely diverging thoughts on the subject.

@@NEALBABBITT same, i got a seriously great deal on my 1970s premier elite kit + 2000 model snare! :) only thing ive bought new are some cymbals, everything else is 2nd hand/used :)

@@jameskirkbydrums oh, I'm all over used cymbals!

Im with you on that, ugly as a fuck, everyone as a drum key, why the hell keep those ??? Try to put that in a case

Ian Touzel I like them

@@iantouzel638 there's this return to retro thing going on, some of it's good, some of it's bad.

i like them a lot so easy to tune with them. Yamaha did that on the Yamaha absolute noveau kit too. They’re not on the two bottom lugs so they never get in the way for me.

They are for functionality - easier to tune without a key.

4,000 bucks and it doesn't even come with chrome over brass rims?

its 3,000, it comes with nice die cast hoops,

And the lug system is great, can change a head in 2 mins flat

I have both, and the Stage Customs are very good but the AHM are better for sound, feel, dynamics, tuning, resonance, projection, looks, but not price.

@@larrytate1657they are the only company using aluminum die cast hoops. I hate dc hoops, but Yamahas are very light. Technology that works, another good aspect of Yamaha.

cymbals are from other galaxy, best sounding cymbal ever hear, cant believe all this people speak bad about paiste..., i like more the sound of this ones than any ziljian or sabian....