Yamaha Stage Custom Standard -RB

During my playing career I have pretty much owned and played every brand of drum and any every variation of wood shell and electric kit you can think of. Premier APK, Premier Genista original, Rodgers, Tama SwingStar Original, Tama Star Classic Maple, Yamaha Maple Custom, Ludwig Maple, Gretsch Catalina Club yada, yada, yada. I was asked by a local music producer to set up his new Yamaha Stage Custom kit and tune it to something approaching reasonable. Of course, I was delighted to help but wasn't expecting much out of the Yamaha at that price point to be honest. Oh how wrong can anyone be!? Firstly, the tuning just went to where it needed to be on all the drums. yes, I took the credit! I have to say that ,for the money, this kit has to be untouchable. I was so impressed I went straight out and bought the Standard 22", 10, 12, 16, 14 x 5.5. The finish is excellent. The rims are apparently thin so they need a lot of tuning going forward (I disagree) Both me and the producer have done many rehearsal sessions, gigs and recordings without tuning drama. The birch shell sound is perfect. Punchy, easily controlled overtones, even with the stock heads it's fantastic. We both still have the old stock heads in place.. I have "bonded" with it completely. I can't really understand how I managed to get this far in my life without one of these kits. I love it because I don't worry about it getting dinged or broken on a gig. It's so reasonably priced that any part of it can be replaced quickly and cheaply. So much less stressful than giging a stunning StarClassic for example ,or my old Yamaha Maple Custom. I'm going to buy an 8" tom today. I use my Ludwig Acrolite snare mostly, as I'm also in love with that drum, however, the stock snare on the Yamaha Stage Custom is great and very versatile on the tunings. Don't hesitate a moment longer, you can't possibly be unhappy owning this kit. I'm thinking I might buy another one to leave set up in the studio and have the original one cased up ready for gigs.