Hey I'm James from Better Music and this is Jamie from Yamaha, today we are going to talk
about the Yamaha Absolute Hybrid Maple. I've just had a hit of this kit man.
Yeah what did you think? It sounded very impressive when you were playing.
Yeah thanks man. It was an awesome kit. Feels really good to play the die-cast hoops on
all the toms, they don't choke them, you must use like a lighter...
Actually, with Yamaha we use an aluminium die-cast hoop, they're a little lighter weight,
so they are not going to constrict the sound like some of the older die-cast hoops do,
but you still get the tuning benefits of having that die-cast hoop, the even tension around the shell.
Also the dynamics, the response is incredible you can play beautifully silent and still
get a great tone with the whole drum, as well as dig in an get that bite and that attack.
I've also noticed they're finished inside?
Yeah, look theres a few things there, I think they're a really expressive drum, to me you've
got more dynamic range as you said earlier, what you were saying about the finish on the
inside, that even kind of ads to the sound too.
The shells are finished on the inside with what Yamaha calls a vintage natural finish,
it's a very thin coating and it gets darker naturally with age. It just helps them with
projection and adds a little bit more top end which is terrific for microphones.
What really sets this kit apart is probably a couple of features that you can't see straight
away. So the shells construction, Yamaha have always had a thing called the Air Seal System,
it ensures that every time we make a drum shell it comes out perfectly round. They use
an air bag on the inside of the shells and consistent pressure around the inside of that
shell when they are forming it. They use a diagonal seam on the joins, and they are a
staggered diagonal seam around the inside of the kit so there's no weak spots in the shell either.
There's some features that you can see on the outside as well. One of the first I'll
point out to you, I think this is a terrific step forward, our YESS mounting system, this
has been an industry favourite for a long time, it's evolved with this kit, so we now
have YESS 3. This system is a little bit nicer to look at than the previous model with a
full chrome plate, but its also really really enhancing the sustain of the drums, and making
them more expressive like you said earlier. Lastly, one of the features I'd like to point
out is our hook lug system. This is a unique Yamaha feature and I'm really excited about
this on the drums. I should point out, the reason that we put this on the drum shell
is because it lets them breathe more, it lets them sound better. But it adds a really cool
feature for us as players. To change a head, 1 2 3 4, I can back that off, and just slide
that off the shell there.
So Jamie, why is it call a hybrid?
Ah, very glad you asked. It's simply the shell construction. The shells here aren't just
maple, this is a maple, wengè, maple shell construction. Have you heard of wenge before?
No, what's wenge?! It's a South African tone wood often used
in other instruments as well, but, yamaha have experimented with different combinations
of timber and this is a seven ply shell that we have here, so 3 ply maple, 1 ply wenge
and 3 ply maple, and it really excites the shells vibration when playing, that's what
it comes down to. So a combination of this mount, and that hybrid drum shell is really
what gives it that tone that you were experiencing before. It's different to any kit that's on
the market at the moment from any other manufacturer. Combined with the shell fittings and that
mounting system, I think it's the most expressive kit that I've ever played, and I really love
it, and I'm glad you did too.
Thanks for coming down today Jamie, I really appreciate it. I appreciate you having me
here, it's always good to come to Better Music. Come down and have a hit of the kit yourself,
see what you think, check out some of the other videos on our website, subscribe if
you'd like and thanks for watching. Leave some comments below.