PDP Concept Maple 5-Piece Shell Pack vs Yamaha Stage Custom Birch Pack

Speaking of which, the bass drum had plenty of attack and quite a short voice for an unported drum. It's a modern sound with that kind of satisfying c...

Recently got a Yamaha stage custom birch, and it's perfect. I love the birch sound, and it's so incredibly cheap compared to all other birch options.

The drum set came with stock heads which are OK, but not great. Playable, though. I quickly bought Evans G2 Coated heads for batters and Evans G1 Clear for the reso heads. I also tried clear emporer heads as well, but I think this kit sounds best with coated batter heads

However, it would've been a five star, but the drumheads aren't the best. I'm going to have to replace them to get less ringing and more umph from the smaller tom. Also, despite all the bubble wrap, there's a giant gash in the bass drum.

I put some new DW heads on (clear with the white ring dampeners) rather than the PDP logo heads included. The included heads look fine and appear to be clear Remo Ambassadors or very similar, The tuning for the toms was a breeze and I was able to get a really good tone on all three in pretty short order. The 16 inch floor tom really booms. I put an Evans Emad on the 22 inch bass drum and it too has a booming projection and the pedal rubber pad on the hoop was a nice little bonus

You will hit a noticeable sweet spot where the tom produces overtones (rings longer). Tune the remaining lugs in the same manner. That's the easy part. Most of my time was spent on the last stage

Sooo, I went to a local music store that just happened to be having a 65th Birthday sale and got a killer deal on this PDP 7 piece kit. The finish on it is a flawless and beautiful Dark Cherry to Black Sparkle Fade (they call it red but it's a deeper shade like cherry, gorgeous and my wife's favorite color). We all know how important it is to get the wife's approval on such a purchase. Anyway, I am just starting to put it together so I will be coming back soon for a full review

First off, a 5 piece all birch shell pack for $700 is insane in itself. But the finish - I got pure white - is unbelievable. I couldn’t believe that it’s not a wrap it’s an actual finish, no cheap wrap w some big seam or anything like that.

These drums are fantastic and even better when you consider the price. I have a DW Collector's series also and am using these as gigging drums now. They really sound great and mic up very nicely and maintain their tune. I have the 7 piece kit and could not be happier

Nothing cheap about this set except for the price. Top grade fit and finish. Ideal forgigging If you're finicky about the heads ,I replaced the BD batter with a Remo Powerstroke 3 for a more controlled sound. I bought mine new on closeout from Guitar Center for less than the price of a decent snare drum