It's not just the shells... it's the drum heads, how you tune the drums, micing techniques, sticks, etc.
We all have different tastes... I think nearly all drum companies make quality products that compete with each other.
Choose what you like and go with it. Don't rely on what others are doing or playing... listen for yourself and make your own choice. You may find that the $6,000 drum kit is not worth extra cost.
Bottom line Yamaha Oak Custom is the Baddest Drums On Earth hands Down! Thanks I'm so happy with them! You can't understand I been Through many and if yo have the balls to mic them OMG! I heard the PhX but the Oaks! OMG! !
Nufff said! Its a Rap! Much Respect Gary but OaK Custom is the Best! Period! Oh
Yeah put the Remo Black Onyx Heads On them and Hollar at your boy I"m done here!
ive been playing drums for almost 15 years now and i can personally say that this high price gear is mostly hype. ive owned dws premier, tama, yamaha, and a pearl and most of them sounded good if you tuned them well. i currently own a yamaha stage custom birch which cost me 600 bucks. if you sat it next to one of these phx kits the phx may sound a little better and look a little better, but not 6000 dollars better.
@heathnm156 couldnt agree with you more, its mostly about astethics , put that stage custom on a sound stage with same heads as PHX or recording custom tuned similarly and close your eyes and i would like to see how many drummers could discern the difference , its mostly about looks,
When I got back into playing a couple of years ago (after a 20 plus year lay off to raise a family), I determined that I was going to get a nice kit with a great sound and to be reasonable about what I spent. I wanted and demanded a great sound but knew that you didn't necessarily need the top of the line kit to get it. I went with Gretsch Catalina (one in maple and one in ash wood). Everyone that plays them remark at the surprisingly great sound they produce.
How the hell can you be searching for something and not know that you've been searching for it? he says he doesn't endorse and is a purest, well he sure gushes over Yamaha here, its like Todd Sucherman with the Pearl Demon Drive Pedal ad, its pass the puke bucket time.
Is it weird that the sound and make of my kit doesnt really bother me? ive owned my own kit for around three and a half years and although i tune it to get a good sound, makes and models of kits and which ones sound better don't bother me much..... im just happy to be playing and a lot of what Novak was saying went over my head!!! should I be worried lol
I have always been a Tama guy. But after Tama, Yamaha are the best drums money could afford you. If you don't like Tama drums then I recomend you give these babies a try. They look and sound amazing. Brilliant.
@Lifesucksdie123 Well stated. But let's not forget about the large amounts of cash these companies throw at these guys for the endorsment. I know different companies have different types of endorsments. i.e. the longer you've been with the company, the more the contract is worth. But I agree with you, all the major drum makers are putting out high quality stuff. Besides, by the time a kit is miked up and the signal is processed a few times, we almost never hear a dry signal anymore.
Yamaha has been making the best drums on the planet for decades. DO NOT pretend you know anything about PHX drums until you try them! They are simply beyond anything! besides, Gary played Yamaha for years and years before he had a brief stint with Sonor and DW.
Vinnie - Yamaha to Gretsch Donati - Premier to Pearl Harvey Mason - Gretsch to Pearl Bissonette - Yamaha to Mapex Calhoun - Sonor to Mapex Minneman - Tama to DW Erskine - Yamaha to DW Novak - DW to Yamaha what does it matter? After a while, your ears crave a slightly different sound. Change is good. Everyone hears things differently. All drum companies make good stuff. How you tune it, what heads you use, and the room you're in make a lot of difference. It's all good.
@drulius Maypex is the best kit I've ever played on, just testing it out at the store. Wow! What a sound! And by the way, how good a player you are makes all the difference too, with cymbals as well:) I certainly ain't that good, haha! Nice comment!
@scorchwhammin going back to his David Lee Roth days, he had Yamahas. Then Pearl, then Slingerland, then Mapex. I just skipped a couple in there. :-)
Gary's a great guy and a top player, but he'll play anything - he used my Premier Signias in 2006 on the UK Robben Ford tour, said he loved 'em (but then again, Premier Signias are probably THE most overlooked amazing maple drums ever made)
I don't see why every one thinks there's a bunch of money in endorsements. Unless he's a clinician for that company, which I don't believe he is, Yamaha isn't paying him. He does get all his gear for free but why would Yamaha pay him?
Yamaha will give you a drum set if your part of a million (platinum) selling album and are touring, other than that, its the artist discount. They don't hand out drum sets for free like candy.
Yamaha is really the best drum company out there I think. Seriously, ive had pearl, tama, mapex, DW, and sonor. I just got a Yamaha. I have never been so blown away. Every show I play, I get complimented by the sound tech and by the audience etc. They are so strongly made and the sound is just out of this world. Never again will I buy another brand of drums. And its true, all my favorite drummers and heros have used Yamaha's. Now that includes Gary!
there are many and many good drums , if the player is top the drum is good , i play my own drum and i prefer to yamaha , for novak or other drummers played yamaha is a money deal
Some guys will play a Fender. Some will play a Gibson, or an Ibanez or a ESP, or a Gretsch or any one of a hundred different great quality guitars. Whatever it is you want to play and for whatever reasons you have to play them, then that instrument is certainly the right choice for you. There is no better or worse, just whatever it is that you feel best playing. A magazine ad will not make you play better.
but I´m sad he changed DW for this, because with DW he has so nice sound, remember Alanis Morissette tour around 2000, and with Michael Landau. DW still sounds and looks to me best,
They are still best drums I think . And about Cameron - I liked him more with Soundgarden (using DW). Now Matt sounds like drummer from AC/DC
Hahaha......Yamaha had to get away with it somehow because Peter Erskine left them a while ago to play DW's. I'm not a fan of neither, but if I have to choose, I'd do what Mr. Erskine did. I know a LOT of people love Yamaha, but I'm not trying to be discourteous, it's just a matter of opinion.
Billy Cobham is one of my all time favorites, and he uses Yamaha, but he's still a monster....the same goes to Matt Cameron...... the list could go on and on........
It's a pretty bullshitty political kind of interview especially the idea that " all his heroes" play Yamaha?? - So Tony Williams, Jack Dejohnette, Buddy Rich, and about a million other drummers just happen not to be on his heroes list and just happen NOT to play yamaha??!! why doe's he have to stoop that low- it is bullshit- I still love his playing!
phoneboothstayinit 1- like I said about a million other players also Don't play Yamaha- (some great players even play Ludwig god forbid!!) and he's asking us to believe that all his favorite drummers just happen to play Yamaha?!?! you know that's BULLSHIT- His list would be awfully short- and what happens if some new player comes along who's playing he loves and the guy doesn't play Yamaha-?? Doe's he have to kill himself then or what-?
As a Yamaha endorser who just started playing the PHX I can attest to everything Gary says here. It truly IS something very special and everybody who hears it loves the sound, yamaha "fans" or not. I started playing Yamaha over 30 years ago as a kid and nothing else really comes close.
the funny thing is that definately his biggest influence is Vinnie, especially in the 90's (you either have to be deaf or not have listened to Colaiuta's playing at all not to hear it in his playing) and because he has switched from yamaha to gretsch, he can't mention him as an influence.. :)
Can't say I blame him for leaving DW. The kit I owned let me down in a lot of ways. Too bad the PHX kits cost even more. And why don't they show him play the damn kit? All that talk and no demo?!?!
I'm fortunate enough to own both a DW and Yamaha Maple Custom kit and I must say that my DW's take up a lot more time in getting them to sound great. Don't get me wrong they sound amazing...but they just take a little more time and are more sensitive to small things. I can bring in my Yamahas from a cold car right to stage and instantly they deliver what I want. I don't know why but they just perform so consistently every time. Btw, I love their hardware too... :)
I absolutely agree with him. I've played many different brands of drums, and to my ears Yamaha's are the best. Not only sound wise but hardware and overall quality also, there's just not a better kit.
I´ve never overlooked him. When I heard him for the first time, immediately I know it´s totally behind all. It is that... when you have no words to describe.
Comment removed
arbredesreves 3 months ago
I always loved the way, Gary plays his fills.
Especially on the Chick Corea Album.
Powerful strokes on the toms and subtle snare strokes.
You can also hear that style in the short soundfiles in this video.
RutboyNiles 3 months ago
It's not just the shells... it's the drum heads, how you tune the drums, micing techniques, sticks, etc.
We all have different tastes... I think nearly all drum companies make quality products that compete with each other.
Choose what you like and go with it. Don't rely on what others are doing or playing... listen for yourself and make your own choice. You may find that the $6,000 drum kit is not worth extra cost.
johnheatherryan 1 year ago
Bottom line Yamaha Oak Custom is the Baddest Drums On Earth hands Down! Thanks I'm so happy with them! You can't understand I been Through many and if yo have the balls to mic them OMG! I heard the PhX but the Oaks! OMG! !
Nufff said! Its a Rap! Much Respect Gary but OaK Custom is the Best! Period! Oh
Yeah put the Remo Black Onyx Heads On them and Hollar at your boy I"m done here!
hihatyeah 1 year ago
i enjoy listening to gary talk almost as much as hearing him play drums
SirJamestheIII 1 year ago
ive been playing drums for almost 15 years now and i can personally say that this high price gear is mostly hype. ive owned dws premier, tama, yamaha, and a pearl and most of them sounded good if you tuned them well. i currently own a yamaha stage custom birch which cost me 600 bucks. if you sat it next to one of these phx kits the phx may sound a little better and look a little better, but not 6000 dollars better.
heathnm156 1 year ago 2
@heathnm156 couldnt agree with you more, its mostly about astethics , put that stage custom on a sound stage with same heads as PHX or recording custom tuned similarly and close your eyes and i would like to see how many drummers could discern the difference , its mostly about looks,
mosilflutil10 4 months ago
Marketing BS. He had to do it for the contract.
mmlight 1 year ago
i love yammies
aaronled 1 year ago
When I got back into playing a couple of years ago (after a 20 plus year lay off to raise a family), I determined that I was going to get a nice kit with a great sound and to be reasonable about what I spent. I wanted and demanded a great sound but knew that you didn't necessarily need the top of the line kit to get it. I went with Gretsch Catalina (one in maple and one in ash wood). Everyone that plays them remark at the surprisingly great sound they produce.
chungiemunchin 1 year ago
How the hell can you be searching for something and not know that you've been searching for it? he says he doesn't endorse and is a purest, well he sure gushes over Yamaha here, its like Todd Sucherman with the Pearl Demon Drive Pedal ad, its pass the puke bucket time.
RacManRhythm 1 year ago
I saw Gary playing with Michael Landau last night. He was playing Gretsch.
So much for the Yamaha love. Eventually, everybody plays Gretsch drims.
stretch54 1 year ago
Is it weird that the sound and make of my kit doesnt really bother me? ive owned my own kit for around three and a half years and although i tune it to get a good sound, makes and models of kits and which ones sound better don't bother me much..... im just happy to be playing and a lot of what Novak was saying went over my head!!! should I be worried lol
Reilly1888 1 year ago
I have always been a Tama guy. But after Tama, Yamaha are the best drums money could afford you. If you don't like Tama drums then I recomend you give these babies a try. They look and sound amazing. Brilliant.
paulwall1981 1 year ago
PHX is one of the greatest drum kit in the world. I'm very sure all world class drummers would love it.
ransisua 1 year ago
There's one store in Amsterdam that has one of these.
The price will give you a cardiac arrest, but they do sound amazing.
I'd be treating these drums like eggs. so I won't even consider putting them in cheap cases, so there's another grand you have to add on top.
I sold my Birch years ago, what an idiot.
Yamaha make the nicest drums, although, Sonor and DW are in the same league.
Geeljasjes 1 year ago
superbe
ocram0505 2 years ago
he's one of the baddest drummers on the planet hands down.
Lifesucksdie123 2 years ago 19
@Lifesucksdie123 Well stated. But let's not forget about the large amounts of cash these companies throw at these guys for the endorsment. I know different companies have different types of endorsments. i.e. the longer you've been with the company, the more the contract is worth. But I agree with you, all the major drum makers are putting out high quality stuff. Besides, by the time a kit is miked up and the signal is processed a few times, we almost never hear a dry signal anymore.
XDrummerSteve 9 months ago
i lov my pork pie drum set they are a real custom set :) not like buy a soda its more special :)
RaulGuereca 2 years ago
Yamaha has been making the best drums on the planet for decades. DO NOT pretend you know anything about PHX drums until you try them! They are simply beyond anything! besides, Gary played Yamaha for years and years before he had a brief stint with Sonor and DW.
timeoutfourtwo 2 years ago
Yamaha doesn't Pay endorsees. But they give and lend stuff 9and heck why not)
At least gary is honest about it (1:43) And thats so Yamaha.
musiqmanie 2 years ago 2
drulius 2 years ago 28
@drulius Maypex is the best kit I've ever played on, just testing it out at the store. Wow! What a sound! And by the way, how good a player you are makes all the difference too, with cymbals as well:) I certainly ain't that good, haha! Nice comment!
kirk7524875248 2 years ago
Yeah but what about Gadd, Weckl, Philips, Lang?
J0B0S0 1 year ago
he is faar faaar beyond any drummer, just listen to it!!! totally beyond anything I´ve heard ..... total looseness , in any thing ....
mileswarm 1 year ago
@drulius......actually I believe Bissonette went from Pearl to Mapex...
scorchwhammin 1 year ago
@scorchwhammin going back to his David Lee Roth days, he had Yamahas. Then Pearl, then Slingerland, then Mapex. I just skipped a couple in there. :-)
drulius 1 year ago
@drulius
Steve Ferrone - Pearl to Gretsch
godzuki444 1 year ago
@drulius Vinnie was Pearl before Yamaha to...
gshdrums 1 year ago
@drulius well said
SilentBombr 10 months ago
oh yeah, it's kinda funny how some yamaha guys went to dw, and then gary novak went to yamaha!
edwin437 2 years ago 2
my top three drum companies: DW, Yamaha, and Sonor. to me Dw is still my favorite but yamaha is creeping up! but that phx kit is mad expensive!
edwin437 2 years ago 2
I think Gary is saying these drums are from another planet.
a mild description might include awesome, but it does them no justice so move aside DW!!!
fusionhar 2 years ago
Gary's a great guy and a top player, but he'll play anything - he used my Premier Signias in 2006 on the UK Robben Ford tour, said he loved 'em (but then again, Premier Signias are probably THE most overlooked amazing maple drums ever made)
TheAndyPerfect 2 years ago 3
I don't see why every one thinks there's a bunch of money in endorsements. Unless he's a clinician for that company, which I don't believe he is, Yamaha isn't paying him. He does get all his gear for free but why would Yamaha pay him?
funkyjfk 2 years ago
Yamaha will give you a drum set if your part of a million (platinum) selling album and are touring, other than that, its the artist discount. They don't hand out drum sets for free like candy.
generatrix999 2 years ago 3
they don't even hand out candy for free!! :o)
splashy44 2 years ago 4
let's put it this way: it's the money really, no matter what company endorses you, you're gonna get an awesome instrument.
metrognome69 2 years ago
Its about the deal $ but to watch Gary BS away here is sad. Notice how much he looks away from the camera a lot. Body language much...
mmlight 2 years ago
Not saying Yamaha don't make good drums but a part of me wonders how much he got paid for this. Lets face it Yamaha have plenty of money!
winkabloblob 2 years ago 3
very well
poloctr 2 years ago
hey
i own a yamaha rydeen! i really love my kit and it sounds perfect =D u guys should considerate try yamaha! it's a really good choice.
dragflamdrummer 2 years ago
Yamaha is really the best drum company out there I think. Seriously, ive had pearl, tama, mapex, DW, and sonor. I just got a Yamaha. I have never been so blown away. Every show I play, I get complimented by the sound tech and by the audience etc. They are so strongly made and the sound is just out of this world. Never again will I buy another brand of drums. And its true, all my favorite drummers and heros have used Yamaha's. Now that includes Gary!
jwalts37 2 years ago
there are many and many good drums , if the player is top the drum is good , i play my own drum and i prefer to yamaha , for novak or other drummers played yamaha is a money deal
intermittent92 2 years ago
Some guys will play a Fender. Some will play a Gibson, or an Ibanez or a ESP, or a Gretsch or any one of a hundred different great quality guitars. Whatever it is you want to play and for whatever reasons you have to play them, then that instrument is certainly the right choice for you. There is no better or worse, just whatever it is that you feel best playing. A magazine ad will not make you play better.
crazy8sdrums 2 years ago 3
gary novak is a great player but why he don't speak french ahah!!!!!!
intermittent92 2 years ago
cause french is homo
jwalts37 2 years ago
I own both dw maple and a Yamaha MCA. I have to be honest, they resonate about the same but something about the Yamaha sound just calls to me.
osterkenn 2 years ago
Wooow - Gary is great, real great character
but I´m sad he changed DW for this, because with DW he has so nice sound, remember Alanis Morissette tour around 2000, and with Michael Landau. DW still sounds and looks to me best,
They are still best drums I think . And about Cameron - I liked him more with Soundgarden (using DW). Now Matt sounds like drummer from AC/DC
mileswarm 2 years ago 3
u must be fool to skip from dw to yamaha that's just my opinion cameron lost 50% of his sound from ayotte to yamaha.....
anyway i respect every one opinion....
habit1979 2 years ago
trust me he knows what he is doing!this is great drum set,but there is other thing,yamaha is very big coorporation and they have lots of money....
KarlovackoFan 2 years ago 3
Hahaha......Yamaha had to get away with it somehow because Peter Erskine left them a while ago to play DW's. I'm not a fan of neither, but if I have to choose, I'd do what Mr. Erskine did. I know a LOT of people love Yamaha, but I'm not trying to be discourteous, it's just a matter of opinion.
Billy Cobham is one of my all time favorites, and he uses Yamaha, but he's still a monster....the same goes to Matt Cameron...... the list could go on and on........
pandespinas 2 years ago
Yağcılarda inecek var... Bu bildiğimiz Dave Weckl sound'u. Sanki yepyeni bambaşka birşeymiş gibi anlatıp duruyo.
It doesn't seem honest to me.
alpyre 2 years ago
There's lot's of sound coming out of his mouth but I don't hear anything coming from the drums. He should grab his sticks and stop talking.
mlcoo17 2 years ago
So check out his solo. There´s no better beast than he.
mileswarm 2 years ago
yeah, he's pretty cool!!
juanchisgomez 2 years ago
He doesn't look convinced
juanchisgomez 2 years ago
It's a pretty bullshitty political kind of interview especially the idea that " all his heroes" play Yamaha?? - So Tony Williams, Jack Dejohnette, Buddy Rich, and about a million other drummers just happen not to be on his heroes list and just happen NOT to play yamaha??!! why doe's he have to stoop that low- it is bullshit- I still love his playing!
ambroulard 2 years ago
Maybe he doesn't like Tony, Jack or Buddy?
phoneboothplus1 2 years ago
phoneboothstayinit 1- like I said about a million other players also Don't play Yamaha- (some great players even play Ludwig god forbid!!) and he's asking us to believe that all his favorite drummers just happen to play Yamaha?!?! you know that's BULLSHIT- His list would be awfully short- and what happens if some new player comes along who's playing he loves and the guy doesn't play Yamaha-?? Doe's he have to kill himself then or what-?
ambroulard 2 years ago
Maybe all his heroes really does play Yamaha?
phoneboothplus1 2 years ago
phonebooth- If you believe that you should buy a Ford Pinto.
ambroulard 2 years ago
As a Yamaha endorser who just started playing the PHX I can attest to everything Gary says here. It truly IS something very special and everybody who hears it loves the sound, yamaha "fans" or not. I started playing Yamaha over 30 years ago as a kid and nothing else really comes close.
timeoutfourtwo 2 years ago
the funny thing is that definately his biggest influence is Vinnie, especially in the 90's (you either have to be deaf or not have listened to Colaiuta's playing at all not to hear it in his playing) and because he has switched from yamaha to gretsch, he can't mention him as an influence.. :)
alright28 2 years ago
Can't say I blame him for leaving DW. The kit I owned let me down in a lot of ways. Too bad the PHX kits cost even more. And why don't they show him play the damn kit? All that talk and no demo?!?!
ironcobra8 2 years ago
i gotta put a word in for gretsch drums. there is no way to go wrong with a set of them. great sound and dang great value.
cfybbdrummer 2 years ago
DW All The waY! Come on man.
JAAZALLDAYLONG 3 years ago
I agree with mr. Novak.
I'm fortunate enough to own both a DW and Yamaha Maple Custom kit and I must say that my DW's take up a lot more time in getting them to sound great. Don't get me wrong they sound amazing...but they just take a little more time and are more sensitive to small things. I can bring in my Yamahas from a cold car right to stage and instantly they deliver what I want. I don't know why but they just perform so consistently every time. Btw, I love their hardware too... :)
Drumboy81 3 years ago
aaaaaah Gary come on Dw to yamaha
JrummerJosh89 3 years ago
I absolutely agree with him. I've played many different brands of drums, and to my ears Yamaha's are the best. Not only sound wise but hardware and overall quality also, there's just not a better kit.
scorchwhammin 3 years ago
I´ve never overlooked him. When I heard him for the first time, immediately I know it´s totally behind all. It is that... when you have no words to describe.
mileswarm 3 years ago
Totally agree. Noone is better beast as him. He is totally loose and natural. He´s not figure out that things because he naturally got it.
mileswarm 3 years ago
one of the most overlooked drums around.... This guy is a beast on the drumss
BeatDigger 3 years ago 5
I dont care. If i were him, leaving D.W. would've never crossed my mind.
ashdt99 3 years ago
ゲリーのパワフルさとグルーブにあこがれる。
もともとはべーシストと書いてあった気がするが・・・
パワフルさは大事で・・・大好きなドラマーです。
tama221 3 years ago
Shit that was convincing! I think I need to check out these drums.
stevenofcool 3 years ago