my name is jon and i have a problem (NDKD)

[midwayfair]

So this happened over the holiday weekend and arrived today.



Sakae Trilogy. The kit's sort of a hybrid of 60s Ludwig/Yamaha/Gretch aspects, with super thin (and really light) maple shells.

Sakae made Yamaha's high-end drums since the 60s and were around since 1925. They went bankrupt last year, got bought by Korg, and their production is being moved to Taiwan. It's heartbreaking, honestly. I got probably the last 22/12/14 kit for sale anywhere and picked up a 10" that's arriving tomorrow from another shop. Tried my damnedest to find the matching snare, but the only ones for sale are on evilbay from Japan for $700+, which isn't happening. I might get one of the other other colors for that but I'm not in a hurry to buy it. I figured it was now or never to get something that's basically one of my dream instruments. And while the Natal I got last year sounds plenty good when I tune it up and records pretty decently, but it's a little too modern sounding to me. This has an older sound but I don't have to deal with all the problems of actually buying an old instrument.

I've got it all tuned up and it honestly sounds awesome, but one thing I didn't expect was for it to physically *feel* different. Like with the Natal the low frequencies weren't there and there was basically no shell resonance. These are the same size for the toms, but I can physically feel the sound in my legs when I'm playing, and I don't even have to be playing that hard.

Close-up of the finish. It's painted, not a wrap, and it looks seriously stunning in person.  [edit: I was wrong about this being a painted finish, this might be the only kit they've ever done that's a wrap]

[jimilee]

WowJon. That looks really nice. I didn't know you were that serious into drums. And the fact that you can play them, truly impressive. I bought a set a few years ago and discovered I can't play drums.


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[midwayfair]

WowJon. That looks really nice. I didn't know you were that serious into drums. And the fact that you can play them, truly impressive. I bought a set a few years ago and discovered I can't play drums.

Part of it's that our recording and practicing situation has gotten more complicated. The engineer I work with, quite justifiably, wants to be able to buy groceries, so he's getting part time work with a "real" job. These aren't only for me to play. The reason I got a kit originally was that our drummer was kind of bouncing around in apartments (he and his wife are separated but not getting divorced) so I wanted a kit set up at my house for him to play at practices and to record with in a pinch. Then I figured I should learn how to play them, and then I decided that I ought to get good enough to make demos so I practiced a lot, and then I decided that I wanted the option to have a kit that sounds like what we want on the recordings in case we can't get studio time with the person I prefer.

This is a lot of rationalization but it's not *just* rationalizing ...

[jimilee]

That's very kind of you to do that for the guy.


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[Bio77]

Man, that's gorgeous! The 3D effect is awesome. It looks like it's is turning into a T-1000. 

[jjjimi84]

I am jealous, i miss having my Gretsch kit. These little kits are the best sounding and record so nicely.

Really cool of you and I cannot wait to hear it on some music.

[gordo]

I'm still all locked up on the last line "It's painted, not a wrap".  I have no idea how that's possible.

Anyway, great score and I'm looking forward to hearing them.

[midwayfair]

I'm still all locked up on the last line "It's painted, not a wrap".  I have no idea how that's possible.

Actually I looked again more closely and I was wrong about that! It looks like it's a really thin wrap, but some people had said that all their higher end shells were painted (and I am pretty sure all the kits they made for Yamaha were painted), so I had assumed that this kit must be. I'm looking at the bass drum hoops and if I run my finger along where the edge happens there is a really thin bump, like paper thin.

This is actually a good thing, I won't keep having a heart palpitation every time I bump one.

I've got a couple songs kicking around that never got a proper recording, I think I'll fire up the ole DAW pretty soon for one of those. I've got a pair of KM84 DIY kits on the way from a group buy over on GroupDIY, too!

[pickdropper]

WowJon. That looks really nice. I didn't know you were that serious into drums. And the fact that you can play them, truly impressive. I bought a set a few years ago and discovered I can't play drums.

Part of it's that our recording and practicing situation has gotten more complicated. The engineer I work with, quite justifiably, wants to be able to buy groceries, so he's getting part time work with a "real" job. These aren't only for me to play. The reason I got a kit originally was that our drummer was kind of bouncing around in apartments (he and his wife are separated but not getting divorced) so I wanted a kit set up at my house for him to play at practices and to record with in a pinch. Then I figured I should learn how to play them, and then I decided that I ought to get good enough to make demos so I practiced a lot, and then I decided that I wanted the option to have a kit that sounds like what we want on the recordings in case we can't get studio time with the person I prefer.

This is a lot of rationalization but it's not *just* rationalizing ...

Sounds more like you've got a solution than a problem.  ;-)

Congrats.  That looks like a great kit.