Oak Custom

Following in the footsteps of our Birch, Maple, and Beech drum series, Oak shows great promise as a drum shell material. A solid fundamental delivers a powerful sound while its character allows for a unique shell size line up. Beautifully grained, this hardwood creates a drum with stunning looks.

We've just added the following new finishes to the Oak lineup: Amber Sunburst (AMS), Black Sparkle Sunburst (BSS), and Red Sparkle (RDS). Click the "Colors & Finishes" tab above to see the new finishes.

The use of our original Air Seal System is, in part, responsible for the superior quality found in Yamaha drum shells. Select woods are cut into plies, positioned with staggered diagonal seams, and sealed together with evenly distributed air pressure. The resulting shells are perfectly round and of uniform thickness delivering superior tone quality and exceptional durability.

Utilization of Yamaha's Air Seal system allows for the first time use of oak in a drum shell. As in our Maple and Birch series, this process delivers a shell that's perfectly round, with uniform thickness and excellent durability. The bass drum shell is 7-plys while the toms and floor tom shells are 6-plys. All shells throughout the entire range deliver a solid fundamental and powerful sound.

Oak Custom shell depths are sized in between our "jazz" depth and "power" depth drums. The universal size allows for maximum projection while maintaining strong attack. Bass drums are available in 18"x15" and 20", 22", and 24" diameters with a universal 17" depth. The added depth enhances the oak's tone with greater bottom end and more power.

Floor toms come in conventional sizes (14"x14", 16"x16", and 18"x16")

These small, oval-shaped lugs are easily attached to the shell with a single bolt. Small footprints offer minimum lug to shell contact allowing the shell to deliver maximum tone. A special nylon insert prevents tension rods from becoming loose during play.

Height adjustment on the pedal side of the bass drum is possible with the pipe post stabilizer. Use of this system ensures that the beater makes contact at the center of the head. The stabilizer fits into a pipe clamp on the underside of the drum that allows quick and easy adjustment of the height. The post is equipped with a memory clamp that ensures subsequent settings will be quick and precise every time.

A sturdy hexagonal design and fixed angle position allow our spurs to withstand the punishment of even the heaviest bass drum foot. For the Oak Custom we made the spurs heavier and even stronger. Height adjustment and the releasing and retracting of the pointed spur are made easily with a drum key.

Long found on our high-end drum kits our original YESS (Yamaha Enhanced Sustain System) mounting system is on all Oak Custom toms and floor toms. This rod clamp system allows attachment of the drum to the tom holder without the need of a hole in the drum shell for the rod to pass through. The YESS clamp is attached to the shell at the nodal point with two bolts so as to allow the shell to vibrate freely without degrading the shell's dynamic range and sustain. The nodal point is the location on a shell with the least amount of vibration allowing for the mount to have minimal affect to the resonance of the shell.

This round ball clamp has long been a fundamental part of Yamaha System Drums. Made of super-hard resin, the ball is held firmly in place with a steel plate and large wing bolt. While providing ease of operation, this system also delivers total freedom in setting and superior stability.

The triple tom holder accommodates two toms as well as a cymbal holder to provide a wide variety of set up possibilities.

York Honey Amber (AMO), Musashi Black (MSB), Red Oak (ROK), Silver Sparkle (SLS), Amber Sunburst (AMS), Black Sparkle Sunburst (BSS), and Red Sparkle (RDS)