Yamaha Stage Custom Drumkit

Advantages: GREAT DRUM KIT 4 OUTSTANDING PRICE!
Disadvantages: NONE?

...build a thin shell that will start round and stay round. The beautiful high-gloss lacquer finish and low-mass lugs lets the shell vibrate for superb tone and sustain.The rest of the Yamaha range kicks of from around the mid-range level with Yamaha really putting their care into the Stage Custom Advantage Nouveau and the Tour Custom. The Stage Custom offers a great packaged kit along with high quality hardware. The Tour Custom merges the gap between mid-range and top-end gear offering high quality mid-range shell packs for the mid-range players that want the little bit more choice as well as the standard packed kit. The Yamaha Oak Custom Kit then sits at the top of the Yamaha option bill showing off it's highly impressive build and quality to cost ratio, high end drummers really are good to go!All Yamaha wood drums have one thing in common...

ReviewDude12345 04.01.2009 · Read review
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Review of Yamaha Stage Custom Drumkit

Great looking, sounding drum kit for fair price...

Advantages: Price, lacquered, looks great, sounds even better, easy to get hold of extra features
Disadvantages: Remo U2 head?s that come with the kit are disappointing, but you can?t have everything?

...Remo Pinstripe heads. With the U2 heads on the kit it gives a long sustained tangy sound, which is nice but just does not seem to fit with music as easily as a deep rumbling sound. The U2 heads can be made deeper by dampening the heads with duck tape and tissues if you like, this now would give a smooth note with little sustain. Loosening the head also deepens the sound. But as I have said time and time again why not just get Remo pinstripes. For a deep bass drum it is best to put two cushions inside the drum resting on the inside head. The Yamaha Stage Custom Advantage is lacquered unlike the cheaper version the Yamaha Stage Custom Standard which is almost the same but not with a high quality lacquer coating on it. The difference is that with a standard coating of just coloured plastic you may sometimes get rattling from the gaps...

stevedamouth 14.07.2002 (15.07.2002) · Read review
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Yamaha CP300 Stage PIano

Advantages: reasonable price, reasonable sound, portable, built-in amplification & speakers, USB port
Disadvantages: no music rest supplied, a few dodgy-sounding notes around D4

...Other than from an economic angle, I was never a fan of Yamaha acoustic pianos. So back in the 1980s it came as no surprise when their digital instruments failed to impress me. In my opinion Yamaha pianos sounded too 'wooden' at the top end. They had none of the 'singing' tones common to European pianos like Blüthner, Bösendorfer or Bechstein. However, after moving into an apartment in 1996 I was obliged to get a piano that took cans and chose a Technics PR900, which in my view was the nearest thing to an acoustic piano. It sounded like some of the best German pianos I had played. Early incarnations of this model had a very annoying background 'static', only noticeable when the piano was silent. By 1998 this static had been fixed by Technics. But in 1996 it was driving me so crazy that I sent the PR900 back to the store and got...

jasonford 31.12.2008 (09.04.2009) · Read review
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Review of Yamaha CP300

Yamaha Maple Custom Absolute Drum Kit

Advantages: Design, fit, finish & sound excellent!
Disadvantages: New lugs take a little getting used to.

...with sealed air compression between plies with the plies cross jointed for strength.. This makes for a thin and very durable shell which both companies back with great replacement guarantees for the life of the shells (as long as abuse is not the reason the shell breaks). All in all I made the weight of the drums and the price major factors in my decision for the Yamahas. All top line drums will have the ability to sound great. You just need the right heads (I changed the Yamaha stock heads to coated Evans G2's on the toms right out of the box) and the ability to experiment with the different sounds the drums offer. Yamaha is to be considered for anyone seeking a top end pro kit. My Kit: Yamaha Maple Custom Nouveau in Blue Sparkle Lacquer finish. My Sizes: Bass Drum 22 diameter x 16 deep, rack toms with standard depths 10 & 12, floor toms...

jimmy58 11.12.2007 (10.12.2007) · Read review
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Review of Yamaha Maple Custom Absolute Drumkit

The Yamaha Blaster - The small contender

Advantages: Lightweight, powerful 200cc two-stroke motor, proven over time
Disadvantages: Wheel base and width cause instability in some situations.

...valves that ensures good throttle response for smoother acceleration and a broad, hard-hitting power band to make this little quad a very rideable machine! A super reliable CDI type ignition provides many years of faultless running as I have experienced. Although for most applications i would recommend to leave the engine in standard format , there are a whole host of aftermarket options to increase the performance of this great powerplant. A great place to start modifcations, if you are that way inclined, is a tuned exhaust pipe which is offered by many manufacturers, a higher flow air filter and an adjustment in carbration to suit these changes. This is a recent upgrade that i have done myself and wow am i pleased with improvment! Would recommend to any Yamaha Blaster users once they have mastered whats on offer from stock trim...

01ict587 16.12.2006 (01.09.2009) · Read review
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Review of Yamaha Blaster

Staged Beauty

Advantages: Crudup's surprising and engaging performance
Disadvantages: rather predictable fare

...Maybe it’s because I was less than complimentary about Billy Crudup’s rather functional perfomance in Big Fish, or perhaps I was just in a sentimental mood as I settled down to watch this theatrical little tale, but I left it rather moved. No genius here, but a lot of heart made it something worth watching, if not an urgent recommendation. Seventeeth century English law decreed that it was illegal for a woman to take to the stage. As such, some male actors would specialise in playing women’s parts. Billy Crudup takes to the screen as Ned Kynaston, a beloved star of the stage, famed for his Desdemona, supported and secretly worshipped by his plucky dresser, Maria (Claire Danes). Her suppressed passion to emulate the object of her desire on the stage is finally given its outlet when one theatre takes the risk...

ruth_cole 19.12.2004 · Read review
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Review of Stage Beauty (DVD)

Superb Portable Piano

Advantages: Superior natural sound quality, not bulky, new interesting and useful features
Disadvantages: none

...Yamaha P-85S Digital Stage Piano is the best thing that our church acquired. The antiquated piano that has been with at the church since it was established is too bulky and heavy so the Board decided to buy a portable piano for our outdoor church programs and activities. We have always trusted Yamaha brand when it comes to musical instrument but I never imagined this Yamaha P-85S Digital Stage Piano could be this enchanting. This is marvelous with its superior, natural sound quality that inspires all the musicians and singers in our Church. It is conveniently slim with a built-in speaker which makes it easy to pack and bring anywhere. Its elegant black color matches the splendor of the sound it creates. It also has innovative useful features that makes it more exciting like it's sound recording feature that allows you to play back...

wonderlily 18.11.2008 · Read review
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The Yamaha EX7 Workstation Synthesizer experience

Advantages: Versatile, Endless potential, timeless, a very powerful instrument
Disadvantages: Can take a while to learn

..., combine separate samples for the attack and sustain portions of an instrument's sound, with independent control over each. Yamaha AN Synthesis (Analog Physical Modeling) offers all the benefits of traditional analog synthesis with the stability, reproducability, and precise control of digital technology. It is capable of accurately reproducing the sound of classic analog synthesizers without patch cables, setting charts, or the frustrating instability that was the bane of the analog age. A standard (Poly) AN voice can have 1 AN element and from 1 to 3 AWM elements. Classic analog synth type sounds can be created with the single AN element alone. AWM elements can be added as necessary to "modernize" the sound. FDSP adds a sophisticated note-dependent effect processor to the basic AWM synthesis system. In contrast to a stand effect stage...

mokeyb 17.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of Yamaha EX7

The Compleat Female Stage Beauty

Advantages: Great script, performances and attention to detail
Disadvantages: Unnecessary nudity

...In 1660, the most beautiful woman on the London stage is played by a man. Ned Kynaston is the most feted ?actress? in the country, dazzling everyone as Desdemona in ?Othello?. But when Charles II bans men from playing women, Ned is out of a job and has to watch as his lovelorn dresser Maria takes to the stage. How will he cope? And can his acting talents stretch to playing men as well as women? Director Richard Eyre is best known as an award-winning theatre director, so who better to direct a film about the theatre? He and screenwriter Jeffrey Hatcher (adapting his own stage play) interweave fact and fiction. Ned Kynaston was a Restoration-era star and Margaret (Maria) Hughes was the first woman on the stage. Hatcher?s script is well-written, witty, poignant and intelligent and will frequently be compared to the Oscar...

afy9mab 17.09.2004 · Read review
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Review of Stage Beauty (DVD)

Curious Customs: Tips for Visiting Japan, Part 2

Advantages: A great adventure
Disadvantages: Leave that handkerchief at home!

...as a Visitor** Of course, foreign visitors are not expected to know about the intricacies of Japanese gift culture and customs but it's still as well to be aware of their existence. As a visitor, you're quite likely to receive small gifts from people you are introduced to and you are not necessarily expected to give anything in return in those circumstances. Once when I went in to a bank in a small town to change some money I was served personally by the manager (probably because I was one of the few foreigners they had ever encountered in this backwater) and was taken aback to find myself presented with a gift-wrapped wind chime at the end of the transaction. Don't expect to receive that sort of treatment in Tokyo or any other big city though! If you visit people at their home or if you are taken out somewhere as a guest you should...

Mitsudan 22.08.2007 · Read review
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Review of Customs (Japan)