Thad Taylor

Drums

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Playing the Oak set in 2003

Yamaha drums
 
I started playing Yamaha drums in 1989. Yamaha reflects a certain class and integrity that inspires me. They keep things simple, and all about quality. Yet there is a spiritual quality to these instruments. My equipment is populated with a lot of pieces from the 1980s. This suggests 1) I'm getting old and 2) the Yamaha stuff is so well made and sounds so good . . . there's never any reason to get rid of it.
 
This is what I would refer to as my primary drum set since 2003. Oak is a unique property for a drum shell. It's distinct - strong, cutting, and resonant. John Bonham would have loved them.
 
Yamaha Oak Custom (2003, gold badge)
Finish: Blue Ridge Oak gloss
toms: 6-ply, 6.6 mm, bass drum: 7-ply, 7.7 mm
 
Sizes: 7 x 8 tom, 8 x 10 tom, 9 x 12 tom, 14 x 15 floor tom on legs, 17 x 22 bass drum

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80s legends: Yamaha Recording Custom - minus the hairspray

Yamaha Recording Custom drum set
 
I also have a Yamaha Recording Custom drum set in Piano black - the famous Steve Gadd combination. I got this set at age 19 (a very long time ago) and I swear it sounds better now than ever. The shells are made of Japanese Akkaido birch. The sound is short, sweet, and "just exactly perfect."
 
It's 8 x 10, 10 x 12, 11 x 13 and 16 x 16 toms with a 16 x 22 bass drum. For a heavier rock sound, I might use the larger toms on this set. Think of the big power ballads of the 80s. The bass drum is uncanny for its "tomahawk chop" sound - will cut through the mix. The toms are pure butter. An amazing recording set for sure - but I like to play it live too.
 
For recording projects, I like to mix and match all my stuff. Throw different pieces up there. I could play a Recording Custom bass drum, a Maple snare, and two Oak toms. Whatever it takes to get what we want

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Yamaha Maple Custom vintage snare

Snare drums
 
Between five snare drums, I've got it covered. These three are the "front of the rotation starters:"
 
5.5 x 14 Yamaha Maple Custom (Vintage finish). A warm, woody, sensitive drum that sounds great at different tunings. Can do anything.
 
3.5 x 14 Yamaha brass SD-493 (1987). This drum has a dark but piercing crack and awesome rimshots. It gives me lightning fast response and a great pop/rock sound. This model was made famous by drumming great Dave Weckl and Larry Mullen of U2, to name a few.
 
5 x 14 Ludwig Supraphonic (1969). SupraPhonics are legendary in the history of popular music in much the same way as the Hammond B3 organ or Gibson Les Paul. These drums were used on countless recordings and hit records . . . from Motown to "Stairway To Heaven," "Born In the USA" and beyond. . .
 
These two deeper drums are both great, too, especially for recording. I used them both on the Grasshopper CDs.
 
6.5 x 14 Yamaha steel SD-296 (1987)
6.5 x 14 Ludwig Rock/Concert maple/poplar (1983)

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Heads and tuning
 
I take great pride in the amount of time and effort I've spent working on my sound. If I had a dollar for every time my wife has shouted "No more tuning!" - I could have paid someone else to build this Web site, for starters.
 
BING BING BING BING-BING BOOM!
 
Playing a set of really good sounding drums - that's what it's all about for me. If it doesn't sound good, I can't be bothered. I like a resonant, crisp sound. I don't ever use any extra muffling on the drums unless I am deliberately going for that effect. The only muffling is built into the bass drum heads. I use a Remo Powerstroke or Evans EQ4 batter and usually an Evans EQ3 or Yamaha logo head on the front.
 
Right now, I play clear Remo Ambassadors on the toms, with a coated Remo Ambassador on the snare. Lately, I've tried a set of Aquarian heads (with a Texture Coated batter) on my Ludwig SupraPhonic snare. Sounds wonderful.