Postby Robert Bluman » Wed Apr 17, 2013 12:24 pm
Yamaha makes top of the line professional drums. So do most great drum makers. Sakae will also make great drums. So you don't like be-bop tuning? Any drum kit tuned in that manner will sound that way, regardless of the brand name. I've heard PHX model drums sound terrible, and I've heard CB700 drums sound great, all depending on the head combo, condition, the tuning and most of all, THE DRUMMER. This is way too much discussion over a fairly irrelevant topic. Who cares? Play what you like. The rest is all business. When a drummer leaves a company he has endorsed for years, it's financial. It's business. Look at the DDRUM roster, or the Mapex Roster. Those shells are ok, but the hardware is the worst. You really think Greg B loves his Mapex drums? C'mon guys. It's ALL business.
To answer Carlos, 70% off is a business model. They are making a profit off of you. When you are on their website promoting yourself, you are really promoting that you, an accomplished musician plays Paiste exclusively. You don't have to be an endorser to visit the factory and hand pick your 70% off cymbals. I've done this with Zildjian and Sabian. You also don't have to be an endorser to return cracked cymbals and get them replaced. I've also done this. While at the factory, they'll give you a T-shirt, some stickers and a tuning key. Sometimes you get a free shirt when you buy a cymbal pack on sale, which is usually 70% off list. They want you to wear their logo. It's advertising. It costs the cymbal company nothing to provide backline for you. AKA tour support. In fact most backline companies have what you need. I understand your point of view, but your point of view is also a part of the business model they had in mind. They want you to think that. You may think you're getting something out of it, but I have the same perks, and I endorse no one. I have even sent back DW pedals and had them replaced. A good company stands by their work. And with cymbals, they just re use the metal anyway. No loss on their end to replace a cymbal. An endorsement relationship should be a 2 way street. You going on tour with Paiste written all over your cymbals being seen at festivals and/or on TV, by young drummers who will then consider buying Paiste and you're paying for your gear and not being paid by the company, is FREE advertising for Paiste. 100% FREE. It's business brilliance. If anything you're working for Paiste for free.
It's important to be a smart business man, and the reality is musicians usually are not. You'd rather sacrifice that so your name is on an endorser list online and you're included included in this club with some big name players. Then you can show people that you're accomplished. Meanwhile this costs Paiste NOTHING, and they're gaining from it. Think about it. It's an amazing scam, and it's about 80% of all endorsements. Bill Stewart was with Scofield, Metheny , Kenny Werner, Joe Lovano and so many many greats, without endorsements for years. It wasn't until later in his career when Modern Drummer took notice, that companies approached HIM. He pays nothing for any gear. And still you'll see him playing Yamaha over seas because backline has no Gretsch. When a drummer approaches a company for a deal, they see $$$. They know you want them, and you'll take anything. This scam has become so bad that young players are paying to fly themselves to Anaheim and Frankfurt, paying for hotels, spending tons of money on expenses just to be seen at a booth at a trade show like NAMM. They think they're helping their careers by having that badge and playing at a booth. Meanwhile, it's doing nothing other than giving the companies they think they're a part of, free advertising.
Bottom line here in this post, and I'll write it again, is that Russ Miller is a savvy business man. He did not leave Yamaha for anything that had to do with sound, or where the drums are made.