New vs Old: Yamaha hips

galambborong said:

I've also found the 'current' Manu Katche - the 5-piece, made in China etc. This is brand new, includes decent hardware, but at a comparative price to setups like the SC Hip and such. Anyone had any experience with these?

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Are you looking for 2 rack toms, or just 1 ? If 2 is the answer, then the current model would be my choice. Me personally, I like my ride cymbal low right over the bass drum. If you feel the same, then I'd grab the MIJ "original" and add the snare of your choice. I have the matching MKJ snare, and it's OK, but a but underwhelming. My Pearl Omar Hakim 13x5 is what I use mostly, behind my MKJ kit.

The newer 5-piece Manu Katche kits feature all-birch shells compared to the Philippine mahogany shells on the older 4-piece kits. This makes them comparable to Stage Custom drums so if at any point you want to add-on to your kit (swap out the 16" bass drum for an 18" or 20"), you can easily match the finish (assuming you go with the cherry red or raven black). The finishes on the 5-piece kits are lacquer. Some of the older kits were wrapped, although they did offer black and silver lacquer as an option at one point.

I used to have two 4-piece Katche kits — a silver wrap made in Japan and a black one from Taiwan, if I remember correctly.
I ended up selling the black one since I always played the Japanese one anyway. It’s a fun little set to play.

I’ve also played Stage Custom Bop kits in rehearsal rooms and found them enjoyable too. The footprint doesn’t seem much bigger, if at all.

I had considered picking up one of those, but then I came across an 18” RC bass drum for cheap. So now I can use that, or one of the 20”s I already have, with my RC sets.

I also feel that the new Hip kits must be fun to play, and from what I’ve seen, they seem to be the easiest to carry around — especially with the two bags that Protection Racket made specifically for them.

Thanks all for your input - it's interesting hearing people's thoughts on these things.

harryconway said:

Are you looking for 2 rack toms, or just 1 ? If 2 is the answer, then the current model would be my choice. Me personally, I like my ride cymbal low right over the bass drum. If you feel the same, then I'd grab the MIJ "original" and add the snare of your choice. I have the matching MKJ snare, and it's OK, but a but underwhelming. My Pearl Omar Hakim 13x5 is what I use mostly, behind my MKJ kit.

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I have always been a simple 1-up, 1-down drummer, so the current MK Jr would purely be about availability in those sizes - the additional tom would be redundant.

Not heard back from the seller of the MIJ MK Jr, so going to assume it's no longer available which is a shame.

I'm feeling very inclined to get the Al Foster, as I've enjoyed using them in the past and really liked them. I can then keep an eye out for a MIJ Manu Katche set to come up and either sell the AF or compare and decide which I'd want to keep more permanently. Will update if I pull the trigger haha

DutchDrummersDreams said:

The first Hipgig was released in 1999:

The last Marotta in 2009:

They sold well, especially in markets where housing and/or transportation was challenge.

The first Al Foster Signature (the Hip Gig Sr.), and Manu Katché were released in 2001:

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@DutchDrummersDreams do you (or anyone else!) happen to know what the last year of production would be for the Al Foster? It would help me understand the serial number prefix of the kit I'm looking at which is HQK - which translates to me as April 2010 according to this Yamaha page. But, unless I'm wrong - I was under the impression that the AFs were no longer in the range in 2010.

roncadillac said:

Man, I really wish canister thrones were still a normal thing. Sure, I know you can get custom ones made or DIY or I believe DW makes one as well but I wish it was a more widely available thing. I typically only need a hi hat stand, snare stand, straight cymbal stand, and floor tom legs so for me a canister throne would be ideal.

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Exactly!! I think my favorite thing about the Rick Marotta Hipgig was the canister throne. It was comfortable, was always at the correct height, and I could throw my car keys/jacket/whatnot inside the thing. I shouldn't have included it in the sale!

galambborong said:

@DutchDrummersDreams do you (or anyone else!) happen to know what the last year of production would be for the Al Foster? It would help me understand the serial number prefix of the kit I'm looking at which is HQK - which translates to me as April 2010 according to this Yamaha page. But, unless I'm wrong - I was under the impression that the AFs were no longer in the range in 2010.

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They were still in the 2010 catalog:



That looks to be the last year too.

I bought a new Manu Katche Hip Gig Jr. kit back around 2003. I have plenty of kits to choose from, but this by far has seen the most use during my ownership.