Hmmm....another question from me.... If I say that the Yamaha Stage Custom is over-priced, is it a fair statement?
It's kinda subjective, but for Yamaha's hardware quality, I wouldn't say it's over-priced. It's more expensive than the competition in the same 'class' of wood, but you're getting what you pay for too. You can pretty much expect the Stage Custom to outlive you.
Btw, the newer SCs (Advantage and Nouveau) are now a different ply config:
Outer: Birch (Gloss finish) or Oak (Matte finish)
Six plies: Philippine Mahogany
Inner ply: Falkata
Arnt drums made of maple suppoused to be more expenive
Nope. Think about this, you can get a ddrum maple snare for about S$170... No prizes for guessing that it's not the same maple you'll find in a Gretsch USA Custom maple snare (S$1,000)
Hmm...can I ask if a lower grade maple is still superior (in terms of sound, quality, etc) than a philiphine mahagony?
Well, I can't really say for sure. It isn't just about the type of wood, but the way the plies have been constructed and glued together, and the quality of the bearing edges too. You get the idea - a poor analogy - a rookie chef using the best ingredients, and a top chef using normal ingredients, whose dish will taste better?
I'm pretty sure if we conduct a blindfold listening test of two kits, a Catalina Maple and a Yamaha Stage Custom, with the same sizes, same heads, same tuning, bearing edges etc.. with all things being equal but the type of wood, most of us will not be able to tell the difference. Even less so when heard in the context of a band.