Yamaha Recording Custom Stainless Steel Snare Drum (RLS1455 / RLS1470)

At a Glance

What You Get

• 1.2 mm stainless-steel shell with the centre bead formed on the outside of the shell — see below for why that matters.
• 2.3 mm steel Dyna Hoops — 10 tension on the RLS1455 and 8 tension on the RLS1470, as listed by Yamaha. Stiffer than a standard triple-flange hoop, they tighten the sound and sharpen the response without the hard clamp of a die-cast hoop.
• One-piece lugs with an internal lug lock mechanism, which resists the slow detuning that comes from sustained hard playing.
• Q-type strainer on the release side, DC3-type butt side — heavy-duty hardware built for stable, smooth operation and quick wire changes.
• Remo US Ambassador Coated batter and Remo US Ambassador Snare side heads, fitted at the factory.
• 45-degree bearing edge and a 2.4 mm snare bed, on both sizes.
• Developed with Steve Gadd, whose playing helped define the Recording Custom sound.

Three Details That Define It

Snare Wire — and Steve Gadd's own set in the box

The RLS1455 carries a 20-strand SN1420H; the deeper RLS1470 uses a denser 25-strand SN1425H. More strands give the 7-inch drum a fuller, more even wire response under the resonant head.

The RLS1455 also arrives with a second wire: the SN1410H “SG type” Steve Gadd prefers. It begins as a 14-strand wire with the middle four strands removed, leaving 10. Yamaha says this sharpens the cutoff for a crisper, more staccato note. The nine demos below let you hear the RLS1455 with both wire choices.

Centre Bead — on the outside, for the first time

A centre bead is the ridge pressed around the middle of a metal shell; it stiffens the shell and focuses the fundamental. Yamaha traditionally formed that bead on the inside of its snare shells. After repeated evaluation with Steve Gadd, these drums move it to the outside.

Yamaha describes the result as more open than its conventional drums, with crisp, articulate response. On stainless steel, that openness keeps the shell lively while preserving the strong attack and projection players choose it for.

Q-Type Strainer

The heavy-duty Q-type strainer is solid, stable and smooth in operation, with fine adjustment that holds where you set it.

It also makes wire replacement straightforward — particularly useful on the RLS1455, where Yamaha supplies two distinct wire voices in the box.

Hear It

Yamaha's official sound demos, recorded at three tunings with Ambassador heads. The RLS1455 is presented with its fitted 20-strand wire and with the bundled Steve Gadd 10-strand wire, so you can hear the change in cutoff before choosing.

Audio: official Yamaha sound demos.

Which Metal?

All three Recording Custom metals share the 1.2 mm shell, the external centre bead, the 45-degree bearing edge and the Q-type strainer. Two things change: the metal, and the hoop. Stainless steel gives the strongest attack and projection. Brass is darker and weightier, with more body and a lower fundamental. Aluminium is open and woody, and the only one fitted with 3.0 mm die-cast hoops rather than Dyna Hoops.

FAQ