Yamaha HW3 Crosstown Hardware Pack/Unboxing & Stability Test : Bearded Drums (Episode 58)

In this week's episode we take a look at the Yamaha HW3 Crosstown hardware pack. This hardware pack is geared for the drummer that cannot be bothered with heavy equipment or desires a lighter setup. This hardware pack is mainly comprised of aluminum and features rubber feet, wide leg bases, and geared tilters. This setup comes with a carrying bag and includes 2 straight stands, 1 snare stand, and 1 hi hat stand. The average street price is $399.99 and can be found at most online retailers. I would like to thank my friend Jarrett for holding off on opening his new hardware pack so that we could unbox it on camera and share with all of you. Below I will include a link to the Yamaha website as well as a link if you would like to purchase 👇
Link to the Yamaha website 👇
🔴 usa.yamaha.com...
Link for purchase 👇
🔴 www.guitarcent...
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-All videos are shot on Panasonic LUMIX G7 & Lumix GH5
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-Bearded Drums 2018

[@davidsuprenant893]

I see all the new light weight hardware on the market today and it makes me smile.I think of all the years hauling all the heavy backbreaking stands. The way the company's are making these great sounding small kits and light weight hardware is just great for the weekend player.,and will fit in any small vehicle. Don't get no better than that.!!!

[@BeardedDrums]

Yes sir!!! 👊💯

[@joek81981]

Two years later I'm finally buying these. Wish they made a kick pedal and a seat.

[@baylorcarter]

I have a matching kick pedal (because being ocd and a drummer is synonymous). The seat though is something that I won’t skimp on haha.

[@drs-Rigo-Reus]

What kickpedal is that Baylor?

[@spasevrp]

Just got a pack yesterday! Great stuff!

[@drumfanatik316]

I’m surprised this technology hasn’t caught on sooner? All of a sudden, after years and years of lugging around heavy gear and big drums, the kits are getting smaller and the hardware is getting lighter! I mean, this is nothing new, Gibraltar did this years ago. They had a series called AX, I believe? My friend has one at our rehearsal space, and the thing is rock solid and super light. Has quick lock tighteners instead of wing nuts, and double braced legs for stability. The thing must only weigh about 3 pounds but looks super heavy duty? Has the same matte finish as these stands as well. I guess the technology never caught on because you needed the big heavy stands to hold the big heavy drums!!! Thanks for the review guys!!!

[@andrewsimineri2243]

This HW3 is awesome. I got lucky and it came with my used Yamaha Stage Hip Kit. STOP OVER TIGHTENING WING NUTS PEOPLE! I notice that these wing nuts really grab without any tightening at all.

[@drs-Rigo-Reus]

Indeed! That way the stripping of screw threads is prevented.

[@musicalala]

Have to have it! Probably the most important innovation in drum gear since companies started making hard hardware cases with good wheels and telescoping handle. Funny thing is now I have to decide if I even still need that friggin expensive SKB hardware case. Guess I can sell it.

[@boblatzer]

Thanks guys.

[@johnpietrolaj8917]

Nice looking stands!

[@ferpalaciosdrums1]

These look great, I'm definitely saving up to buy them

[@robertoferrarini7153]

Thanks. It would have been nice to test if such stands can hold a tom too. My bass drum has not tom holder so I use clamps connected to cymbals stand and even the metal heavy ones sometimes are falling.

[@craicattic]

Thanks for your review, Great Job!!!!!!!!!!

[@CharlesBeauregard]

Is there enough room in the bag for a bass drum pedal and a light throne ?

[@bbfoto7248]

+Bearded Drums Nice unboxing and review. Looks like the typical great Yamaha quality! But what about the adjustability & stability of the OTHER stands? Especially the Hi-Hat stand? How good is the tension/spring adjustment and overall feel of the footboard action? Do you think the mechanism is sturdy enough and will hold up over time? And what are the Minimum & Maximum Heights for each stand, both folded & in use? Those cymbal stands looked to be quite short even at maximum extension! Perhaps it'd be okay for your main ride cymbal, but what about a crash that you want positioned higher, over & to the right of the ride?...or a higher left-hand crash/ride? What diameter snare drums will the snare stand accommodate? Does it have enough height adjustment to accommodate a 3"-4" piccolo, or a 7"-8" deep snare? These are the types of details that are hard for us as viewers to really know without having our own actual "hands-on" demo of the hardware.

[@BeardedDrums]

The hi hat stand feels like a very typical baseline model with good tension (moderate) and all the stands including the hi hat feel like they would be able to take some abuse and last over time. The snare stand has typical basket size and the same for the height, so I don’t think there will be any issues there. The only thing I could see being an issue is that the cymbal stands may not go quite as high as some heavier models. They are it short by any means but may not go super high.

[@davegarciaofficial]

Amazing stands! But no swivel hi hat is a huge swing and a miss

[@keithhaldane9794]

Great review. Thanks!

[@cjlee988]

Good stuff bro👌🏾

[@drs-Rigo-Reus]

the Velcro on the hihat is great, but they should fix it to the hihat permanently.

[@drs-Rigo-Reus]

watching now:-). Yamaha is the best, hope these are also. How is the smoothness of the hihat?

[@BeardedDrums]

Lol, yeah. I applied the velcro thing to my own high hats that I use for gigging and of course I lost the Velcro within about two weeks 🤦‍♂️

[@malditoklee]

I really appreciate this unboxing and review but, you really should've set the symbols up on the kit and video of somebody playing it in my humble opinion.

[@moondrums]

Great video. Very funny in the beginning sitting next to each other. I'm very interested in this hi hat stand. My stands are pretty heavy. Iron cobra has a lot of weight to it. This could be the answer.

[@BeardedDrums]

I thought it was built really well. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not gonna be anything like your iron cobra or a very heavy duty hi hat stand. But, as light as it is I think it’s built very sturdy and would definitely serve the purpose of cutting down on weight. I really do hope other drug companies jump onto the light weight aluminum bandwagon and start producing more of these travel type hardware packs.

[@drs-Rigo-Reus]

Yamaha has had the best hardware since 1970, hope this fits in that category as well.

[@NelsonMontana1234]

I'd say it's a brilliant concept but aluminum hardware is way, way WAY overdue! At any rate, this stuff is great. My trap case is less than half the weight now. The only complaint is that the tension cannot be adjusted on the Hi Hat stand.

[@jarrahdrum]

I was hoping for the hihat stand to be tested, I am curious about the fact that it doesn't have any tension adjustment.

[@BeardedDrums]

I can text and ask my buddy that was in the video with me if he’s had any issues or his feelings on that stand since purchasing it.

[@jarrahdrum]

@@BeardedDrums hi, yes that would be good of you can, I have a feeling that it will be okay, but because I have quite a few different weights and sizes I was curious. However, in all honesty I should have just one pair of hats and be thankful 😊. Thank you 🙏

[@captainkuru1]

Yamaha hard is really the best, nice, reliable and intelligent.

[@tobyvattilano7846]

First off, thank you for taking the time to do this review. People like yourself become a wonderful resource for potential consumers so thank you. That said, I'm a guy who likes to lighten the load whenever possible but what I've found is...is the trade off of weight worth the extra time it will take to be positive it is truly secure? Yes, load-ins can be absolutely brutal but set and forget has it's advantages as well, especially if you have to be up and running in a moment's notice. I saw a considerable amount of wobble here and through no fault of Yamaha. Using Alu in such a lightweight design...what can be expected? I'm also a guy who uses 17inch sticks in every genre I cover. So unless I'm using wire brushes, I'm swinging a bat. Like holding a hammer lower on it's shaft...it's easier to control the stick and let leverage and momentum do the work for you. But that wood still needs to be put in motion and while balanced, a 17inch stick throws force and serious whipping power. I think I'm going to try the Tama light Road pros although i question just how light they really are. Again, thank you so much for the review

[@johotrod66]

I have a set and generally they are great...apart from the hi-hat stand. In short, the pipe clamp needs cranking to stop the top section collapsing when you put any real pressure on the pedal (fixed with a memory lock) but biggest beef is that the spring is really soft and tension cannot be adjusted. Result is a sluggish action, which is a real shame. Yamaha, supply a memory lock for the hi-hat and beef that spring up!

[@harryo74]

will it hold a tom ?

[@BeardedDrums]

We did that test later on and came to the conclusion that it put too much stress on the stand so I would not recommend using it to hold up a tom.

[@rickgrossdrums]

I'm 20 seconds in so excuse me for going immediately off topic. Is that a Russ Miller Groove Wedge over your shoulder?? Those things are hard to get hold of!

[@BeardedDrums]

Yes it is.

[@DovSkipperDrummer]

My heaviest cymbal stand takes a 19 crash and 12 tom, if the tom was positioned over a leg of the Yamaha lightweight, do you think that would work? Is there strength in the tubes for a tom clamp? Thanks guys.

[@BeardedDrums]

I think it would, I also just talked to the guy that’s featured in that video I did that actually owns that set of lightweight hardware and he agreed as well especially as long as you had the leg under the Tom. But, to be more precise when he gets home tonight he is going to set it up himself with a cymbal and a Tom and make sure that it will be able to handle it and then I’ll give you a more specific answer. Hope that helps.

[@DovSkipperDrummer]

Well absolutely, thanks very much that would be great to hear! That would save so much weight especially when taking out my 2 toms either side of the bd.

[@BeardedDrums]

I’ll let ya know as soon as I hear from him. 👊💯

[@GoAndPractice]

Bearded Drums did we ever hear back about using a clamp on them? I’d be worried about the aluminum crushing easily when under stress it wasn’t supposed to withstand.

[@BeardedDrums]

He never did get back to me but I will call him tomorrow and get an answer. Should have something by tomorrow afternoon.

[@arturkasza3176]

Oh my... has anybody seen a drummer who plays a drumset standing? The angle is different, especially if you approach the cymbal from above. Let him sit down. Do you happen to have a chair?

[@ricohorton]

Really nice hardware. But very dumb that Yamaha didn't make the HiHat stand tripod legs turn to accommodate slave pedals. 😥

[@uwepetersen]

The Yamaha hardware looks cool as allways and are very light, how ever I would not trust this hardware on a shaky drumriser.

[@BeardedDrums]

In that specific situation your point is totally understandable. I would only apply this hardware to smaller gigs or somebody in a big city that needs to just cut down on the weight.

[@jdrumz321ify]

Ok, so how do these compare to the DW Ultralight series??

[@BeardedDrums]

I would say they are comparable as far as weight is concerned. The DW though being more of an actual flat base stand and the Yamaha’s being more of the traditional raised leg stand. I like the Cymbal top tilters on the Yamaha a little better though because they are ratchet and tooth as where the DW are little wing nuts holding a slider in place. Both are very nice and are well worth the money, although I do think the Yamaha is a little more stable but that’s only because it’s not a flat stand and a typical tripod style leg system. It’s probably going to come down more to the style that you would prefer.

[@waynejones3428]

GR8!💥 🏁 👌 😰

[@NEALBABBITT]

Not that clear because you didn't have the cymbal very high.

[@JoeSorrentino]

My Friend yon need to mount a 12 tom with a clamp

[@BeardedDrums]

We did that test shortly after shooting the video because one of the subscribers specifically asked about that situation. The conclusion was yes it did hold it up but it was putting a lot of stress on the symbol stand so it wasn’t advisable.

[@greenambles]

Thanks guys! This genuinely a really useful review! I'm getting the Pearl Midtown kit and 2 bags and so wanting a lightweight value for money hardware kit to match. Pearl's matching HWP-150S 150 Series Lightweight Hardware Pack offers good flexibility but beaten on weight and price here and no bag...(which seems a ridiculous oversight)...btw, I have to also draw attention to this alternative review from Yamaha reps who accidentally somewhat humorous particularly when they intro the Crosstown designer fresh from Japan (if they had a Netflix show it would pop!) - kzbin.info/www/bejne/e2WodGZ5rM52n9E

[@lazydobo1094]

I thought they put candy in there for a pun of *sweet...water

[@BeardedDrums]

Lol, me too! Who knew there was a real reason

[@greendrinkguy1882]

shave the beard ;)

[@thomasnappo6309]

What about the hihat stand....cmon bro