Ask any drummer what’s the worst part of gigging and they’ll tell you setting up, tearing down, and carting home the drums. The ingenious HipGig is a compact four-piece drum set which can be set up in five minutes, needs the minimum of floor space, and can be carried from car to stage in one easy trip. The snare and two tom toms are stored inside the hinged bass drum during transport, then mounted off it when set up. And all the stands, pedals and brackets fit into the ‘throne’-style canister seat. The whole caboodle fits into the two supplied soft bags.
The Hipgig shells are made from a 7-ply sandwich of high quality birch and mahogany. Toms come equipped with Remo Pinstripe heads, the bass drum with Remo Renaissance PowerStroke-3s and the snare with a Remo coated Ambassador batter. This combination supplies attack alongside control and body. The 10"x6" and 13"x7" toms may be small, but they sound surprisingly full and loud. In addition there are now two more tom-toms which can be bought separately. These measure 8”x5.5” and 12”x6.5” and both are supplied with soft carrying cases. The 12"x5" snare is suspended rather than placed on a normal stand, resulting in an extra liveliness and a huge reverberant cross-stick sound.
The 16”x20” bass drum is fitted with our special floating bass drum system, which enables the bass pedal beater to strike centre for maximum punch. What the bass drum loses in diameter it makes up for in its 20" depth; and by raising it off the floor, resonance is again maximised. The sound is deep but articulate, works well tuned low or high and doesn’t require any damping.
The Hipgig comes in three distinctive finishes: the original eye-catching Mellow Yellow lacquer, White Marine Pearl and Rick Marotta’s signature Cherry Red lacquer. While the portability and speed of set-up/break-down are obviously big attractions, the Hipgig ranks alongside our other top lines. It displays all of the craftsmanship, sound quality and durability that has made Yamaha a worldwide professional's choice. With its unmistakable incisive sound the Hipgig has found a place in the hearts of everyone from small group jazz drummers to cutting edge jungle and drum ‘n’ bass stylists.