PHX

Colors / Finishes

We redefined what a high-end drum-set was when we introduced Recording Custom in the 1970s. With the introduction of PHX, we set the bar even higher by creating the ultimate musical instrument for drummers.

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The Sound of Excellence

When asked what they wanted from their drums, a long time Yamaha Drum artist had three requests - a louder sound, a fatter tone, and even more sensitivity.

So with this in mind, Yamaha pursued these three goals, and drawing on long term research and development, and their vast manufacturing experience, they decided to make a masterpiece which epitomized all of them.

As a result, PHX was created, with the widest dynamic range of any drums created by Yamaha, and with an even greater, richer, mid-low response.

Hybrid Shell

The unique Hybrid shell was designed to perfectly achieve the three targets of the PHX concept - more volume, more tone and more dynamic range.

The shell uses the heaviest and hardest wood in the centre core, and the wood plies get gradually softer toward the inner and outer surfaces. This construction allows the shell to vibrate perfectly, free of constraint.

The shell uses the hardest and heaviest wood, Jatoba for the centre core. The Jatoba is surrounded on either side by layers of Kapur, another hard and heavy wood. Then, surrounding the Kapur is Maple, the softest wood in the whole shell, which is used for the outer and inner shell plies.

Countless trials, prototyping and sound checking with artists went into finding the perfect shell make-up for PHX.

Bearing Edge

The bearing edge is the single most important element to dictate the tone and articulation of each PHX shell.

All PHX bearing edge are cut at 30-degrees. However, what makes each type of shell different - whether it be a tom, floor tom, or bass drum - is the radius of the top of each bearing edge. These radiuses are where the drum head touches the wood of the shell, and the size of the radius allows more or less vibration to pass from the head through to the shell.

Therefore, the bass drum edge creates a clearer and sharper sound, while the tom edge makes a fatter and more rounded sound.

The bearing edges are shaped by craftsmen who have specialized knowledge of the characteristics of each wood. During rounds of sanding and special surface finishing, each edge gradually becomes perfectly shaped for its intended use.

Hardware

The lugs, tom mounting system and hoops have a crucial role in achieving the perfect drum sound.

The PHX uses the Y.E.S.S.Ⅱ system for mounting the toms, which is perfectly matched to the hybrid shell. It is super stable and comfortably supports the thick PHX shell while bringing out its natural resonance without compromise. The mounting plate itself is made of the same maple as is used on the outer plies of the Hybrid shell, further contributing to the rich resonance and enhanced low end.

The Hook Lug on the PHX was designed with a small footprint, which doesn’t disturb the shell vibration, and accentuates the fundamental tone. In addition, Yamaha’s unique 3.0mm aluminum die-cast hoop features high rigidity and extreme light weight, so it maximizes the head resonance, and creates a rich, melodic tone with a full attack.

Beautiful Shell Exteriors

The PHX range is not only packed with great features which make it a fantastic drum range, but it also has all the beauty of an exquisite, hand made musical instrument.

Highly skilled craftspeople repeat the painting and sanding process many times while continuing to achieve a rich and beautiful finish and high hardness. In addition, the finish is extremely thin, so it doesn't disturb shell vibration. These steps include the consistent application of coatings by wiping and spraying combined with meticulous sanding and buffing. Matte finishes are no easier to produce, requiring multiple levels of accomplished craftsmanship.

Furthermore, the Hook Lugs and aluminum die-cast hoops are available in either chrome or a deeply exclusive gold, to match or contrast with the shells perfectly.

Features

Hybrid Shell

With the wealth of knowledge that Yamaha has amassed through the decades as the preeminent manufacturer of musical instruments, Yamaha’s wood specialists have discovered new materials which have increased the optimal shell performance of PHX.

Jatoba, the hardest material in the PHX hybrid shell, is positioned at the core of the shell, and is responsible for the fundamental note of the drum. The Jatoba is surrounded on either side by layers of Kapur. Then Maple, which had long been considered a classic, drum shell material because of its hardness, is used on the outer and inner plies of the shell. Maple is usually thought of as the perfect hardwood for drum shells, but in the PHX shell it is actually the softest, and allows the note of the Jatoba to ring clearly.

Bearing Edge

To focus each drum’s tone and articulation, PHX floor toms, toms and bass drum shells each use a different type of bearing edge. All bearing edges are cut to 30-degrees. However, the radius of each bearing edges differs to maximize the acoustic performance from each shell.

The bass drum radius is chosen to deliver a sharper, punchy sound, while the tom radius produces a richer, rounded tone. Additionally, a secret process is used to ensure that each edge is finished to a perfect smoothness. This guarantees a wide tuning range and allows accurate and easy tuning.

Vent Holes

The number of vent holes in a drum shell influences both the drum’s timbre and projection. PHX drums are designed with one to ten vent holes, depending upon the drum's dimensions. By varying the number of holes, particularly on larger shells, the drum’s decay length, amount of mid-bass tone, and playing comfort can all be fine-tuned.

Y.E.S.S.II

The Y.E.S.S.II shell mounting system acts as a shock-mount system for the PHX drums allowing for optimal shell vibration.

Utilizing a unique rubber insert and a maple mounting plate, the Y.E.S.S.II system is attached at the nodal points of each shell where the least vibration occurs. This allows the resonance to stay within the shell, rather than transferring through the hardware and being dampened.

In larger tom sizes, the rubber inserts are also positioned on the shell where less desirable overtones are present so the appropriate mixture of decay and overtone control can be tailored to suit the shell.

Hook Lug

The Hook Lug system used on the PHX range has evolved from the Yamaha Nouveau Lug, which was an innovation in drum-lug design. This new design minimizes the rotation of the lug casing during tuning, and firmly supports the tension rod, even at high tension.

Rather than positioning the Hook Lug at the nodal point, Yamaha placed it at the area of the shell that produces less desirable overtones, thus muting them and allowing for an unobstructed, richer fundamental tone.

3.0mm Aluminum Die-Cast Hoops

The aluminum die-cast hoops are designed and produced using an original process developed by Yamaha. The 3.0mm aluminum die-cast hoop offers precision tuning, thanks to its rigidity, which comes from the unique die-casting process, and light weight, due to the aluminum material itself. While normal zinc die-cast hoops are heavy and suppress head vibration, Yamaha’s light-weight hoop design produces a rich, melodic tone and moderate attack, without suppressing the head vibration.

The Finish

PHX drums come in gloss or matte finishes. High quality finishes are one of the defining characteristics of Yamaha drums, and they require extremely high levels of know-how and experience to perfect. Yamaha has drawn from its broad knowledge and experience of finishing beautiful musical instruments to create the PHX finishes.

The creation of beautiful glossy finishes requires that every step of the process – consistent application of coatings by wiping and spraying, combined with meticulous sanding and buffing – be carried out by hand, with care and competence that can only be acquired through many years of practice.