Yamaha 4 pce PHX in Textured Turquoise Burst
- $6049

At Yamaha, prototype drums are the starting point of each drum’s evolution. These prototypes are created in the Drum Laboratory where Yamaha continually pursues the essence of musical perfection. Under a completely new concept, the PHX (pronounced “phoenix”) Series is the pinnacle of excellence in this prototyping process. Handcrafted by our expert technicians, it’s based on over 40 years of history, tradition and experience and technology. The newly developed PHX Series reveals Yamaha’s all-out pursuit of the ultimate in drum craftmanship and sound.

*Yamaha has discovered new materials.

With the wealth of knowledge that Yamaha has amassed through the decades as the preeminent maker of musical instruments, Yamaha’s wood specialists have discovered new materials that provide optimal drum performance.

Jatoba, a Brazilian wood and the hardest material in the PHX hybrid shell, is positioned as the core ply and center note of the drum. It is surrounded on either side by layers of kapur, a Malaysian hard wood. North American Maple, which had long been considered a classic, high-quality drum shell material because of its hardness and viscosity, is actually the softest wood in the shell construction; maple is the outer and inner plies of the shell.

This is the process used to complete the hybrid shell, in which the stiffness of the shell shifts from the center toward the outside: the woods are hardest at the center and get softer toward the outer surfaces in either direction. This results in an “excitation structure” that maximizes the shell’s performance. The excitation structure increases the head’s vibration to its full extent, achieving a sound unlike anything you’ve heard before. It produces an effect in sound waves similar to rippling waves caused by a pebble dropped in water.

The newly evolved YESSII shell mounting system acts as a shock mount system for the drum, allowing for optimal shell vibration.

Utilizing a unique rubber insert and a maple wood plate, the YESSII mount is primarily located at the nodal points (where no vibration occurs), causing the resonance to stay, within the shell as opposed to transferring through the hardware and being stifled.

In larger tom sizes, the rubber inserts are also positioned on the shell where overtones are present to help produce the appropriate mixture of sustain and overtone control.