Yamaha PHX owners: Tell me about your drums?

[clowndog]

Potentially a dumb question, but with Sakae out of the mix behind the scenes, who is making their PHX kits now?

 

[RickP]

Potentially a dumb question, but with Sakae out of the mix behind the scenes, who is making their PHX kits now?

The PHX series was never made by Sakae. They have always been built by Yamaha at their Hammamatsu Japan plant.

 

[zenghost]

Zenghost,

What did you order and what sizes?

10/12/14/16/20 w/ tom mount (of course) in textured natural ash

Zenghost,
I can't wait to read your usual thorough review of the PHX kit when it arrives.

Thanks Rick, I am very interested to see how they compare to a few others.

 

[Treviso1]

Zenghost,

How exciting! Are you generally a 20" bass drum guy? I was told that Yamaha keeps a stock of textured natural ash in stock, so your wait might not be the typical 5-6 months. What drove your decision to go with PHX?

 

[Treviso1]

Any new PHX owners out there?

 

[JulianFernandez]

Steve Holmes keep raving about his PHX on his forums...

 

[Treviso1]

Steve Holmes keep raving about his PHX on his forums...

Yeah, you posted this before on this thread. In fact, you were the second post...numero 2!
I guess he still loves these tubs!

 

[troutstudio]

Great drums - enjoy those babies.

 

[AtlantaDrumGuy]

Too expensive for me. I would likely instead choose a current Sakae or new RC. I can't imagine a "better" sound than those, although maybe different.

 

[RickP]

I thought the same as you about Sakae and my Club Customs initially ADG. I was wrong the PHX are very special drums .

 

[Treviso1]

The PHX line is a giant leap forward in both drum design AND sound. As RickP said, they are very special drums.

 

[twelvenotes]

A birds-eye view of my 22, 10 and 12. 14 and 16 are in their usual spots and 18, 20 and 13 are safely away in cases.

I went back to the Remo Clear PS3 batter on the bass drum with a Remo/Weckl dampener. The front head is an Ambassador Clear with a 5 inch hole. Shows off the shell. The drum sounds like a 24.

I love my PHX, which is why a very nice set of MIJ RCs are for sale.

 

[Bandit]

The PHX line is a giant leap forward in both drum design AND sound. As RickP said, they are very special drums.

Please explain why. This thread is starting to sound like a John Good commercial. Drums really aren't that complicated.

 

[Hazelwood7]

The PHX line is a giant leap forward in both drum design AND sound. As RickP said, they are very special drums.

Please explain why. This thread is starting to sound like a John Good commercial. Drums really aren't that complicated.

They better be that good for a 10k plus kit.

 

[Signals]

The PHX line is a giant leap forward in both drum design AND sound. As RickP said, they are very special drums.

Please explain why. This thread is starting to sound like a John Good commercial. Drums really aren't that complicated.

I *think* it may be the thick shells. After all, the industry trend has been thin shells for quite some time. Along comes the PHX and there you go. Well, that and Yamaha's excellent build quality, attention to detail and reputation.

 

[ian.thomas]

The PHX line is a giant leap forward in both drum design AND sound. As RickP said, they are very special drums.

Please explain why. This thread is starting to sound like a John Good commercial. Drums really aren't that complicated.

I *think* it may be the thick shells. After all, the industry trend has been thin shells for quite some time. Along comes the PHX and there you go. Well, that and Yamaha's excellent build quality, attention to detail and reputation.



Sounds like my ol' Maple Customs........thick shells and Yamaha build quality.

 

[tim]

Agreed! I have 30th Anniversary MC's and the extra thick shells on those sound fantastic. What I understand is the upped the ply count on the 30th to set them apart from the regular MC's.

 

[jkuhl]

From a design and build standpoint, I couldn't tell you why these drums sound so good. You just have to play them. One thing I really like in the way a drum responds, is it's abilitiy to be sensitive at lower dynamics. The PHX shells are so sensitive at lower dynamics and lose zero tone. A similar trait was shared with my heavy beech sq2. Oddly a Pearl reference I owned, also a very heavy shell, was not expressive at low dynamics. So perhaps the thick shell isn't the only variable at play here. I can say that the vintage beech sq2 (thin shell with rings) I owned wasn't nearly as toneful at low dynamics.This all sounds like a lot of hype but until you get meaningfull time with a PHX, I could easily see why anyone might feel skeptical.

 

[Treviso1]

The PHX line is a giant leap forward in both drum design AND sound. As RickP said, they are very special drums.

Please explain why. This thread is starting to sound like a John Good commercial. Drums really aren't that complicated.

Bandit,

Have you read the recent review I wrote regarding my kit? Here's the link: http://www.drumforum.org/index.php?/topic/129599-the-phoenix-has-landed/?hl=phoenix

Jkulhl makes some really great points about the PHX line. Yamaha neither pays me to play their drums, nor do I work for Yamaha. I don't need to blow smoke up anyone's bottom. I wasn't forced to buy the drums at gunpoint either... I bought them because I had played them on multiple occasions and found them to be a giant leap forward sonically over anything that I had owned or played previously ( and I have played and owned most everything at this point). In plain words, these drums blew my mind and I had to have them. They have something special that I haven't witnessed in my 40+ years of playing. These drums are very sensitive to the lightest touch, but still retain the explosive low end OOMPH at lower volumes. When you lay into them, they just explode sonically with more headroom than anything I have played. The sheer fatness of tone and low end OOMPH is very special with these drums. These are handmade drums made by just three artisans in Japan. I found them worth every penny I paid and would absolutely do it again given the opportunity. Yes, the price of admission is steep, but like most things in life..."you get what you pay for."

You ask "why?" ...
Bottom line is you have to play them to experience what we owners have been talking about. Since we are talking about opinion and taste...you might not love them the way I do. That's ok too. What I find attractive about a drum's sound may not be your cup of tea, so to speak. I am merely stating my opinion, my review, my findings. But, I will say that they are very different from all the Recording Customs, Maple Customs, N&Cs, DWs. Bradys, etc...I have owned...or anything else for that matter. Not that those drums aren't awesome, but the PHX drums are just a different paradigm in drum design and sound altogether. Some may find this attractive, others may not. I don't pretend to know what other people like, only what I like and find desirable in a drumset. The PHX shell design is very special, delivering what they set out to deliver in the first place. IMHO. Nuff Said...

 

[cabasner]

Hi all,
I don't think I've ever posted to this forum before, but I am giving serious consideration to getting a Phoenix drum set. I currently play a DW Collectors Cherry set, which I love, but I am pondering the top end sets from all the big manufacturers, and have heard nothing but fabulous reports on the Phoenix set, many of which were posted in this thread, so many thanks to all the posters here. I wonder if any of you can answer a very niche question related to the YESS tom mounting system. If I get the Phoenix set, I will probably get a 10" rack tom and a 12" rack tom, and will probably use a Gibraltar Stealth rack system to mount everything. I was wondering if any you happen to know if the Gibraltar rack systems have a dual tom mount part that will specifically accommodate the Yamaha YESS tom mounts, and if so, what that part number might be. I have been considering both the Tama Star Bubinga set, along with the Phoenix, and if I go Phoenix, I would probably get the Burled Ash gloss in mono Turquoise or the Sunburst Turquoise. I think those colors are absolutely stunning!

Thanks for any help any of you can provide to a potential future Phoenix owner.