Yamaha PHX - am I missing something?

MusiQmaN

MusiQmaN

Platinum Member
The only real custom order are Larry's and Oscar's kit. Luckily there are so much options to choose.
 
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biggow

Member
Am I right in thinking the PHX was always made at Yamaha Japan, as opposed to being made by Sakae, before the split? If so, are new PHX kits, if you order one now, still made in Japan rather than China?
 
spleeeeen

spleeeeen

Platinum Member
twelvenotes said:
I just took delivery of a new PHX kit in solid black and they are awesome. I've never seen a deeper black on a drum set.

I can't speak to Mullen Jr's kit, but all the other colours below are available for order. Remember these drums are not "stocked" and only made to order.
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Congratulations! Please post some pictures of those bad boys when you get a chance!
 
richkenyon

richkenyon

Silver Member
Isn't it the case that Carter Beauford tried the PHX, ended up replacing all the toms with Recording Customs and then just switched back completely to the RCs?
 
T

The SunDog

Guest
PHX drums sound fantastic. As good as anything on the market in that price range. If you want to hear them in perspective I recommend Memphis Drums video series. There you will be able to listen to a wide variety of high end drums all recorded in the same room with the same simple mics and played by the same person. Other online drum stores do the same thing I just prefer Memphis. I personally like all maple shells, but i can see where some drummers would want to differentiate their sound. In this respect the PHX really delivers. Its tonal qualities are very unique and overall it is extremely impressive. I still think that Craviotto sounds better and C&C, DW, and the good ol Maple Custom sound just as good. It does sound different than those kits though and (IMO) a lot better than a Reference.
 
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twelvenotes

twelvenotes

Member
The PHX bass drum is obscene! I have a 16 x 22 and it sounds processed. When I set it up my wife, a musician herself, came downstairs to ask me what the heck I was doing.

Right now I'm experimenting with head combinations for the toms, currently black suedes over clear ambassadors, buy may give coated emperors a try soon. The toms sound much different than my USA Customs, which was the point.

I have a Solid Black kit and would love to post pictures, but don't know how to resize. Check out Twitter @mytwelvenotes. A pic also appears on @YamahaDrums
 
evilg99

evilg99

Platinum Member
Hey guys...could one of you that actually owns a Phoenix kit please start a new thread here on Drummerworld about these fine kits. It is really depressing that if you do a Google search for "Yamaha PHX" - this negatively titled thread is one of the first things that comes up in the search results.
To the original poster of this thread (who by the way, hasn't logged in a couple years) :
Yes, you are most definitely missing something - the whole thing, in fact.
I have heard the drums very briefly in person, but what I heard was very good. OP: I'm just not buying the idea that you couldn't get the drums to sound good. That would be the first Yamaha kit in history, at almost any price, to do so.

So PHX dudes, start a new thread with at least a more neutral title and please share your experiences with us! And pictures!

Neal
 
Artstar

Artstar

Platinum Member
evilg99 said:
Hey guys...could one of you that actually owns a Phoenix kit please start a new thread here on Drummerworld about these fine kits. It is really depressing that if you do a Google search for "Yamaha PHX" - this negatively titled thread is one of the first things that comes up in the search results.
To the original poster of this thread (who by the way, hasn't logged in a couple years) :
Yes, you are most definitely missing something - the whole thing, in fact.
I have heard the drums very briefly in person, but what I heard was very good. OP: I'm just not buying the idea that you couldn't get the drums to sound good. That would be the first Yamaha kit in history, at almost any price, to do so.

So PHX dudes, start a new thread with at least a more neutral title and please share your experiences with us! And pictures!

Neal
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Thank you for saying that !

What cracks me up is all these guys just throwing them in the same category as something like a DW Collectors..
 
evilg99

evilg99

Platinum Member
scorch whammin said:
Agreed!... No comparison.....a more equal comparison would be the maple customs or absolutes ...
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Yes, agreed.
Yes, they are very expensive , just like any other high end boutique kit...Craviotto, Brady, etc etc. PHX kits are not mass production drums.
No doubt Yamaha has put a lot of effort into design and build of these drums, drawing from four decades of experience. Some may or may not find that they are worth the price tag - and that's fine.

N
 
MusiQmaN

MusiQmaN

Platinum Member
There's probably a very good reason not to bring out a PHX snare. I know Russ Miller had (a) prototype(s)
 
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makenaiboy

Junior Member
MusiQmaN said:
There's probably a very good reason not to bring out a PHX snare. I know Russ Miller had (a) prototype(s)
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I've played one which a Yamaha artist made himself out of a tom. He told me Yamaha didn't bring the snare out as they weren't happy with the sound. They do a lot of analysis of sound and I imagine the frequency response didn't show what they wanted.

I remember asking for an 18x16 bass drum to be told they wouldn't do it as it hadn't been "tested"
 
Andy

Andy

Administrator
Staff member
makenaiboy said:
I remember asking for an 18x16 bass drum to be told they wouldn't do it as it hadn't been "tested"
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Now that I can relate to. We turn down many requests for drums that we know will not perform to our expectations. It's difficult (especially for a company of our size) to turn away business & keep to the results of your testing, but if you really care about the instruments you put out, having the balls to do that is critical IMHO.

Well done Yamaha! That's refreshing to hear, & so unlike many companies that will simply produce a deeper/shallower version of an existing design without fully testing it, & on the basis it's fashionable.
 
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makenaiboy

Junior Member
keep it simple said:
Now that I can relate to. We turn down many requests for drums that we know will not perform to our expectations. It's difficult (especially for a company of our size) to turn away business & keep to the results of your testing, but if you really care about the instruments you put out, having the balls to do that is critical IMHO.

Well done Yamaha! That's refreshing to hear, & so unlike many companies that will simply produce a deeper/shallower version of an existing design without fully testing it, & on the basis it's fashionable.
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Yeah I agree. I love Yamaha drums and wanted a matching 18 x 16 maple hook lug so it was disappointing but I more than respect their decision and reasoning.
 
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biggow

Member
I recently did a tour of some of the best drum shops in the UK, with the intention of playing and listening to all the high end kits I possibly could. I ended up playing DW Collectors, both Maple only and the maple/mahogany. the new Tama Star kit, Sonor Prolite, Craviotto Ash, Pearl Reference Pure, Sakae Trilogy, Almighty and Celestial, Yamaha Maple Custom Absolute and PHX.

The first time I heard the PHX the bass drum absolutely floored me, but the toms left me underwhelmed. I then got to have a go at another kit, which had been tuned, and suddenly the whole thing sounded incredible. I therefore ended up buying a 4 piece PHX in the gold textured amber sunburst finish and I couldn't be happier.

At the end of the day it's all personal preference, as all the kits mentioned above sounded fantastic in their own way, but I found that I definitely am drawn to the Yamaha/Sakae sound as the kits I liked the most were the PHX, the Sakae Almighty and the Maple Custom Absolute. I plumped for the PHX as when tuned properly they just had a little more of everything compared to the Almighty and the Absolute's.
 
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Grolubao

Senior Member
Still don't understand from other purpose than being a endorsee of a famous brand, why would somebody spend so much money on a kit from a famouse brand, when they can buy similar in a smaller boutique shop totally customized to their preferences, but to each its own.
 
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