Yamaha Drums

JOE TESTA YAMAHA UPDATE:
Dear All,
Since NAMM, there has been a lot of buzz and requests to understand Yamaha’s new PHX (Phoenix) Hybrid shell kit – especially for those of you who were NOT at NAMM. In the interest of getting some info to the masses I put together a little text description of the way I hear this kit.
Keep in mind that I have seen this kit from the very beginning stages to its completion. My description below is really a culmination of my personal feelings and the comments many of our amazing artists have said to me.
Please know that to now see this kit released with such positive feedback is humbling for all of us here at Yamaha Drums. I hope you all get a chance to check them out at your local drum dealers and would enjoy your feedback on this site once you do.
Sincerely
Joe
Here we go….
In a lot of ways this new kit is very different from what Yamaha has done in the past, but in many great ways it is still Yamaha.
At the moment only 3 guys are making all the PHX kits for the world, so the roll out of the kits to the dealers will take a minute. We don’t make drums fast, we make quality musical instruments as fast as we can =). Keep asking your dealers when they are getting one for you to check out.
This new kit is made up of wood never used to make drums before.
It is a combination of Asian woods with either a Maple or Ash outer ply.
The center ply is called Jatoba.
Jatoba is a VERY hard wood and basically acts as the center core note of the drum.
On either side of this Jatoba ply are 4 plys of Kapur. Kapur is a bit softer, but still a hard wood.
Then the sandwich plys are either Maple or Ash depending on the appearance desired.
Maple and Ash are a little less hard, but again still considered a hard wood.
So the shell is constructed hardest in the middle and evenly softer as you work out in either direction.
This produces a similar effect in sound as does a pebble when it causes waves when dropped in the water.
It is 11 plys thick.
I know the trend today is thin shells, but honestly speaking these drums - made of this wood combination - do not sound thick. They go against everything you think a thick shell would sound like.
The difference in these drums musically is astounding. I describe it this way most drum sounds hit you. This kits sound hugs you. It is very warm and musical. Imagine your current Yamaha sound with a natural preamp on it. That is the best way I can describe it. In the studio the difference is astounding.
Another thing to mention... I have often explained how the older your kit gets the better it sounds. Well this is true and as good as you think your Yamaha kit sounds today - it doesn't compare to what it will sound like 30-50 years from now. On this new kit; however, the aging process seems to be accelerated. I mean within just a week of playing it - the sound matures immensely. It really is beautiful.
There are many other things to make note of, but the last observation I will explain is the mounting system and lugs.
It is a new and improved mounting system developed to make the fundamental tone of each drum become more clear and defined. First of all the mount is made of wood not metal. This organic concept combined with shock mountable rubber pieces where the shell meets the mount, allow for the drum to be at its ultimate resonance. The mounting points are at the nodal points of the shell.
The newly designed Nouveau lugs are mounted at the point of the shell where the overtones are the highest. The balance of the nodal point mount and the overtone point of the lugs help mute unwanted overtones - making the fundamental tone come alive with much more clarity.
Keep in mind that the Ash outer ply shells have more of an exotic grain texture to them than the maple.
Hope this description gives you a little salivate upon =)
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YAMAHA:
For over 4 decades, drummers around the globe have been unanimous in the opinion that Yamaha drums are elite instruments. They are drums that harness an almost magical sound and feel - attributes that amazingly improve as the drums age. There are good reasons for the extraordinary musicality, beautiful aesthetics, and exceptional durability of Yamaha drums.
For one thing, Yamaha drums has benefited from expertise acquired from a century of crafting Yamaha pianos, instruments that are stunning in their tone as they are in their glassy, sleek finishes. At the heart of both drums and pianos is an intimate knowledge of various woods and how they resonate and mature over time. It is knowledge that looks to traditional Japanese architecture, which presents abundant examples of temples, constructed to exacting tolerances, yet with minimal use of metal fasteners such as nails. Just as a 1000-year-old Japanese temple appears to have weathered little, a 30-year-old Yamaha drum is, in a very real sense, in its infancy.
At Yamaha, our unique processes require high levels of expertise derived from apprenticeship, whether they involve Kachikomi-teh use of diagonal plies assembled in proprietary round molds-or the design of hardware, the precise shaping of bearing edges, or the laborious buffing and finishing of our drums. To be sure, we don't stop with drums that are wondrous to behold and strike; our mission is to build drums that will hold their tone and appearance through the ages. We take enormous pride in manufacturing drums that speak with full throaty presence at all dynamic levels. In short, Yamaha drums embody sonic excellence. To this end, we take no shortcuts, applying the same attention to detail to a locking hi-hat clutch as with a meticulously cut oak shell. Along the way, we listen to you, the drummer.
Our craftsmen take pride every step of the way. True, this may be "the old way" of doing it, but history proves that Yamaha drums stand ahead of the rest. With that mission in mind, we renew our pledge to pursue the construction of drums that will be admired in the showroom today--and revered in 10, 20, and even 100 years.
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