A fusion-sized ash hybrid kit that's brilliantly crafted for great tonal resonance
The Phoenix Fusion 4-piece Ash is a Hybrid kit that uses 4 different types of woods to make up the shells. Yamaha has brilliantly crafted a true masterpiece by formulating these different woods and their tonal characteristics for different plies that result in excellence! It also features new versions of Yamaha's Nouveau lugs, and YESS.
It has 11-ply hybrid shells, and the woods used are progressively harder from the center ply to the outer plies. The center ply is jatoba; this is a very hard wood' and it anchors the fundamental of the shell. Sandwiched on either side of this is kapur. This wood is in the mahogany family and adds warmth to the sound of the drum. These drums use an outer half-ply each of maple and burled ash.
The 22" x 18" bass drum has a sharper edge cut toward the outer plies, which gives it attack and shortens the decay. The 14" x 13" floor tom has a slightly rounded edge to give it the right balance of attack and sustain, making it very articulate at all dynamic levels. The 10" x 7" and 12" x 9" toms have an even more rounded profile for warmth and sustain. This combination of shell composition and bearing edges makes Phoenix among the most musical drums ever made.
The Phoenix uses redesigned versions of the Nouveau lug and YESS. The new lug mounts on a square hook rather than a round post, which keeps the tension rod in perfect vertical alignment and eliminates the need to use two hands while tuning the drum. Yamaha used the aluminum die-cast hoops made popular on their Absolute series for the Phoenix. These hoops are very light but rigid, giving you the open, warm sound of a triple-flanged hoop and the accurate tuning of a die-cast hoop.
The new version of the YESS mounting system supports the drum at the top and bottom. The new version mounts the tom bracket onto a piece of the shell, and that wooden plate is isolated or shock-mounted using rubber grommets. A 3-piece fastening system is used to attach the new YESS to the shell, and the inside and outside fasteners do not touch. This system totally isolates the drum and allows the full tone to come through and maximizes sustain.
