Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "temp1111" <temp1111@w...> wrote:
> Ed,
> So are you saying that as long as I am not using the notes perse', 
I can basically assign any voice to any note and the voice will 
remain as it is supposed to be and is not affected by the note at 
all.  In other words the note just becomes a 'pointer' to the voice.  
The the voice can be adjusted as needed.  For example it wouldn't 
matter if I assigned a C, D or F to a given voice, the voice is going 
to sound the same, unless I specifically change the voice?  Am I on 
the correct track with this line of thinking?

The way other Yamaha modules work is that if you are working with 
untuned percussion voices, you don't change pitch by selecting notes 
from a scale per se (say, middle "C") but via a numerical setting 
that raises or lowers the voice by increments. So long as you're 
working with drum/cymbal/percussion voices, the note number assigned 
to them will not change regardless of how you tinker with the voice. 
As I said, that's my take on it from previous experience. I don't 
have the module itself with me, though I've read through the manual. 
Drumsonly, Cheakster, and OGD should be able to confirm.

> Speaking of 'chords', I can think of several instances where I 
might want to try layering more than one voice together, such as a 
snare and a handclap, multiple toms (to thicken it up), etc.  
Assuming I'm anywhere near the right track (above) regarding notes, 
would I have to assign an arbitrary additional note to that trigger 
first?  Then, assign the additional voice?  This is kinda what I am 
thinking but the manual is not very clear on this, as it seems to be 
written for someone who already knows about midi notes, e-drums, 
etc., as opposed to a lifetime acoustic player :-)

Again, extrapolating from previous experience, when working with drum 
voices, the module should give you a distinct option for stacking or 
alternating voices, and you should be able to follow the thread of 
steps easily enough without getting tangled up in extraneous music 
theory. For instance, the DTXpress allows two voices to be stacked 
via the voice menu; you don't assign MIDI notes to do so.

Let me add that these functions all seem daunting in the abstract. 
But once you get the actual module in front of you, and you realize 
that it won't blow up or laugh at you if you make a mistake, they 
eventually begin to accumulate their own logic (regardless of the 
module's deficiencies in that respect). 

Ed