Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "K2500X" <drdistefano@y...> wrote:
 
> Well the quick update is that I'm still struggling with this 
decision
> and it's now giving me a headache cause it's taking up waaaay too 
much
> of my time. So I've decided I should go with a complete system 
that's
> been tailoredto a specific sound module. It's not that I can't 
handle
> building my own system. But I just want the kit to work as close to 
a
> real drum kit as possible. So an ultra expressive hi hat and cymbal
> choking are are necessary. My budget is < $1500 right now. Sound
> quality is also really important. Which brings up a question. The 
MP3
> demos that are on etxperience.com, why they are the same ones for 
both
> the express and extreme? I would figure the extreme would have much
> better sound quality.  So my choices right now are a DTX3SP new, or
> possibly a used DTXtreme2s. Actually I heard the ddrum4 and was 
blown
> away. So if I could get a used ddrum4 in my price range that would
> probably be my top choice at this point. I also like the fact that 
the
> ddrum 4 is compact. What do ya think?

Ken,

Going with an all in one package will certainly cut down on the 
headaches. Mixing and matching isn't always terribly hard, but for 
novices it can be demanding. The DTXpress IIISP and the DTXtreme IIS 
have the hi hat on a stand, which I personally find indispensable, 
even to the point of trumping any older setup that might have 
marginally better sounds. I haven't any problem with the sounds on 
the DTXPressIII or the DTXtreme modules per se; in fact, for what 
they are, I'm generally impressed. By the way, I didn't know that the 
DTXtremeIIS had any mp3s associated with it at this point, or is it 
video that I'm thining of?  At any rate, so far as the basic specs of 
sound quality are concerned, both the Xpress and the Xtreme are still 
16 bit systems, but the Xtreme has more quality sounds from Yamaha's 
synth stable, as well as a host of other convenience features, 
including the eminently playable snare and tom pads. But if your 
budget can't swing it, the DTXpress IIISP is not a bad compromise at 
all, and it will accommodate upgrades from the Xtreme.

The ddrum4 definitely has the capacity to blow people away, despite 
the fact that much of it is ten years old. The sad part is that after 
years of rumors concerning the imminent arrival of a ddrum5, which 
even some industry people took seriously, Clavia has apparently 
confessed that it has no plans for an overhaul whatsoever. But $1500 
should be able to get you a complete ddrum4 kit, which is, as you 
say, compact and geared toward approximating the sounds and feel of 
acoustic percussion than the standard Yamaha and Rolands. I won't 
rehearse all of the ddrum4's advantages; you can find them on 
Clavia's website. But be forewarned that the kit isn't expandable, 
except by buying a second module, that it's memory capacity for even 
its own huge, brilliant library, is incredibly small--making the 
number of desirable kits on the module at any one time fairly small 
(primarily the mega-kits, which are irresistable once you hear them)--
that downloading new sounds from the web is a pain in the neck, and 
that its cymbals and hi hat are, to a large extent, proprietary. 
Cymbals from other companies will not choke, and they will not be 
able to reproduce the ddrum's positional sensing (which isn't 
universal, anyway), though they may do so eccentrically. I use Visu-
lite cymbals with a ddrum module; the positional anomalies are 
acceptable to me. The ddrum hi hat works on a principle different 
from that of any other company, but it is worth its questionable 
looks. Other companies' snare/tom pads with the ddrum4 are not so 
critical; sometimes they are even an advantage. Clavia's own mesh 
heads will not do its sporadic positional sensing with the module's 
OS (only its mylar ones will); Pintechs and Harts may very well do so 
because of where their piezos are mounted.

Again, I've taken up a lot of room. For you, the choice appears to be 
between the XpressIIISP and the ddrum4 on sale or used. For me, 
nothing beats the sound quality of the ddrum, despite its warts, but 
I also have a second module in my kit and non-ddrum components 
integrated with it to pick up the slack. The second module is a 
Yamaha.

Ed