Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "rjbb2" <rjbb2@y...> wrote:
> while we are on the subject, may I ask what you use to record with
> from your DTXpress?
> 
> I do have the Yamaha MIDI cable (and have been able to save my kits
> and load a few from here) and suppose I could record to a laptop, 
but
> I KNOW ZIPPO about midi and I'm more interested in playing than
> fooling around with computer settings and software.
> 
> Unless of course you could recomend software for "MIDI idiots" like
> myself that would make it easy to record to my 'puter?  This might 
be
> the way for me to go???  Most of the sample/demo midi stuff I've
> looked at is WAY more than I need for simple recordings.  In fact 
most
> of it is overwhelming to me....and I would much rather be playing 
that
> reading a software manual.
> 
> In the meantime, I'm finding the selection of cassette decks 
somewhat
> limited...

Personally, I have Cakewalk as my PC sequencer, though I haven't used 
it in a long time. It, and Steinberg's Cubase, are very popular with 
the MIDI drumming crowd, but there are many other entries. The 
problem is that they can be labor-intensive and costly. A few vendors 
offer inexpensive sequencers for bread and butter work (even 
freeware, I think), and isn't Garage Band a popular alternative to 
the big boys?  I recall someone testifying to its merits on the board 
not long ago. 

Remaining completely in the hardware camp is certainly viable if you 
want to avoid MIDI (and there's nothing wrong with that if it doesn't 
offer anything that you need). I'm a big advocate of those four-track 
cassette tape decks, complete with elaborate mixing boards, that 
companies like Fostex and Tascam began manufacturing about 20 years 
ago (the one that Studiomaster made was especially good; they were 
rare then and even rarer now). Fostex and Tascam decks are often 
available on ebay for a fraction of their former worth (well under 
$100), only because the digital age is upon us. You can record, mix, 
and twiddle knobs to your heart's content, and get valuable 
experience in mixing/ recording/bouncing tracks. You can even take 
the output from one and make a two-track master on your PC--if you 
have the right software, interface, and disk drive--or on a stand-
alone CD recorder, which you might also be able to find used for not 
much money. 

The new digital decks, which do what the analog ones do but more 
simply, often with a built-in or extra option to recorder straight to 
disk, are also possible alternatives. You'd have to spend more even 
at the entry level for a four-track used, and I personally find low-
end digital sound not worth the convenience. But that's a personal 
call. At any rate, they'll function like recording notebooks. I'd 
stay away from the two-track variety, despite the temptation of 
price, since the technical restrictions will wear on you almost 
immediately.

Ed