Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

I would be interested...count me in.
--- emf <liberatusvirus@...> wrote:
> 
> This Special Notice to all members is a survey to
> determine how many 
> of us might be interested in purchasing Keith
> Raper's invention for 
> adding inputs to the DTXpress module. Keith's
> intention is keep the 
> price at around $100.  Membership turnout on this
> matter may well 
> have a lot to do with what ultimately happens to the
> device.  Please 
> try to respond, even if you aren't sure of your
> answer yet.  A word 
> to the wise: This is a huge, possibly money-saving
> opportunity for 
> those who want to expand their kits in a
> cost-effective manner.  For 
> a detailed description, read below.
>  
> Keith's input device--which we referred to as the
> "magic box" before 
> its actual invention (it will acquire a better
> name)--allows e-
> drummers to expand the basic DTXpress (I, II or III)
> module by 
> permitting the FSRs and piezos on stereo inputs to
> be split.  
> Normally each stereo input is compatible with only
> one pad or one 
> cymbal, even though each stereo input is capable of
> supporting more 
> than one sound. Keith's device enables two
> single-zone (mono) pads to 
> be connected to each stereo input on a DTXpress
> module. By "stereo" 
> in this context, we exclude all of those that are
> capable of three 
> sounds (inputs 2 and 6), which should be reserved
> for their triple 
> voices, and input 9/10, which is not compatible with
> the device.  
> 
> The limitation in this method of input expansion
> follows from the 
> limitation inherent in any pad or cymbal with a rim
> switch; only one 
> sound per split input is possible at any one time.
> In other words, 
> just as a stereo pad will produce either a
> piezo-center sound 
> (head/bow) or switch sound (rim/edge) but not both
> simultaneously, 
> the two pads connected to any input split via
> Keith's device will not 
> be able to make their sounds together. They must be
> hit 
> successively.  
> 
> This is not a flaw in Keith's design but a
> characteristic of Yamaha's 
> stereo electronics. The magic box would therefore be
> most effective 
> in circumstances when pads sharing the same input
> would be unlikely 
> to be hit simultaneously--for example, a cymbal and
> a tom rather than 
> a cymbal and a kick pad.
> 
> Keith has planned the device to have 8 inputs and 4
> outputs, allowing 
> 4 extra pads to be added to each module. For
> example, the three tom 
> inputs and one cymbal input could be used to add
> four extra pads, 
> while still leaving 9/10 free for two more.
> 
> The box adds gain to each of the channels to
> compensate for the 
> DTXpress module's relative lack of sensitivity to
> rim/edge hits.  
> Boosting the signals solves this problem completely.
> The two pads 
> connected to any one input on the device will have
> no adjustment for 
> rejection. Protecting them from each other's
> reverberations will be 
> purely a matter of positioning on the rack or
> otherwise manually 
> isolating them.
> 
> The device may well be compatible with Roland,
> Pintech, or any other 
> piezo/FSR switch components, but it has undergone
> testing only on 
> Yamaha equipment.
> 
> Keith, OGD, and Ed
> 
> 
> 
>