Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "chatfieldwilliam" 
<chatfieldwilliam@y...> wrote:
> Module itself is whats in question? What im trying to find out in 
> laymen terms is what can I do with midi concerning the dtxpress III. 
> Can I download sounds into it or do I need to go with another module 
> (dtxtreme II ,alesis dm5,roland td-20,ddrum ect.) and connect the 
two. 
> I really want to use actual acoustic sounds for some venues when I 
> play live. I've also upgraded to the roland kd-80 v-drum bass 
trigger 
> and the yamaha rhh-130 hh. So thats another consideration as far as 
> compatability goes.

Chat,

You can't download any new samples into the DTXpressIII module. You 
can certainly use it as a trigger to MIDI interface to access the 
sounds of other modules, but that might be a waste of its own tone 
generator and/or uneconomical in other respects as well. The modules 
that deploy at least some of their resources to downloading other 
sounds for use alongside their own libraries are the DTXtremeIIS, the 
ddrum4, and the Alesis DM Pro. I'd stay away from the Alesis, since 
it's moribund and not particularly up to date; nor is it the most 
reliable module on the planet. I own a ddrum4, and though IMO it has 
the best sounds in the business, the design is, in effect, 10 years 
old, and it shows its age in MIDI implementation and in memory size. 
At this stage of the game, if you want a versatile module with great 
sounds, useful features, thoughtful ergonomics, MIDI capability, and 
sampling (limited though it is), the DTXtremeIIS is the one. The 
ddrum4 might work as a sampler, especially given its enormous 
downloadable database of realistic acoustic samples in reserve, but it 
almost certainly requires a second module to complement it for MIDI 
purposes or expanding e-kit size.

Ed