Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

Ed - many thanks for that detailed reply. You've pretty much 
convinced me that it's possible to create my perfect set up :)

One other dtxpress-specific question though. I'm a big fan of the 
use of ghost notes on the snare (although not really up to playing 
them!). I've seen a couple of comments about the machine gun effect. 
Does the dtxpress really have the sensitivity to really reflect a 
nice ghost style or is something much higher end needed for that 
(which would be out of the question budget-wise)

thanks again!

Adrian

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "emf" <liberatusvirus@y...> wrote:
> --- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "vantre1" <adrianoc@d...> wrote:
> > Hi folks.
> 
> Hi Adrian. Welcome to the party.
>  
> > Can I connect the kit up to cubase so that I could record every 
pad 
> > to a different track for later editing?
> 
> Yes, just give each pad its own MIDI track. The default track for 
e-
> drums is 10, but you can depart from it manually.
>  
> > Can I use the kit to trigger seperate samples via cubase (again 
1 
> > sample per track per pad ), so that I'm bypassing the kit's own 
> sounds?
> 
> Yes, just adjust MIDI notes for each pad to match the MIDI notes 
for 
> your target samples.
> 
> >How much punishment can the kit take? I have a buddy who is 
> > an 'aggressive' drummer & would like to know how careful you 
need 
> to 
> > be with it...!
> 
> e-drums are built to withstand a fair amount of punishment. We 
don't 
> receive many posts about pads failing because of mistreatment, 
> although occasionally it happens. The great majority of rubber 
kits 
> survive the onslaughts of converted acoustic heavy hitters without 
> too much trouble. That said, drummers making the transition should 
> keep in mind that strength is more likely to result in punishment 
> than reward on e-drums. Since they're hitting electronic elements 
> inside the pads, control rather than force dictates how they are 
> going to respond. Once the module is programmed for its widest 
> dynamic range, you'll quickly notice how easy it is to reach peak 
> gain. Drummers who flail away recklessly risk making sounds that 
they 
> don't intend, not making sounds that they do, hearing way too much 
> stick noise, and possibly damaging their components. This is not 
to 
> say the normal exuberance that drummers feel when they play is out 
of 
> place on e-drums; it isn't. But force achieves the law of 
diminishing 
> returns faster than with acoustics; let the module do the heavy 
> lifting. Of course, well-mic'ed acoustic drums aren't totally 
> dissimilar in response; they don't require much force to achieve a 
> big sound either.
> 
> > Thanks for the help & lastly, would anyone recommend anything 
other 
> > than the dtxpress for this sort of thing? (although I'm guessing 
> that 
> > maybe an illegal sort of question around here!!)
> 
> We're denominationally nondenominational. We have a healthy 
respect 
> for everything, though we try to remain sensitive to cost. Any kit 
> with a module--Yamaha, Roland, or otherwise--will mate with a 
> sequencer on a PC. If you intend to bypass a module's sounds for 
> samples on a regular basis, you might consider a used or otherwise 
> inexpensive module for the MIDI connection. Otherwise the tone 
> generator would be a waste for you. 
> 
> So far as feel and robustness are concerned, the rubber pads of 
the 
> Yamaha DTXtremeIIS kit are much less jarring on the joints than 
those 
> on the DTXpress, and they feel more like acoustic heads. The mesh 
> kits made by Roland, Hart, Pintech, and a few other companies 
> arguably simulate the acoustic experience best of all, given that 
the 
> drums are shells with silent woven heads rather than mylar ones. 
Many 
> companies make cymbals intended to look and play like acoustics. 
The 
> round Yamaha rubber ones are a good option, but so are those from 
> Pintech, as well as the acrylic ones from Visu-lite, the metal 
ones 
> from Hart or Smartrigger, etc. Be forewarned, however, that not 
all 
> components from other companies mate perfectly with Yamaha 
modules. 
> Unless they specify otherwise, they usually have Roland's in mind, 
> though they will generally work with ddrum and Alesis as well.
> 
> Modules become more versatile, sensitive, user-friendly, and 
refined 
> in both sound and nuance with price. Pound for pound, Roland 
> equipment costs more than anything else, not necessarily because 
> it's "better" by all comparisons but because it is the strongest 
name 
> in the market. If you stick around, you'll get a sense of the wide 
> range available.
> 
> Ed