Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

Hi Andreas,

I agree that the two cymbal configuration is limiting. I'm not sure 
that this is the best option for you, but Vern just brought it up so 
I'll mention it again. Over the years, people have taken a Yamaha 
cymbal and crossfaded it in such a way as to produce a natural bell 
sound when hitting the cymbal close to the wing nut. The reason that 
this works is that the Yam. cymbals get louder naturally toward the 
top position. You can crossfade for a bell sound without actually 
having to hit the cymbal harder, just by hitting it higher, because 
it gets louder up there anyway. You'll have to experiment with 
crossfade settings, or check the archives for details about the 
technique. 

That's one route, probably not the best; it's main advantage is that 
it would save money and input real estate. The PCY65 with a PCY10 is 
undoubtedly a more reliable strategy. Another avenue is to get 
what's called a dual-zone cymbal, which has separate outputs for the 
bow and the bell of the cymbal, essentially like the Yamaha 
combination but integrated into a single cymbal. They are tailor-
made for input 9/10 on the DTXpress, though you have to use a TRS 
splitter to make the connection. Two highly available models are the 
Hart EcymbalII 16" bronze ride and the Visu-lite 1800B 18" ride. 
I've used both. The former, which looks and feels uncannily like an 
acoustic cymbal, didn't work so well for me through Yamaha 
electronics. Walt was having problems with his as well; I don't know 
whether he's solved them yet. Others have reported similar troubles. 
I can claim success, however, with the Visu-lite, which, though 
acrylic rather than bronze, still behaves much like an acoustic 
cymbal and sounds/looks fabulous--to me, anyway--in a DTX 
environment. These cymbals run between $100 and $200.

One last cymbal that I'd like to mention is the 14" gum rubber 
Pintech Zenbal. It comes in both mono ($90) and stereo ($100)
versions, like the PCY65 and PCY65S, respectively. The stereo model, 
unlike the dual-zones, then, has a piezo bow and an FSR rim, which 
cannot be spit into inputs 9/10. I would certainly be stretching a 
point to call it a bell-oriented cymbal; it might be weird, for 
instance, to play a bell sound on a rim. But if any stereo cymbal 
could pull it off, I'd bet on the Zenbal. Connecting to input slot 6 
or 7, however, would allow you to move your mono PCY to either input 
9 or 10 and use the other input for something else, maybe another 
cymbal, a PCY10, or a fourth tom, which might be an appealing 
expansion.

I hope this is helpful. I'm sure other members have good suggestions 
as well.

Ed

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "leffelejon <gadda@k...>" 
<gadda@k...> wrote:
> Hi all.
> first of all thank you for your feedback to my last post about 
> double pedals... i think i will go for the iron cobra jr.
> 
> Im thinking about expanding my set with a cymbal...
> I hace 2 right now... 1 crash and one ride.... it would be nice 
with 
> 2 crashes and 1 ride (with the bell sound) i have the original 
pads 
> that came with the dtxpress 2. i dont know how many things i can 
> plug in into the 9/10 port but i guess i can plug in one mono 
cymbal 
> like pcy 65 and put the pcy 10 on top of it? Maybe there are 
better 
> options with other cymbals out there who are compatible with the 
> dtxpress.  Anyone who have tried any other cymbals ?
>  
> I dont know what all of you gyus think but 1 crash like the 
original 
> setup allows feels a little bit weird... and also i really want 
that 
> bell sound that comes from real ride cymbals. 
> 
> anyway i would really appreciate to hear some thoughts and 
> experiences about cymbals.
> 
> thanks in advance
> 
> Andreas