Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

Hi Stephen,

I knew we'd get you in the end, despite the PM-16 and midiKITI blues 
that passed over the board for about a month. But the troubles were 
due largely to a bug in the DTXII that prevented it from working 
smoothly with an external midi device--nothing a big fat reset 
couldn't cure, even on brand new units. That said, the cheapest 
options are obviously the two discontinuted interfaces that you know 
about. There's also Roland's current TMC-6, another midi interface, 
which would probably cost you $100 to $150 more, though it has a few 
more tricks up its sleeve than the older ones, like stereo inputs. 
The drawback is that it has only 6 inputs altogether, a fact that 
makes even the Roland crowd a little irritated (the PM-16 has 16 
mono inputs and the midikiti 9). Adding another module is definitely 
a viable option, especially since the DTXI can be had for under $200 
these days (just ask Claudio). But you'd also need a mixer to run 
the two together (I don't recall whether you already have one).

The interfaces, as opposed to the modules, don't have any sounds of 
their own. They're completely dependent on modules, drum machines, 
etc. to generate their voices, which they access via midi note 
numbers. A note number is assigned to a voice on the module and, one 
way or another, stored on the interface so that when a pad connected 
to one of the interface's inputs is hit, the particular midi note 
number chosen on the interface generates the voice asscociated with 
it in the module via a midi cable. The voices from the pads 
connected to the interface get processed through the module just 
like the voices generated by the pads connected to the module. 

The advantage of an interface w/o sounds of its own is basically its 
simplicity and relative inexpensiveness. An additional module, 
unless it is the same model as the first, would increase your range 
of sound, though if one of them is from an older generation, it may 
have limitations in its parameters that decrease its appeal. I've 
heard of people untegrating TD-5s or TD-7s and Alesis DM4s, however, 
as second modules very successfully. It's a matter of personal need 
and taste.

As Steve recently seems to have discovered, one of the drawbacks to 
a second unit is the possibility of crosstalk between pads connected 
to different devices. Devices like the midikiti and dtx can only 
isolate pads from each other (rejection, specific rejection) that 
are connected locally. There are physical and electronic ways to 
mitigate the problem, but they are not as surefire and easy as 
simply adjusting parameters in a single module. Grouping mutually 
susceptible pads on a device is always a good idea. You can also 
choose triggers for the auxiliary device that don't tend to get 
crosstalk (FSRs, like tubular pads); whether they cause it will be a 
matter of where they are on the rack and how they get hit. 

Yesterday Jade complained of crosstalk between the kiti and dtxII. 
But after an hour or so of me spinning troubleshooting theories to 
counteract it, Jade discovered that the cause of the voice 
interference was something else entirely (brilliantly, I might add). 
I don't think Jade has had any crosstalk problems between devices. 
So far no word about it from UNH.

Another possible, unavoidable drawback is that changing kits on the 
dtx will not automatically change the voices that the external 
device playing through it. You'd need to devote some of your 
resources to program changes for that. One way around it is to group 
pads on the external device that you tend to use from kit to kit. I, 
for example, have splashes, chinas, and various percussion effects 
coming from the kiti that I tend to retain. The external devices 
have multiple kit setups like the dtx, but they don't change from 
one to another just because you switch on the dtx.

Sorry for being long-winded.

Ed


--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "brown8700 <brown8700@a...>" 
<brown8700@a...> wrote:
> I'm at that point where now I have more triggering devices than I 
> have inputs. The way I look at it, I have three choices:
> 1) Purchase an additional DTX module and create a completely 
> compatible system.
> 2) Purchase another manufacturer's module giving me additional 
sounds 
> to work with.
> 3) Purchase some sort of MIDI device like the KITI or the PM-16.
> Before I make any decision, I need to understand more about these 
> MIDI devices. It was my understanding that they do not house any 
> sounds, but merely transfer them (or store them) so that they can 
be 
> transmitted from one device to another  i.e. computer to module. 
Is 
> this correct? In other words, if I added a PM-16 alone, for 
example, 
> would I be able to trigger four or more additional pads? Where 
would 
> the voices be generated? From the PM-16 or from the DTX?
> Any assistance to help me further understand MIDI and the 
applicable 
> devices is appreciated.
> Thanks,
> Stephen