Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

Stewart,

The keyboard version sounds amazing. It is staggering to think of 
what the upper end of digital technology can accomplish at this 
stage when the right sort put their minds to it. Sampling, say, trap 
percussion in a way that permits even an approximation of acoustics 
must be an incredibly tall order--like cloning. First of all, drums 
and such are so damned unmathematical. A keyboard is like an 
excercise in Pythagorean theory, with harmonic overtones, 
undertones, dissonance, sustains, etc., all suggesting musicality. 
Those of us who've struggled with the decay feature on the Yamaha 
modules know just how hard it is to get even the right fade on 
digital percussion. But how do you qualify the interaction between 
various sorts of untuned, differentially resonant things so that you 
can quantify them accurately enough to fool the ear--quite apart 
from sampling and manipulating single sounds to avoid the machine-
gun effect? What we're talking about on digital drums is controlled 
crosstalk--the ability of digital drums to sound like they occupy 
the same space without sounding like they occupy THE SAME SPACE. But 
even in acoustic situations, manufacturers try to limit this sort of 
interference with various mounts and materials. So what would be a 
natural sympathetic vibration? 

Anyway, such are the ruminations of an ignorant man. All edification 
is welcome.

Ed
--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "moosetication" 
<moosetication@y...> wrote:
> --- "liberatusvirus" wrote:
> > Furthermore, rumor has it that the next wave of module 
> > technology from Yamaha, as well as Roland, will incorporate
> > sampling capability as a major component. I, for one, am
> > going to wait for it...
> 
> I'm very keen to see what Yamaha produce here. If they do it as 
well 
> as they do on their high-end digital pianos, it will be jaw-
> droppingly good.
> 
> It's worth a few words on it (even though it's not e-drums) to 
whet 
> your appetites. We have a Clavinova CLP990 (top end of "last 
year's 
> model" of Clavinovas). Now, on "cheap" piano samplers, they sample 
> every few notes (up to an octave sometimes) and then digitally 
> interpolate. Moreover, they only sample a "simple" key stroke. 
> Yamaha samples the entire keyboard. The grand piano sample alone 
is 
> 80Mb. Not only do they sample both key on and key off, but they 
also 
> sample interactions with other keys (for example, hold down a key 
to 
> sustain it and then strike another - the sustained note will be 
> modified by the effect of the new one) but also with the 
soundboard 
> and the sustain pedals. It really is truly, truly remarkable and 
to 
> most ears indistinguishable from the concert grand from which it's 
> sampled.
> 
> Now, mentally extend that to acoustic drum samples. If it works as 
> above, we could really start to hear something remarkable. The way 
a 
> crash/ride interacts between the crash and the ride. The resonance 
> interaction between toms. The subtle effect of kick-mounted toms 
> through the kick itself. Snare buzz. Real cross-stick vs side-
stick 
> differences.
> 
> Damn, I'm now drooling.
> 
> The downside? It is, shall we say, far from inexpensive.
> 
> Stewart