Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

Darren,

It might be bad soldering. I had a drum that misbehaved like that; I 
resoldered everything without any luck. It's unlikely to be poor 
technique or mounting, though hitting too hard for a long time can 
result in problems with the pad not unlike what you're experiencing. 
And if these are PCY60s, they've probably been around for a while. 
But I'd vote for something interfering with the signal, like a 
hairline crack in the solder, or even dirt on contacts. Have you 
tried the simple spraying of WD-40 on the jack and wiggling it 
around a bit at the outout?

Ed

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, Darren Lo <lo@m...> wrote:
> I've been having problems with the response of my PCY60's, which 
I've
> never really been happy with. At first I was having a tremendous 
problem
> with missed hits, and spent a lot of time jiggering the mounts and 
fiddling
> with the rejection settings, to no avail. Finally, I looked at the 
circuit 
> boards and discovered cracks in the solder on all four solder 
points for 
> the input jacks on both cymbals. Resoldering those points seems to 
have
> cured the missed hits problem.
> 
> However, it has done nothing to solve my other problem, which is 
erratic
> volume response. If I take a TP80 and play a steady beat, I can 
keep the 
> trigger levels fairly consistent, e.g.: 61%, 65%, 63%, etc. If I 
try to do 
> the same thing with the PCY60, the results can vary anywhere from 
99% to
> 20%, with no apparent rhyme or reason. Even a really good thwack 
can
> sometimes register only at about 20%. This happens whether I'm 
playing
> 8th notes at 180 or quarter notes at 60. Let me note that I 
already try to
> play solely on top of the Yamaha logo since anywhere else seems 
even more
> unreliable. 
> 
> Any thoughts on the cause of this? Bad soldering job, bad mounting 
job, 
> bad technique, dead PCYs?
> 
> Darren Lo
> lo@m...