Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "evansonebay" <evansonebay@y...> 
wrote:
> I am desparately wanting a set of E-drums. I've seen these sets
(with 
> bass pedals and all that jazz) go for about $600 on E-bay. I'm just 
> wanting to know from you guys that are familiar with the kit...How 
> are the basic sounds? I will only be using it for practicing and 
some 
> recording at home. could I play it through my guitar amp? And how 
> would I go about putting it directly into my recorder? I know, you 
> guys have heard this a million times, but...Any input would be 
> GREATLY appreciated, as I am planning on getting one for x-mas. 
> Thanks. =)

Hi,

For the cost of a DTXpress kit, you get a lot of sounds and more than 
a few very good ones. There's definitely a learning curve, and an art 
to programming and playing these things, but you can get up and 
running to some extent right off the bat. Most people who come to e-
drums for the first time are pretty impressed; I certainly was. In 
time, your sensibility refines, and you begin to exercise a critical 
ear (careful, that's when you start spending money). But getting 
there is a tremendous load of fun and experience. The DTXpress, and 
other kits, are great practice tools. Your budget and your preference 
can decide now or gradually just what kind of components you prefer. 
The stock entry-level kit has traditionally been made of gum rubber, 
and it can last you a good long time. Pintech's entry level is 
comprised of woven heads, which simulate acoustic drums a little 
better but are relatively quiet. Pintech doesn't offer a module, like 
Yamaha and Roland do, however, so many people tend to buy kits that 
have the complete package. 

A guitar amp might do in a pinch, at low levels, but it can't really 
do justice to the frequency range of an electric kit, which can sound 
breathtaking when amplified correctly. A keyboard amp, which would be 
better qualified to handle both cymbals and deep drums alike, would 
be a better bet. As far as recording goes, you can either run lines 
out of the module and record in audio real time, or you can record to 
a sequencer on your computer. The options can be as elaborate as your 
budget or ambitions allow. The DTXpress module has a two-track 
sequencer onboard, which can come in handy if you want to record 
yourself with a MIDI song. Either way, e-drums are a lot easier to 
record than acoustics.

Go for it, and stick around. We'd love to accompany you on the 
journey, and you'll find it convenient (if not positively 
heartwarming) to have people willing and able to answer your 
inevitable questions. Sometimes our answers are even right. Remember 
e-drums are in some sense a facsimile of acoustic ones, but they are 
also instruments in their own right that require practice and 
patience to learn. How else could you get one drumset capable of 
doing the work of hundreds? Hope to talk to you later.

Ed