Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

First of all, welcome!

I'm also new to the world of electronic drums. I got my DTXpressII 
just 2 weeks ago and am having a great time with it! 

To add to what Ed posted...

Control of volume with the electronics is as easy as twisting a 
knob. How much of a punch you get ultimately depends on the amp you 
have, not how hard you hit the drums. That's not to say that 
electronics aren't sensitive to different types of contact... they 
are! Which brings us to feel.

I had heard 'horror stories' about the feel of electronic drums, 
especially the gum rubber. I certainly have not found them to be as 
bad as rumored. My only guess is that the people perpetuating those 
stories must tune their drums very, very loose. 

I find the gum rubber to feel like a tightly tuned snare or small 
tom. For a player who is conscious of what he/she is doing this is 
an easy thing to adapt too. Good technique applies just as much to 
electronic drums as it does to acoustics :-)

I've found the transition between acoustic drum heads and gum rubber 
very easy. In fact I make it on a daily basis as I play a hybrid 
kit; acoustic hi-hat, bass and snare with electronics (the 
DTXpressII). I have mic's on the acoustic bass and snare to balance 
them with the electronics. Everything runs through an 8 channel 
Behringer EuroRack to my amp. As far as I am concerned I now have 
the best of both worlds.


As far as the bass drum pad goes, before I got my DTXII I had my 
doubts about it. It didn't look like much in the pictures. However, 
both the pad and the frame for the pad are very well designed. As Ed 
mentioned the DTXII has two spurs for extra bite :-). I have my set 
on a carpet, with the spurs out about a 1/8 inch (basically just the 
tips). I have really, really laid into it (with a double pedal) to 
test it and, so far, that pad hasn't budged at all. Very impressive.


As far as your second problem ("I don't like what I hear"), Ed 
summarized the options well. 

You either try all the different modules to find the one that has 
the voices you want, or buy a module and tweek the voices until they 
sound the way you want them too. With electronics the options are 
many. The only limitations are your imagination and your wallet :-) 


Hope some of this helps. If you do decide to explore electronics, 
please be sure to share the stories of your adventure with us!

Adam

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "steed02472" <emerypa@b...> wrote:
> Hi folks
> 
> Just found this group and like what I see so far...I've been 
playing
> acousic drums for over 30 years in all kinds of bands in the UK and
> the US...now I find I have 2 related problems. Firstly, I have 
always
> hit hard and played loud. The result of which is that I now have
> tinitus in my right ear. I was never comfortable with protection 
and
> now I pay the price. I think part of the problem was that I
> unknowingly disliked the sound of unmiked acoustic drums  unless 
they
> were loud. I never played miked in the UK and so thats where it
> started. So the second problem is that I don't like what I hear. It
> would seem then that an electronic set might be the answer. I've 
tried
> some electronic sets in music stores but not recently. Is there a 
big
> difference playing live between electric and acoustic?. Did you 
guys
> make the transition easily? does the bass drum pad move around or 
do
> you need to anchor it or use a mat? 
> Thanks.