Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "Shawn" <loki@l...> wrote:
> I'm new to this group and I've had a DTX for about 3 years and 
> I've tried to find out how to set my kick drum to the infamous 
> Roland 808 bass sound. I've looked all over and finally found 
> somewhere that looks like someone should know how.
> Thanks much in advance

Shawn,

Do you have a TR-808? If not, a bunch of links about it, including 
samples, can be located at 
http://www.sonicstate.com/synth/roland_tr808.cfm, as well as at other 
locations. The 808's booming bass drum sound itself was extremely 
popular, with a bunch of download opportunities, at least in days 
gone by (wasn't there a techno band in the 1980s called "808 
State"?). First the bad news: The DTXpress module cannot be augmented 
with new samples. What you see/hear is what you get. Now the good 
news: You can use the DTXpress to trigger samples stored on a 
sampler, sequencer, etc. via MIDI. An even better strategy, because 
it retains the DTXpress as a sound generator, would be to use a 
percussion MIDI-trigger device like Roland's current TMC-6 ($200), or 
a discontinued one like the PM-16 ($50-75), to access such samples, 
wherever they are held. Then you can run both the sampled audio and 
the DTXpress output through a small mixer ($80 or less) and enjoy the 
best of both worlds through headphones or speakers. 

Another alternative would be to try to approximate the 808's deep 
bass with the sounds and effects on the DTXpress itself. However, 
since you've introduced yourself as an owner with three years under 
your belt, chances are that you've tried that without success.

Ed