Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

OK, here's my thoughts. having played both Yamaha and Roland rubber pads and
the Roland V-drum (mesh head) pads.

I found the Roland pads softer and easier on the wrist, the Yamaha pads
being more solid and giving less feedback, but this is personal preference
in play, I prefer the Roland softness, others prefer the Yamaha rigidity,
comfort vs. responsiveness.

As for the actual response from the pad to your strokes, ghost or otherwise,
I have no complaints about either manufacturer.  Since both makes of pad use
almost identical technology they should offer similar response.
The V-drum mesh head pads are a different story, offering much softer feel,
yet still allowing the brain to sense the softest stroke.

The DTX brain (V2 or Xpress) is a good solid workhorse, obviously the V2 is
far more powerful with its onboard 5 channel mixer and greater range of
voices and pad assignment options.  But the Roland V-drum software is ahead
of the field for "realistic" drum simulation.
If you want e-drums because of the range and new frontiers of electronic
drumming, then I'd go for the far cheaper DTX V2 (or DTXpress if cost is a
big issue).  However if you feel you will mostly be using the e-kit to
simulate real drums, then the Roland TD-8 and TD-10 are far more impressive
and worth the extra money.

In your position I'd probably stick with the DS-11 straight out of the box.
You're getting it for a real bargain price, so even if it turns out not to
be quite what you'd hoped, it will still have been well worth the money, you
may even be able to sell it on without any loss.

If you did just buy the pads and then get  a Roland brain later, there is no
reason why the Yamaha pads wouldn't be fully compatible with the Roland.

Briefly, on Hi-Hat pedals, the DTXpress pedal is fairly weak, but the DS-11
pedal is much better, the Roland hi-hat pedal is better still, but twice the
price of the standard Yamaha.  The difference is that the two Yamaha pedals
are stepped for "closed", "semi-open" and "open" sounds, giving three
distinct sound bands.  The Roland is a smooth transition between semi-open
and open which allows for more natural playing.
NOTE: The DTX brains are capable of registering the full range, it's just
the pedals which don't provide it.

I hope that helps, but don't go crazy buying the most expensive stuff for
your first e-drum kit, it's hard to justify the huge sums demanded for the
top end equipment unless you're professional or wealthy.

Have Fun
Andy
-----Original Message-----
From: bclark@...-motor.com <bclark@...-motor.com>
To: DTXpress@egroups.com <DTXpress@egroups.com>
Date: 29 November 2000 17:15
Subject: [DTXpress] Help with Yamaha Electronic Drums


>Hi there---I am considering buying the Yamaha Ds-11 drumset.  I am
>getting it brand new for $1100 since I work for Yamaha.  However,
>this is my first set of electronic drums and I am unsure of what to
>do.
>First---the Rolands to me (studio set--rubber pads also) seemed a lot
>tighter---faster and better response.  It seemed to pick up ghost
>strokes much better than the DTX or the DTXpress.
>     1.) Why does the DTXpress and DTX not pick up ghost strokes
>     2.)  The response of the hi-hat was very slow and delayed
>           why???
>     3.)  If i bought the DS-11 set without the brain---could I use a
>Roland TD-8 brain and
>how would it sound compared to being played on a roland kit???
>
>
>
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