Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, jmascharka@y... wrote:
> I'm going to order the DTXPRESS III SE on Saturday. The guy at the 
> music store said it would be about 2 weeks to get it in.  Just 
> wondering about the pads, has anyone had any issues with tearing or 
> breaking of pads?  How are the sounds? I heard that the DTXPRESS 
III 
> has better cymbals than the DTXPRESS II?  Does anyone know?  
> Thanks...

Hi J,

Your post contains significant news. First, I'll deal with the 
question part. I've never heard of anyone tearing or breaking gum-
rubber TP drums; on rare occasions, however, after a lot of use, the 
gum rubber PCY wedge cymbals of the DTXpress I and II, which are 
thinner than the TPs, have cracked. As unusual as this damage is, it 
looks to be all but impossible with the new, more substantial cymbals 
that accompany the DTXpress III SP. Sounds on a module eventually 
come down to subjective considerations, but Yamaha modules have 
always held up well in comparison with those of Roland and Alesis. 
Cymbal voices might not be their strong suit in general, but a few in 
particular were always very good. Plus, the DTXpress' ability to 
stack two of them together or crossfade one into the other can help 
disguise any weakness. By all pictoral and verbal accounts, the III's 
SP cymbals are a vast improvement on their predecessors (the III STD 
cymbals, however, are not much different from them, if different at 
all). The fact that they are round and appear to be more physically 
robust can only be considered an advantage, and I have it from one 
respected source that the new cymbal voices on the III's module are 
great.

Here's where it gets dicey. You're supposed to be getting your III in 
two weeks, but Yamaha is not even officially showing it in this 
country until winter NAMM later in January. The current release date 
for consumers is sometime in March. I notice that you're in Kansas. 
I'm aware that a lot of wizardry originates there,  but I can't see 
how your dealer has managed to circumvent Yamaha's plans altogether. 
Can you give us a little more information, or ask your dealer to show 
his hand? 

Ed