Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "moosetication" <moosetication@y...> 
wrote:
> It's possible. While I was stooging about yesterday, I'm sure I 
came 
> across an old Yamaha web page with the previous DTXtreme having had 
> an entry level kit with rubber pads. I cling to the lifeline that 
> Yamaha can't be quite so benightedly stupid (again) as to release a 
> top-end kit with only gum rubber pads (no matter how good) as an 
> option. I'm also hoping that the 8MB is a base option and 
expandable.
> 
> But this (hopefully) base configuration of the XtremeII has an MSRP 
> of over $3000. Assuming mesh pads are coming, and assuming that the 
> sample memory is expandable, where the heck is the price going to 
> end up? Ok, street price will be lower but it's going to end up 
> somewhere out of my reach, that's for sure.

Stewart,

We certainly never thought that the new Xtreme module would list for 
any less than $1700 to $2000, leaving the rubber works/rack at about 
$1000 or so. Let's say that non-rubber kit's list price would be 
about $2000 to $2500; the total would be about $4500 to $5000--still 
less than a Roland and maybe, in street terms, comparable to the 
DTXtreme I. Affordable?  Only in relative terms but still not Roland-
ridiculous. An entry level Xtreme with rubber pads makes the strong 
point that the module alone is an appropriate upgrade to the 
DTXpress, without further changes. 

But in accord with what both you and OGD said, nothing on display so 
far suggests that Yamaha, after all this time, is advancing the state 
of the art significantly. Disappointing, even from a trickle-down 
standpoint. Has the idea of a professional-grade e-drum kit lost 
steam for good? Is the demand for decent onboard sampling and finer 
control over pads too small to justify a significant commitment to 
R&D in this market? Will this apparent resignation to the status quo 
leave the e-drum world largely in Roland's hands and doom enthusiasts 
to slow progress at best. If so, will the smaller companies, like 
Clavia, start sprinting--if they can afford to--or merely keep pace, 
surviving by appealing to subcultures or bargain hunters?

Ed