Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "kirkmangraham2000" 
<kirkmangraham2000@y...> wrote:
> What lead goes from the toms - Is it a mono or a stereo one?

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but the III ships with mono toms 
and mono cables, though the tom inputs are compatible with stereo 
pads for use with stereo cables (read forward for more discussion of 
what stereo means in this context).
 
> I do appologise for my last question - I have now searched the 
> archives and found something that completely confuses me as it 
seems 
> to suggest that you can add two mono pads to one of the 'dual' 
> inputs ???

No need to apologize. We're more than happy to field questions. The 
archives can be helpful all around, but they are not easy to navigate 
and don't always clear up confusion.

> So why can't I wire two seperate mono pads up using the same stereo 
> (Tip/Ring/Sleeve) cable and select one as pad and one as switch and 
> assign two differnt sounds to each?  The only reason I can think 
> that this won't work is that the switch can't be triggered by 
> itself, but only as a direct 'mute' of the pad that it is assigned 
> to! Therefore I would have to hit the trigger pad then immediatly 
> hit the switch pad to get any sound out?

As Stewart says, we're stuck with an ambiguous and misleading 
terminology (that nearly every manufacturer, retailer, and enthusiast 
subverts at one time or another) for the different types of pad--
mono, stereo, and dual-zone. The term "stereo" seems to indicate that 
a pad is comprised of two separate but equal components, each having 
the ability to trigger its own sound via a TRS cable. But you nearly 
described why that isn't so. Think of the switch as a toggle like the 
switch on your wall that controls a lamp. All that it can do is turn 
the lamp on or off; without a bulb at the other end, it's useless. 
The rim switch on a stereo pad is just like it, "opening" 
and "closing" the piezo that ultimately is responsible for making a 
noise. But instead of turning the piezo on and off, the switch, true 
to its name, switches the noises that the piezo makes. Without the 
piezo on which it relies, the switch is useless. The electrical 
connection between switch and piezo is subtle. When the switch on the 
rim is struck, the piezo reacts at the same time. If the timing and 
the degree of interaction between switch and piezo are not perfect, 
the desired rim sound won't take place. Hence, the switch must be 
located on the same pad to ensure proper response (unless a magic box 
intervenes between two separate pads to bridge the gap--don't hold 
your breath).

Dual-zone pads (Yamaha doesn't make any of these animals) are 
actually two monos in one, not a single stereo. They house two 
separate but equal piezos. Input 9/10 can be used as a dual-zone 
input or be split to accept two separate mono pads, in just the way 
that you hoped the stereo inputs would. None of the other inputs on 
the traditonal DTXpress units, whether they be designated stereo or 
mono, will be able to trigger the two sounds of a dual-zone pad or 
two mono pads. Nor will input 9/10 be able to trigger two sounds from 
a single stereo pad; the electrical design is completely different.

Ed