Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "fatsmaclean" <chris@h...> wrote:
> Hi, I am a drummer who wants a electronic kit to practice on only, 
due to neighbours and 
> family. I have an accoustic kit for live gigs. After being self 
taught for the last 10 years I 
> want to get lessons and improve technique.
> 
> I am considering a DSXT10 as it's on sale for $AUD3500, can anyone 
comment if it's a 
> good kit? Why was it discontinued and is it a loud kit given that 
it has shells?

Hi Chris,

Nice to have you with us. The first DTXtreme kit was flat-out good. 
The hardware and the drum pads were topnotch for an e-kit (and 
arguably never surpassed), though the cymbals, including the hi hat, 
were relatively weak. If I were to get the old DTXtreme now, I'd 
replace the pie-slice ride and crash cymbals with Yamaha's upcoming 
round ones and the hi hat--controller and all--with the upcoming hi 
hat on a traditional stand. The module was also solid, with its own 
strong advocates. It was user-friendly, heavy on the inputs, and had 
the requisite bells and whistles. How its sounds stacked up to those 
of other modules was, as always, a subjective matter. The kit was 
discontinued mainly because it didn't sell well, and it had pretty 
much run its course by the time of its demise. It didn't have the 
support in the market relative to the Roland Session kit. One of the 
reasons that it fell short in some people's estimation is that it 
came with mylar heads, as opposed to Roland's quieter mesh ones, 
though, in truth, the Yamaha was equipped to perform with mesh heads 
as well. Regardless of the shells, the DTXtremeI was as quiet as 
anything else when used with woven heads. If you decided to buy the 
DTXT10 pads and module, you'd be sacrificing the latest wave of 
Yamaha's sounds and features (sampling, USB connection, et al.), 
which by all accounts seem to mark a genuine advance. One way around 
the problem would be to buy the kit, sell the old module, and pick up 
a newer Yamaha module. 
 
> I would like some advice on which would be the best kit in terms of 
quality and value for 
> money. I am considering buying a roland TD-3, TD-6 or yamaha DTXII 
or yamaha 
> DTXTREME. I am most after a kit that will offer the best feel and 
sound pound for pound. I 
> don;t mind paying a little bit more for the kit as long as it's 
worth the extra money.

If I had a little money, I'd bypass the TD-3; the DTXpressII and 
IIISTD cost only a fraction more but still outclass it for features. 
Personally, I'd take the DTXpressII, IIISTD, or IIISP over the TD-6 
as well, even though you can make a good case for the quality of the 
TD-6 module. Roland equipment simply costs too much for what it is, 
and Yamaha is far more accessible for customer support than Roland 
is. Management has been responsive to this group and sensitive to 
issues that we've raised. If I had a little more money, I'd spring 
for Yamaha's latest DTXtremeIIS--lock, stock, and barrel--and never 
look back, or I'd buy the just the module, using pads from other 
companies (Pintech being a strong candidate) or, as I said, the 
original DTXtreme with it. The DTXtremeIIS module is still a bit of a 
wildcard, in that we don't know for sure how well it will match up 
with other available components. But my suspicion is that it will 
handle anything that we can throw at it. 

The sky's the limit for someone with a little money to burn, but 
Roland's equipment will burn up more of it for a given set of options 
than any other company's. Chances are, the more you research the more 
likely you are to be satisfied with whatever purchase you make. The 
best approach is to learn as much about the market as possible and 
then decide based on what you want and how much you're willing to 
spend for it. To my mind, you never have to pay top dollar for high 
quality, but if you can't imagine buying anything but Roland's top of 
the line, that's exactly what you'll pay. But with companies like 
Yamaha and Pintech (and I haven't even mentioned ddrum), you have 
excellent alternatives. 

By the way, as quiet as e-drums are relative to acoustics, they are 
not totally silent. You may have to consult us, or others, about 
further noise reduction if family/neighbors are located directly 
beneath or beside you.

Ed