Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "bongokonzelmann" <carsten@h...> 
wrote:
> Where I am still struggling is the concept of the switches
> which are build into the multi-zone pads like the snare. As they are
> no FSRs how exactly do they work?
> - You can assign different voices
> - You can assign different trigger settings
> So what´s the difference to a "normal" trigger?

Bongo,

The switches are FSRs, but they have no voices assigned to them per 
se. They serve only to switch the voices that a pad's piezo can 
access. When you hit an area of the pad where a switch is located, 
the piezo feels the pulse at exactly the same time, and reacts to 
request the sound programmed to the switch instead of the one 
programmed to the head, if a drum, or the bow, if a cymbal. You'll 
notice that you cannot assign trigger settings to switches; only the 
piezo has trigger settings. A "normal" pad, one with a piezo and no 
switch, can sound only one voice no matter where you hit it. Some 
pads use two piezos rather than a piezo and a switch to produce two 
voices, but they need two dedicated inputs. The advantage of the 
switch types (commonly called "stereo") is that they can be made to 
do their work through a single input (input 9/10 on the DTXP, which 
accepts two piezos, is really two inputs on a single jack). We won't 
go into the disadvantages of switch types here. One difference 
between switch types and genuine dual-zone pads is that the former 
cannot be split with a Y cable into two inputs of any kind on a 
Yamaha module.

To further complicate matters, FSRs can also be used the way piezos 
are, as direct voice triggers. Kat pioneered them as such. The 
benefit of FSRs in this respect is they are not susceptible to 
crosstalk; however, they are not as durable or as cheap as piezos. 
Hence, piezos have become the industry standard.

Ed