Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "Kevin Richard" <kevin_richard@b...> 
wrote:
> Yeah the DTX (if that's the one with the sliders vs rackmount 
brain) 
> has aux outs so you can assign and pan kick on one snare on another 
> then toms on one and cymbals to the last one... pretty much the 
ONLY 
> way to really record "live" e-drums.

I don't think that anyone would argue that point. If cost is no 
object, discrete is the way to go. But on a budget, the DTXpress is a 
decent compromise. You could also use two budget modules and pan 
various components all the way to one side or the other, doing as you 
please with each feed. Assuming that you didn't have to buy anything 
else, the cost would still be less than a TD-20, ddrum4 (or 3), etc.

> Alternately I'm thinking about tracking midi (I'm getting an xpress 
> III soon) and then just muting the other parts when it's time to 
dump 
> down to audio... so just kick and snare one pass then go back and 
do 
> toms and hats then maybe even another pass for ride and cymbals... 
> does anyone see a problem with doing that? latency or anything... 
> seems like it should work but I haven't recieved my set yet to try 
it 
> out!

It should work. In fact, doesn't the esteemed tweakheadz (see the 
Links section) describe doing just that with his DTXpress? 

> 
> I wish the phones out could double as an aux out... damn cheap 
a$$'s, 
> honestly how are you really to use this thing in a live 
situation... 
> granted I'm actually a sound engineer by trade so I want indivual 
> control over everything but still... you need everything 
seperate... 
> how can you do reverb tricks with toms and such... I would just be 
> pissed if my drummer was getting an xpress and taking away all my 
> cool snare rever tricks and special effects!
> 
> Hope that helps, sorry for the rant ;)

All constructive rants appreciated. But look: The DTXpress is to a 
high end recording instrument as Notepad is to a full-fledged 
wordprocessor. It's great as a practice tool, a convenient kit for a 
nondemanding live applications, or studio or live demo-recording 
tool. I don't think anyone mistakes it for a drumkit suitable in 
every situation. For serious recording purposes, an e-kit has to 
have, at least, a failure/adequacy rate for individual events far 
better than the failure/adequacy rate of the drummer playing it. Who 
wants to have keep re-doing a take because the crash dropped out or 
the kick was doubling, etc. I don't think that any e-kit yet creates 
the kind of confidence that most people who record seriously demand. 
But they are much less taxing to record than acoustics, thereby 
giving them the edge under certain circumstances. I've heard a 
DTXpress in well-made recordings, and it's easy to notice its 
limitations. But it's also hard not be impressed with how good it can 
sound despite them. Let's put it this way: Assuming that any drummer 
in your band was pretty savvy, if he bought a DTXpress, the reason 
would probably be that it was in his budget, not because he thought 
he was getting the bargain of the century on a $5000 piece of 
equipment.

Ed