Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "emf" <liberatusvirus@y...> wrote:
> --- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "Kevin Richard" 
<kevin_richard@b...> 
> wrote:
> 
> > Glad you aren't trying to rub anything in ;)
> > 
> > I have also never had problems online THOUGH I have a great 
> > relationship with local dealer and I would just buy through them 
> for 
> > new... when I don't and I tell them the deal I got (used) they 
say 
> > damn I wish I would have found that ;)
> > 
> > Good luck and keep us updated!
> > 
> > OH, I did have an ENGINE stand get lost but UPS made it right and 
> > paid the guy to send me another one!
> 
> For those of you who are relatively new to the game, Musician's 
> Friend is the web version of Guitar Center. They keep a large 
> inventory and generally have competitive pricing. However, like all 
> high volume, impersonal stores, MF has its share of horror stories. 
E-
> drummers are well advised to get acquainted drumbalaya.com, which 
> specializes in e-drum equipment from almost every manufacturer 
under 
> the sun, as well as many of the ancillary products. It's as close 
to 
> one-stop shopping for drummers who plug into the wall as you'll 
find. 
> Not only is the selection extraordinary; you can also communicate 
> directly with the people who sell it. And they know what they're 
> talking about. Ed and Charlotte Morin started the store from 
scratch 
> out of a love for music and electronic drums. You can't do better 
> than that.
> 
> This brings up another point. Many of the best and most interesting 
e-
> drum gear is made by cottage-industry companies that are not 
> represented at many, if any, local brick-and-mortar dealer. Many of 
> us have had to rely on the web for years to buy components from 
> Pintech, Hart, Visu-lite, Drum Tech, and any number of other 
> companies. One of the drawbacks is that we often cannot try before 
we 
> buy. But places like Drumbalaya, as well as forums like this one 
and 
> others, can make remote decisions less risky. Cultivating a 
> relationship with a local deal is prudent, ethical, and convenient, 
> but sometimes it won't help, especially when the gear is esoteric.
> 
> Ed

You are correct in everything you metioned... I guess I should 
clarify my relationship with my local dealer.  I was in one of 
the "hotest" bands to come out of my area and in very good with the 
other "hotest" group.  My guitar player and drummer for that group 
worked at this store before we all had to quit real jobs to play 
(never a problem ;)  and I have run sound for a few of the other guys 
that work there's bands.  Basically I never buy anything, I just go 
in and BS with the guys and it's more of a friendship so they shoot 
me straight on anything I buy.  In fact the manager shows me his cost 
on anything that I look at buying from him or anyone!  Of coarse this 
is not typical but it is nice to develop a relationship like this ;)

The other dealers know the "weight" I carry with my recomendations on 
sound so they treat me with a little more respect then your average 
Joe... NOT trying to sound big headed but we don't have many good 
sound engineers in town so it doesn't take much to be ranked in the 
top few.  Sad thing is I don't even like engineering I just did it 
cause I was good at it and those guys needed my help.

I really like the idea of drumbalaya (that's a shame I don't know if 
that spelling is right and I'm from South Louisianna),
Gilligan