Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

hi there
- my first post searched through
the archives & couldn't find my question.
i'm actually a guitarist
that likes to play drums when ever possible.

i've been thinking
about putting together
an electronic drum kit for a few years now.
the drummer in my band
is using the D-Drum module and triggers
and replaced the original skins with mess heads.
sounds great-nice to play but
the price is a bit terrifing to my wallet

i like the mess head idea together
with the look of real drums.
i will probably buy a cheap peice of
junk 4-5 peice kit
and change to mess
heads and d-drum triggers.

the module/interface is the
bit of kit i'm not sure about.
sounds of the module
are not really important and as far as quality
probably will not compete,as the
computer will provide the sounds
(DrumkitFromHell superiour or B F D)

important is:

1. standard midi in/out ports.
2. a good control of the velocity parameters.
3. and of course price. :)

so if you have done a similar thing,
please post any suggestions.

thanks

phil

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "Phil" <phildoughty@h...> wrote:

> i've been thinking
> about putting together
> an electronic drum kit for a few years now.
> the drummer in my band
> is using the D-Drum module and triggers
> and replaced the original skins with mess heads.
> sounds great-nice to play but
> the price is a bit terrifing to my wallet
> the module/interface is the
> bit of kit i'm not sure about.
> sounds of the module
> are not really important and as far as quality
> probably will not compete,as the
> computer will provide the sounds
> (DrumkitFromHell superiour or B F D)
> important is:
> 1. standard midi in/out ports.
> 2. a good control of the velocity parameters.
> 3. and of course price. :)

Hi Phil,

Just to ease your mind a little, the wonderful-sounding ddrum module 
that your friend is using would be a waste of money on all fronts for 
you. Not only would you not be using its extraordinary library of 
samples, but by bypassing its analog trigger section, you also 
wouldn't get the benefit of its wide and detailed dynamic range. In 
truth, for what you want to do, a current drum module of any kind 
might be overkill, since you aren't looking for sounds. Your best bet 
would be a discontinued module from Yamaha, Roland, or Alesis with as 
many inputs and control parameters that you can afford (the velocity 
parameters probably won't vary all that much), or a current trigger 
to MIDI interface like Roland's TMC-6, either new or used ($100-
$200), or an old Kat MIDIkiti, Roland PM-16, or Aphex ($50-$100), 
none of which carry sounds of their own but have pretty good MIDI and 
trigger sections. 

I humbly submit that the a module with sound might not be such a bad 
idea, since you'd have the option to mix its voices with those on 
your PC, or you'd have the option of using it if, god forbid, you had 
to go somewhere without your computer. Don't worry about being too 
far behind the times with a discontinued module; things haven't 
changed all that much, especially for someone not looking for 
improved sounds. By the way, why not let your PC handle velocity?

Ed

Ed wrote:

By the way, why not let your PC handle
velocity?


thanks for that Ed

depending on my playing
styles ie: heavy handed-chopping wood
or light touched-dropping of a feather on the skin.

those are 2 extremes but if i can, i wanna try to get it.
if the velocity works like any midi parameter
then i should have 0-127 to play around with.

from what i understand some
modules send only a few velocity trigger
messager before moving to the next sample.

     light          mid light          mid         mid heavy     Heavy
{...............}{...............}{..............}{...............}{...............}

i want a new sample
trigger for every touch
then have that midi
message sent to the computer.

mmm ... well i think that is why  :)

Phil Doughty
phildoughty@...

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--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "Phil Doughty" <phildoughty@h...> 
wrote:
> depending on my playing
> styles ie: heavy handed-chopping wood
> or light touched-dropping of a feather on the skin.
> 
> those are 2 extremes but if i can, i wanna try to get it.
> if the velocity works like any midi parameter
> then i should have 0-127 to play around with.
> 
> from what i understand some
> modules send only a few velocity trigger
> messager before moving to the next sample.
> 
>      light          mid light          mid         mid heavy     
Heavy
> {...............}{...............}{..............}{...............}
{...............}
> 
> i want a new sample
> trigger for every touch
> then have that midi
> message sent to the computer.

Phil,

I'm not sure where we're going here, but the nature of MIDI is to 
limit velocity theoretically to 127 steps.  As your diagram 
indicates, modules at the low end won't necessarily be able to 
resolve all of them--by a longshot; nor will they tie velocity to 
other parameters so that the percussive sound will vary not only by 
the force of the hit but also by timbre, pitch, attack, position, 
etc. The DTXpress, for example, is limited to only what crossfading 
two voices can achieve, which makes it susceptible to the machine-gun 
effect. The more expensive digitally triggered modules have their own 
ways of elaborating velocity with positional and sonic effects. As I 
said, among the modules, only the ddrum's analog triggering, which is 
released from MIDI, can allow a substantially wider dynamic range. 
Its multisampled voices allow further variations in sound quality--in 
up to eight stages.

Software modules are usually much more intricate and flexible. BFD, I 
think, has at least 46 velocity stages mapped on volume intensity. 
That's why I wondered why not take advantage of your PC for velocity. 
The only genuine advantage that stand-alone drum modules have over 
computer software is their convenience and portability. Whether the 
ones at the high end are good enough to trump the computer option 
altogether is a personal decision. By mere specs, I wouldn't think so 
at this point.

Ed

Thanks Ed, I think i have a better idea of what to look for now.  :)



Phil Doughty
phildoughty@...

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