Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

Hello fellow dtxpressers,

Great to be posting here again, hope you are all well :)

Having moved my main kit to our new studio permanemtly, I now have 
been left with my trusty old & original DTXpress1. After alittle 
dusting it plays as well as ever (no mainteneance whatsoever!), & 
this thing has taken a bloody good beating.  So instead of looking 
for something else I've decided to make this my home practice kit, 
with a few upgrades. For cymbals I have gone with (KitToys), Kick 
(KP65)& now all i need is a better snare. So I thought I'd ask the 
veterans here. Any suggestions would be gratefully received. 

Take care all.
Pete aka m2k

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "peterpan" <malakies2000@y...> wrote:
> 
> 
> Hello fellow dtxpressers,
> 
> Great to be posting here again, hope you are all well :)
> 
> Having moved my main kit to our new studio permanemtly, I now have 
> been left with my trusty old & original DTXpress1. After alittle 
> dusting it plays as well as ever (no mainteneance whatsoever!), & 
> this thing has taken a bloody good beating.  So instead of looking 
> for something else I've decided to make this my home practice kit, 
> with a few upgrades. For cymbals I have gone with (KitToys), Kick 
> (KP65)& now all i need is a better snare. So I thought I'd ask the 
> veterans here. Any suggestions would be gratefully received. 

Hi Pete,

Good to hear from you. Why not go with the new DTXtreme snare? It 
plays like a charm. You'll only get one rim, and you won't be able to 
use the adjustment knob, but it's a new kind of gum rubber that 
someone born and raised on a DTXpressI can easily learn to love. Have 
you tried one yet?

Ed

Thanks for the reply Ed. I've never even seen it, let alone tried it! 
I'll need to find it somewhere in London. Also finding the TP120SD 
sold seperately, not so sure thats gonna be easy over here. I have 
heard some great things about it though. Will look into it, hopefully 
won't be too expensive, how much does it go for in the states? 

 






--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "emf" <liberatusvirus@y...> wrote:
> 
> --- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "peterpan" <malakies2000@y...> 
wrote:
> > 
> > 
> > Hello fellow dtxpressers,
> > 
> > Great to be posting here again, hope you are all well :)
> > 
> > Having moved my main kit to our new studio permanemtly, I now 
have 
> > been left with my trusty old & original DTXpress1. After alittle 
> > dusting it plays as well as ever (no mainteneance whatsoever!), & 
> > this thing has taken a bloody good beating.  So instead of 
looking 
> > for something else I've decided to make this my home practice 
kit, 
> > with a few upgrades. For cymbals I have gone with (KitToys), Kick 
> > (KP65)& now all i need is a better snare. So I thought I'd ask 
the 
> > veterans here. Any suggestions would be gratefully received. 
> 
> Hi Pete,
> 
> Good to hear from you. Why not go with the new DTXtreme snare? It 
> plays like a charm. You'll only get one rim, and you won't be able 
to 
> use the adjustment knob, but it's a new kind of gum rubber that 
> someone born and raised on a DTXpressI can easily learn to love. 
Have 

> you tried one yet?
> 
> Ed

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "peterpan" <malakies2000@y...> wrote:
> 
> 
> Thanks for the reply Ed. I've never even seen it, let alone tried it! 
> I'll need to find it somewhere in London. Also finding the TP120SD 
> sold seperately, not so sure thats gonna be easy over here. I have 
> heard some great things about it though. Will look into it, hopefully 
> won't be too expensive, how much does it go for in the states? 
> 

Try Thomann:

http://www.netzmarkt.de/thomann/thoiw2_artikel-170038.html?sn=b5d4cc4656f6c1a37a3a86626ec27fed

Keith.

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "peterpan" <malakies2000@y...> wrote:
> 
> 
> Thanks for the reply Ed. I've never even seen it, let alone tried 
it! 
> I'll need to find it somewhere in London. Also finding the TP120SD 
> sold seperately, not so sure thats gonna be easy over here. I have 
> heard some great things about it though. Will look into it, 
hopefully 
> won't be too expensive, how much does it go for in the states?

Pete,

Around $179 here, but you could use the tom version, the TP100, which 
is cheaper by about $20. These prices are competitive, to say the 
least, with quality mesh snares, which are also an alternative, but 
big meshes (13" to 14") can be a little incongruous with the small 
footprint of the DTXpress. The 10" Pintech ConcertCast mesh seems to 
fit the context better, although it too is better on a stand than 
tortured to fit on the rack. Pintech has a European division. As 
you've probably found out, the DTXpress is a little challenged in the 
sensitivity dept. when it comes to accommodating other companies' 
woven-head pads. It becomes a matter of how forgiving the individual 
drummer, how good at DIY, or how good the particular match. Pete, 
keep us informed about what you find out. It will be useful to other 
people on the board in a similar situation.

Ed

Ed

Ed

Will do Ed, thanks for the info. And thanks for the link keith, 
Thomann seem quite reasonable, not only for the snare pad but for a 
couple of other things too  :-D

OK so the Thomann shipment arrived, and I have had a good few days to 
experiment with the gear, including the TP120SD as my new snare.  As 
expected, triggers very well with the Dtxpress v1 brain, even light 
tapping with my fingers in picked up well on this rubber pad. Fits 
nicely on the new compact snare stand and looks great. 

Now I have had a couple of slight issues, and I'm wondering maybe 
I've overlooked something, so I'll run it by here.  I haven't tried 
every possible trigger setting but it appears that this pad is too 
responsive - and peaks at 99% with medium and above force hits. The 
only way I've managed to reduce it is by lowering the trigger output 
level (using the adjuster on the side of the pad).  This does exactly 
what it should do, reducing the output and making the pad less 
sensitive, however i find I lose alot of my lower end dynamics before 
a medium hit registers below 90%.   So at the moment its either a 
very sensitive snare with peaking, or acceptable hard hitting 
performance by sacrificing lighter hit response.  

I'm pretty confident I'll find a comprimise. Anybody here use the 
TP120SD with a DTxpress brain?  What trigger settings do you use?  

Another small issue, I really feel the difference between mesh & 
rubber. Before I had been testing for an hour or so occasionally, but 
today I gave them a good 4hr session, and my hands & fingers feel 
like they've taken a good beating compared to similar sessions on my 
Hart kit.  Do most of you use dipsticks with rubber pads?   I may 
invest in a pair since I will be using these rubber pads to practice 
for a good few months.   If anyone in the UK is looking for mono 
cymbals, the Kit toys I got are fantastic, they have worked very well 
with both the DTxpress & TD-8.  About 20 quid each.

Anyhow, anyone here who can help with my TP120SD issue? 

Pete






--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "peterpan" <malakies2000@y...> wrote:

> 
> 
> 
> Will do Ed, thanks for the info. And thanks for the link keith, 
> Thomann seem quite reasonable, not only for the snare pad but for a 
> couple of other things too  :-D

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "peterpan" <malakies2000@y...> wrote:

> Now I have had a couple of slight issues, and I'm wondering maybe 
> I've overlooked something, so I'll run it by here.  I haven't tried 
> every possible trigger setting but it appears that this pad is too 
> responsive - and peaks at 99% with medium and above force hits. The 
> only way I've managed to reduce it is by lowering the trigger 
output 
> level (using the adjuster on the side of the pad).  This does 
exactly 
> what it should do, reducing the output and making the pad less 
> sensitive, however i find I lose alot of my lower end dynamics 
before 
> a medium hit registers below 90%.   So at the moment its either a 
> very sensitive snare with peaking, or acceptable hard hitting 
> performance by sacrificing lighter hit response. 

Pete,

I can't give you detailed settings because I don't own one of these 
things, and my only suggestion might sound counterintuitive. But it 
seems worth a try. Flip the DIP switch on the back of the module 
corresponding with the snare's input up. This tactic will make the 
pad run hotter, but it might improve "lighter hit response" in 
conjunction with what you did to get the "acceptable hard hitting 
performance." If that doesn't work, you could always try inserting a 
pot between the snare and input--either DIY or already on the cable--
and adjust it to get better dynamics. You'd have to start by putting 
the gain and min. vel. settings at a fairly low position, I would 
think.

>>If anyone in the UK is looking for mono 
> cymbals, the Kit toys I got are fantastic, they have worked very 
well 
> with both the DTxpress & TD-8.  About 20 quid each.

Stewart emailed me about the Kit Toys, and I had a look. I thought 
that I'd acquaint OGD with them, too, but he told me that he's been 
aware of their existence for a while. Wouldn't you know?  Anyway, I'd 
love to try them. Does the company have any intention of expanding to 
our shores, or are they going the way of Koby? We're always looking 
to do a review.

Ed

> Pete,
> 
> I can't give you detailed settings because I don't own one of these 
> things, and my only suggestion might sound counterintuitive. But it 
> seems worth a try. Flip the DIP switch on the back of the module 
> corresponding with the snare's input up. This tactic will make the 
> pad run hotter, but it might improve "lighter hit response" in 
> conjunction with what you did to get the "acceptable hard hitting 
> performance." If that doesn't work, you could always try inserting 
a 
> pot between the snare and input--either DIY or already on the cable-
-
> and adjust it to get better dynamics. You'd have to start by 
putting 
> the gain and min. vel. settings at a fairly low position, I would 
> think.
> 
> >>If anyone in the UK is looking for mono 
> > cymbals, the Kit toys I got are fantastic, they have worked very 
> well 
> > with both the DTxpress & TD-8.  About 20 quid each.
> 
> Stewart emailed me about the Kit Toys, and I had a look. I thought 
> that I'd acquaint OGD with them, too, but he told me that he's been 
> aware of their existence for a while. Wouldn't you know?  Anyway, 
I'd 
> love to try them. Does the company have any intention of expanding 
to 
> our shores, or are they going the way of Koby? We're always looking 
> to do a review.
> 
> Ed




Thanks for the reply Ed, I haven't been using the practice kit since 
my last post, busy xmas time n all - but I'll give your suggestion a 
go when I get a chance.  As for KitToys, I'll ask Mike about 
international orders and let you know what the deal is. 

Happy holidays!