Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

I recently purchased a DTXPRESS II set. I love it (especially
living in an apartment), but I find that after a little while my
right hand becomes extremely sore, so much that I can't continue to
play. This doesn't happen on my regular set at all.

I've tried using Zildjian's Anti-Vibe sticks and they seem to help a
little but not that much. Anyone have any thoughts/suggestions?

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "andypfau" <andypfau@y...> wrote:
> 
> I recently purchased a DTXPRESS II set. I love it (especially
> living in an apartment), but I find that after a little while my
> right hand becomes extremely sore, so much that I can't continue to
> play. This doesn't happen on my regular set at all.
> 
> I've tried using Zildjian's Anti-Vibe sticks and they seem to help a
> little but not that much. Anyone have any thoughts/suggestions?

Hi Andy,

Welcome. Where exactly does your hand hurt--wrist, fingers? One thing 
to remember is that force meets the law of diminishing returns much 
more quickly with e-drums than with acoustic drums. If you need to 
expand your dynamics, program the module to do as much of the work as 
possible. Even with special sticks, gum rubber does not have the give 
of mylar or even tempered metal. If you relax your grip a little bit, 
the impact of your hands on the immovable object won't be so jarring. 
If the problem is largely muscular, it's not so odd that your hand 
would need time to adjust to a new situation. If your joints are 
hurting, all the more reason to concentrate on technique, as hard as 
that may be in the heat of the moment. Assuming that you're right-
handed, your right hand is taking the bulk of the punishment at this 
point. I've heard people recommend becoming more proficient with the 
off-hand just to level the playing field. But that kind of drastic re-
direction is usually reserved for those of us with arthritis.

Ed

> I recently purchased a DTXPRESS II set. I love it (especially
> living in an apartment), but I find that after a little while my
> right hand becomes extremely sore, so much that I can't continue to
> play. This doesn't happen on my regular set at all.
>
> I've tried using Zildjian's Anti-Vibe sticks and they seem to help a
> little but not that much. Anyone have any thoughts/suggestions?

I was asking similar things a few months ago. I don't play a normal
kit but I have done previously and I'm sure the Yamaha's pads are
harsher than a skin.

I bought Ahead sticks, gripper tape, and took lessons. The lessons
showed me that my grip was wrong, and I think I'll get more
improvement as I learn more. I remain unconvinced by the sticks, they
feel harsh too.

If I think about it, my right wrist is aching right now, and I haven't
played today. I did do a three hour practice yesterday evening though.

J

andypfau said:
> I recently purchased a DTXPRESS II set. I love it (especially
> living in an apartment), but I find that after a little while my
> right hand becomes extremely sore, <snip>

I had similar problems and found doing the following helped:

1) Use LIGHT sticks. I use very light jazz sticks. They have less mass to
rebound into your hand making less kinetic energy for your hand to
absorb. They are also quieter when striking the pads so you're SO (if you
have one) won't be annoyed hearing "tika-toka-tika-tika-Damn!
tika-tika-tok-tinka-tak-Damn!" all night long.. :)

2) Crank up your headphones. If you're hitting harder to try and get
"more" out of a shot, crank up the volume to a point where hitting REAL
hard comes close to hurting your ears. When this happens, you tend to
back off "naturally". In a live situation with an acoustic set, you tend
to match your playing volume to surrounding musicians. If you crank up
the phones you tend to back off on the pressure to "blend" with the music
rather than overpowering it.

Lastly, you could ditch the gum-rubber and go for mesh heads... I haven't
doen that, but others have.

Thats about all I can come up with. :)

Vern

-- 
Vern Graner CNE/CNA/SSE    | "If the network is down, then you're
Senior Systems Engineer    | obviously incompetent so why are we
Texas Information Services | paying you? Of course, if the network
http://www.txis.com        | is up, then we obviously don't need
Austin Office 512 328-8947 | you, so why are we paying you?" \ufffdVLG

Thanks for the suggestions.  What size sticks specifically do you 
use?

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "Vernon Graner" <vern@t...> wrote:
> andypfau said:
> > I recently purchased a DTXPRESS II set. I love it (especially
> > living in an apartment), but I find that after a little while my
> > right hand becomes extremely sore, <snip>
> 
> I had similar problems and found doing the following helped:
> 
> 1) Use LIGHT sticks. I use very light jazz sticks. They have less 
mass to
> rebound into your hand making less kinetic energy for your hand to
> absorb. They are also quieter when striking the pads so you're SO 
(if you
> have one) won't be annoyed hearing "tika-toka-tika-tika-Damn!
> tika-tika-tok-tinka-tak-Damn!" all night long.. :)
> 
> 2) Crank up your headphones. If you're hitting harder to try and 
get
> "more" out of a shot, crank up the volume to a point where hitting 
REAL
> hard comes close to hurting your ears. When this happens, you tend 
to
> back off "naturally". In a live situation with an acoustic set, 
you tend
> to match your playing volume to surrounding musicians. If you 
crank up
> the phones you tend to back off on the pressure to "blend" with 
the music
> rather than overpowering it.
> 
> Lastly, you could ditch the gum-rubber and go for mesh heads... I 
haven't

> doen that, but others have.
> 
> Thats about all I can come up with. :)
> 
> Vern
> 
> -- 
> Vern Graner CNE/CNA/SSE    | "If the network is down, then you're
> Senior Systems Engineer    | obviously incompetent so why are we
> Texas Information Services | paying you? Of course, if the network
> http://www.txis.com        | is up, then we obviously don't need
> Austin Office 512 328-8947 | you, so why are we paying you?" ©VLG

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "andypfau" <andypfau@y...> wrote:
> 
> I recently purchased a DTXPRESS II set. I love it (especially
> living in an apartment), but I find that after a little while my
> right hand becomes extremely sore, so much that I can't continue to
> play. This doesn't happen on my regular set at all.
> 
> I've tried using Zildjian's Anti-Vibe sticks and they seem to help 
a
> little but not that much. Anyone have any thoughts/suggestions?

I can't stress enough the importance of correct gripping of your 
sticks, and good sticking technique.  I wondered for years why my 
arms and wrists would get sore and why I couldn't achieve the speed 
I wanted around the kit.  Then I went to a teacher and everything 
got sorted.  Playing any sort of drums is so much easier now.  
Basically, the trick is having your palms parallel with the ground, 
using your 2nd or 3rd fingers as a fulcrum, having a good, balanced 
stick (not too light; the Anti-Vibe 5A sticks are great) and letting 
gravity do most of the work.  Oh, and practising rudiments is very 
very useful (a good book to use is "Stick Control for the Snare 
Drummer" by George Lawrence Stone).

Nick.