Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

First off, I want to say that I haven't been to this group in a while. In fact this is the first 
time that I've seen the DTXpress III (I'm a DTXpress II owner). Wow... It looks pretty slick. 
Especially the new high hat assembly. 

Anyway, I want to amplify my kit. I want to play loud. I'd like to be able to reach acoustic 
kit volumes. What's the best way to do this? I've been told that a PA is the best thing to do. 
I've also been told that I can use a keyboard amp. What do you guys think? What have your 
experiences been with amplifying the DTX? How much power do I need?

Thanks for your input!

Sam

Sam,

I am going through the same kind of process myself.  Last Saturday I 
used the kit live for the first time and started off by going through 
the main PA.  A Peavey 1300w stereo power amp and Peavey mixer.  The 
problem I found was that the kit sounded very far away and the rest 
of the band really missed having those drum sounds coming from behind 
them as is usually the case.  Second half I reverted to a 150w 
Carlsbro powered wedge monitor right next to the kit and it all felt 
a lot more comfortable for every everyone including myself.

Volume though was little restricted as I was running at full volume 
on the wedge and on the DTexpress - so there was nowhere to go when 
more volume was needed.  Next gig I will be trying out a separate 
200w pa system and also a line out to the main pa just to see how 
that works.

I guess a min 300w system would be better and to this end have been 
looking at the Carlsbro system that is on ebay for £199.

I'm shure there are plenty of drummers on this group that have far 
more experience with this kit than I have and can advise better, but 
for me it seem the more power, coming from the vicinity of the kit 
(not too close so it seems) and easy access to control it yourself 
the better.  Would be interested to know what you settle on.

Aeron

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "samuelhcohen" <samuelhcohen@y...> 
wrote:
> 
> First off, I want to say that I haven't been to this group in a 
while. In fact this is the first 
> time that I've seen the DTXpress III (I'm a DTXpress II owner). 
Wow... It looks pretty slick. 
> Especially the new high hat assembly. 
> 
> Anyway, I want to amplify my kit. I want to play loud. I'd like to 
be able to reach acoustic 
> kit volumes. What's the best way to do this? I've been told that a 
PA is the best thing to do. 
> I've also been told that I can use a keyboard amp. What do you guys 
think? What have your 

> experiences been with amplifying the DTX? How much power do I need?
> 
> Thanks for your input!
> 
> Sam

I use a Roland KC500 Keyboard amp. 150W and 15inch speaker with dome  
tweeter. I used to use a 300 watt bass head hooked up to a 4x10 speaker cabinet.  
That was even better.

I use a Peavey keyboard amp which really has a wide range and sounds good.
I have a 200watt bass amp with two cabinets that have a 15 inch speaker,
two tweeters and a horn in each cabinet. It definitely has power but it
doesn't give me the range especially with regards to the cymbals. They
don't sound nearly as good as the keyboard amp. I'll try different
settings on the bass amp and report back.

> I use a Roland KC500 Keyboard amp. 150W and 15inch speaker with dome
> tweeter. I used to use a 300 watt bass head hooked up to a 4x10 speaker
> cabinet.
> That was even better.
>
>

swanseadrummer said:
> I am going through the same kind of process myself.  Last Saturday I
> used the kit live for the first time and started off by going through
> the main PA.  A Peavey 1300w stereo power amp and Peavey mixer.  The
> problem I found was that the kit sounded very far away and the rest
> of the band really missed having those drum sounds coming from behind
> them as is usually the case.

When this happens, drummers will sometimes decide to put a large PA
system or amp/speaker combo of some type right near the kit. Then you may
end up with another common problem for live, loud amplified kits:
dropouts and false triggers.

What you might try (depending on how much power you have) is to route the
kit to the floor monitors so the band can hear the beat. Also, to make
the experience better for you, try using a "butt kicker" type "bass
shaker" transducer. There's been discussion of using these in a previous
thread:

http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/DTXpress/message/9967

Vern

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