Special Notice: Expanding Inputs--Response Requested
2005-03-16 by emf
This Special Notice to all members is a survey to determine how many of us might be interested in purchasing Keith Raper's invention for adding inputs to the DTXpress module. Keith's intention is keep the price at around $100. Membership turnout on this matter may well have a lot to do with what ultimately happens to the device. Please try to respond, even if you aren't sure of your answer yet. A word to the wise: This is a huge, possibly money-saving opportunity for those who want to expand their kits in a cost-effective manner. For a detailed description, read below. Keith's input device--which we referred to as the "magic box" before its actual invention (it will acquire a better name)--allows e- drummers to expand the basic DTXpress (I, II or III) module by permitting the FSRs and piezos on stereo inputs to be split. Normally each stereo input is compatible with only one pad or one cymbal, even though each stereo input is capable of supporting more than one sound. Keith's device enables two single-zone (mono) pads to be connected to each stereo input on a DTXpress module. By "stereo" in this context, we exclude all of those that are capable of three sounds (inputs 2 and 6), which should be reserved for their triple voices, and input 9/10, which is not compatible with the device. The limitation in this method of input expansion follows from the limitation inherent in any pad or cymbal with a rim switch; only one sound per split input is possible at any one time. In other words, just as a stereo pad will produce either a piezo-center sound (head/bow) or switch sound (rim/edge) but not both simultaneously, the two pads connected to any input split via Keith's device will not be able to make their sounds together. They must be hit successively. This is not a flaw in Keith's design but a characteristic of Yamaha's stereo electronics. The magic box would therefore be most effective in circumstances when pads sharing the same input would be unlikely to be hit simultaneously--for example, a cymbal and a tom rather than a cymbal and a kick pad. Keith has planned the device to have 8 inputs and 4 outputs, allowing 4 extra pads to be added to each module. For example, the three tom inputs and one cymbal input could be used to add four extra pads, while still leaving 9/10 free for two more. The box adds gain to each of the channels to compensate for the DTXpress module's relative lack of sensitivity to rim/edge hits. Boosting the signals solves this problem completely. The two pads connected to any one input on the device will have no adjustment for rejection. Protecting them from each other's reverberations will be purely a matter of positioning on the rack or otherwise manually isolating them. The device may well be compatible with Roland, Pintech, or any other piezo/FSR switch components, but it has undergone testing only on Yamaha equipment. Keith, OGD, and Ed