Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

Hi all, 

I must admit it had been a long time since I read the daily mails I get from this group. 

Reason 1 was: I wanted to play play play (i.e. practice). Reason 2: Due to all this practicing 
and my work (computer use) I have been developing severe RSI problems: shoulder, arms, 
and hands, so I needed to stay away from computers and drums as much as possible. 
Thanks to frequent sports, physical therapy, and changes at work I'm starting to recover. I 
still have the feeling that the rubber pads play a role in the RSI problems, though. 

The message that woke me up is the "magic box"  being sort of ready for shipping. This 
allows extra inputs such as... a mesh head pad (or other better pad) for snare that 
hopefully will decrease chances of having another RSI attack (I guess). The options are

1) The DTXTREMEII snare (much better rubber, feel, etc I read in the posts)
2) A Pintech snare
3) An acoustic snare with mesh head & trigger (e.g. Yamaha DT20 or so). 

I tend to choose #3 because I can always use it as an acoustic snare, and I want the extra 
snare on a seperate stand (is this possible for the Pintechs?) to avoid cross talk. But I'm a 
bit afraid I will run into trigger problems for that option, such as the trigger being too 
sensitive or insensitive. Perhaps with the integrated trigger in the Pintech pads, this is 
much easier to set up...

Does anyone have ideas or recommendations?

Another point is the hihat. My guess is that not any (reasonably priced) electronic hihat is 
as subtle as a real one. So I'm thinking about buying an acoustic hihat. Again, if you have 
any thoughts on this, I would be interested. 

Thanks!

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "epvk_jahoe" <yahoo@e...> wrote:
> The message that woke me up is the "magic box"  being sort of ready 
for shipping. This 
> allows extra inputs such as... a mesh head pad (or other better 
pad) for snare that 
> hopefully will decrease chances of having another RSI attack (I 
guess). 

Not being medical people and not being apprised of your whole 
situation, we can still hazard a guess that the rubber pads might 
have contributed to your strain. But poor technique might also have 
been a factor. You might try using Zildjian's anti-vibe sticks, less 
force, and a looser grip.
 
> The options are: 1) The DTXTREMEII snare (much better rubber, feel, 
>etc I read in the posts)

This is a great rubber snare, with a much more forgiving feel than 
the traditional ones, but even drummers playing this kind of rubber 
or other kinds suffer from repetitive injuries, arthritis, etc.

> 2) A Pintech snare

The Pintech snare comes in a 10" ConcertCast version, which will just 
make it into a separate stand, and the AX14S, which resembles an 
acoustic chrome snare, and at 14", is a perfect candidate for a 
stand. The Hart snares are 13".

> 3) An acoustic snare with mesh head & trigger (e.g. Yamaha DT20 or 
so). 
> 
> I tend to choose #3 because I can always use it as an acoustic 
snare, and I want the extra 
> snare on a seperate stand (is this possible for the Pintechs?) to 
avoid cross talk. But I'm a 
> bit afraid I will run into trigger problems for that option, such 
as the trigger being too 
> sensitive or insensitive. Perhaps with the integrated trigger in 
the Pintech pads, this is 
> much easier to set up...

You can certainly try to trigger an acoustic snare with one of 
Yamaha's triggers, or ddrum's, but the DTXpress isn't the best module 
for this sort of thing. You also run into the difficulty of losing 
the quietness that rubber and mesh provide, unless you're willing to 
swap an acoustic and mesh head depending on circumstances--a genuine 
pain in the neck (the swap may require other changes to the interior 
of the drum). You might as well get a big mesh head snare and stick 
with it.
 
> Another point is the hihat. My guess is that not any (reasonably 
priced) electronic hihat is 
> as subtle as a real one. So I'm thinking about buying an acoustic 
hihat. Again, if you have 
> any thoughts on this, I would be interested. 

No electronic hi hat is as sensitive and subtle as an acoustic one. 
The Roland TD-20 version is pretty good, as is the ddrum, but neither 
is compatible with a DTXpress out of the box, and maybe not really at 
all, despite existing adaptors. An acoustic hi hat with an electronic 
kit is a major mismatch IMO. Balancing its level with the rest of the 
kit will require it to be miked by itself, at least in performance.  
You might be able to get away with it in your practice space if you 
play through an amp, but you won't be able to use it easily with the 
kit via headphones. 

Ed

Hi Ed, 

Thanks for your reply, it's very helpful. The poor technique certainly will play a role as I'm 
a beginner. Related to being a beginner, what plays a role also is that I try to play right, 
and simultaneously concentrate on what I read, or hear. Trying to focus puts a lot of strain 
on my shoulder, arms. 
 
I have the Zildjian anti vibes already for some time (thanks to this forum), but apparently, 
it's not enough. Today I received Ahead sticks - also thanks to this forum although 
recently people seem to have bad experiences. Anyway, as a first impression they seem to 
feel OK in my hands, at least a lot better than the Carbosticks that I also ordered some 
time ago. It was another suggestion on this forum but to me they feel terrible.  I also 
turned up the volume as high as I could, including turning up the equalizer levels in Utility 
Mode as high as possible (which has a big effect on the volume levels!). All this to 
minimize the effect of physically trying to compensate for lack of sound. Still it's not 
enough. (Btw this typing doesn't do any good either). 

The HART ACU-1ST at drumbalaya also seems to be an interesting option for a snare. Too 
bad they don't ship the Yamaha RHP80's to Europe, that one I would really like to try. The 
ones I found on European websites are rediculously expensive. If I recall correctly from 
earlier posts, dual zones don't work with the DTXP module (or will the " magic box" even 
solve that problem)? 

I use the set for practice only so I would guess that getting an acoustic hihat is not such a 
crazy idea. I think I'll try. 

Thanks again,

Erik Paul






--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "emf" <liberatusvirus@y...> wrote:

> 
> --- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "epvk_jahoe" <yahoo@e...> wrote:
> > The message that woke me up is the "magic box"  being sort of ready 
> for shipping. This 
> > allows extra inputs such as... a mesh head pad (or other better 
> pad) for snare that 
> > hopefully will decrease chances of having another RSI attack (I 
> guess). 
> 
> Not being medical people and not being apprised of your whole 
> situation, we can still hazard a guess that the rubber pads might 
> have contributed to your strain. But poor technique might also have 
> been a factor. You might try using Zildjian's anti-vibe sticks, less 
> force, and a looser grip.
>  
> > The options are: 1) The DTXTREMEII snare (much better rubber, feel, 
> >etc I read in the posts)
> 
> This is a great rubber snare, with a much more forgiving feel than 
> the traditional ones, but even drummers playing this kind of rubber 
> or other kinds suffer from repetitive injuries, arthritis, etc.
> 
> > 2) A Pintech snare
> 
> The Pintech snare comes in a 10" ConcertCast version, which will just 
> make it into a separate stand, and the AX14S, which resembles an 
> acoustic chrome snare, and at 14", is a perfect candidate for a 
> stand. The Hart snares are 13".
> 
> > 3) An acoustic snare with mesh head & trigger (e.g. Yamaha DT20 or 
> so). 
> > 
> > I tend to choose #3 because I can always use it as an acoustic 
> snare, and I want the extra 
> > snare on a seperate stand (is this possible for the Pintechs?) to 
> avoid cross talk. But I'm a 
> > bit afraid I will run into trigger problems for that option, such 
> as the trigger being too 
> > sensitive or insensitive. Perhaps with the integrated trigger in 
> the Pintech pads, this is 
> > much easier to set up...
> 
> You can certainly try to trigger an acoustic snare with one of 
> Yamaha's triggers, or ddrum's, but the DTXpress isn't the best module 
> for this sort of thing. You also run into the difficulty of losing 
> the quietness that rubber and mesh provide, unless you're willing to 
> swap an acoustic and mesh head depending on circumstances--a genuine 
> pain in the neck (the swap may require other changes to the interior 
> of the drum). You might as well get a big mesh head snare and stick 
> with it.
>  
> > Another point is the hihat. My guess is that not any (reasonably 
> priced) electronic hihat is 
> > as subtle as a real one. So I'm thinking about buying an acoustic 
> hihat. Again, if you have 
> > any thoughts on this, I would be interested. 
> 
> No electronic hi hat is as sensitive and subtle as an acoustic one. 
> The Roland TD-20 version is pretty good, as is the ddrum, but neither 
> is compatible with a DTXpress out of the box, and maybe not really at 
> all, despite existing adaptors. An acoustic hi hat with an electronic 
> kit is a major mismatch IMO. Balancing its level with the rest of the 
> kit will require it to be miked by itself, at least in performance.  
> You might be able to get away with it in your practice space if you 
> play through an amp, but you won't be able to use it easily with the 
> kit via headphones. 
> 
> Ed

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "epvk_jahoe" <yahoo@e...> wrote:
> turned up the volume as high as I could, including turning up the 
equalizer levels in Utility 
> Mode as high as possible (which has a big effect on the volume 
levels!). All this to 
> minimize the effect of physically trying to compensate for lack of 
sound. Still it's not 
> enough. (Btw this typing doesn't do any good either). 

Some people benefit from a headphone amp, especially if buying one 
would be cheaper than buying a new set of headphones with low enough 
impedance and high enough sensitivity to transmit enough volume. Are 
your headphones adequate to the task, or do you listen through an amp?

> The HART ACU-1ST at drumbalaya also seems to be an interesting 
option for a snare. Too 
> bad they don't ship the Yamaha RHP80's to Europe, that one I would 
really like to try. The 
> ones I found on European websites are rediculously expensive. If I 
recall correctly from 
> earlier posts, dual zones don't work with the DTXP module (or will 
the " magic box" even 
> solve that problem)? 

I can't vouch for the compatibility of the Hart snare with the 
DTXpress. Once upon a time, Hart snares couldn't extract any volume 
from the module because of the location of the pickup. People have 
told me that the situation is different now; I just don't know 
firsthand. The Yamaha RHPs, having been discontinued years ago, are 
now in very short supply. Drumbalaya seems to have received the last 
batch from Yamaha's warehouse. It's a nice drum if you can find it. 
Dual-zones work fine in theory through the Xpress, depending on other 
matters of compatibility. Usually people will run the snare through 
input 2 and the rim through 9/10. That way, the snare position is 
retained for the factory kits.

> I use the set for practice only so I would guess that getting an 
acoustic hihat is not such a 
> crazy idea. I think I'll try. 

But only if you play through an amp. With headphones on, you won't 
hear it.

Ed