Welcome!
I bought my dtxpress3 for the same reasons. I played nothing but
acoustics for a very long time but the noise has always been an
issue so I bought the standard kit to see if it would fit the bill.
I hadn't played in a few years, and wanted to pick it back up, and
have some fun with some friends from work.
First question: the noise isn't that bad, but if you live above
ground level the kick will cause more noise than any of the rest. I
had mine upstairs in my bedroom and my neighbors complained but down
on ground level they don't hear it. The pad are no louder than
practice pads. The kick isn't really any louder but being right on
the floor it really puts out vibes.
Second: For me the size of the pads wasn't so much of the issue as
proximity. The standard kit has the pads alot closer than a similar
acoustic set would be. The rack is only so big, you can spread the
toms out almost the same, but the snare to hh relationship takes
some getting used to. If you'll look at some pics of the set you'll
notice the hh is on a little stub of pipe mounted on the same arm
the snare is on. The hh pad is never really over the hh pedal and
your right and left hands can get in the way of each other. I find
the sticks battle it out some times when I play certain accents on
the snare. You can move the hh up to the module arm, but i've got
an extra cymbol arm there, so I've just had to work with it. The
feel of the round pads is pretty good. I can live with them. Not
as bouncy as mesh pads, not quite as solid feeling as practice
pads. The cymbal pads don't feel like cymbals. My only real
dislike are those. I've bought more, the single trigger pcy65 seems
to be the more reliable of the two. The pcy65s have "dual" zones.
You strike the edge you (sometimes) get an edge sound, hit the flat
it will trigger a different sound. If you grab the edge of these,
they will mute (say stop) the tiggered sound dead in its tracks.
I'm starting to have some issues with one of the pcy65s. It is
muting itself the instant I strike it. These prefer a snap or
glancing blow, if you let the stick stop on the edge it'll think you
want to mute it. I don't know the reason mine is acting up and have
posted a question earlier 'cause I don't know if this function's
sensitivity can be adjusted or not. I don't have any experience
with the Specials round pads, it has one, two, and three zone pads.
Third: For what the snare pad does, I like it. I wish it were
bigger for that also. The top edge is set up to give you a cross
stick but you don't have to lay the stick down to get it, just hit
the edge. For the rimshot, it sounds the best when you hit the
middle of the pad and bottom edge simultaneously. There are more
sounds on the module than I will ever need, you can even adjust the
pitch of them if you like the way it sounds but want it higher or
lower. Its different not hearing the snare buzz when you play, I
never realized how much the little things add up on acoustics until
now. In most of my playing experience, I've never really had to mic
or amp anything, these are different. Its hard to find good info on
which amp is going to work or not. I bought a Behringer KX1200, it
works very well, but I'm not used to being lost in the mix. The
sounds are coming from the amp, not the set. You have to put the
amp in a position so you can monitor yourself or wear headphones,
but the headphone jack doesn't put out enough volume for that
really. The cymbal sounds are pretty good, but they're only as good
as the amp or speakers that is pushing it. And the kx1200 is far
from the best. I intend to buy another to have it in stereo, but
there have been reliability issues with the kx1200 just dying at the
worst possible time. Another issue I haven't ever had to deal with,
ELECTRONICS! There is a lot more Mr. Murphy can mess with on
electronic drum sets. I've thought of combining real cymbals but
that is not cost effective for me right now, I've spent enough on
this set right now. The cymbal pad acting up has really got me
bummed, I haven't had the set two months yet, I hope its just an
easy fix like a setting in the module. The features on the module
are pretty good but the manual needs some improvement. Its got
enough info in it to get you started but it sure is missing alot and
I have to refer to it often. I don't really care for the songs
stored in the module. Some of the kits with the pad songs are
goofy; there are maybe two that I actually like to use to mess
around with. On that note, you can make your own kits with them and
there is more that you can do that I don't know about. Expansion
will be an issue. The standard only allows you to add 2 more single
zone pads as it comes. There are ports that support more zones than
the kit is using when you buy it, but you'll have to spend more
money to upgrade those single zone pads with multi-zones and in the
end you'll have singles left over that you can't use. You can split
the ports with stereo splitters, but you'll only add more of the
same sounds. Case in point: I have 4 cymbal pads. 2 single and 2
double zone. The singles are in the 9/10 port. To use your hh
pedal as a double bass set up you have to get creative and switch
ports with the kick, 9/10, and the hh controller. As much as I have
tried, I can only get one of the singles to trigger, the other is
dead, the repositioning for double bass used up the
cymbals "space". I wish they would have made the HH controller port
a user assignable port, so a quick selection of its function could
be changed instead of all the head scratching and cable swapping.
The special version only has one more port to add to. With money
and creativity you can squeeze more out of it but it gets to the
point of the dtxtreme set in cost.
I enjoy my dtxpress3, don't get me wrong! Its an excellent
simulation. It allow me to practice, and even plug up my cd player
and jam along to my favorite tunes quietly. With the amp, I can jam
with my friends. It sounds good doing it, and I can pack it all up
in my Grand Am and take it with me. It is nice not to have to lug
all of that big acoustic stuff around, but it comes with its own
issues. I hope this helps in your decision. I don't have any
experience with other manufacturers. I read up on as much as I
could before I made my choice. All of them in this price range had
similar attributes, I chose Yamaha and would again.
Jeff
--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, Cristian Raducanu <achilehero@y...>
wrote:
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> Hi guys!
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> I would really need you to answer mw a few quick questions.
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> I am about to buy a DTXpress III standard Kit. I am drumming for
about 8 years now, but only on an acoustic set. The main reason I am
considering an electronic kit is that I want to study at home (in an
apartment). So, ... I would have a few questions for you people that
have an electronic kit, and especially about the DTXpress III.
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> I would like to know:
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> 1. Does it make a lot of an "acoustic noise". I mean how silent
would it be? Would it bother the neighbours if I am studying at home
in my appartment?
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> 2. How hard is it to switch from the acoustic kit? I mean the pads
being smaller than real size drumskins, and the feel of the pads.
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> 3. How close is the TP65S as a sound with rim shot and everything
tot the real snare?
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> And basically, ... I really want to know if this would really be a
good investment, because for sure it won't be cheap.
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> Thanks a lot guys and I am really looking forward to your answers,
cause it's very important step for me.
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