Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

Hi all,

After 2 years of drumming (all with the DTXpress) I finally joined a
band and last night had my first practice with them.  Unlike my
drumming, the DTXpress performed faultlessly.

We are finding our way - I have never played with anyone, they have
never played with a drummer, but one problem we had was each hearing
the right balance of what was going on.  I could hear the lead guitar
better than my own drums, the bass guitarist could hear my drums but
not the lead guitar etc.  Some of these problems could be solved with
better room layout which we will try next time, but I wondered if a
mixer and single amp might be better to control than the four amps we
were using (with the keyboard players plugged through my aux port). 
Another option is for me to use headphones and a mixer so I can
balance my drums better for me to listen to, but that would need me to
plug into each amp (or use a mic to feed into a small mixer).

Any suggestions gratefully received.

By the way, my Logitech Z2300 speakers worked well and the electronic
drum kit was well accepted to the rest of the band who thought it
sounded great.

Keith.

Congratulations Keith

Does the band have a name, or is it all a bit new?

Rah!Collector <http://www.rahcollector.co.uk/>, one of two bands I
play in, has a gig at the Merchant on Friday 14th July if you want to
pop down and have a listen.

In both bands, everyone else really appreciates the fact that
everything doesn't have to be as loud as the drum kit. The theory of
one who seems to know his stuff is that with an electric kit you can
turn up the mics as loud as they can go without feedback, then bring
everything else up to that. Normally, he says, everything's trying to
match the drums.

So quite often I get the opposite problem, that I can't hear the
drums, or the sound of me hitting the pads is audible over the drum
sound, so then I have to enter the 'turning yourself up' feedback
loop.

When Rah!Collector practice we use just two Behringers (bass guitar,
lead guitar, vocals, drums).

With the other band, possibly called King Inducer, there are eight of
us and the chap who started it has a PA stack and mixer in his living
room so obviously we play through that. I sit right in front of one
stack and would certainly moan if I got ringing ears, so although it
sounds like it would be, it's not that loud.

Just some thoughts, no real solutions.

Cheers
J

> Hi all,
>
> After 2 years of drumming (all with the DTXpress) I finally joined a
> band and last night had my first practice with them.  Unlike my
> drumming, the DTXpress performed faultlessly.
>
> We are finding our way - I have never played with anyone, they have
> never played with a drummer, but one problem we had was each hearing
> the right balance of what was going on.  I could hear the lead guitar
> better than my own drums, the bass guitarist could hear my drums but
> not the lead guitar etc.  Some of these problems could be solved with
> better room layout which we will try next time, but I wondered if a
> mixer and single amp might be better to control than the four amps we
> were using (with the keyboard players plugged through my aux port).
> Another option is for me to use headphones and a mixer so I can
> balance my drums better for me to listen to, but that would need me to
> plug into each amp (or use a mic to feed into a small mixer).
>
> Any suggestions gratefully received.
>
> By the way, my Logitech Z2300 speakers worked well and the electronic
> drum kit was well accepted to the rest of the band who thought it
> sounded great.
>
> Keith.
>
>
>
>

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, john@... wrote:
>
> Congratulations Keith
> 
> Does the band have a name, or is it all a bit new?

No, just a few guys who have been playing guitar/keyboards for around
2 years so no name yet.  The contact came through Bob Scott.  Are you
happy with your KX1200?  I was wondering if everyone feeding through a
mixer into a KX1200 would allow the vocalist to get the balance right
(for practice).  At the moment each person has their own practice amp
and adjusts it themselves.

Thanks for the other thoughts.

Keith.

> --- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, john@... wrote:
>>
>> Congratulations Keith
>>
>> Does the band have a name, or is it all a bit new?
>
> No, just a few guys who have been playing guitar/keyboards for around
> 2 years so no name yet.  The contact came through Bob Scott.  Are you
> happy with your KX1200?  I was wondering if everyone feeding through a
> mixer into a KX1200 would allow the vocalist to get the balance right
> (for practice).  At the moment each person has their own practice amp
> and adjusts it themselves.

Yes, I'm happy with the KX1200 except:

a) it's big and heavy (it's over the limit Parcelforce will take as a
single item, which suggests it's probably over the health and safety
threshold for lifting heavy items),
b) I just had to repair it
<http://www.johnallsopp.co.uk/blog200605.php4#behringer> (cue everyone
baying "Behringers are unreliable")
c) compared to a PA stack it's really not got a huge range, but that's
obvious, and finally
d) I've really nothing else to compare it to, so I'm no expert.

But in my heart and soul, I'm glad I bought it rather than the Peavey.

And yes, I don't know whether it's true but it would seem to be common
sense that the fewer jobs a speaker has to do the less confused it
becomes. Our vocalist and bass player go through the same amp and,
well, we can hear them.

Cheers
J