Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

Hi 
Our drummer can't touch electronic things because they blow up... They
obviously don't like him unless he's hitting them with a stick that
is, lol

Anyway, we are trying to do 16 tons like eric burden does (from the
movie joe vs the volcano) and they have a really interesting metal
strike in it(and the clap but that's a different story...lol)  I tried
last night to find a metal hit on the dtxpress, but couldn't find
any(the manual is a mess and I rarely touch the thing!)

Do you know of a metal strike on the dtxpress I that would help us? I
guess I would need the letter of the set and the number on the set if
you have it!

Thanks!

Tom

Tom,

Have you any links to clips of the sound you are after?  I don't know
the song you are talking about, but my best suggestion would be to
take the triangle (P/86 on the DTXpress I) & tune it as low as
possible (Tune C=-24).  Other options would be the E/24 FM Met, E52
MetalDip or a low cowbell (P37 CowBell4 on the DTXpress III - I am not
sure of the equivalent on the DTXpress I) with some tuning.  Another
option is to tune a high Timbale even higher (P/81).  You need to try
tuning because you can tune things so far on an electronic kit that
they will sound totally different when they are tuned well away from
their "correct" setting.  Similarly, if you are getting close, the
"decay" setting can make a useful difference, for example to make a
shorter "ring" sound.

Time to get out the reference manual & turn to page 38 I think!

Keith.

Tom,

I got the track, thanks.  The sound towards the end of the track is
more like a blacksmith's anvil sound.  I would suggest you start with
E24/F Met.  Then, to get more of a thud to it, I suggest you layer it
with some snare with a rapid decay, say around +30.  The important
thing is to get a sound you like rather than trying to totally mimic
something.  

The original sound probably used a piece of metal.  If you had a
module which could accept custom sounds then you could find some
metal, record it and use that.  The DTXpress cannot do that and there
is no anvil sound I can see.  However, by adjusting tuning, decay and
layering sounds, you can get a huge range of effects.  You can also
crossfade the layers.  For example, I play country/folk where I want a
brush & tap sound.  I have a kit programmed with the snare brush sound
layered with a normal snare sound and a crossfade.  If I play gently I
get the brush sound and when I accent I get the snare sound.  It is
quite effective (and easier than doing the same thing on my real kit
with brushes!).

It really is worthwhile spending some time reading the manual to see
what you can do, particularly with layering and crossfades etc.

Keith.