Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

hi all --

just joined the group & wanted to say hello.

i picked up my brand new DTXpress this past weekend, & i am VERY 
psyched!  i had been wanting one for years, but always thought they 
were too expensive -- couldn't justify the cost when my acoustic kit 
was in such sorry shape...  

but then -- several months after my band broke up & i put my acoustic 
drums away in storage -- yamaha decided to discontinue the original & 
bring out the version II, and the price dropped to something-slighly 
less-than-prohibitive, so i went for it...  and not a moment too soon, 
as Sam Ash (& others) were almost completely sold out...

SO -- i spent all weekend getting it set up, & it seems to be working 
pretty good so far...  it sure is fun, and living in an apartment in 
nyc, it has made it possible to play drums again (it had literally 
been months since i played at all)!

i do have some technical questions, as i have not yet had much time to 
check out the manual or the posts here yet (been too busy playing) -- 
so i will try to do more of that before asking too many dumb questions 
here.

but, since i'm here (and it's my first post), maybe i'll start off 
with just one...

my main issue at this point is with the output volume -- it seems to 
be rather low.  i was not able to try this set out before i ordered 
it, so i did not know what to expect, but when i got it all set up & 
plugged in my (actually pretty nice sennheiser) headphones, i was 
somewhat disappointed with the volume i was hearing.

even when i have the main volume cranked to the max, it is barely 
louder than the sound of my sticks hitting the pads (ok, so i tend to 
hit pretty hard, but still...)

right now, i am dealing with this by plugging into a separate mixer 
with a built-in amp, and that works fine, but i am wondering if there 
is anything else that can be done to increase the volume at the 
source?

i have figured out how to change the volume settings of individual 
pads (voices), but i am not sure about the effects of changing the 
"velocity" and other settings that seem likely to affect volume (and 
to be honest, i am a little afraid to experiment...)

i saw that there are the 'signal attenuation' switches (hi/low) on  
the back of the module, but the manual said that the high setting is 
only for triggers (not pads), so i was concerned that making this 
change would be a Bad Thing.

anyway, i think you get what i'm saying, as i'm sure many of you 
experienced the same thing -- so, i'll stop here and see if anyone has 
some advice.

thanks in advance -- i am looking forward to learning from all of your 
collective experience...

scott

On Mon, 21 Oct 2002 19:57:27 -0000, you wrote:


>my main issue at this point is with the output volume -- it seems to 
>be rather low.  i was not able to try this set out before i ordered 
>it, so i did not know what to expect, but when i got it all set up & 
>plugged in my (actually pretty nice sennheiser) headphones, i was 
>somewhat disappointed with the volume i was hearing.
>
>even when i have the main volume cranked to the max, it is barely 
>louder than the sound of my sticks hitting the pads (ok, so i tend to 
>hit pretty hard, but still...)

It could be your headphones.  Although I'll agree that the volume is
lacking, I find it to be more than adequate and certainly loud enough
to drown out the sound of my sticks hitting the pads.  Try a different
headset and see if it's any better.



Jim Tonak
ratzo@tampabay.rr.com

The headphone volume is low. You can go into Utilities and increase 
the volume for the whole set. That helps a little. 
BUT I have three sets of headphones. Two are virtually worthless. But 
one, a realitively inexpensive pair, works great. You have to find the 
right set. Look at the impedence. the lower the better.
Scott

--- In DTXpress@y..., "sjr41" <sjr41@c...> wrote:
> hi all --
> 
> just joined the group & wanted to say hello.
> 
> i picked up my brand new DTXpress this past weekend, & i am VERY 
> psyched!  i had been wanting one for years, but always thought they 
> were too expensive -- couldn't justify the cost when my acoustic kit 
> was in such sorry shape...  
> 
> but then -- several months after my band broke up & i put my 
acoustic 
> drums away in storage -- yamaha decided to discontinue the original 
& 
> bring out the version II, and the price dropped to something-slighly 
> less-than-prohibitive, so i went for it...  and not a moment too 
soon, 
> as Sam Ash (& others) were almost completely sold out...
> 
> SO -- i spent all weekend getting it set up, & it seems to be 
working 
> pretty good so far...  it sure is fun, and living in an apartment in 
> nyc, it has made it possible to play drums again (it had literally 
> been months since i played at all)!
> 
> i do have some technical questions, as i have not yet had much time 
to 
> check out the manual or the posts here yet (been too busy playing) 
-- 
> so i will try to do more of that before asking too many dumb 
questions 
> here.
> 
> but, since i'm here (and it's my first post), maybe i'll start off 
> with just one...
> 
> my main issue at this point is with the output volume -- it seems to 
> be rather low.  i was not able to try this set out before i ordered 
> it, so i did not know what to expect, but when i got it all set up & 
> plugged in my (actually pretty nice sennheiser) headphones, i was 
> somewhat disappointed with the volume i was hearing.
> 
> even when i have the main volume cranked to the max, it is barely 
> louder than the sound of my sticks hitting the pads (ok, so i tend 
to 
> hit pretty hard, but still...)
> 
> right now, i am dealing with this by plugging into a separate mixer 
> with a built-in amp, and that works fine, but i am wondering if 
there 
> is anything else that can be done to increase the volume at the 
> source?
> 
> i have figured out how to change the volume settings of individual 
> pads (voices), but i am not sure about the effects of changing the 
> "velocity" and other settings that seem likely to affect volume (and 
> to be honest, i am a little afraid to experiment...)
> 
> i saw that there are the 'signal attenuation' switches (hi/low) on  
> the back of the module, but the manual said that the high setting is 
> only for triggers (not pads), so i was concerned that making this 
> change would be a Bad Thing.
> 
> anyway, i think you get what i'm saying, as i'm sure many of you 
> experienced the same thing -- so, i'll stop here and see if anyone 
has 
> some advice.
> 
> thanks in advance -- i am looking forward to learning from all of 
your 

> collective experience...
> 
> scott