Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

Greetings one and all,

I am hopefully about to embark upon the fun and frustration of 
owning a DTXpressII. I have a couple of questions on the thorny old 
topics of dual and triple-zone pads... but hopefully questions that 
are not too dumb. I have searched the archives, but this group 
almost uniquely suffers from a problem of too much signal to 
noise... there's a lot of good stuff out there.

Triple zone... am I right in thinking that this is either one piezo 
and two switches, OR a very clever way of processing one piezo and 
one switch to get two different effects when used in combination?

Either way, while I can see that being useful for the snare (for rim 
shot and cross-stick) I struggle to see how that setup is especially 
useful for the other pads it's available on (6 and 7, ride and 
crash). Stereo I can grasp (bow and rim sounds and/or choke) but 
what use is another switch? It can't be used for a bell sound, can 
it? Can someone give me a scenario where the triple-zone 6 and 7 
input can be used to good effect?

Lastly, can someone confirm that since the hi-hat trigger is stereo, 
I could replace the TP65 with a dual-trigger cymbal pad and get a 
more useful bow/rim setup for the hi-hat?

Hoping to join you more in fact than spirit soon...

Stewart

Morning Stewart,

I believe that the new snare is two switches and a piezo. Yamaha 
seemed poised to offer a new three-zone cymbal (the new manual lets 
it slip apparently); the demise of the DTXtreme may have changed the 
plan. Maybe it will arrive with a new high-end kit at summer NAMM. 
Roland already has cymbals that offer three-sound capability, but I 
think that they involve a second piezo, though I wouldn't swear to 
it. The third sound on the Yamaha could be a bell or anything else 
that strikes your fancy. You can use anything you like as your hi 
hat cymbal(s), including a stereo pad. If you like the idea of a hi 
hat on a regular acoustic stand, check out Visu-lite's new Yamaha 
compatible hi hat. It comes with either a mono or a true dual-zone 
(not stereo but two separate piezos)top cymbal. Two of us in the 
group have it for review; we should be posting soon.

Ed

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "moosetication" 
<moosetication@y...> wrote:
> Greetings one and all,
> 
> I am hopefully about to embark upon the fun and frustration of 
> owning a DTXpressII. I have a couple of questions on the thorny 
old 
> topics of dual and triple-zone pads... but hopefully questions 
that 
> are not too dumb. I have searched the archives, but this group 
> almost uniquely suffers from a problem of too much signal to 
> noise... there's a lot of good stuff out there.
> 
> Triple zone... am I right in thinking that this is either one 
piezo 
> and two switches, OR a very clever way of processing one piezo and 
> one switch to get two different effects when used in combination?
> 
> Either way, while I can see that being useful for the snare (for 
rim 
> shot and cross-stick) I struggle to see how that setup is 
especially 
> useful for the other pads it's available on (6 and 7, ride and 
> crash). Stereo I can grasp (bow and rim sounds and/or choke) but 
> what use is another switch? It can't be used for a bell sound, can 
> it? Can someone give me a scenario where the triple-zone 6 and 7 
> input can be used to good effect?
> 
> Lastly, can someone confirm that since the hi-hat trigger is 
stereo, 

> I could replace the TP65 with a dual-trigger cymbal pad and get a 
> more useful bow/rim setup for the hi-hat?
> 
> Hoping to join you more in fact than spirit soon...
> 
> Stewart

Afternoon Ed,

Thanks for the usually rapid reply.

> I believe that the new snare is two switches and a piezo...
> The third sound on the Yamaha could be a bell or anything
> else that strikes your fancy.

Bell would certainly strike my fancy... my biggest gripe with e-
drums is lousy cymbal provision. But if the third trigger is a 
switch, presumably it will not be velocity-sensing but just on or 
off? And this would preclude the use of the PCY-10?

> If you like the idea of a hi hat on a regular acoustic
> stand, check out Visu-lite's new Yamaha compatible hi hat.

Highly tempting... but a key constraint is space. I have already 
stuggled this bill through the "over my cold, dead body" stage of 
the domestic finance subcommitte. It needs to keep to the 
collapsibility of the Yamaha stand. The whole thing needs to fit 
into a small music room which already houses my kids assortment of 
instruments (piano, two guitars, flute, clarinet, french horn) as 
well as the second TV and DVD, all in a space which would preclude 
cat-swinging.

This is my current cunning plan:

1. Swap out the hi-hat TP65 for a better dual-zone cymbal pad, 
either a Zenbal or Roland CY-12H.

2. Use the TP65 liberated above as a fourth tom on input 9/10.

3. Move the single zone PCY-65 from 7 (crash) to the other half of 
9/10.

4. Get another stereo cymbal (either Zenbal or Roland CY-6) as a 
crash (7).

5 (Eventually) swap out the pie slice PCY-65s for Zenbals or Roland 
CY-6s.

I can't believe I'm planning the upgrade of kit I don't yet have, 
but that does seem to be the standard MO in e-drum land!

Stewart

The three sound Rolands are two piezos (bow and bell) and a rim FSR, 
I think. If the three-sound Yammies were meant for inputs 2-7, then 
you couldn't split an input to accommmodate a PCY-10. I recommend 
the Zenbal stereo over the CY-6. Not only does it have a 2" 
advantage; it also responds better through the Yamaha electronics. 
If you're looking toward the CY-12H, make sure that you like how it 
triggers with the Yamaha. It'll work, but sometimes the Rolands seem 
attenuated. The upgrade bug is always going around in edrum world, 
at every level, it seems. Many people also try swinging a smaller 
animal than a cat.

Ed

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "moosetication" 
<moosetication@y...> wrote:
> 
> Afternoon Ed,
> 
> Thanks for the usually rapid reply.
> 
> > I believe that the new snare is two switches and a piezo...
> > The third sound on the Yamaha could be a bell or anything
> > else that strikes your fancy. 
> 
> Bell would certainly strike my fancy... my biggest gripe with e-
> drums is lousy cymbal provision. But if the third trigger is a 
> switch, presumably it will not be velocity-sensing but just on or 
> off? And this would preclude the use of the PCY-10?
> 
> > If you like the idea of a hi hat on a regular acoustic
> > stand, check out Visu-lite's new Yamaha compatible hi hat.
> 
> Highly tempting... but a key constraint is space. I have already 
> stuggled this bill through the "over my cold, dead body" stage of 
> the domestic finance subcommitte. It needs to keep to the 
> collapsibility of the Yamaha stand. The whole thing needs to fit 
> into a small music room which already houses my kids assortment of 
> instruments (piano, two guitars, flute, clarinet, french horn) as 
> well as the second TV and DVD, all in a space which would preclude 
> cat-swinging.
> 
> This is my current cunning plan:
> 
> 1. Swap out the hi-hat TP65 for a better dual-zone cymbal pad, 
> either a Zenbal or Roland CY-12H.
> 
> 2. Use the TP65 liberated above as a fourth tom on input 9/10.
> 
> 3. Move the single zone PCY-65 from 7 (crash) to the other half of 
> 9/10.
> 
> 4. Get another stereo cymbal (either Zenbal or Roland CY-6) as a 
> crash (7).
> 
> 5 (Eventually) swap out the pie slice PCY-65s for Zenbals or 
Roland 

> CY-6s.
> 
> I can't believe I'm planning the upgrade of kit I don't yet have, 
> but that does seem to be the standard MO in e-drum land!
> 
> Stewart

Stewart:
I can't give you any insight on triple zone pads. However, you can 
replace the HH pad with a dual zone pad. Just make certain you change 
the pad type in the menu to one that supports stereo (DT snare, 
PCYRide, etc).
Stephen