Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

Thats exactly what I thought. (to do)
I just wanted to make sure. Im new to this electronic drumming. 

I see the DIP switches, 
Q: Do these switches actually help "Boost" my sound? 
Can I flip up the #6 switch *and achive a stronger Ride sound now
with the stock Yamaha PCY65 Ride (Im currently useing) ??? 
Would it help? The sound now (stock/factory settings) is kind of 
week. 

Crash comes through the mix.....good & loud.
The Ride (i feel) is overall week. 

and just my opinion: The hi-hats???? Well they are totaly WEEK!
* The pedal, does NOT feel/sound/ or work 1/2 as well as accoustic.  

Then again, I use 15" Zildjians on my accoustic kit to get 
FULL/MAXIMUM projection.

--- Jerry Davis wrote:
> Q: Do these switches actually help "Boost" my sound? 

Yes. But then again, no.

On the subject of the effect of the switches, a problem is that 
whoever labelled the switches and wrote the manual didn't really 
understand the word "attenuate" and "high/low" in that regard. 
Basically, flicking the DIP switch up (to "high") reduces the 
attenuation and so increases the strength of the signal and 
therefore volume.

However, before you do that, read on...

> Can I flip up the #6 switch *and achive a stronger
> Ride sound now with the stock Yamaha PCY65 Ride

I think you need to be careful here, as you're rushing into things. 

The DIP switch for a pad is a very crude control of volume. It's a 
bit like swatting flies with a Buick. The switch is really meant to 
help you to match other pads (such as the Visulite ride) that have 
weaker signals than the Yamaha pads, to be tracked by the module. 

Before you go there, you need to spend a little time with the 
manual, looking at settings that affect your sound. You should try 
different ride voices, and remember that you can have two layered 
voices on each pad which can either be stacked (both sound at the 
same time) or velocity cross-faded (the voice changes the harder you 
strike the pad). Some people use velocity cross-fade to achieve a 
bow and bell sound - a lower velocity strike triggers a bow sound, 
and a harder strike a bell sound.

You need to understand the various things that affect volume and 
responsiveness, such as minimum velocity, gain, pad response curve, 
voice volume, overall kit volume, and finally the volume control on 
the front. You should be adjusting these WAY before you head for the 
DIP switches on the back with standard Yamaha pads. There's no 
substitute for coming to grips with the manual and how this thing 
works, I'm afraid.

> and just my opinion: The hi-hats????
> Well they are totaly WEEK!

Hats are a weak point of most electronic kits, both at the pedal 
(which doesn't give the same control of "opening" as an acoustic 
pedal) and with their voices, which tend to need adjustment to be 
even close to satisfactory. Again, layering and adjusting decay 
(sustain) can make a big difference.

There is one e-drum hi-hat pedal which comes close - the Visulite, 
beloved of Ed - and we have high hopes for the new Yamaha hi-hat on 
the DTXpressIII.

Remember one thing above all: an e-drum kit is not a perfect 
facsimile of an acoustic kit. It's an electronic instrument which 
you play in much the same way as a drum set. That's an important 
distinction. If you approach this any other way, you're in for 
disappointment.

Stewart

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "moosetication" <moosetication@y...> 
wrote:
> --- Jerry Davis wrote:
> > Can I flip up the #6 switch *and achive a stronger
> > Ride sound now with the stock Yamaha PCY65 Ride
> 
> I think you need to be careful here, as you're rushing into things. 

JD,

Sorry I left you hanging, but I was out of town nowhere near a 
computer. I want to add one thing to Stewart's helpful post. The Visu-
lite ride doesn't have a particularly weak signal (in fact, it's 
pretty strong). To my mind, however, Stewart is right on the money 
about the DIP switches. Before you mess with them, you have to get to 
know firsthand what the module's internal settings can do and what 
they can't do. Climbing the e-drum learning curve is absolutely 
essential to feeing in control and getting the most out of the 
equipment. The sensitivity parameters are not volume controls. The 
DIP switches are mainly to boost the signal of triggered acoustic 
drums to the point at which gain can be set to allow decent dynamic 
range. But they can also help with mesh head pads, as well as any e-
drum components that could benefit from a little goosing. They will 
not, however, compensate for any pad that is completely mismatched 
with Yamaha electronics for anatomical reasons, such as the Hart ECII 
ride. 

What I should have said about saving the bow of the ride for input 6 
is that such a strategy will always allow you the option to flip the 
switch up if you prefer (I had all of mine up because my pads were 
non-Yamaha cymbals and woven pads). But that is a secondary matter. 
First square away the settings in the voice and trigger menus of all 
pads, and see what you've got. When you've done this grunt work (and 
checked in here), then you can start looking for extraneous ways to 
improve response if need be, or for components that are more to your 
liking. Case in point: Lots of experienced people on this board who 
use the Pintech mesh snare find that the Xpress module tends to 
compress its dynamic range. One method suggested for resolving the 
problem is to insert a 200k pot in the cable between the head output 
and the module input, attenuating the signal until only the hardest 
hits register the most gain. Unless you know the characteristics of 
the module and the pad in question, the solution is just a matter of 
faith.

I can't stress enough the importance of learning firsthand the 
strengths and limitations of the equipment that you own. The desire 
to take shortcuts--even with "good" advice--can leave you vulnerable, 
frustrated, and disillusioned. The more you understand, the more 
confident we can be about our answers and the less you'll feel like 
you're at someone else's mercy. You've barely had your DTXpress, and 
here I am recommending the Visu-lite ride before you have any idea of 
whether, or how, it could fit into your situation. I stand by my 
recommendation, but in some respects, I'm getting ahead of you.

Ed

Ed