Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

Hi my name is Dennis and I've played drums for more years than I care 
to remember...  I've always played acoustic drums and hadn't
really 
thought much about electrics...  I'm not an acoustic drum snob, 
electrics just weren't something that interested me until a
recent 
shopping trip to Sam Ash for drum heads.  While I was drooling over a 
Tama Starclassic set my daughter wandered into the booth where they 
keep the electrics and sat down and started to play them…  Well
after 
a period of lustfull gazing at a few of the nicer acoustic kits I 
picked out the heads I needed and beckoned to my daughter...  She 
said Dad before you leave you've got to try these...  Well to
make a 
long story short (too late, I know) I sat down and was immediately 
impressed...  I loved the sound and the feel…  I had no idea how
far 
electric drums had come since the days of the old Simmons drums (late 
70's early 80's to my recollection). That was my last
experience with 
electrics and I didn't like them…  Now I've decided to
take the 
plunge…  I'm going to buy myself a set of electric drums…
 Due to 
financial concerns I have been looking at the used Roland V-Clubs and 
the Yamaha DTXpress series sets on ebay…  I'm leaning towards 
Yamaha…  They seem to have more features ie: groove check
etc… There 
also seems to be a pretty significant price spread between the 
original DTXpress kits and the DTXpress II or III kits…  I'm
looking 
for some advise from a few seasoned veterans of the DTXpress
series…  
The drums I will be purchasing will be used for home entertainment 
about 99% of the time…  There is no worry about road worthiness
etc…  
What are the big differences between the original and the series II & 
III sets…  Is it something that a first time electric drum set
owner 
will find a big deal…  I'm thinking that my home use for 
entertainment purposes only would be satisfied by a good solid used 
set of the DTXpress originals…  I also have this nagging feeling
that 
I could be wrong…  Any advice, insight, input etc… would be
greatly 
appreciated…

Dennis

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "Dennis" <clskrockdrummr@y...> wrote:
> etc… There 
> also seems to be a pretty significant price spread between the 
> original DTXpress kits and the DTXpress II or III kits…  I'm
> looking 
> for some advise from a few seasoned veterans of the DTXpress
> series…  
> The drums I will be purchasing will be used for home entertainment 
> about 99% of the time…  There is no worry about road worthiness
> etc…  
> What are the big differences between the original and the series II 
& 
> III sets…  Is it something that a first time electric drum set
> owner 
> will find a big deal…  I'm thinking that my home use for 
> entertainment purposes only would be satisfied by a good solid used 
> set of the DTXpress originals…  I also have this nagging feeling
> that 
> I could be wrong…  Any advice, insight, input etc… would be
> greatly 
> appreciated…

Hey Dennis,

Welcome to the group. My take is that the difference between the 
DTXP1 and 2 was, all things being equal, not great enough to justify 
the cost of an upgrade. Those who bought the 2 got a snare with three-
sound capability (head, rim, and crosstick) capability, a few minor 
changes to the module, and a more user-friendly rack. Little were 
they to know that their module would also accommodate the three-
sound, round PCY150 cymbal that Yamaha issued with version 3. That 
hidden bonus aside, owners of the 1 did not have to rush out to buy 
the two. For the same reasons, I wasn't convinced that those who had 
the 2 should upgrade to the 3STD when it arrived. Aside from the 
smattering of Motif sounds and, again, a rack improvement, not enough 
was to be gained to lose any money on the exchange. The DTXP3SP, 
however, was a different story. The inclusion of the round cymbals, 
the round hi hat on a stand, and the even-better rack, along with the 
aforementioned module with the Motif sounds, as well as a kick pedal 
and stool, seemed a genuinely worthy advance over the 1, if not the 2 
(since owners of the two could simply add the new cymbals piecemeal 
to what they already had, even if they didn't have the Motif sounds 
or the curved rack). 

Now, someone in the market for an ekit who didn't have much of a 
background in electronic drums and didn't get out much, could easily 
find a 1 and have a gas with it. However, if you plan on hanging 
around at this forum, and visiting your local drum shop every so 
often, you'll realize that some people's kits offer things that yours 
doesn't, and you might start regretting having bought down. I don't 
know how much it would take to satisfy you under these extended 
conditions, but I would think that the DTXP3STD would be the minimum. 
I can almost guarantee that if you stick with electronics, even for 
just home use, you will eventually catch the upgrade bug, no matter 
what you buy now, but you just might be able to delay its early onset 
if you don't skimp too much with your first purchase. I've bought 
cars with the idea that I won't get what I don't need, but need 
changes rapidly after purchase, which is when your consciousness 
truly starts getting raised, even if you do the preliminary research. 

Don't get me wrong, if your budget would be better served with a 
DTXP1, don't hesitate to buy it; you won't be disappointed. But if 
your budget can stand a little stretching, and you're the type of 
person (let alone the type of drummer) who won't live in a vaccuum 
once you make your purchase and will want to get in the game, you 
might go up a little higher. 

Ed