Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

Hi Ed, 

Thanks for your reply, it's very helpful. The poor technique certainly will play a role as I'm 
a beginner. Related to being a beginner, what plays a role also is that I try to play right, 
and simultaneously concentrate on what I read, or hear. Trying to focus puts a lot of strain 
on my shoulder, arms. 
 
I have the Zildjian anti vibes already for some time (thanks to this forum), but apparently, 
it's not enough. Today I received Ahead sticks - also thanks to this forum although 
recently people seem to have bad experiences. Anyway, as a first impression they seem to 
feel OK in my hands, at least a lot better than the Carbosticks that I also ordered some 
time ago. It was another suggestion on this forum but to me they feel terrible.  I also 
turned up the volume as high as I could, including turning up the equalizer levels in Utility 
Mode as high as possible (which has a big effect on the volume levels!). All this to 
minimize the effect of physically trying to compensate for lack of sound. Still it's not 
enough. (Btw this typing doesn't do any good either). 

The HART ACU-1ST at drumbalaya also seems to be an interesting option for a snare. Too 
bad they don't ship the Yamaha RHP80's to Europe, that one I would really like to try. The 
ones I found on European websites are rediculously expensive. If I recall correctly from 
earlier posts, dual zones don't work with the DTXP module (or will the " magic box" even 
solve that problem)? 

I use the set for practice only so I would guess that getting an acoustic hihat is not such a 
crazy idea. I think I'll try. 

Thanks again,

Erik Paul






--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "emf" <liberatusvirus@y...> wrote:
> 
> --- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "epvk_jahoe" <yahoo@e...> wrote:
> > The message that woke me up is the "magic box"  being sort of ready 
> for shipping. This 
> > allows extra inputs such as... a mesh head pad (or other better 
> pad) for snare that 
> > hopefully will decrease chances of having another RSI attack (I 
> guess). 
> 
> Not being medical people and not being apprised of your whole 
> situation, we can still hazard a guess that the rubber pads might 
> have contributed to your strain. But poor technique might also have 
> been a factor. You might try using Zildjian's anti-vibe sticks, less 
> force, and a looser grip.
>  
> > The options are: 1) The DTXTREMEII snare (much better rubber, feel, 
> >etc I read in the posts)
> 
> This is a great rubber snare, with a much more forgiving feel than 
> the traditional ones, but even drummers playing this kind of rubber 
> or other kinds suffer from repetitive injuries, arthritis, etc.
> 
> > 2) A Pintech snare
> 
> The Pintech snare comes in a 10" ConcertCast version, which will just 
> make it into a separate stand, and the AX14S, which resembles an 
> acoustic chrome snare, and at 14", is a perfect candidate for a 
> stand. The Hart snares are 13".
> 
> > 3) An acoustic snare with mesh head & trigger (e.g. Yamaha DT20 or 
> so). 
> > 
> > I tend to choose #3 because I can always use it as an acoustic 
> snare, and I want the extra 
> > snare on a seperate stand (is this possible for the Pintechs?) to 
> avoid cross talk. But I'm a 
> > bit afraid I will run into trigger problems for that option, such 
> as the trigger being too 
> > sensitive or insensitive. Perhaps with the integrated trigger in 
> the Pintech pads, this is 
> > much easier to set up...
> 
> You can certainly try to trigger an acoustic snare with one of 
> Yamaha's triggers, or ddrum's, but the DTXpress isn't the best module 
> for this sort of thing. You also run into the difficulty of losing 
> the quietness that rubber and mesh provide, unless you're willing to 
> swap an acoustic and mesh head depending on circumstances--a genuine 
> pain in the neck (the swap may require other changes to the interior 
> of the drum). You might as well get a big mesh head snare and stick 
> with it.
>  
> > Another point is the hihat. My guess is that not any (reasonably 
> priced) electronic hihat is 
> > as subtle as a real one. So I'm thinking about buying an acoustic 
> hihat. Again, if you have 
> > any thoughts on this, I would be interested. 
> 
> No electronic hi hat is as sensitive and subtle as an acoustic one. 
> The Roland TD-20 version is pretty good, as is the ddrum, but neither 
> is compatible with a DTXpress out of the box, and maybe not really at 
> all, despite existing adaptors. An acoustic hi hat with an electronic 
> kit is a major mismatch IMO. Balancing its level with the rest of the 
> kit will require it to be miked by itself, at least in performance.  
> You might be able to get away with it in your practice space if you 
> play through an amp, but you won't be able to use it easily with the 
> kit via headphones. 
> 
> Ed