Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

Hi, William. Welcome to the exciting and fun world of
drumming. Hopefully, you'll "stick" with it, ha ha!
I've played drums off and on for a number of years
starting in 1979. Not in too many bands, though, as I
have practically no confidence, unfortunately.

 I played many acoustic drumsets and loved them. I
still do. There's nothing like a tight, crisp snare
drum and a turn around the tom-toms, if everything is
tuned the way you like. Ahhh! I will always love
acoustic drums. And a nice, crisp set of
hi-hats...heaven!

However! I have also always lived in apartments or
houses where the neighbors were none too thrilled with
me practicing my drums. I started exploring electronic
drums back in the mid 1990's but the sets I saw just
weren't as good as I hoped. Roland had some nice sets
but used drum pads for cymbals and I hated those! They
just didn't "feel" like cymbals to me. So, I ended up
buying yet another acoustic drumset I couldn't play
without adding a ton of muffling devices. Ugh. 

Anyway, since that time, I've gotten into playing a
variety of percussion instruments and learning
electric guitar and learning composing, etc, etc. I
find that the Yamaha DTXpress kits and the Roland sets
have a lot of features that more than justify the
initial cost.

Also, even if you do buy an acoustic set, you will
still have to fork over some money to buy GOOD cymbals
(Zildjian makes a nice line called ZHT's, they are a
lot better than their truly budget line: ZBT) or check
with pawn shops and your local craigslist. You will
probably have to buy a throne (drum stool), and if you
buy a beginner's kit, you'll want to replace the
drumheads. This can add significantly to the initial
cost of those drums.

In my rather long-winded opinion, you could save a
bundle by purchasing a Yamaha DTxplorer kit or even a
Roland TD-3. The only thing you'd need to buy is a
good drum throne and, in the case of the Roland set, a
bass drum pedal. I think a bass drum pedal is included
with the entry-level Yamaha kit. You can do lots of
cool stuff with an electronic kit that you can't with
an acoustic. I will never buy another acoustic
drumset. If I get in a band and we become good enough
to play out, I will rent an acoustic set, perhaps but
I'm sold on electronic kits. Right now, I'm saving my
money for a very worthwhile investment: A
top-of-the-line electronic set.

Hope all this helps. Email me if you want to. I always
enjoy running my big mouth! :)

-Maura N.
--- "William H." <william_mgmt@...> wrote:

> Hello everyone & thanks for letting me join. I'm
> William from San 
> Antonio, TX. I have a strong interest in learning
> how to play the 
> drums. My biggest influence is Ginger Baker (mostly
> from his work 
> in "The Ginger Baker Trio"). I also like Be-Bop
> Jazz, too as well as 
> Alternative (Radiohead, The Cure).
> 
> I like electronic drums and would like to know if
> this is the way to 
> go for my "first kit" to learn drumming, or to just
> buy "a regular" 
> kit. I've been pricing 5 pc. kits at Musician's
> Friend and have been 
> considering that route.
> 
> Any feedback will be greatly appreciated. I also
> bought & watched a 
> DVD on drumming for beginners, so I'll know what to
> expect. Thanks!
> 
> --- William
> 
> 



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