Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

If you need feedback on a possible kick or snare purchase, let us 
know. Ebay is sometimes helpful, and you can always post a "wanted 
to buy" ad at the Drums4Sale Yahoo group site and check the Harmony 
Central or Drummers Web classifieds. A wonderful internet store that 
specializes in new and used e-drum equipment is Drumbalaya 
(http://www.drumbalaya.com/default.htm). Ed and Charlotte, the 
owners, give great advice. Ed seems to have drummed on everything.

Ed (no relation)

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "Creighton Higgins" 
<creighton@l...> wrote:
> Thanks Live
> The DTXpress module manual which I do own does suggest reducing 
sensitivity.
> I did that. The fact that the condition arose so spontaneously has 
been the
> source of my puzzlement. When I was in the PC business- the first 
question I
> always asked when confronting a misbehaving computer was, "What's 
changed?."
> Since I can't think of an answer (shut off module at night- turn 
it on next
> morning and the problem exists) my thinking turned to hardware.
> The kit I bought was a floor sample, so goodness knows the 
treatment it has
> received. Hell- it has a short length of rack pipe (about 3" long)
> protruding from one of the horizontal feet. I stare at this thing 
while I'm
> playing and try to imagine what purpose it might serve.
> I have never been happy with the response of the KP60. I expect I 
will be
> shopping for a used kick unit of some sort. Was really hoping to 
start with
> the snare as you all mentioned.
> 
> I stated I was hoping to be mature. I try this from time-to-time, 
but so far
> have not enjoyed the results.
> 
> 
>   -----Original Message-----
>   From: liberatusvirus <liberatusvirus@y...>
> [mailto:liberatusvirus@y...]
>   Sent: Monday, January 13, 2003 4:09 PM
>   To: DTXpress@yahoogroups.com
>   Subject: [DTXpress] Re: Kick pad and double triggers
> 
> 
>   First of all, drummers aren't mature, no matter how long they 
stay
>   away from a kit (I'll bet your legs have black and blue marks, 
and
>   various family members have complained about noise that you're 
not
>   even aware that you make) or how old they are. Assuming that 
you've
>   taken all the obvious steps in the trigger menu, another kick pad
>   may be the answer (first, though, is the KP60's sensitivity knob
>   turned too high? Come to think of it, if you don't have the 
little
>   manual that comes with the KP60, you may not even know that it 
has a
>   sensitivity knob next to the polarity switch).
> 
>   I've heard of a few people going to the Ergokik, but the most
>   popular Pintech kick by far in this group has been the Vertikik.
>   I've never heard a bad word said about it, and many a good one. 
But
>   it's not dirt cheap like its sibling. A search on each one in the
>   archives should get you some information, and you can ask the 
group
>   a specific question about them. Other have stepped up to the 
KP80,
>   and you read Walt's endorsement of the KP120. But neither is 
cheap--
>   on the contrary.
> 
>   For the record, the two upgrades that people seem to make first 
and
>   most are the snare and the kick. If your aim is pretty good, you
>   should be all right with the snare for the foreseeable future. 
Keep
>   us informed.
> 
>   Ed
> 
>   --- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "Creighton Higgins"
>   <creighton@l...> wrote:
>   > I was hoping to be mature and not blame the tool, (i.e. kp60) 
but
>   I was
>   > wondering if it wasn't the pad.
>   > I also have had trouble with the little second hit and have
>   adjusted pretty
>   > well, but I really don't believe I should hear a beat when the
>   beater is
>   > traveling away from the head.
>   > This is my 1st experience with electronic percussion- just
>   returning to
>   > playing after almost 30 years away (lonnnnnng story) and I just
>   want to be
>   > playing- not constantly spending $ on constant upgrades. But...
>   > Any advice on "best bang for buck" . Has anyone tried the 
Pintech
>   Ergokik
>   > Compact Kick with Inverted Beater? It's way cheap ($35.00) and
>   seems
>   > sensible, but also is another hard rubber pad.
>   >
>   > Thanks all for thoughtful responses. More info is invited.
>   >
>   >   -----Original Message-----
>   >   From: liberatusvirus <liberatusvirus@y...>
>   > [mailto:liberatusvirus@y...]
>   >   Sent: Monday, January 13, 2003 12:26 PM
>   >   To: DTXpress@yahoogroups.com
>   >   Subject: [DTXpress] Re: Kick pad and double triggers
>   >
>   >
>   >   Hi Creighton,
>   >
>   >   When I got my version of the DTXpress back in the 14th 
century, I
>   >   had a terrible time with the kick pad. I won't bore you with 
the
>   >   details, but one of the problems was double-triggering. I 
got so
>   >   flustered with the inconisistencies that I stopped tinkering 
and
>   >   bought one from another company. You'll notice that the 
archives
>   of
>   >   2001/2 are littered with complaints about the KP60. The fact 
that
>   >   the latest version, which seems to have been redesigned--at 
least
>   >   cosmetically--hasn't attracted much grumbling seems to 
suggest
>   that
>   >   it works better. I don't think that the piezo is overly
>   sensitive to
>   >   temperature; mine double-triggered in a nice cozy room that
>   didn't
>   >   vary much. But I wouldn't be surprised if the rubber pad got
>   stiffer
>   >   in the cold. And the hardness of the rubber may well have
>   something
>   >   to do with the double-triggering--notwithstanding the issues 
of
>   self-
>   >   rejection, gain, and minimum velocity. I began to notice 
that my
>   >   beater almost imperceptively struck the hard pad twice. I 
could
>   >   eventually control it a little by concentrating on my 
technique,
>   but
>   >   not enough to eliminate the problem. If this is what's 
happening
>   to
>   >   you, you might glue part of an old mouse pad to it, and/or
>   increase
>   >   the min. vel. setting, decrease the gain, and find a 
comfortable
>   >   self-rejection point. Unfortunately, however, these measures 
may
>   >   also further deaden the dynamic range, which, I agree, is not
>   good
>   >   in the first place. It's hard to get a light hit no matter 
how
>   you
>   >   set the parameters.
>   >
>   >   Maybe Walt or someone else can bear me out on this point, 
but the
>   >   polarity switch mainly permits the trigger to be used with
>   equipment
>   >   that reverses polarity. Yamaha's modules make polarity
>   adjustments
>   >   on the fly, rendering the issue irrelevant with its own 
triggers;
>   >   switching it shouldn't make any difference in your case.
>   >
>   >   Let us know how you make out. If you go the DIY route, or 
find an
>   >   alternate explanation for the difficulty, your experience 
wiil
>   >   certainly be valuable.
>   >
>   >   Ed
>   >
>   >
>   >   --- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "creighton_higgins
>   >   <creighton@l...>" <creighton@l...> wrote:
>   >   > anyone here have any issues with stability of settings? 
Having
>   >   gotten
>   >   > my kick pad working ok- suddenly last night it starts 
double
>   >   > triggering- severely. Went to trigger settings and changed
>   self-
>   >   > reject settings and saw some improvement, but if you pick 
too
>   high
>   >   a
>   >   > setting you cannot trigger fast enough. I'm wondering if 
piezos
>   >   are
>   >   > sensitive to temperature changes or if there is some 
inherent
>   >   > instability. All along I have had no success setting the 
kick
>   pad
>   >   so
>   >   > I have a semblance of dynamic range- it has acted more 
like a
>   >   > switch:just 1 loudness no matter how hard or soft I whack 
the
>   >   thing.
>   >   >
>   >   > Since I have no manual for the kick tower- who can tell me 
the
>   >   > purpose of the polarity switch?
>   >   >
>   >   > Thanks.
>   >
>   >
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>   >
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>   >
>   >
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