Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "moosetication" 
<moosetication@y...> wrote:
> 
> I notice these are coming up for not unreasonable prices at the 
> moment. Does the panel have any views on these rather old modules?
> 
> Stewart

Stewart,

I don't remember how they sounded to make an adequate comparison 
with anything, but it seems to me that you could do a lot worse than 
the TD7 for a second module. First of all, the basic technology 
hasn't changed that much. I think that the TD8 is regarded as a 
genuine improvement, but the TD7 still has stereo inputs and dual 
zones. It has only half as many actual sounds as the TD8--or 
DTXpress, for that matter--but how many of the 1,000 voices do we 
actually use, or like? Like the Yamaha, it is a 16 bit engine, and 
its ergonomics are certainly in the same league, if not a little 
better. 

That said, one question for me is, With the next wave of technology 
about to spring, with probably a bit of trickle-down to follow 
shortly (if not immediately) thereafter, how much do we want to 
invest of our fresh-squeezed cash on old equipment? I know that it's 
only $200 or so, but I've bought something inexpensive impulsively 
in the past because I HAD TO HAVE IT NOW, only to find out that if 
I'd waited, I would have had something better (case in point, my 
early-generation plasma monitor). 

Okay, I'm meandering. Also keep in mind that I once suggested to 
Stephen that the Alesis DM5 wouldn't make a bad second module 
either, and he absolutely loathed it, scurrying back to the DTXpress 
as fast as he could. But out on a limb, I like the TD7 for that 
purpose, though I don't know how long I'd want to be stuck with it 
if it left me that much longer out of the market for something new.

Ed