Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, rdamon@m... wrote:
> Obviously if you can go to Yamaha with 200
> dtxpressII user with a particular issue, it could have a major 
impact on
> there desicion making process, as oppose if you only had say 35 
dtxpressII
> users. 

OGD,

Exactly. Your vision of Yamaha someday making reference to this 
group in its literature seems to be just the sort of thing to shoot 
for. We could function as cheap R&D for them if we were able to 
establish something that was stable, permanent, and populous--good 
for them and good for us. Many members, even core members, are 
certainly going to move to other equipment in time, but a 
relationship with Yamaha would almost guarantee that no one would 
stray too far if the right products were available and/or the 
company remained responsive. I, for one, don't own much of anything 
DTXpress-related, anymore (a bunch of contributors here are in the 
same boat--notably my pal Walt, currently on leave), but I am 
convinced that Yamaha is poised to advance the technology better 
than anyone else. Its knowledge of acoustic percussion (except for 
cymbals) is unmatched in the electronics field and its sampling 
capabilities are as good as anyone else's. I'm going to wait for 
Yamaha's next high-end module and encourage them to make it and 
release it as best I can.

I'm willing to bet that your informal reading of your current 
statistics is pretty accurate; the returns on more intensive 
calculations might not justify the effort (unless you're motivated). 
What we need to become a serious lobby is not necessarily people who 
post as regularly as, say, I do (near a computer for long stretches 
during the day, happy to talk drums and electronics whenever the 
opportunity arises), but a bunch of people who pop up regularly to 
see what's going on and have an abiding interest in e-drum matters. 
Computer afficionados like you and Vern, MIDI people, live players, 
etc., all have something important to offer. It's exciting to 
imagine what could be.

Ed