Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, Jun Tatsuoka <jtatsuoka@y...> wrote:
> As the picture of a rubber pad posted by ODG
> indicates, Yamaha pads have a input sensitivity pot
> inside the pad itself. The dtxpress does have 'gain='
> but it doesn't mean gain as in a micpre, being able to
> 'control' the input signal up or down to achieve
> optimum velocity.  I have made a few Roland mesh head
> clones, from info on the www.electronicdrums.com site,
> that triggered flawlessly on Alesis d4, dm-5,and
> Roland td-8. These modules all have input sensitivity.
>  But on the Dtxpress my medium hits were triggering
> 99%.  I  have now installed some resistors and
> achieved absolute perfect triggering!  When I set
> 'gain=99 mvel=0'  I enjoy near-real -drum dynamics
> with no machine gun effect at all. I did notice that
> my rim triggers and converted practice cymbals needed
> a little less resistance than the center triggers. 
> I would love to compare the dynamics with a td-8 or
> td-10 side by side.  I don't recall the td-8 dynamics
> being this responsive!  Of course I only had it for a
> day and my memory is quite foggy.

Jun,

Thanks for the explanation. Such are the limits of a module at the 
DTXPress' price point. But the note on technique still stands. E-
drums respond better to finesse than to power. There's no substitute 
for getting to know the foibles of your equipment in order to keep 
them as much under control as possible. The more expensive modules--
TD10, TD8, Xtreme, and ddrum--with more inherent dynamic range and 
some form of positional sensing have less of a tendency toward the 
machine gun effect. Everyone with DIY talents and inclinations should 
take note of the electronicdrums site; it is excellent.

Ed