Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, psmperry@a... wrote:
> I just starting to get into layering. Any tips or 
> suggestions? Any combinations that have worked well, especially for 
the cymbals?

Perry,

You didn't ask about crossfading, but I saved an email that I once 
wrote to someone about it that might come in handy, as one person's 
view. I've read some incredibly imaginative posts about layering; 
I'll leave that aspect in more capable hands. But just in case you 
start considering crossfading, here's 2 cents:

Crossfading can be really frustrating.  One way to manage it on a 
snare is to crossfade between a snare sound and a complementary rim 
sound.  That way, you don't have to mess too much with tuning, decay, 
et al, since the rim sound itself constitutes enough of a difference. 
Unfortunately, the transition on the DTXPU is a little abrupt 
regardless of which setting you use; you may end up getting more 
rimshot than you want.  For me, a higher-number setting works best.  
But I find that unless the sounds are similar to begin with, the 
transition can sound awkward, inclining you back to a single voice.  
Some people use crossfade to approximate a dual zone pad, elevating 
the gain on V1 and lowering it on V2 so that both voices sound at  
approximately the same level, despite V2's higher velocity.
 
What I prefer is to crossfade using the same sound in order to mimic 
the dynamics of an acoustic drum.  In this technique, V1 is the same 
as V2 but with less decay, a reduced frequency cutoff, and perhaps a 
half-step-lower tuning.  When V2 kicks in at the higher velocity, it 
has some of the tonal qualities of an acoustic snare or tom when it 
is struck harder. 
 
To me, cymbals don't cut it crossfaded. But the ride voices in the 
Yamulka module certainly can use some help; layering can give them 
some punch (I prefer layering rides with sounds from the same family, 
just to create more body, but since I switched to Visu-lites, I've 
stuck to single layers). I like the crashes the way they are (at 
least three or four of them), without further tinkering, but that's 
one person's opinion. Again, some people crossfade cymbals to get a 
dual-zone effect.  Because, by a happy coincidence, the Yam cymbals 
get louder naturally near the "bell" area, a V2 programmed as a bell 
sound will kick in when the stick approaches the wing nut, without 
any change in velocity, as if a real bell were there.  
 
If you try these or any other experiments, let me know how they work 
for you.  As daunting as trying to integrate two voices can be, some 
modules and MIDI devices give you four or more slots to fill, with 
the further option of alternating the sounds.  The mathematics are 
staggering.

Ed