Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

Hi folks,

well, I am sitting with a problem amd I am heavily chewing on it.

I have been a user and actually a supporter of Yamaha equipment since
long. I started with a DTXP I, upgraded to DTXtreme I and then to the
DTXPress III. Besides a welath of positives there also always were
some points that dissatisfied me with those models. To summarise:
- The snare trigger problem (hit with both sticks exactly at the same
time, especially on the TP65S snare pad, gives actually a lower
trigger signal or even a dropout - hard to play any Rockabilly, Rock
and Roll stuff with that effect. See also my earlier post related to
that problem)
- The standard rubber pads are too small and do not look that well
(which is mitigated to some extent by the DTXtreme II pads which feel
great to be honest)
- The machine gun effect when playing rolls and similar patterns

So today I went to a newly opened drum store in Germany close to
Hannover which actually only trades e-drums. These guys ("Drum-Tec")
offer 12 sets for rehearsal, all major module and pad brands (Yamaha,
Roland, Ddrum, Pintech, RET, Hart Dynamics, Evans, DDT). I had the
chance to really test all the kits just one after the other and to
share my views with one of the guys from Drum-Tech who showed
competence, experience and a professional attitude.

The final result was that I had to say that the Ddum 4 SE kit
impressed me by far the most. Great feel (rebound, sensitivity/dynamic
repsonse, pad size, look), great sounds (natural, sensitive to how
hard you hit), possibility to download further sounds from the
extensive Clavia library, robust and durable pads and rack - last not
least the price as it is now offered at 2,699 Euros, roughly 1,000
lower than the street price over the last years.

However there are some downsides I would like to hear your views on:
- the rack seemed to stiff to me. Lots off cross talking. Can that be
sorted by parameter settings?
- The cymbal pads appear too be too hard, too small, don´t swing - can
it be combined with cymbals from other manufacturers?
- The sales guy told me that the substantial rebate they grant is due
to the fact that it will be discontinued and they actually had bought
all of the remaining stock. He said that Clavia sold its drums
division to some US company currently working in the acoustic drums
sector. This seems to get announced at the summer NAMM. - Has anybody
heard something about it and would you probably recommend not to buy
as support would be ending soon?

Long story. I am at a loss here and would kindly ask for your support
again that was so valuable over the last two years. Thanks in advance.

Best regards     -Bongo-

I owned a series 1 Ddrum kit a few years back ... I am now a proud owner of a set of DTXtremes II.

Bottom line, if you're interested is serious acoustical drum sounds .. the Ddrum kit is still tops in my book. The small/stiff cymbals do take a bit getting used to .. I much prefer the new Yamaha units for feel, look & playability.
The Ddrum SE set is actually fairly old in today's market but still rates up on top for sounds. Now, if you have kids who also like to play (as I do) then the Yamaha/Roland modules are almost a must! They offer a wide array of "fun" electronic patches that the Ddrum 4 SE module won't provide.

Best of luck with your decision!



"bongokonzelmann" <carsten@...> wrote:

>
>Hi folks,
>
>well, I am sitting with a problem amd I am heavily chewing on it.
>
>I have been a user and actually a supporter of Yamaha equipment since
>long. I started with a DTXP I, upgraded to DTXtreme I and then to the
>DTXPress III. Besides a welath of positives there also always were
>some points that dissatisfied me with those models. To summarise:
>- The snare trigger problem (hit with both sticks exactly at the same
>time, especially on the TP65S snare pad, gives actually a lower
>trigger signal or even a dropout - hard to play any Rockabilly, Rock
>and Roll stuff with that effect. See also my earlier post related to
>that problem)
>- The standard rubber pads are too small and do not look that well
>(which is mitigated to some extent by the DTXtreme II pads which feel
>great to be honest)
>- The machine gun effect when playing rolls and similar patterns
>
>So today I went to a newly opened drum store in Germany close to
>Hannover which actually only trades e-drums. These guys ("Drum-Tec")
>offer 12 sets for rehearsal, all major module and pad brands (Yamaha,
>Roland, Ddrum, Pintech, RET, Hart Dynamics, Evans, DDT). I had the
>chance to really test all the kits just one after the other and to
>share my views with one of the guys from Drum-Tech who showed
>competence, experience and a professional attitude.
>
>The final result was that I had to say that the Ddum 4 SE kit
>impressed me by far the most. Great feel (rebound, sensitivity/dynamic
>repsonse, pad size, look), great sounds (natural, sensitive to how
>hard you hit), possibility to download further sounds from the
>extensive Clavia library, robust and durable pads and rack - last not
>least the price as it is now offered at 2,699 Euros, roughly 1,000
>lower than the street price over the last years.
>
>However there are some downsides I would like to hear your views on:
>- the rack seemed to stiff to me. Lots off cross talking. Can that be
>sorted by parameter settings?
>- The cymbal pads appear too be too hard, too small, don´t swing - can
>it be combined with cymbals from other manufacturers?
>- The sales guy told me that the substantial rebate they grant is due
>to the fact that it will be discontinued and they actually had bought
>all of the remaining stock. He said that Clavia sold its drums
>division to some US company currently working in the acoustic drums
>sector. This seems to get announced at the summer NAMM. - Has anybody
>heard something about it and would you probably recommend not to buy
>as support would be ending soon?
>
>Long story. I am at a loss here and would kindly ask for your support
>again that was so valuable over the last two years. Thanks in advance.
>
>Best regards \ufffd \ufffd -Bongo-
>
>
>
>

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--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "bongokonzelmann" <carsten@h...> 
wrote:
> The final result was that I had to say that the Ddum 4 SE kit
> impressed me by far the most. Great feel (rebound, 
sensitivity/dynamic
> repsonse, pad size, look), great sounds (natural, sensitive to how
> hard you hit), possibility to download further sounds from the
> extensive Clavia library, robust and durable pads and rack - last 
not
> least the price as it is now offered at 2,699 Euros, roughly 1,000
> lower than the street price over the last years.
> 
> However there are some downsides I would like to hear your views on:
> - the rack seemed to stiff to me. Lots off cross talking. Can that 
be
> sorted by parameter settings?
> - The cymbal pads appear too be too hard, too small, don´t 
swing - can
> it be combined with cymbals from other manufacturers?
> - The sales guy told me that the substantial rebate they grant is 
due
> to the fact that it will be discontinued and they actually had 
bought
> all of the remaining stock. He said that Clavia sold its drums
> division to some US company currently working in the acoustic drums
> sector. This seems to get announced at the summer NAMM. - Has 
anybody
> heard something about it and would you probably recommend not to buy
> as support would be ending soon?
> 
> Long story. I am at a loss here and would kindly ask for your 
support
> again that was so valuable over the last two years. Thanks in 
advance.

Bongo,

As a ddrum owner, I agree with all of the good things said about it 
and all of the bad things. I use only the ddrum module, preferring my 
own Pearl rack, mesh head pads, and Visulite cymbals to the standard--
issue ddrum components, even though response can be slightly 
anomalous in some cases (I will go into this point in more detail if 
anyone is interested). I do use the ddrum hi hat because it is really 
the only one immediately compatible with the module. Crosstalk can be 
eliminated with a setting on the module called threshold for each 
pad; unlike rejection on the Yamaha modules, it works regardless of 
whether the offending vibration originates on the rack or elsewhere. 
People have worried that threshold would cut down on the sensitivity 
of ddrum's analog triggering, but most users have no complaints. The 
module is remarkable for its sounds, and its available library.  The 
drawbacks are the kit size, which cannot be expanded via MIDI, only 
by adding another module (which I do) and the painful constriction of 
memory, which severely impacts the amount of data the the module will 
hold at one time. MIDI functionality is  limited to 10 voices--that 
is, the module's capacity as shipped. Plus, triggering over MIDI is 
not as good as triggering through the module, since the analog 
section is far superior to any digital facsimile.

Clavia sold ddrum to Dean, their US distributor, lock, stock, and 
barrel, not long ago. Dean maintains that it will keep the line up 
and running as well as ever, even promising to deliver a much-needed 
ddrum5 in the not too distant future--something that Clavia had no 
intention of doing. We in the ddrum community have been in touch with 
Dean representatives about these matters, and we are optimistic. But 
it remains to be seen what actually happens.

I would buy a ddrum module, even if the company had folded 
completely. I like it that much, but I would also expect to use it in 
conjunction with another module, preferably one that was more MIDI-
capable, to give it more size and versatility. Any of the Yamaha 
modules might fit the bill. The ddrum pads themselves are fine, 
though the originals and the later mesh ones don't necessarily share 
the same characteristics from the module (again, more later if 
needed). I prefer a larger snare, 13 or 14 inches instead of 10. I 
use a Pintech AX14S; other people use Hart pads. Cymbals are more 
complicated, but as a rule, single-zone cymbals from other companies 
are better with ddrum than stereo or dual-zones, both of which are 
useless. But the position of the piezo will determine whether the 
cymbal behaves in the expected manner.

I hope this helps. I'm doing this quickly because I have to leave.

Ed