Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

Hello everyone & thanks for letting me join. I'm William from San 
Antonio, TX. I have a strong interest in learning how to play the 
drums. My biggest influence is Ginger Baker (mostly from his work 
in "The Ginger Baker Trio"). I also like Be-Bop Jazz, too as well as 
Alternative (Radiohead, The Cure).

I like electronic drums and would like to know if this is the way to 
go for my "first kit" to learn drumming, or to just buy "a regular" 
kit. I've been pricing 5 pc. kits at Musician's Friend and have been 
considering that route.

Any feedback will be greatly appreciated. I also bought & watched a 
DVD on drumming for beginners, so I'll know what to expect. Thanks!

--- William

William,

There is no right answer.  I started drumming with a DTXpress, but I
also bought an acoustic kit recently.  I still practice more with the
DTXpress than the acoustic.  The main problem is acoustic kits are
LOUD.  It is also a lot easier to play along to a recording with an
electronic  kit.  Other band members appreciate the fact you can keep
the volume down when you are practicing.  You can gig with an
electronic kit - I have done and I know other people who do.

Keith.

Hi, William. Welcome to the exciting and fun world of
drumming. Hopefully, you'll "stick" with it, ha ha!
I've played drums off and on for a number of years
starting in 1979. Not in too many bands, though, as I
have practically no confidence, unfortunately.

 I played many acoustic drumsets and loved them. I
still do. There's nothing like a tight, crisp snare
drum and a turn around the tom-toms, if everything is
tuned the way you like. Ahhh! I will always love
acoustic drums. And a nice, crisp set of
hi-hats...heaven!

However! I have also always lived in apartments or
houses where the neighbors were none too thrilled with
me practicing my drums. I started exploring electronic
drums back in the mid 1990's but the sets I saw just
weren't as good as I hoped. Roland had some nice sets
but used drum pads for cymbals and I hated those! They
just didn't "feel" like cymbals to me. So, I ended up
buying yet another acoustic drumset I couldn't play
without adding a ton of muffling devices. Ugh. 

Anyway, since that time, I've gotten into playing a
variety of percussion instruments and learning
electric guitar and learning composing, etc, etc. I
find that the Yamaha DTXpress kits and the Roland sets
have a lot of features that more than justify the
initial cost.

Also, even if you do buy an acoustic set, you will
still have to fork over some money to buy GOOD cymbals
(Zildjian makes a nice line called ZHT's, they are a
lot better than their truly budget line: ZBT) or check
with pawn shops and your local craigslist. You will
probably have to buy a throne (drum stool), and if you
buy a beginner's kit, you'll want to replace the
drumheads. This can add significantly to the initial
cost of those drums.

In my rather long-winded opinion, you could save a
bundle by purchasing a Yamaha DTxplorer kit or even a
Roland TD-3. The only thing you'd need to buy is a
good drum throne and, in the case of the Roland set, a
bass drum pedal. I think a bass drum pedal is included
with the entry-level Yamaha kit. You can do lots of
cool stuff with an electronic kit that you can't with
an acoustic. I will never buy another acoustic
drumset. If I get in a band and we become good enough
to play out, I will rent an acoustic set, perhaps but
I'm sold on electronic kits. Right now, I'm saving my
money for a very worthwhile investment: A
top-of-the-line electronic set.

Hope all this helps. Email me if you want to. I always
enjoy running my big mouth! :)

-Maura N.
--- "William H." <william_mgmt@...> wrote:

> Hello everyone & thanks for letting me join. I'm
> William from San 
> Antonio, TX. I have a strong interest in learning
> how to play the 
> drums. My biggest influence is Ginger Baker (mostly
> from his work 
> in "The Ginger Baker Trio"). I also like Be-Bop
> Jazz, too as well as 
> Alternative (Radiohead, The Cure).
> 
> I like electronic drums and would like to know if
> this is the way to 
> go for my "first kit" to learn drumming, or to just
> buy "a regular" 
> kit. I've been pricing 5 pc. kits at Musician's
> Friend and have been 
> considering that route.
> 
> Any feedback will be greatly appreciated. I also
> bought & watched a 
> DVD on drumming for beginners, so I'll know what to
> expect. Thanks!
> 
> --- William
> 
> 



      ____________________________________________________________________________________
Never miss a thing.  Make Yahoo your home page. 
http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs

-I'm mainly a guitarist/ bassist who got tired of dealing with 
getting a drummer to play on my recordings. Frustrated with the 
limitations of a drum machine, I bought an acoustic kit which I still 
have but rarely play. In fact right now it's not even set up. I've 
been exclusively using a DT Express II for over a month now. The 
electronic drums are just so convenient for recording. I can really 
hear everything the way I want to in the headphones. My drumming has 
vastly improved and I play more often now. I actually don't even like 
playing an acoustic kit now; it's just too loud. I like the control 
that an e-kit offers you as well as the variety of cymbals, toms, 
percussion, that you can't experience in an acoustic kit .  


-- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, Maura NiConnell <the5thmary1967@...> 
wrote:
>
> Hi, William. Welcome to the exciting and fun world of
> drumming. Hopefully, you'll "stick" with it, ha ha!
> I've played drums off and on for a number of years
> starting in 1979. Not in too many bands, though, as I
> have practically no confidence, unfortunately.
> 
>  I played many acoustic drumsets and loved them. I
> still do. There's nothing like a tight, crisp snare
> drum and a turn around the tom-toms, if everything is
> tuned the way you like. Ahhh! I will always love
> acoustic drums. And a nice, crisp set of
> hi-hats...heaven!
> 
> However! I have also always lived in apartments or
> houses where the neighbors were none too thrilled with
> me practicing my drums. I started exploring electronic
> drums back in the mid 1990's but the sets I saw just
> weren't as good as I hoped. Roland had some nice sets
> but used drum pads for cymbals and I hated those! They
> just didn't "feel" like cymbals to me. So, I ended up
> buying yet another acoustic drumset I couldn't play
> without adding a ton of muffling devices. Ugh. 
> 
> Anyway, since that time, I've gotten into playing a
> variety of percussion instruments and learning
> electric guitar and learning composing, etc, etc. I
> find that the Yamaha DTXpress kits and the Roland sets
> have a lot of features that more than justify the
> initial cost.
> 
> Also, even if you do buy an acoustic set, you will
> still have to fork over some money to buy GOOD cymbals
> (Zildjian makes a nice line called ZHT's, they are a
> lot better than their truly budget line: ZBT) or check
> with pawn shops and your local craigslist. You will
> probably have to buy a throne (drum stool), and if you
> buy a beginner's kit, you'll want to replace the
> drumheads. This can add significantly to the initial
> cost of those drums.
> 
> In my rather long-winded opinion, you could save a
> bundle by purchasing a Yamaha DTxplorer kit or even a
> Roland TD-3. The only thing you'd need to buy is a
> good drum throne and, in the case of the Roland set, a
> bass drum pedal. I think a bass drum pedal is included
> with the entry-level Yamaha kit. You can do lots of
> cool stuff with an electronic kit that you can't with
> an acoustic. I will never buy another acoustic
> drumset. If I get in a band and we become good enough
> to play out, I will rent an acoustic set, perhaps but
> I'm sold on electronic kits. Right now, I'm saving my
> money for a very worthwhile investment: A
> top-of-the-line electronic set.
> 
> Hope all this helps. Email me if you want to. I always
> enjoy running my big mouth! :)
> 
> -Maura N.
> --- "William H." <william_mgmt@...> wrote:
> 
> > Hello everyone & thanks for letting me join. I'm
> > William from San 
> > Antonio, TX. I have a strong interest in learning
> > how to play the 
> > drums. My biggest influence is Ginger Baker (mostly
> > from his work 
> > in "The Ginger Baker Trio"). I also like Be-Bop
> > Jazz, too as well as 
> > Alternative (Radiohead, The Cure).
> > 
> > I like electronic drums and would like to know if
> > this is the way to 
> > go for my "first kit" to learn drumming, or to just
> > buy "a regular" 
> > kit. I've been pricing 5 pc. kits at Musician's
> > Friend and have been 
> > considering that route.
> > 
> > Any feedback will be greatly appreciated. I also
> > bought & watched a 
> > DVD on drumming for beginners, so I'll know what to
> > expect. Thanks!
> > 
> > --- William
> > 
> > 
> 
> 
> 
>       
______________________________________________________________________
______________

> Never miss a thing.  Make Yahoo your home page. 
> http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs
>

William

Here is some advice from someone who has used various electronic and
accoustic kits both for practicing at home and for gigging.

In my opinion (for what it's worth) accoustics are best for gigging -
you don't get false triggers, drop outs or vibration problems and they
look much nicer. Also accoustic cymbals just cut through so much better
and you have far more dynamic control. It's more or less impossible to
get a realistic cymbal swell on an electronic kit. Accoustic kits just
feel much nicer to play.

Electric kits can't be beaten for practice and smaller venues, the
variety of sounds you can get is amazing and you don't have to bother
with tuning but they are very sensitive to vibration when gigging
especially from the stage & from loud bass speakers.

If you go the electronic route I would advise you to buy Yamaha DTXpress
as a minimum - there are cheaper kits out there but you will be
dissapointed with them and some are just toys that don't last. I have
played on cheaper electronic kits and found that they break easily and
are more or less impossible to keep adjusted correctly, also they sound
ghastly - don't waste your money. I haven't tried a DTXplorer so can't
comment but from what I've seen I think I'd rather have a 2nd hand
DTXpress for the same money. The better Roland kits are nice but V.
expensive. Roland mesh heads take a bit of getting used to as they feel
very soft and bouncy, I reckon the DTXpress rubber pads feel more like
accoustic heads.

I had a DTXpress III and upgraded to a DTXtreme IIs - although I love
the more expensive kit I would say the DTXpress was better value for
money, nearly as good unless you desperately need a sampler and was a
lot easier to cart around.

I know drum tutors who have switched from accoustics to DTXpress kits
for teaching and wouldn't go back.

Regards

Richard.