Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

Does anybody remember those octagonal pads that a lot of e-drummers 
were using in the 1980s? Anyone know what brand of kit they were 
playing? I'd love to have some of those '80s sounds on my DTXpress, 
because at some stage I'd like to be in a Genesis ("And Then There 
Were Three" era) cover band.

http://www.netaxs.com/~jeffc/gearpage/simmons.html

Is this what you are talking about?

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Creighton Higgins [SMTP:creighton@...]
> Sent:	Friday, April 11, 2003 10:36 AM
> To:	DTXpress@yahoogroups.com
> Subject:	RE: [DTXpress] Octagonal pads
> 
> could those be Simmons? some older-timers might know.There is a used
> module at Drumbalaya's site:      <http://www.drumbalaya.com/>
> 
> 	-----Original Message-----
> 	From: Nick Carroll [mailto:njcarroll56@...]
> 	Sent: Friday, April 11, 2003 9:40 AM
> 	To: DTXpress@yahoogroups.com
> 	Subject: [DTXpress] Octagonal pads
> 	
> 	
> 	Does anybody remember those octagonal pads that a lot of e-drummers 
> 	were using in the 1980s? Anyone know what brand of kit they were 
> 	playing? I'd love to have some of those '80s sounds on my DTXpress, 
> 	because at some stage I'd like to be in a Genesis ("And Then There 
> 	Were Three" era) cover band.
> 	
> 	
> 	
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The old octagonal pads were made by simmons.  My drunk drummer 
friend and I were just talking about them the other day!  He 
says, "yeah my friend who has a studio has a $3000.00 set!"  I was 
like, "wow, who makes it?"  I'm thinking Roland or Yamaha or 
something and he tells me, "simmons!" :)

-UN.H


--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, rdamon@m... wrote:
> http://www.netaxs.com/~jeffc/gearpage/simmons.html
> 
> Is this what you are talking about?
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From:	Creighton Higgins [SMTP:creighton@l...]
> > Sent:	Friday, April 11, 2003 10:36 AM
> > To:	DTXpress@yahoogroups.com
> > Subject:	RE: [DTXpress] Octagonal pads
> > 
> > could those be Simmons? some older-timers might know.There is a 
used
> > module at Drumbalaya's site:      <http://www.drumbalaya.com/>
> > 
> > 	-----Original Message-----
> > 	From: Nick Carroll [mailto:njcarroll56@y...]
> > 	Sent: Friday, April 11, 2003 9:40 AM
> > 	To: DTXpress@yahoogroups.com
> > 	Subject: [DTXpress] Octagonal pads
> > 	
> > 	
> > 	Does anybody remember those octagonal pads that a lot of e-
drummers 
> > 	were using in the 1980s? Anyone know what brand of kit they 
were 
> > 	playing? I'd love to have some of those '80s sounds on my 
DTXpress, 
> > 	because at some stage I'd like to be in a Genesis ("And Then 
There 
> > 	Were Three" era) cover band.
> > 	
> > 	
> > 	
> > 	
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> > 	   <http://www.onelist.com/community/DTXpress> 
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> > 	Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of 
Service
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Simmons! Some for sale on ebay!

Jade
--- Nick Carroll <njcarroll56@...> wrote:
> Does anybody remember those octagonal pads that a
> lot of e-drummers 
> were using in the 1980s? Anyone know what brand of
> kit they were 
> playing? I'd love to have some of those '80s sounds
> on my DTXpress, 
> because at some stage I'd like to be in a Genesis
> ("And Then There 
> Were Three" era) cover band.
> 
> 
> 


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Yeah, Creighton. I'm certainly old enough to remember the first 
Simmons electronic kits back in the mid-80s. In fact, I contemplated 
buying one, but in the end, the sounds were so few and so gimmicky 
and the feel so bad that I ended up passing on it. The pads, I 
think, were rubber-covered plywood with a piezo stuck to it. If you 
think that playing on gum rubber can be hard on your wrists, you can 
imagine what a hard wooden surface would have been like. The very 
first module was analog (ddrum still is, but far more advanced); the 
next wave was digital but at a very low bit rate. 

Ed

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "underneathheaven" <realvast@s...> 
wrote:
> The old octagonal pads were made by simmons.  My drunk drummer 
> friend and I were just talking about them the other day!  He 
> says, "yeah my friend who has a studio has a $3000.00 set!"  I was 
> like, "wow, who makes it?"  I'm thinking Roland or Yamaha or 
> something and he tells me, "simmons!" :)
> 
> -UN.H
> 
> 
> --- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, rdamon@m... wrote:
> > http://www.netaxs.com/~jeffc/gearpage/simmons.html
> > 
> > Is this what you are talking about?
> > 
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From:	Creighton Higgins [SMTP:creighton@l...]
> > > Sent:	Friday, April 11, 2003 10:36 AM
> > > To:	DTXpress@yahoogroups.com
> > > Subject:	RE: [DTXpress] Octagonal pads
> > > 
> > > could those be Simmons? some older-timers might know.There is 
a 
> used
> > > module at Drumbalaya's site:      <http://www.drumbalaya.com/>
> > > 
> > > 	-----Original Message-----
> > > 	From: Nick Carroll [mailto:njcarroll56@y...]
> > > 	Sent: Friday, April 11, 2003 9:40 AM
> > > 	To: DTXpress@yahoogroups.com
> > > 	Subject: [DTXpress] Octagonal pads
> > > 	
> > > 	
> > > 	Does anybody remember those octagonal pads that a lot of e-
> drummers 
> > > 	were using in the 1980s? Anyone know what brand of kit they 
> were 
> > > 	playing? I'd love to have some of those '80s sounds on my 
> DTXpress, 
> > > 	because at some stage I'd like to be in a Genesis ("And Then 
> There 
> > > 	Were Three" era) cover band.
> > > 	
> > > 	
> > > 	
> > > 	
> > > 	Community email addresses:
> > > 	   Post message: DTXpress@onelist.com
> > > 	   Subscribe:     DTXpress-subscribe@onelist.com
> > > 	   Unsubscribe:   DTXpress-unsubscribe@onelist.com
> > > 	   List owner:    DTXpress-owner@onelist.com
> > > 	
> > > 	Shortcut URL to this page:
> > > 	   <http://www.onelist.com/community/DTXpress> 
> > > 	
> > > 	Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of 
> Service
> > > <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/>. 
> > > 	
> > > 
> > > 
> > > Yahoo! Groups Sponsor	 
> > > ADVERTISEMENT
> > >  
> > > 
> 
<http://rd.yahoo.com/M=245454.3115308.4434529.1728375/D=egroupweb/S=1
> 70503
> > > 
> 1972:HM/A=1457554/R=0/*http://ipunda.com/clk/beibunmaisuiyuiwabei>
> 	
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> > > <http://us.adserver.yahoo.com/l?
> M=245454.3115308.4434529.1728375/D=egroupm
> > > ail/S=:HM/A=1457554/rand=250019299>	
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> Service
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> >  
> > 
> 
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> notified that
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> > use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon, this 
information 

> is
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> error,
> > please contact the sender and delete the material from your 
> computer.

Shoot, not only is Ed old enough to remember when the Simmons Drums 
were introduced, I think he bought one of the first issues of 
the "Rolling Bomber".
Only those that hve been around long enough will know what I'm 
talking about!
Stephen

Stephen,

I'm not sure when the first Rolling Bomber appeared, though I 
suspect from its name that the World War II issue, which is the one 
I know, was probably the first. I missed it by a few years, but it 
was beautuful: a really deep wooden snare (even the lugs were 
wooden, I think) made under the Radio King (Slingerland?) label. My 
father was a drummer during that era, and though he didn't have one 
of those, he had similar drums. I've never been much of a gear head 
or historian of instruments, but anyone who gets a chance should try 
one of those mid-20th century drums. I loved the sound of my 
father's calf-skin head toms so much that I had to find a way to 
incorporate them into my acoustic kit, despite the strange mounts. 
they needed constant retuning, and in humid weather, the heads were 
like dish towels, but what a sound. I still have one of them.

Ed

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "brown8700" <brown8700@a...> wrote:
> Shoot, not only is Ed old enough to remember when the Simmons 
Drums 

> were introduced, I think he bought one of the first issues of 
> the "Rolling Bomber".
> Only those that hve been around long enough will know what I'm 
> talking about!
> Stephen

Ed:
Bingo! I knew you would know!
Stephen

Stephen,

Guess what else I have, which you may or may not be able to use to 
date me: an Edison phonograph, from the 1910s, which plays hollow,  
cylindrical wax disks with grooves along the external surface. The 
disks slip over a metal drum that rotates beneath a crude needle 
that can be lowered into the grooves. And my house in Massachusetts 
was built in 1750.

Ed

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "brown8700" <brown8700@a...> wrote:

> Ed:
> Bingo! I knew you would know!
> Stephen

Ed:
Did you cut the timber for your house yourself, or did you have 
someone else do it?
Seriously, Ed, I don't think I'm that far behind you (1956).
Stephen

Stephen,

Funny you should ask. All of the original wood in the house was cut 
and milled on the property; the land belonged to a mill owner. Now 
it's largely Audubon conservation land (250 acres). You're 1756? I'm 
1751.

Ed

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "brown8700" <brown8700@a...> wrote:

> Ed:
> Did you cut the timber for your house yourself, or did you have 
> someone else do it?
> Seriously, Ed, I don't think I'm that far behind you (1956).
> Stephen

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "Nick Carroll" <njcarroll56@y...> 
wrote:
> Does anybody remember those octagonal pads that a lot of e-
drummers 
> were using in the 1980s? Anyone know what brand of kit they were 
> playing? I'd love to have some of those '80s sounds on my 
DTXpress, 
> because at some stage I'd like to be in a Genesis ("And Then There 
> Were Three" era) cover band.



AHHHH YESSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!.


       I remeber playing on one of the early kits at Simmons which 
used to be about 4 miles away from where I used to live,that was in 
my eyes an experience I will never forget,they used to be made in St 
Albans in Hertfordshire,here in the UK in the early 80`s and sold 
like hot cakes,though they were expensive.But saying that now with 
the Yamaha DTXpress I have managed to program a very good Simmons 
kit into it,and incorperating a Roland SPD-6 into it as well,its 
brilliant.


                     Russell Butterfield

Russell:
I noticed you mentioned an SPD-6. I tried one a few weeks back.It had 
a terrible cross-talk problem. When I hit one pad, a pad on the other 
side would chime in its two-cents worth. Couldn't get rid of it. Also, 
the pads were very touchy about wanting to be hit dead center. Very 
hard to do in the heat of the performance.
I discovered that face plate of the unit was one solid piece of 
plastic. The piezos were mounted to this - no isolation between pads; 
a recipe for cross-talk.
It is too bad too because this would be a perfect addition to my kit, 
both size and number of inputs.

I have some questions:
1. Has the cross-talk bothered you?
2. Can you hit the pads?
3. Have you MIDId it to the Xpress to access its sounds?( I had a 
   little trouble with this one - no display.)
Scott



--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "Russell" <rpb1966@n...> wrote:

> --- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "Nick Carroll" <njcarroll56@y...> 
> wrote:
> > Does anybody remember those octagonal pads that a lot of e-
> drummers 
> > were using in the 1980s? Anyone know what brand of kit they were 
> > playing? I'd love to have some of those '80s sounds on my 
> DTXpress, 
> > because at some stage I'd like to be in a Genesis ("And Then There 
> > Were Three" era) cover band.
> 
> 
> 
> AHHHH YESSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!.
> 
> 
>        I remeber playing on one of the early kits at Simmons which 
> used to be about 4 miles away from where I used to live,that was in 
> my eyes an experience I will never forget,they used to be made in St 
> Albans in Hertfordshire,here in the UK in the early 80`s and sold 
> like hot cakes,though they were expensive.But saying that now with 
> the Yamaha DTXpress I have managed to program a very good Simmons 
> kit into it,and incorperating a Roland SPD-6 into it as well,its 
> brilliant.
> 
> 
>                      Russell Butterfield

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "hairytrigger" <artifax@i...> wrote:
> Russell:
> I noticed you mentioned an SPD-6. I tried one a few weeks back.It 
had 
> a terrible cross-talk problem. When I hit one pad, a pad on the 
other 
> side would chime in its two-cents worth. Couldn't get rid of it. 
Also, 
> the pads were very touchy about wanting to be hit dead center. 
Very 
> hard to do in the heat of the performance.
> I discovered that face plate of the unit was one solid piece of 
> plastic. The piezos were mounted to this - no isolation between 
pads; 
> a recipe for cross-talk.
> It is too bad too because this would be a perfect addition to my 
kit, 
> both size and number of inputs.
> 
> I have some questions:
> 1. Has the cross-talk bothered you?
> 2. Can you hit the pads?
> 3. Have you MIDId it to the Xpress to access its sounds?( I had a 
>    little trouble with this one - no display.)
> Scott
> 
> 
> 
> --- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "Russell" <rpb1966@n...> wrote:
> > --- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "Nick Carroll" 
<njcarroll56@y...> 
> > wrote:
> > > Does anybody remember those octagonal pads that a lot of e-
> > drummers 
> > > were using in the 1980s? Anyone know what brand of kit they 
were 
> > > playing? I'd love to have some of those '80s sounds on my 
> > DTXpress, 
> > > because at some stage I'd like to be in a Genesis ("And Then 
There 
> > > Were Three" era) cover band.
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > AHHHH YESSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!.
> > 
> > 
> >        I remeber playing on one of the early kits at Simmons 
which 
> > used to be about 4 miles away from where I used to live,that was 
in 
> > my eyes an experience I will never forget,they used to be made 
in St 
> > Albans in Hertfordshire,here in the UK in the early 80`s and 
sold 
> > like hot cakes,though they were expensive.But saying that now 
with 
> > the Yamaha DTXpress I have managed to program a very good 
Simmons 
> > kit into it,and incorperating a Roland SPD-6 into it as well,its 
> > brilliant.
> > 
> > 
> >                      Russell Butterfield


     Scott.

               The cross talk really does not bother me at all,my 
playing is pretty precise,but the odd time I catch one of the other 
pads on the SPD-6.The velocity can be changed quite easily but I 
have not had time to play about with that,I know not having a 
display can be a pain in the ass,but I only paid £150 for mine near 
enough brand spanking new,one thing you need to remember is make 
sure you unmute all the drum sounds in the utilites mode on the DTX 
section or you wont hear anything from the SPD-6,press U4 and power 
on (pressing U4 and keeping it pressed whilst pressing power button 
to switch it on),this is to enter the user kit set up on the SPD-
6,then press U1 and 1 at the same time (keep pressed for a second)
this enters the edit mode,then three bottom lights start flashing 
and the top left one,press button 2 to change the pad sounds that 
you want to.


                    Russell Butterfield

Hey, Russell. Very interested to know you have programmed a Simmons 
kit into the DTXpress.  Can you tell me which sounds you use on your 
various pads to replicate that '80s sound?

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "Russell" <rpb1966@n...> wrote:
> --- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "Nick Carroll" <njcarroll56@y...> 
> wrote:
> > Does anybody remember those octagonal pads that a lot of e-
> drummers 
> > were using in the 1980s? Anyone know what brand of kit they were 
> > playing? I'd love to have some of those '80s sounds on my 
> DTXpress, 
> > because at some stage I'd like to be in a Genesis ("And Then 
There 
> > Were Three" era) cover band.
> 
> 
> 
> AHHHH YESSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!.
> 
> 
>        I remeber playing on one of the early kits at Simmons which 
> used to be about 4 miles away from where I used to live,that was in 
> my eyes an experience I will never forget,they used to be made in 
St 

> Albans in Hertfordshire,here in the UK in the early 80`s and sold 
> like hot cakes,though they were expensive.But saying that now with 
> the Yamaha DTXpress I have managed to program a very good Simmons 
> kit into it,and incorperating a Roland SPD-6 into it as well,its 
> brilliant.
> 
> 
>                      Russell Butterfield