Yamaha DTXpress/DTXplorer/DTXtreme

I have had my set almost a year now (I love guitar Centers no interest or 
payments for a year plan) and I just starting to get into layering. Any tips or 
suggestions? Any combinations that have worked well, especially for the cymbals?
perry

--- 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

> --- 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,
> 
> One of my favorite layering combinations is for my floor tom, I use a low
> tom voice with just a touch of a fat bass drum on v2. Nice resonant thump.
> The key is let your imagination loose and try strange combinations. I have
> user kits 80/81 setup just for experimenting with layering/crossfading on
> various pads, so that I don't accidentally mess up a "good" kit. Something
> like a T\10  -GM1 (detuned 1or 2 notes down, volume 75) + K\18(volume 45),
> just going from memory, so don't quote me. By experimenting you can come
> up with some pretty cruddy sounds, but every now an thing something will
> just click, and wow! 
> 
It's a good thing most of what do is done with headphones on, or the wife
would have shot me or the drum set by now.

> OGD
 
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Hi,

I hope this hasn't been answered before, if so I apologise, but I have
searched the archives and haven't found the answer.  I have also been
reading the group for three months while waiting for the DTX III to
come out in the UK.

Many of the built in sounds are supposed to be layered, but whenever I
select a layered sound in voice edit mode and then look at the second
layer it is always the same as it was before I changed the first
layer, ie usually 00 - NoAssign.  For example, Snare 6 is MapleA50,
but if I select this then the second layer doesn't chenge from what it
was before.  Where is the second layer of the MapleA50?  Are there
really four possible layers per voice where the inital sounds are
layered?

I also notice that in the manual when a layered voice is used the
second layer is listed as undefined which seems strange.  Eg Kit 1 has
a Loosy snare which is listed as layered in the voice list, but the
second layer is NoAssign in the kit list.

This is based on the DTX III, but I assume is the same as the DTX II.

Thanks,

Keith.

--- Keith wrote:
> ... whenever I select a layered sound in voice edit mode
> and then look at the second layer it is always the same
> as it was before I changed the first layer...

The second layer in the "pre-layered" voices is not available for 
the user to edit in the same way as you would if layering two 
regular voices.

Stewart

--- In DTXpress@yahoogroups.com, "moosetication" <moosetication@y...>
wrote:
> --- Keith wrote:
> > ... whenever I select a layered sound in voice edit mode
> > and then look at the second layer it is always the same
> > as it was before I changed the first layer...
> 
> The second layer in the "pre-layered" voices is not available for 
> the user to edit in the same way as you would if layering two 
> regular voices.
> 
> Stewart

Stewart,

Thanks, I did wonder if that was the case.  It all makes sense now.  I
guess they tell you which ones are layered because you only have 32
voices so putting two layered sounds on one voice will use up 4 out of
the 32.

Keith.