OT: Drummers.....What do you think of the Yamaha DTXPRESS 2?

[Souljah]

Been thinking of getting one. I had a go on one down at the Rose Morris building here in London, I actually liked it.....

But I want to know if any of you have tried and/or bought one.....

The upside for me would be the ceased need for tuning, also the wide variety of kit available on the module.

The reason I sort of went off drumming was the sound of my kit - I know it could be fixed with simply a few new skins but I'm just considering the Yamaha right now as it seems to be a good choice - I would go for the rolands, but hey, I dont have 2.5g to spend on a drum kit.....

Thanks for any help in advance

-thegreg

[Shaolin-Do]

Personally, I cant stand the 'bouncy' feel of drum kits, Id get some nice new remo heads and some zildian cymbals for the same price, and youd sound hella better. Sure the kits are fun to play with, but not very practical. Even the more expensive kits are lacking in sound when you want to play gigs too...
So IMHO, Id say to go with new heads and get em tuned real nice, get some new cymbals... maybe a new bass pedal or somethin.... You get my point.

[brothernumber9]

I actually like the Yamaha. of couse you'll never get the same sensitivity or texturing that you get on a real set but they've come along way with trigger pad sets. You can customize entire kits or indivdual pads and get some really tight sounds. If you like Jazz or swing then you'll wanta through em out the window but otherwise I think they're sweet I've only played em on the demo kit in the store. The best thing to me is that you can play in your house and not worry about the neighbors or anyone else in the house complaining. They don't have the same sensitivity as the V drum series but I like that the pads bounce a little harder except for the cymbal pads. Anyway you already have a trap set so just get the DTexpress2 so that you'll never have to say to yourself 'what if'.

[Souljah]

thanks for both of your help.....

I do think in the end the dtxpress does have more benefits (for me) than acoustic kits - the sound-levels also being another factor - its abit like playing on those practise-pad kits while having synthetic sounds.....

Can you guys tell me whether the module features any type of echo setting though?
I cant really stand the sharpness of the digital sounds without some sort of reverb or echo added to them.

Theres another point - Im abit of a lazy drummer in terms of tuning, I hate having to tune after every 20 minutes of playing -

Also, the room I have my kit in is in my basement - the sound doesnt travel so well - especially the bass, making the kit sound abit tame - the toms sound weak. Of course this would probably be sorted temporarily with new skins, but then I need a new snare too....its just too much work and I would probably spend either the same amount or more if I were to 'rebuild'.

I'll keep looking out for your views as they really are going to help me decide - im at the crossroads as they say.....
:(

-greg

[Souljah]

also, would playing on a 'hard' pad kit really change the way I drum? Do you think I will still be able to adapt appropriately when i play on an acoustic kit again?


thanks for your help again

[Shaolin-Do]

I hate how bouncy the electric kits are... Can do tom rolls 1 handed... If you want to be quick, do doublets on a pillow with your sticks. (right hand 2x, left hand 2x, from slow to fast, fast to slow)
Retune every 20 mins? You must be beating the hell out of your kit... Should tune 1 time, then again in an hour or so, then maybe 1 time daily... If that. Try gettin some of the remo heads with the plastic and foam padding under them, they sound great. If your bassdrum doesnt have a hole in it and a pillow, it needs one. Use a hot coffee can to put a hole in the outside portion of the drum head.
Pretty much all of the drum kits feature a reverb on them, if not, most amplifiers do.

[Souljah]

thanks for that.

I do have mufflers in my bass drum, and a hole in the back - it really IS the rooms shape I think - I has alot of hollow wood linig it which makes the kit sound off I think.

I dont mind that bouncy feel as much, I get it just as much with my practice pad, and am getting used to it.....

I think I'll go and have a good play at the one in the shop before making my decision

thanks again