Electric Drum Kit Newbie Question

Just recently, I joined a band. We are getting serious, and we want to start playing live very soon. However, practice is becoming an issue for me. I live in an apartment, and cannot play at home, unless I play electric or pad everything. I am considering investing in a Yamaha DTXPLORER kit, but I noticed there is no ride. Just curious, does anyone know if you can add on additional pieces of equipment to this kit (i.e. ride cymbal?) This would be my first electric kit, and I know nothing about electric. Your help is greatly appreciated.
 
I thought most of those sets has settings in the module where any pad could be set for the type of cymbal you wanted. Sort of an uneducated guess.
 
I used Simmons drums for about 5 years during the 80's. but always used real cymbals and my accoustic snare. You can mute the cymbals and snare? Just a thought.
 
Yes, you will be able to add additional cymbals or drums. I've played a Roland kit and it came with 2 cymbal pads. They were dual triggered, so I was able to to have one as a ride with the second trigger for the bell. The second pad I programmed a crash, with the second trigger on the pad as a 10" splash. You can add more cymbals if you like, but you will at least be able to get some basic cymbal sounds. If they aren't dual trigger pads, then you are a little more limited, and would definitely have to get more cymbal pads to add on. I hope this helps, good luck.
 
I used Simmons drums for about 5 years during the 80's. but always used real cymbals and my accoustic snare. You can mute the cymbals and snare? Just a thought.

You're right about silencing all pieces of equipment. I originally had everything muted for playing, but I've been using my acoustic for practice/recording at our practice area. Now, I need a 2nd kit for home, and I really don't like to mute my cymbals and drums just because of the sound quality.
 
Yes, you will be able to add additional cymbals or drums. I've played a Roland kit and it came with 2 cymbal pads. They were dual triggered, so I was able to to have one as a ride with the second trigger for the bell. The second pad I programmed a crash, with the second trigger on the pad as a 10" splash. You can add more cymbals if you like, but you will at least be able to get some basic cymbal sounds. If they aren't dual trigger pads, then you are a little more limited, and would definitely have to get more cymbal pads to add on. I hope this helps, good luck.

Thanks for the reply. I'm still scratching my head a little bit about what you said with the dual triggers, (I understand the concept but not so much the execution) but knowing that I can add on a ride at the very least will give me some peace of mind. I would love to add on a china, splash, and all the other fixin's, but for now, I'm just looking for a quieter alternative for playing in an apartment.
 
You can, but spare parts for Yamaha electrics are hard to come by.

I recommend that instead of a DTXPLORER, you look at the DTXPRESS, or a DTXTREME (if you have the money).

DTXPRESS IV Special V2

DTXTREME III Special

DTXPRESS IV

If you want to look at more high-end drums, take a look at the Roland V-Drums series. The TD-12K is a nice intermediate-to-pro kit. If you really wanted to splash out, I'd suggest the TD-20K. That'll set you back about $10,000AUS, though.
 
Go here for all of your answers from owners.
http://www.dtxperience.com/forums/


I have the dtxtremells and it is awesome. You can get a used one off of ebay for cheap. Great value.

Regarding the trigger issue, we are talking about a pad, say a cymbal, that has multi functions. For example, my crash has three areas that produce sound. The bell, the regular cymbal, and a zone near the edge for a crash. Where that plugs into the brain,m you need an input that will trigger all three to use the cymbal to the fullest. Get it? Go to the Yamaha site I linked and you will get all your answers. Joey
 
You can, but spare parts for Yamaha electrics are hard to come by.

I recommend that instead of a DTXPLORER, you look at the DTXPRESS, or a DTXTREME (if you have the money).

DTXPRESS IV Special V2

DTXTREME III Special

DTXPRESS IV

If you want to look at more high-end drums, take a look at the Roland V-Drums series. The TD-12K is a nice intermediate-to-pro kit. If you really wanted to splash out, I'd suggest the TD-20K. That'll set you back about $10,000AUS, though.

You're probably right about finding a better electric kit and not settling for "good enough." In my current situation, broke as a joke, I'm basically just looking for a cheap set to play at home to get me by until we practice together as a band. The other thing that really concerns me is I'm new to using electric drums, so I'm exploring uncharted waters and have no idea how to really tweak an electric kit yet. Although I admit there are probably better choices out there than mine, price trumps quality at the current moment in time.
 
Go here for all of your answers from owners.
http://www.dtxperience.com/forums/


I have the dtxtremells and it is awesome. You can get a used one off of ebay for cheap. Great value.

Regarding the trigger issue, we are talking about a pad, say a cymbal, that has multi functions. For example, my crash has three areas that produce sound. The bell, the regular cymbal, and a zone near the edge for a crash. Where that plugs into the brain,m you need an input that will trigger all three to use the cymbal to the fullest. Get it? Go to the Yamaha site I linked and you will get all your answers. Joey

OK, I get it now. See? I told you, total newbie with electric kits. I play a hybrid right now at practice (acoustic hi-hat and cymbals, electric toms and snare) and I couldn't get the sound I wanted out of the cymbals, so I switched them out with my own cymbals. However, again, if I want to play at home, I have to go electric or mute everything. Although I'm not crazy about going electric yet, I'm hoping that I'll warm up to electric kits in an effort to stay away from muting the awesome sound of an acoustic kit.
 
If i may add, keep in mind any set that has a 'dual trigger' per input (rim and head for the snare drum or another would be the ride and ride's bell for example), if you can assign the sound on the brain unit per trigger then you can get a stereo to mono r/l channel splitting jack. Now you have two mono channels per brain unit input and as such, on the brain unit you use the splitter and then can run wires to TWO separate drums/cymbals. Of course this means each drum/cymbal has only one sound, yet this does 'expand' the amount of hitting surfaces per se. Saw a guy do this with the Roland V-Session and he really expanded the kit quite a bit, nearly doubling the qty pads/cymbals.
 
If i may add, keep in mind any set that has a 'dual trigger' per input (rim and head for the snare drum or another would be the ride and ride's bell for example), if you can assign the sound on the brain unit per trigger then you can get a stereo to mono r/l channel splitting jack. Now you have two mono channels per brain unit input and as such, on the brain unit you use the splitter and then can run wires to TWO separate drums/cymbals. Of course this means each drum/cymbal has only one sound, yet this does 'expand' the amount of hitting surfaces per se. Saw a guy do this with the Roland V-Session and he really expanded the kit quite a bit, nearly doubling the qty pads/cymbals.

I understand where you're going with this, just a little confused on the execution. Again, still very new to electric, but I guess I would just have to have it in front of me to really be able to look at it and tweak it out. Also, I noticed the DTXPLORER uses triangle pads for the cymbals. could I possibly switch those out for round pads which I assume would give me the benefit of dual and/or triple triggers?
 
If i may add, keep in mind any set that has a 'dual trigger' per input (rim and head for the snare drum or another would be the ride and ride's bell for example), if you can assign the sound on the brain unit per trigger then you can get a stereo to mono r/l channel splitting jack. Now you have two mono channels per brain unit input and as such, on the brain unit you use the splitter and then can run wires to TWO separate drums/cymbals. Of course this means each drum/cymbal has only one sound, yet this does 'expand' the amount of hitting surfaces per se. Saw a guy do this with the Roland V-Session and he really expanded the kit quite a bit, nearly doubling the qty pads/cymbals.

This does not work with all edrum modules. I have a roland TD5 (it's old) and the dual inputs have a main input which is regular (piezo, I guess) and the secondary one in an on off switch. This makes true rimshots and cymbal chokes possible, but it means that I can't split the inputs to two different single zone pads.

To the original poster; it's best to play with a few kits in a store to see what they're all about.

Edit: Here is a link to the manual http://media.zzounds.com/media/dtxplorer_en-d9911ace69ddadf24f185eaf8f7d210e.pdf it should help. (it's a direct download link)

It looks like the DTX has one dual input that can be split, two stereo switch inputs for cymbal chokes, and a three zone snare input. You should be able to add a ride cymbal. On my roland, I use a dual zone for a crash ride. Ride on the bow, crash on the edge.

Search youtube for a great many vids on the DTX.
 
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This does not work with all edrum modules. I have a roland TD5 (it's old) and the dual inputs have a main input which is regular (piezo, I guess) and the secondary one in an on off switch. This makes true rimshots and cymbal chokes possible, but it means that I can't split the inputs to two different single zone pads.

To the original poster; it's best to play with a few kits in a store to see what they're all about.

Edit: Here is a link to the manual http://media.zzounds.com/media/dtxplorer_en-d9911ace69ddadf24f185eaf8f7d210e.pdf it should help. (it's a direct download link)

It looks like the DTX has one dual input that can be split, two stereo switch inputs for cymbal chokes, and a three zone snare input. You should be able to add a ride cymbal. On my roland, I use a dual zone for a crash ride. Ride on the bow, crash on the edge.

Search youtube for a great many vids on the DTX.

I think I'm having a change of heart now. I was looking at an Alesis DM6 Kit and it's about $100 cheaper with what I would believe is the same benefits of the DTX. Not really sure, but I think between the two, I'm going to make my final decision.
 
I like Alesis in general, but their drum sets have always been a little lacking to me. I haven't seen much of their new stuff, but the dm6 is not really upgradable or customizable, so make sure you like it the way it is before you buy it.

I see you are in Orlando; check out the Guitar Centers and Sam Ashs to see what they have and what you like. Just playing with different electro sets can make you realize what you really need/want in a set.

Also, do you know about the Drums2Go store on Semoran? They're usually quite helpful.
 
I like Alesis in general, but their drum sets have always been a little lacking to me. I haven't seen much of their new stuff, but the dm6 is not really upgradable or customizable, so make sure you like it the way it is before you buy it.

I see you are in Orlando; check out the Guitar Centers and Sam Ashs to see what they have and what you like. Just playing with different electro sets can make you realize what you really need/want in a set.

Also, do you know about the Drums2Go store on Semoran? They're usually quite helpful.

Yeah, Drums2Go is my new go-to spot. My old man referred me to them, and ever since I walked in that one faithful time, I turned my nose to Sam Ash completely. That place is like a toy store for drummers.I really haven't done much research on the Alesis kit yet, just trying to find a very cheap set to get going with, seeing as how funds are kinda tight, and I really need a kit like yesterday. Probably the biggest thing that I want to do after investing in any kit is immediately install a ride. A ride is almost a requirement for any/all kits these days. I would like to add a splash and a ride as well, but I'd be happy with just a ride just so I have something to practice with at home.
 
I understand where you're going with this, just a little confused on the execution.

On the drum brain unit is a STEREO 1/4-inch female headphone jack

Go to Radio Shack (ow where ever) and get a 1/4-inch MALE stereo to RIGHT and LEFT channel 1/4 inch FEMALE splitter. This take the stereo signal and gives you two 'mono' channels.

If the brain unit allows due to manufacture.config, then this basically splits the single 'stereo' (usually drum head and rim) on a single female jack and separates them so you now have two female jacks.

These two female jacks are now one being the brain unit 'head' and the other being the brain unit 'rim' triggers. You'll want to modify the rim brain unit setting to whatever the now new/additional input sound you desire.

Hope that better explains the technique and the result.
 
On the drum brain unit is a STEREO 1/4-inch female headphone jack

Go to Radio Shack (ow where ever) and get a 1/4-inch MALE stereo to RIGHT and LEFT channel 1/4 inch FEMALE splitter. This take the stereo signal and gives you two 'mono' channels.

If the brain unit allows due to manufacture.config, then this basically splits the single 'stereo' (usually drum head and rim) on a single female jack and separates them so you now have two female jacks.

These two female jacks are now one being the brain unit 'head' and the other being the brain unit 'rim' triggers. You'll want to modify the rim brain unit setting to whatever the now new/additional input sound you desire.

Hope that better explains the technique and the result.

That does sound a lot clearer to me, thanks for the reply. I kinda figured you could just do that, but I looked everywhere online, and no word or mention of the ever being done with a DTXPLORER. However, I'm looking at an Alesis DM Pro module this weekend for about $200, and gonna score a Pearl drum rack for about $40. Even if I can't use the rack for electric drums, it's still a nice addition to my acoustic. I've been doing some thinking, and I'm guessing it might cost just as much to build from scratch than to buy a kit from Sam Ash that I'll totally hate.
 
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