Printable View
Hey kids. What drum module do you think has the best sounding cymbals at a reasonable price. I'm sure the Roland TD-50 sounds are incredible but way out the price range for this drummer. What do you think The Yamaha express, explorer, Roland td-6, td-10. Alesis d4, dm5. Would love your input on this.
I own a dated Yamaha DTXpressIII module with an upgraded DTXpressIV pad set so I can only speak to this specific model. I must preface that I don't like playing on the ekit but I'll tolerate the pitfalls of one if it's needed due to noise or space constraints.
On the upgraded DTXpressIV pads, the #1 crash cymbal input has the capability to choke the crash and the ride input has three trigger zones: bell, bow and crash. I find this features essential on any ekit cymbal set up since it kind of replicates what you can do on real cymbals.
DTXpress IV pads on a Gibraltar V-Rack:
http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/a...itbirdseye.jpg
The DTXpressIII module made its debut in 2004. It has the basic features that most ekit modules have including the aux input which is used connect any digital player via a 3.5 mini cable. The Aux volume control knob allows the ability to mix the digital player and the ekit together to acheive a good blend between both devices.
The DTXpressIII has two 1/4" stereo output jacks and you can sum both channels by selecting the left mono output jack if your'e running a mono mix to the FOH (Front Of House) speakers.
After doing my research for a possible upgrade to a newer module, I found some only offer one crash cymbal input. This could be a deal beaker for most. It certainly stopped me from spending more than I wanted.
http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/a...psyib1pcrc.jpg
continued...
As far as the actual sound of the cymbals sound files in the DTXpressIII are concerned, I'd would say the PCY 155 (14") ride sound files offers the closest thing to a real ride. The other kit configurations in the DTXpressIII module alternate between one crash, one china for most of the samples but the acoustic kit cymbal set up is the only one that has two crash cymbal sample files to choose from.
http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/a...tride-Copy.jpg
Hihats: The DTXpress IV pad set came with a better set up for the hihats than the stock configuration. The RH135 (12") looks like the top cymbal of a standard set of hats rather than a solid rubber pad on the stock set up and it uses a specific hihat clutch that Yamaha has designed to fit into the RH135. A standard entry level hihat stand (Yamaha HS-650A) came with the DTXpress IV pad set.
http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/a...hihat-Copy.jpg
The bottom of the RH135 has the hihat trigger built into the rubber pad and as the hats are played, the rubber pad will trigger voices for splash, open and closed hihat sounds and the top of the RH135 has a trigger near the edge of the bow to provide the sloshy sound of open hats.
http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/a...der1a-Copy.jpg
The bottom of the hihat rubber pad rests on the bottom hihat plate which provides the striking zone for the hats. I have the bottom hihat plate on upside down to show the rubber insert on the underside of the hihat plate.
http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/a...pad1a-Copy.jpg
continued...
DTXpress IV pads set up on stands with the HS650-A hihat stand:
http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab16/late8/y2.jpg
DTXpressIV with a vintage TamaStar 5300 ekit on a Gibraltar V-Rack:
http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/a...tbreakdown.jpg
http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/a...enekitwide.jpg
http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/a...itbirdseye.jpg
continued...
DTXpressIV with vintage TamaStar 5300 and Pearl Export (ECX) all maple double bass kit:
http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/a...inpearlDB5.jpg
http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/a...inpearlDB4.jpg
http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/a...inpearlDB2.jpg
http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/a...inpearlDB3.jpg
continued...
'97 Premier APK with DTXpressIV:
http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps5346488c.jpg
http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/a...psde32ce12.jpg
Wow what an impressive set up i am new to Drumming been playing about 4 months i have an Electric Drum Kit a Yamaha DTX 502 Kit but i have recently put some Roland mesh pads for my Kick Drum and Toms but kept the Yamaha snare pad as i think it's great.....i prefer the Roland mesh pads to the Rubber Yamaha pads as they are quieter when practicing but you have a great set upQuote:
Originally Posted by late8
By far the best sounding cymbals (and drums) in a module are going to be in the 2Box DrumIt line. This is because the sounds are 100% rewriteable. I've recorded dozens of cymbals already to load into mine -- each zone (bell, bow, edge) can have up to 128 different individual samples! So there's absolutely no machine gun effect or repetitive fake cymbal rolls. The factory cymbals on the module are decent, certainly better than most others even then, but this module really is all about user customization.