| Going to DTXTREMEs Yamaha makes an explosive debut in the world of electronic percussion systems
by Harmony Central Editorial Team
July 22, 2000
For several years Roland's V-drums have drawn crowds at NAMM shows. But at this year's summer show, the dangling headphones and curious throngs were at the Yamaha booth, where the new DTXTREME system laid down a serious challenge for market share and drummer support.
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DTXTREME
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Yamaha general manager Minoru Harada, who designed DTXTREME, is quick to point out the differences between his product and its competition. "One important point is tone," he tells Harmony Central. "Roland uses modeling for V-drum sounds, but we use samples. Modeling is important, but we are more concerned with sound quality. This is why DTXTREME has two or three times the wave memory of V-drums and also a high sample rate -- with three or four velocity crossfades, for example."
The drum surfaces are also a critical to DXTREME. Yamaha uses real drum heads to get as close as possible to the feel of acoustic kits and to allow drummers to play at the softest volume, even with brushes, without overwhelming the sample sound with the thunk of stick on hard pad.
User-friendliness also played into the module design. Five buttons below the LCD allow quick access to parameters, and six sliders -- two more, Harada points out, than on the V-drums -- to control onboard effects. Users can store song data and/or user sounds for up to 99 kits in the DTXT module, which also allows access to CD-ROM drum wave/voice data via computer.
This thing even helps you deal with tempo problems, with its Groove Check feature. Just kick off one of the onboard songs and watch the graphic readout, which tells you whether you're ahead of, behind, or on top of the beat. Your bass player should only be so helpful.
Yamaha plans to begin shipping DTXTREME in October 2000 -- "fingers crossed," smiles Harada. Suggested retail will be $4,600 for the four-tom setup, and $4,300 for three.
For more information, visit www.yamaha.com.
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