New E-Kit: Yamaha DTX532K

[Minerman]

Thought I'd just start a new thread to show you guys what I splurged on last week...

Yamaha DTX532K:



Came with HS650A hi-hat stand, RHH135 2-zone hi-hat pad, FP7210A kick pedal/KP65 kick pad, XP80 3-zone snare, 3 - TP70 single zone toms, 2 PCY135 3-zone cymbals, DTX502 module, & RS502 rack...

I now officially have enough electronic drum gear to not have any excuses at all, ever again about my fake drums...This is as close as I can get to a real kit, & still keep my feet in the software world...I also have enough extra pads & rack pieces to put together a ridiculous e-kit, which may or may not happen...I've currently got 2 extra cymbals in use right now (plus a tom pad), & that should be all I actually need to be honest...I'll most likely leave it this way for a while...



The Roc-N-Soc throne is the shit dudes, seriously...I cannot believe what a difference that thing has made in just a few days, unbelievably comfortable...Expensive, yes, but it just amazes me what a difference a good throne has made...

I also bought a set of Shure SE125 earbuds to use with the kit, but those will take a lot of time to get used to, especially since I've been using my Sennheiser HD280's for almost 3 years now...I bought 'em to leave behind the kit, & figured they'd give me a bit more freedom of movement while bashing away, but again, they're gonna take a while to get used to...

I really don't have anything negative to say about the kit itself, everything works as expected, & is fuckin' awesome IMO...I'm still in the process of getting things adjusted to where I want/need, but that's to be expected...I'd planned on taking the FSR out of the old, silent hi-hat pedal & using it with this kit, but I'm not sure if it even needs it or not...The hi-hat pad is 2-zone (edge/bow), & already send the continuous control messages to the daw, so I'm just gonna leave it as-is for now...It wouldn't take 2 minutes to put the FSR under the hi-hat pedal though, so that's still an option if I ever decide to do that...

I do plan on taking the trigger/piezo out of the old silent kick pedal & make a small pad out of it, probably for a cowbell/tambourine/whatever...That's what the extra tom pad is doing right now, but it clutters the kit a little, & with the real hi-hat stand I'll need a little room until I get used to it a bit better...It's a world of difference from the DTX400, & again, this is as close to a real kit as I'll get, for now...

I'm very impressed with the module, just about anything I'd wanna tweak/adjust is there, & there are a lot of features packed inside, a lot more than the DTX400 to say the least...

I'm planning on doing some sort of video, not sure when I'll get it finished, but when I do, I'll throw it up here for you guys to have a good laugh at...

And, of course, it's got the new car smell, but I'm really impressed with it so far, so much so that I feel like a little kid at Christmas...

[liv_rong]

[Greg_L]

Wow, nice miner. Congrats! Do some clips and vids!

[ido1957]

Sweet - congrats on your new kit.

[Minerman]

Thanks dudes!!!
This kit is way more responsive & sensitive than the DTX400, I'm not sure if it's the different module, pads or combination, but I'm finding this e-kit is great so far...I'm still trying to get it dialed in, as I'm getting some double-triggers & the midi that's recorded is too hot (I'm either whacking the pads too hard where it's so sensitive and/or I need to adjust each pad's gain), but it's gettin' there...

I swear I feel like a little kid at Christmas over here, & I'm having an absolute blast with this thing!!!

The only thing negative about anything I bought this week are the Shure earbuds, they sound shrill/tinny to me, probably where I'm used to the Sennheiser HD280's that cover my ears & have great low-end, but I'm trying to get use to 'em...The rest of the stuff is killer to me, & again, I'm literally having a blast with the new gear!!!

I do plan on making a video pretty soon, I'm giving it some thought on how I'm gonna go about doing it all, but I will throw something up before long to let you guys see some of the features this thing's got...

The thing I'm most impressed with is the new throne...Holy fuck, I never knew a damn drum throne would make such a difference, compared to the shitty throne I'd been using, it's like sitting on a cloud...I'm so glad you guys suggested a Roc-N-Soc, I have no idea how the other thrones with the similar tractor/motorcycle seat from Yamaha, Gibraltar, etc., compare, but the Roc-N-Soc is the shit, period!!!

I fucked around with the kit for a few days, trying to put everything together into one big kit, but shit was just in the way that I really wouldn't use, so I set it back up about how it's supposed to be, the only thing extra I have are a couple cymbals & one extra pad...I'm most likely gonna take a trigger out of one of the DTX400's pads/pedals & make a small, little pad to use for a cowbell/tambourine...I might add one more tom, but then again, I'm not sure if I'd even need or use it, but the option's there if I wanna...

I've not had this much fun with new gear in a long, long time!!! Who would've thunk a hillbilly like me would have so much fun with an e-kit???

[Greg_L]

A nice throne makes a huge difference. Those Roc-n-Socs are some of the best around.

[Minerman]

A nice throne makes a huge difference. Those Roc-n-Socs are some of the best around.

I wouldn't have believed it before, but I do now...I'm havin' an absolute blast over here with this thing...

Oh yeah, I bought this cute little thing too:

[ido1957]

A nice throne makes a huge difference. Those Roc-n-Socs are some of the best around.

I wouldn't have believed it before, but I do now...I'm havin' an absolute blast over here with this thing...

Oh yeah, I bought this cute little thing too:

I know squat about drums but I will wager that's a lug wrench (ratchet style). Do I win a prize? LOL

[Tadpui]

Lookin' great man. That drum throne is now on my wish list. My tailbone hurts just thinking of sitting on my terrible drum throne again.

[Minerman]

I know squat about drums but I will wager that's a lug wrench (ratchet style). Do I win a prize? LOL

Yes!!! I really haven't used it much, the key that came with the kit suffices most of the time, but I learned with the other kit, a regular key can't get into tight spots sometimes, & on some things I really need to crank the torque so things will stay in place, so I spent like $8 on this little thing...

[Minerman]

Well dudes, after a full week with the new e-kit I gotta say I'm pretty impressed with it overall...I've almost got it dialed in, there's very little to no false triggering (that isn't user error...more on that in a minute), I've about got the levels I want it to record at set (midi level btw), & I've got all the pads/cymbals I want/need running on one module, which was a big reason I bought this thing, to simplify things in the daw...

I will say that after I've tweaked/dialed/adjusted for about a week now, anything else I need to bitch about is: my playing/technique

The whole kit is really sensitive, especially the hi-hat, even with the overall kit gain as low as it'll go (which goes from 50 - 200 btw), so I'm gonna have to really work on my playing, & learn how to play dynamically, which I'm assuming, would apply to a real kit also...

The kit will false-trigger unless you hit the pads where you're supposed to...in short, you need to be able to play consistently with this kit, so I'm gonna have to up my game here guys...

I'm still working out how to do a video for you guys, but I've got some good ideas, & will have something before too much longer, I promise...Just to be honest, I didn't wanna throw something up like the last video just showing me thrashing around on the kit, I wanna go into detail showing you guys some of the features the kit's got, plus a couple/few other things about it that I'm happy about...

Overall, if anyone is looking for a good, feature-packed electronic drum kit, that has a similar feel to a real one (granted, this is just me going by what I can remember about a real kit, comparing my memory to both e-kits), I highly recommend the Yamaha DTX532K...It's miles ahead of the DTX400, there simply isn't a comparison, but, it's also 3 times the admission price, which I think is fair, given the features offered...

All in all, I'm very happy with the new e-kit, & it should make me a much better drummer, I just need to put the time in to improve my playing...
Long story short, I'm a happy hillbilly right now...

[Minerman]

Ok dudes,
Just letting you guys know I'm still alive & well over here in Hillbillyville, I'm still playin' the e-kit for hours daily, & I'm still learning what all the new e-kit is capable of...

I've been doing my homework on making a video for you guys, I know I've had the kit over 2 weeks now, but I'm trying to make sure all my bases are covered, not just throw up a half-assed video attempt, when I can take my time & do something kinda in-depth that'll be worth the effort...

I've got a few ideas I've been messing with, & I've finally figured out how I'm gonna go about it, so I should have something up in the next couple/few days for ya...

I'm still amazed at everything the new kit can do, I'm learning more about it everytime I sit behind the kit, & I've barely scratched the surface of what it's really capable of...

So again, I should have something for you guys in the next few days to let you see the new e-kit...

[Tadpui]

Awesome, I'm sure it'll be great.

I'm gonna dig my e-kit out of storage this weekend, so I'll probably be referencing your video

[Minerman]

Awesome, I'm sure it'll be great.

I'm gonna dig my e-kit out of storage this weekend, so I'll probably be referencing your video

Thanks Tad,
You know, FWIW, the DTX400 ain't a bad piece of gear dude, it's actually quite good considering the price...The one big thing I wish were different are the 1/8" input jacks...I know it's not a total deal breaker, but they could've made those input jacks 1/4" like pretty much every other module out there...

For triggering vsti's, it's a solid little module with a lot of good features that even some other modules don't offer, like the ability to re-number each pad/cymbal's midi note # it sends to the daw...While it's not hard to use some sort of re-mapping plugin, it's nice to be able to do that inside the module itself...

I was surprised the "regular" pads that came with the DTX532K were a little bigger than the DTX400's pads, not much but still...The big difference between those pads is the way they mount to the rack...The DTX400's pads slide onto the rack tube, while the DTX532's pads mount with an L-rod, that offers a lot better placement/adjustment options...I'll try to include some comparisons between the DTX400 & DTX532's pads for you too since you're gonna be setting your e-kit back up...

Thanks again dude, I'm gonna try to have the video up here in the next couple of days...