There’s a New Kit in Town

When it comes to electronic drum kits, there’s a world of options out there. But if you’re looking for a fresh approach that will inspire you to new heights, you’ll want to check out the three new kits in the Yamaha DTX6 Series — the latest addition to the Yamaha family of electronic drum kits. Designed to be easy to use and fun to play, DTX6 Series kits are great for drummers who need a way to practice and rehearse quietly, want to record with professional results, or just want to improve their drumming abilities.

Start Your Engine!

All DTX6 Series electronic drum kits are equipped with the new DTX-PRO drum trigger module, which features a state-of-the-art audio engine loaded with more than 700 new high-resolution acoustic and electronic drum sounds, along with cymbal and percussion sounds. The acoustic drum samples in the DTX-PRO were recorded in professional studios by skilled recording engineers and even incorporate the natural ambience of the rooms where the drums were recorded.

The DTX-PRO supports connection of up to 14 Yamaha trigger pads, with snare and ride cymbal positional sensing for a more authentic drumming experience. Each pad in a kit can layer up to four sounds, with a maximum polyphony of 256 Voices. You can choose the instrument Voice, alter the tuning or muffling of each drum, change cymbal size or sustain — even change the hi-hat clutch position. Audio files imported from a connected USB flash drive can be used to create your own unique instrument or a custom click track.

Effects Galore

The DTX-PRO provides a wide range of onboard effects that can be applied to individual sounds. These include Gated Reverb, Early Reflections, Tempo Delays, Chorus and Pitch Change, as well as a 3-band EQ, a Transient Modifier (for changing the attack and release of a sound) and a Compressor.

In addition, a Master Effects (MFX) processor can be used to add effects such as Analog Delay, Flanger, Overdrive, Bit Crusher and Lo-Fi to the entire kit, or to individual sounds.

Kit Modifiers

Unique to the DTX-PRO are a trio of Kit Modifier controls that give you access to three distinct characteristics of your DTX6 Series drum kit — Ambience, Comp, and Effect — all with the simple turn of a knob. Combined, the three Kit Modifiers make speedy work of changing the personality of a drum kit.

• Ambience instantly changes the amount of room sound added to a drum kit. At settings from 0 to 50%, it adds the real ambience that was recorded in the studio with the acoustic kits, while settings from 51 to 100% add high-quality digital effects such as Hall, Room, Plate, Stage and Space.
• Comp determines the amount of compression applied to the kit, varying the dynamics and making the drums sound louder or more “punchy.”
• The Effect knob adjusts the blend of effects that have been programmed into the kit using the three onboard processors.

Pads You’ll Want to Play

All DTX6 Series drum kits are supplied with a Yamaha XP80 8-inch snare pad, which utilizes a drum head made of TCS (Textured Cellular Silicone) and has free-floating construction for increased sensitivity that virtually eliminates cross-talk. The pad is split into three zones, supporting open and closed rimshots, or you can assign different Voices to different zones. Best of all, the XP80 is quiet and feels great to play!

The DTX6K3-X and DTX6K2-X kits feature the new KP90 kick pad, which has a 7.5-inch rubber playing surface with a multi-layer cushion, while the DTX6K-X comes with a KP65 5-inch rubber pad. Both pads have sturdy tower construction with anti-slip spurs for increased stability under hard playing conditions, plus they’re large enough to accommodate double foot pedals while ensuring reliable triggering.

The PCY135 ride cymbal pad in all DTX6 Series kits has three zones, allowing you to play different sounds for the edge, bow and cup. The PCY135 also has “choke ability” (if you grab it, the sound cuts off abruptly, just like a real cymbal) and is used for crash cymbals on DTX6K3-X and DTX6K2-X kits.

Rack ‘Em Up

DTX6K3-X and DTX6K2-X kits come equipped with the new RS6 rack — a compact, stable platform for DTX6 Series components. A Yamaha ball clamp mount is used for the snare drum pad, enabling a wide adjustment range, and the left side of the rack permits flexible positioning of the hi-hat stand and double foot pedal (a Yamaha HS650A hi-hat stand is supplied with the DTX6K2-X and DTX6K3-X kits).

Recording Options

The DTX-PRO module allows you to record and store your performances to internal memory or a connected USB flash drive. A really cool feature is that you can overdub your drumming to an accompaniment song played from your smartphone or music player through the DTX-PRO AUX IN jack, and then save the performance to a single file.

You can also record professional-sounding drum tracks into the supplied Cubase AI DAW software by connecting the DTX-PRO to your computer via USB. The USB connection also supports streaming of MIDI data into DAW software for creating sequenced drum parts.

Share Your Drumming with the World

The DTX-PRO is compatible with the free Yamaha Rec’n’Share app, available for both iOS and Android^® smartphones and tablets. Rec’n’Share lets you record audio and video of your drumming performances, which you can then email to friends or bandmates, upload to a file sharing app, or post directly to social media.

Practice Makes Perfect

The DTX-PRO incorporates 10 different training tools designed to help your practice routine, including 37 training songs in various genres with original drum parts that can be muted or unmuted. Other training tools include Rhythm Gate, an exercise for striking pads along with a click at proper timing; Measure Break, an exercise for keeping a steady tempo without the click; and Fast Blast, which helps build your drumming stamina.

Additional features include a MIDI output for sending MIDI data to external devices, dedicated front-panel knobs for Master Volume, Audio and Click levels, a headphone jack with a low-noise/high-power amplifier, and separate EQ for the master and headphone outputs.

Watch Joel Cassady of Walk Off The Earth perform on the DTX6K3-X.

Click here for more information about Yamaha DTX6 Series electronic drum kits.