TD-12 vs DTXtreme III

[Prospective2]

Hi everyone,

I'm in the market for a high-end e-drum kit. I've narrowed it down to either a TD-12 or DTXtreme III. At my local music store the prices were $3600 for the TD-12 and $4200 for the DTXtreme III (which also had a kick and hi-hat included). What are your thoughts on which is the better choice?

I read somewhere that the TD-12 doesn't have sampling abilities. Is this true? It seems like a glaring omission on Roland's part if it is.

Does anyone know if the DTXtreme 3 has positional sensing?


Some thoughts from me:

DTXtreme:

Pros,

Samples sounded good, in particular the ride samples sounded somewhat better than the Roland ones

1 Extra tom and crash pad

Rubber pads actually felt pretty natural, and they are bigger than the TD-12's.

full sampling capabilities

Practice songs a lot less cheesy than the roland ones

3-way sensing on all pads

Cons,

Rubber pads were a bit louder

It seems yamaha hasn't really dealt with the machine gun effect

The sounds are samples so they aren't readily cutomizable


TD-12

Pros,

Pads are a little nicer overall

drums sounds are customizable

More nuances of real drums are captured (positional sensing (but snare only), no machine gun effect, option for snare buzz on toms)

Slightly cheaper

Cons,

No sampling (?)

The default drums don't sound that great. Especially the ride. I've heard you can get much better sounds once you've customized them... any thoughts?

Cheesy practice songs

3-way sensing on ride only


Thanks a lot.

[KnipeDrums]

You pretty much nailed it, you can get rid of the machine gun effect by turning down the trig sens. I use 2 dtxtreme3's with my mesh pad kit and the new cymbals from Yamaha and they trigger and play wonderfully. Good Luck on your decision, Tom

[Ralphieboy]

Be sure and check RMCAudio.com for your td-12 price!
Ralph

[laystay]

I just got a TD12 a little while ago. I love it! There's enough adjustments to pretty much tweak any kit sound you can think of. Go to the VEX site and listen to the Vintage Drums Kits for the TD12, they sound pretty authentic much more than the Yamaha modules including the DTXtremeIII that I heard.