Hullo! (finally)

[Cheddies]

Long time lurker, (reasonably) long time account holder - first time poster.

Finally feel I know enough to contribute something!

So, about me:
Nearly 30, picked up drumming (properly) last May - have wanted to play for years and years and years and aside from dabbling a little as a kid I never had the opportunity.

Bought a used DTXPLORER kit in May, and since then have:
Built the 'tennis ball' drum riser (i live in an upstairs flat in West London)
Upgraded to 3 zone snare
Upgraded to dual zone PCY65s cymbals
Re-upgraded snare to Koby mesh head
Added an amp/monitor
Upgraded the Koby's mesh head to a Z-Ed triple-x

Then:
Upgraded module to td-11
Upgraded td-11 sounds to vexpression

So currently rocking a VEXed up TD-11 with 2 Yamaha pcy65s (one crash and one ride), 3 basic Yammy rubber toms (and a spare - currently used as a splash) and a Koby 8" mesh snare. Very compact little kit as still all built on the (strengthened) DTXPLORER frame. Which is good, as it is squeezed in a corner of the bedroom!

(Hopefully) getting a dual zone 12" millenium (pd-1012) mesh head for xmas - then will move the koby to be the floor tom (or sell it , as I am never going to get a matching set of three of those)

So - budget Frankenkit all the way for me!

Next up - looking at getting a nice sized (13,15") triple zone for the ride - or.. full mesh heads?

Will post some pics shortly.

[Cheddies]

Kitpic (Attached)

As you can see - i have only got a small space - hence the tennisball platform (covered in thick red carpet) only sits under the drums - this meant I had to look for a very tall stool to account for my long legs, plus the added height on the drums. No complaints from downstairs since I made the riser though!


Also, as it is in the bedroom, my cables have to be super tidy

[hairmetal-81]

Welcome to the forum, cheddies!

Nice upgrade-path you have there - that's alot of kit for such a small space!
Happy Drumming!

[Cheddies]

Oh - also, I should say - I am a web developer by trade - so may be able to help with some forum/server stuff if required.

[Kenster]

Wonderful intro, thanks for sharing! Post some pics and have fun! Welcome to the madness!

K ;-)

[Cheddies]

Cheers dude. Have put a pic up in comment 2. Will keep updating as GAS strikes.

[Cheddies]

Thanks Hairmetal!

Just realised I also whacked a cy-5 on and (upgraded?) my Yamaha hi-hat controller to a roland fd-7 when I got the td-11 - playing hihat on a rubber pad just wasn't doing it for me - but had forgotten that that didn't come with the kit until I just saw a stock one on ebay!

Its way better now.

I bought a Krigg kick trigger the other day to see if it helps the kick noise / I get on with it (it will also give me a bit more flexibility in placement - the kp65 is jammed right back against the wall as is.)

I, like most of us here it seems, always seem to be looking at some upgrade or other!

[BWaj]

Very awesome set up in that space! Welcome!

[Cheddies]

Thanks! Im quite proud of it for such a small space.

[hairmetal-81]

...and rightfully so!

[Cheddies]

***KIT UPDATE ALERT***

Got a slamming deal from a friend on a Yamaha 3 zone 15" ride pre-converted to roland-style dual cables. Aside from the fact that whoever wired it up seems to have got it the wrong way round (plugging the bell into the original cymbal port and the normal bow/edge into the additional port works great though) it is SMOKING.

Now got a splash, a crash and a three one ride - amazeballs.

Will get a pic up later.

[R_Z]

Just looked at your picture. Perfect setup for the space. Glad you have the guts to piece meal your set. I just don't feel comfortable doing that, hence I'm looking for all in one.

[hairmetal-81]

With used pads, there isn't much that can go wrong! (...other than faulty triggering, and this can be solved!)
But if they look like they were treated shabby as..., your eye will avoid them anyway! If you can give them a good whack beforehand, to see if it triggers fine, that's even better.

Same can be said of a used rack:
If it appears to be nicely treated, if there are no dented or rusted bars, and no broken clamps (this can happen with plastic clamps if you overtighten them...), you can go for it!
A rack is just some metal pipes, after all! - Not much rocket-sience, here!

The trickier part will be the electronics ...but since you buy the module *first* anyway....
The first examination should again be the outer case: avoid if there are beer-stains or a volume-knob that's broken off! Test it with a pad to see if all the inputs trigger, if you can. If the unit powers up, you've already taken the biggest step towards being out of the woods!

[Cheddies]

I agree with HM - aside from the module it is hard to go wrong. I even risked my td-11 off ebay - I just kept asking loads of questions until I was happy that the thing worked as described. Aside from it coming with a non-roland generic power supply (which I promptly switched to a proper roland one!) it was fine.

Anyway - kit update picture:

New Yamaha 150s cymbal
Trying out the Krigg Kick drum trigger - it is certainly quieter than the KP65

[hairmetal-81]

And suddendly, your crashes are in a good position, and your kit looks a whole lot more Pro!

Next, two things:
1. post your acquisitions in the 'Your Year in Gear' thread!
2. try to fit in that spare Yammie rubber-pad as your second floor-tom (maybe get a bit longer side-tube)

[R_Z]

Avery nice tidy package that looks great. Bet it sounds awesome!