DTX / Clinic News
Kenny Aronoff Videos
Marvin McQuitty
The DTX artists have been busy doing a series of clinics over the summer. Yamaha conducted dealer events in June where they invited a group of authorized Yamaha/DTX dealers from the east coast to Indianapolis, Indiana for training event. Yamaha’s Athan Billias (Director of Marketing/DTX Marketing Manager), Tom Griffin (DTX Product Specialist), and Bob Terry (Artist Relations) were all on hand to show off the new DTX line-up of kits. Kenny Aronoff made a special appearance and completely wowed the audience with his performance on his customized DTX950 kit. After his performance Kenny joined the dealers for a lunch where he signed autographs, took pictures and talked personally to all that attended. The Indianapolis event was such a success that Yamaha repeated the event at their headquarters in Buena Park, California for a group of west coast dealers.
Marvin McQuitty conducted a clinic on August 10th at Chuck Levin’s Washington Music Center. Marvin, who is one of the best and noted Gospel drummers of today focused on his approach to drumming in the worship market on a DTX900K and his DTX-MULTI 12. He mesmerized the crowd with his deep grooves as he played to some backing tracks from his soon to be released CD.
Kenny Aronoff Video Part 1
Kenny Aronoff Video Part 2
Kenny Aronoff Video Part 3
DTX / Artist News
Gorden doing some heavy hittin’ on the American Idol tour last summer
Writer, Teacher, Clinician, Producer, Drummer and Musician
For over 17 years, Gorden Campbell has been a first-call drummer for gigs that include every genre of music that you can imagine: jazz, rock/ pop, R&B, hip-hop, gospel, orchestral and YES, even country! He's worked with artists such as Earth, Wind & Fire; George Duke; Jessica Simpson; Whitney Houston; Beyoncé; 50 Cent and many more.
Gorden can also be heard on movie soundtracks such as Dreamgirls, Be Cool and Semi-Pro. He is one of the founding members of the Rhythm Alliance, which includes Teddy Campbell, Marvin McQuitty Jr., Gerald Heyward, Aaron Spears and Nisan Stewart.
Gorden plays Yamaha Oak Custom acoustic drums and hardware, Zildjian cymbals, Remo drumheads and uses Vater drumsticks. Gorden incorporates a DTX-MULTI 12 percussion pad into his live set up from which he triggers loops and samples behind the many world-renowned artists that he plays for. When Gorden was recently asked about the new DTX pads he replied, "DTX pads make me want to play! I love the DTX pads. For me as a drummer, I want the pads to feel like real drums. These have a natural feel and are comfortable to play. They make me want to keep playing!"
Gorden has been extremely busy recently. He has just completed a new instructional DVD that will be out in stores this fall. He’s also taken on the role of producer, producing a new young artist by the name of Dylan Allen who will have a new CD out soon. Also, look for the new Zildjian Inspiration Pack that was inspired by Gorden and the rest of the gang in the Rhythm Alliance.
To learn more about Gorden, please visit his website, www.gordencampbell.com.
Oh, and by the way, HAPPY BIRTHDAY G!
DTX / Tips & Tricks
DTX900
DTX-MULTI 12
In a previous issue I discussed triggering loops using HOLD mode so that you can start/stop a loop voice with each alternating strike of a single pad. But what if you want to use a different pad with a different loop voice to stop the first one? The answer is to take the pad out of hold mode and assign each loop voice to the same ALTERNATE GROUP.
When two or more voices are assigned to the same alternate group-only the most recently played voice will sound, and the earlier voice will be silenced. This not only works with loop voices, any voice can be assigned to work this way. As a matter of fact, any kit that features open and closed hi-hat voices uses the alternate group function. It is perfectly acceptable to setup dedicated "kill-switch" pads that feature non-looping voices to stop currently sounding loop voices in the same alternate group.
The alternate group function is in all DTX trigger modules and the DTX-MULTI 12.
DTX700
DTX-MULTI 12
DTX900
Some bands always play the same set every night. But what do you do when you’ve setup a series of user kits for a specific setlist and your band leader or musical director informs you that tonight’s setlist is completely different from the one you have pre-programmed in your DTX module to step through? Depending on the DTX model you are using, you have several ways to reorganize the order of your user kits.
For the DTX700 and DTX-MULTI 12 there is an "Exchange Kit" job function in the KIT modes, so with a pencil, paper and new setlist in hand, it is a fairly simple process to move the kits around to wherever they need to be for the new order setlist. It is a good idea to SAVE your data to a USB device before making any changes (as well as afterward) in case your band goes back to the old setlist again or switches between the two different versions.
For the DTX900 module, there is a CHAIN mode, that allows you to re-order up to 64 different "steps". A step can be a Kit, Song, or tempo/time signature. You can have 64 different chains, so you can accommodate up to 64 different setlists. Make sure to STORE your chain to one of these locations before turning off the power to the module!
Layering sounds is a way to fatten up your back beat, deepen the sound of your kick, or simply add spice to any of your kit pieces. The ability to layer, or stack, any sound on any pad is available with the STACK function of the DTX700, DTX900 and DTX-MULTI 12.
To layer a voice in the DTX500, you don’t need a special mode, but you must first turn on the "B" layer on the KIT2 screen. Do this by highlighting the letter "A" in the upper right corner and rotating the jog-dial. Once you have selected the desired voice for layer B you can set the volume, pan position, tuning, etc to whatever value you like. Try some of these suggestions when setting up layers on DTXdrums:
BIG BEAT - Layer 2 different snares; one for attack and one for extra "fatness".
SUB-KICK - Layer a T8 kick under your favorite bass drum sound for extra low end.
JINGLE TOM - Layer a tamourine voice with your floor tom; great for beach music.
80's HAIR BAND - Try layering a reverse snare under your kick and your snare head, but lower the pitch/tuning of the one under the snare. Set each reverse voice to the same alternate group and increase the reverb on the "normal" voices. Stroke!
Stay tuned for more artist news and tricks and tips coming next issue. Happy Drumming!