Yamaha Design “Synapses” DTX950K

2010 / ELECTRONIC DRUM

GOOD DESIGN GOLD AWARD
Red Dot Award

The DTX series – superior feel with an advanced, bodiless construction.

Dual-View

For the drummer, the design emphasizes the acoustic feeling of the instrument. For the audience, the advanced construction appears to meld the drummer and the DTX into one.

Inspiring

This drum head utilizes revolutionary molding technology to offer a feel that inspires you to play. Designers looked carefully at the white coloration of the drumhead and the texture of its surface, and were able to achieve a feel that transmits drummers' intentions directly into their sound.

Revolutionary

Die-cast aluminum, rubber… diverse materials joined in the face of a curve, with the whole allowed to float freely within an advanced frame structure.

Minimal

The pads are pure circles, to further emphasize the acoustic air of the drum kit. The design features a clear division between the control panel and the body, so that the control panel does not detract from the circular beauty of the pad.

Keizo Tatsumi: Designer; Yamaha Design Laboratory

The notion of floating, suspended pads.

The concept of electronic drums constructed of a newly-developed material to offer a feel close to that of acoustic drums with a degree of quietness never achieved before. To make this a reality, the design needed to remove as much extraneous vibration from the drum head as possible. A number of floating, suspended designs were trialed, and as the result of rigorous testing, the final design employs a rubber isolator in a structure that frees the drum head from the bottom case. Making the most of its structural characteristics, we sought a design that combines advanced technology with an acoustic feel.
The shape of the DTX resembles the circular form of an acoustic drum, with the drum shell, which is superfluous for an electric drum, removed. Made of a new material, the white drum head provides a superb acoustic feel and is a visual inspiration to a drummer's instincts. Even though the hoop and rim of the pad are of different materials, a union between these speaks volumes of the advanced nature of these drum pads.