Yamaha DTXtreme IIS

I have the Dtxtreme IIS for about 9 months now (bought it used in Summer 2008 for $1,100 with DW5000 pedal included). For the used price paid, this electronic drum set is a bargain in terms of features. The module has some 1,700 drum and percussion sounds. The set comes with 12" snare and 4 10" rubber pads (all three-zone pads). You could think of it as having 3 snares and 12 toms at any given time. Two crashes and a ride. Hi-hat on real HH stand, and of course the base kick. The aluminum tube rack is fairly standard as far as electronic drum sets go. The tom and cymbal mounts (hardware) are really of good quality. I believe the tom mounts are the same as those found on the Yamaha acoustic drum sets.

Compared to the Rolands (I also own the TD-6, TD-8, & TD-10 at one time or another), the Yamaha rubber pads somehow just don't feel as nice as the mesh heads. In fact, if you have wrist problems, you may want to stay away from all electronic rubber pads, regardless of brand. Hitting on these rubber pads a lot will definitely lead to serious hand and wrist problems.

I must admit I bought this set simply based on reading the specifications compared to the price. Nevertheless, now I realize there is a reason why Yamahas are cheaper than Rolands. Of the hundreds of snare sounds, I could not even find one to fit my taste. There are some really good tom and base sounds, but the cymbals are just really average. Overall, I think the sounds on the Dtxtreme IIS might be just bit below the Roland TD-8/TD-10. Actually, since I had also own a Dtxpress III, I would say many of the sounds in the Dtxpress III are actually more useable for performance than the Dtxtreme IIS. BTW, unless you are really into studio work and all other special effect stuff, most of the 1,700 sounds are not really meant for stage performance, even if you try to edit them. Of the 99 preset drum kits available, I only use three (Maple, Accoustic, and NewAccoustic) and this is after tweaking some of the sounds.

Almost forgot, my favorite of the Dtxtreme IIS is the HH and some of the HH sounds. Installed on the regular HH stand, it can mimic the accoustic HH. But then again, electronic drum sets are electronic sets, and accoustic drums are accoustic drums. One will never likely replace the other.

There have been several complaints on various websites regarding reliability with the Dtxtreme IIS. Mine has been working well so far. My only complaint may be with one of the cymbals that does not seem to be as sensitive, even with me tweaking the module to max. The rubber snare/tom pads will likely last a long time, since they are just really "hard" rubber pads.

Despite Yamaha's original intention to market the Dtxtreme IIS as professional set, I don't think the aluminum rack and the plastic rack clamps would last long on gigs.

Have not dealt with them yet.

After owning for 9 months, I thought of selling it, but decided to keep it and combined the whole set with my Roland TD-10 to make a monster electronic drum set. I don't think I would want to use the Dtxtreme IIS as a drum set by itself because it really lacks the snare and cymbal sounds to make a complete set. By combining with the Roland TD-10, I get to combine the bests of both Yamaha and Roland electronic sounds.