Yamaha DTX-Multi 12 - still any good after all these years? 

I personally found the Alesis Strike MultiPad to be a nicer overall user experience in pretty much every way, except reliability. I had to return two to my local music shop for two different problems. But, for me personally, the Alesis is better in every way, even down to little details like the way it displays midi notes in Logic. I had to faff about to get the Yamaha to display midi notes right and even then the Yamaha midi data has a tendency to ignore velocity data as well as overlapping midi notes in a peculiar way.

@@tecraven Interesting that you mention MIDI! I've not impressed with the DTX12M MIDI performance, overall the output (after optimising velocity curves and gain) is lower and less dynamic than my Yamaha Reface CP keyboard or Maschine Mikro Mk3 controller. I assume its a limit of the technology it was built on, fortunately I didn't buy it for MIDI capability (it would have been a nice extra though). I don't have an Alesis pad to compare it to, I've only ever bought Yamaha or Roland drums, mostly because I've always preferred the sound but also Alesis is known for having a poorer reliability.

@@adebirkby5289 Yes, Alesis are similar to Behringer in regard that they both produce very unreliable and questionable products - shame as the Alesis Strike MultiPad could have been something quite special if only they had made it reliable. I got the Yamaha M12 mainly for MIDI purposes (not built in sounds as I would never use them) and I'd heard, via a Yamaha expert, that the M12 has more midi capabilities than any other similar unit out there. But, I still found the Alesis to put out midi data to perfection into Logic via the USB/midi out: dynamics, timing and, most importantly, the way the midi data displays on the timeline in Logic. The Alesis puts nice long midi notes down for crotchets for example, but if you play semiquavers it automatically shortens them to the right length so they look nice in the midi region (or piano roll). The Yamaha does not do this, it overlaps all the midi notes so some are hidden under others and you have to change a setting in the Yamaha so they all look like tiny 'slit' midi notes, which don't look good and even then I still had to edit the midi data in Logic so it looks more pleasing to the eye. I didn't want to go with the Roland as that's 10 odd years old too and, feeling one in the shop and playing with it, the body felt too cheap and plastic for something costing what the SPD-SX cost, around £685 in the UK. The only other option was the Nord Drum 3p, but the Nord has no midi out over USB, only 5-pin so cache lag comes into play. I didn't mind the fact that the Nord is more a synth via pads machine, in fact I love that about it, as I would only need it for midi anyway as I use Addictive Drums 2 for the actual sampled sounds, but 5-pin midi only (no USB for midi) and only one input for a kick pad and no hi-hat jack socket, the Nord is too limiting for my requirements. Anyway, I'm looking at possibly getting a full size higher end Roland kit, such as a TD17 or TD25. They go for around £1,000 on eBay all day long and these will be way better than a little pad in front of me - especially given that I studied drums and used to be a drummer.

@@tecraven We looked at the TD17 and TD25 a couple of years ago and ended up buying a Yamaha DTX 6 instead. The basic model has decent rubber pads on the toms (they actually feel pretty close to the real thing) and a silicon snare. The sounds are more usable and realistic. Although that is the usually the way - Yamaha make electronic instruments that sound the most accurate whereas Roland make electronic instruments that sound more like you would hear them in a mix (i.e. processed).

​@@adebirkby5289 Agreed, the DTX6 has sampled sounds, compared to the Roland. But, like you said, not many people will hear the difference in the mix, not even professional engineers. People do bang on about the Roland sounds being more of a ‘model’ than actual samples, as if that’s a bad thing, but the Roland sounds are pretty darn good, so good that Roland stick with it - there are advantages. After all, it’s not like Roland could not afford to use samples if they chose to. For me, the DTX6 is just too expensive for what it is, rubber pads on the base model. Even Roland don’t do rubber pads anymore, not on any of their kits, not even the entry level one. And you have to go up to the DTX6K3-X at £1,400 to get non-rubber pads, but even then you are not getting mesh pads, you’re sill getting ‘rubber’ pads, be it with air bubbles in them. But, I don’t care what Dave Weckl says or what scientific ‘buzz’ word Yamaha give these pads, they are rubber with air bubbles in them. Only difference is they are white and thicker, but a drum pad equivalent of an Aero chocolate bar nonetheless. And, for me at least, for £1,400 I feel an 8-inch snare and 7-inch toms is too stingy for a kit costing this much, they should be larger. But you have to go to £2,150 to get a larger snare and toms with the DTX8. I must admit, I have never tried the Yamaha Aero bar heads so can’t comment with any authority as to how good they are, but I’ve tried the high end Roland and given I studied drums and used to be a drummer and did some session work (and for what it’s worth I have a degree in Classical Piano also) I think the Roland mesh heads are pretty darn good. Not quite what an actual drum head would be, but then again, I can’t imagine the Yamaha DTX feeling the same either.

You’re welcome

I've always said that I'd rather go for the Alesis and hope I strike lucky with a good one that came off the production line that week. I have a friend that was a friend of the, then, Alesis rep in the UK and at the time the UK Alesis rep actually said, 'Alesis are more concerned with shifting boxes, rather than fixing production line reliability issues'. But I'd rather take my chances with the Alesis as I, personally, just prefer it over the Yamaha. The new Roland doe look good and I'm a fan of Roland gear as I own a rather decent full size Roland V-drums kit, but you do pay that special RAT (Roland Added Tax) that the company seems to stick onto all their products i.e. they cost way more than everybody else equivalent, for no technical or build quality apparent reason other than the fact that it says 'Roland' on the tin. For me the new Roland should be £695, at a grand it's a bit of a sting for the customer.

With Roland you have issues in recording

Hi Troy. I know what you mean about trading it in. It's actually not with me anymore. Although the M12 is a super piece of kit and I know loads of bands use them I just felt that Yamaha could have done many things different and better with it. I actually spoke to Simon several times on the phone and he really helped me out with some of the more complex things in the M12. Simon's ver knowledgeable not only on the M12 but Yamaha high-end e-drums too and I enjoy watching some of his videos. I've since bought a used Roland TD-12 for laying down drum parts in Logic, using Addictive Drums 2 for the sounds.

Yup, rapid beats definitely caused skipped hits and there was nothing anywhere in the settings that could fix this. For your info, I've also had the Alesis Strike MultiPad, which is better than this Yamaha and more up-to-date by a long way, so much so that Roland even copied the Alesis design with their new SPD-SX model (only the Roland is £300 more expensive, naturally), and the Alesis misses beats when played too fast also. I suspect it is just a thing with these pads, they can't keep up with hemidemisemiquavers, not even demisemiquavers. I've had 'finger midi pads' from two or three companies and they all do it too. Only fix is to play half the amount of beats and then copy/paste the beats in-between in your DAW, but this won't fix live performances of course.

@@tecraven Thank you for your detailed answer. You compared it with models from other manufacturers, which was very helpful. I'm glad I found this, as I hadn't seen anyone else providing such a calm analysis. It makes sense now. Thank you very much.

@@naochi.official You’re welcome.

Yup, to all the above. This was decent when it first came out, but very dated now, especially the UI, which sucks, unless you are working for NASA ;)

Except atrocious user interface of complex menu and a whole 64MB of memory it is and excellent unit.

Yamaha is like Nintendo in mid 90's, obsolete.

Not exactly sure what you mean, but I wouldn’t know because I haven’t used one of these for a couple of years and I don’t own one anymore.

Hi Les. Both are decent enough but I personally prefer the Alesis for all the reasons I mentioned in this video: it's more up-to-date and for me the Alesis pads feel nicer to hit, not so hard like the Yamaha M12 pads, and the Alesis pads are just a tad larger and look better with the surrounding lights. They both appear to be about the same with expandability. You can add a separate snare, hat and one cymbal that I know of. If you already have a Roland TD-17KVX then why bother with either of the Alesis or Yamaha? You already have a superior kit so buying either of these just to add a snare and cymbal seems like a big downgrade. I have recently bought a used Roland TD-15 and I use that all the time now and no need for a smaller multi-pad. I didn't have any issue with a hi-hat with the Alesis, or the Yamaha, both worked the same way for me when using one of the pads as the hat trigger with just a small Yamaha HH65 hat trigger. But I didn't try either with a physical hat stand and open/close hat, but I imagine they are the same as programming the HH65 on Alesis and Yamaha was easy. I'd try them both out in a local store and decide based on that.

It was a little while ago and I don't have either anymore. But, from what I remember I just used a regular 3/4 jack to jack cable to connect Roland pedal to the pedal input on the Yamaha M12. I think I had to make a setting or two in the M12's menu, but can't remember for sure.

@@tecraven Thank you for the answer.

To be honest the pads are too small, about the size of a CD case, perhaps a tad smaller, so they are not sensitive in different areas like a Roland PD-140DS Digital Snare drum for example. The latest Roland and the Alesis are the same. But you can have a snare sound assigned to two adjacent pads to make it easier. The Alesis is better in my opinion, but if you go Alesis buy new for the warrantee as you might need it.

Thanks for the info, good thing the pads are consistent over the entire area, much easier to play. Alesis is out of the question for me, it is on my no buy list. Every Alesis product I purchased failed after the warrantee. Alesis, Behringer and Kurtzweil are now never-buy-again. I will be using the DTX for playing in phrases into a sampler (clips). I hate shopping for samples and just play mine in. I found a demo DTX for $450 bucks, thinking about it....Thanks again for the great video and advice. @@tecraven

I don't have it anymore, but from memory this Yamaha stand was not designed by Yamaha specifically for this drum pad, it's simply a floor tom acoustic drum stand with the relevant ball and socket spike to slot into the hole in the metal part of the acoustic tom. The Yamaha plate that screws to the bottom is designed to hold the spike so I can't see how it could be mounted to a microphone stand or otherwise. Unless the four screws are universally spaced and the same as the Alesis one, so you could possibly buy the Alesis one, or other standard one and screw that on instead. Best way to check for sure is call local music shop and ask if you an fit the Alesis one that has a standard mic thread on the bottom (from memory) to this Yamaha one.

That’s fair enough. It works well with Addictive Drums 2 because I used it with that software. I don’t think, as far as I know, that it needs anything special to use with M1 chip Mac.

@@tecraven Ok thanks i have sticks coming in today and i ordered a stand. This all ready has a stand mount on the bottom. Its been over 40 years synce i played any drums so this will be fun.

@@goactivemedia You’ll definitely have fun :-) enjoy.

Meaning?

@@tecraven when you hit the pad softly it doesn't have a soft hit sample, it just plays the same sample quieter.

@@TheologyUnleashed That could be right, not sure though. I only had one for a week and had to return it due to unreliability. I changed it at the shop for a replacement, but the replacement had other reliability issues so I figured that the Alesis was, and is, a bit unreliable piece of junk so I would not bother with it anyway to be honest, not even to trigger Addictive Drums 2, which is what I use and AD2 has quiet samples. Pads and electronics in Alesis are just too darn twitchy.

No idea on that one. Sounds like you need to get it back to Yamaha service centre for repair.

With a Y-splitter jack cable it can.

I don't think you can reverse them on a global level, but it is quick. and easy to simply re-assign any sound to any pad so you could shift the snare, hi-hat, and toms to the other side in less than a minute.

The KTMP1 is twitchy and can be unreliable, but it is a cheap multipad. The Yamaha one is super reliable, but I personally didn't really like it for the reasons I mention in this video and it is really old now and long overdue for being replaced by something better by Yamaha. I prefer the Alesis Strike MultiPad, but, again, that can be unreliable too, but I'd rather take my chances with the Alesis as I personally think it is better and more up-to-date than the Yamaha, but I can't recall if you can stack more than one instrument per pad like you can with the Yamaha. If I had the money I'd look at the latest Roland SPD-SX Pro, 'Pro' being the operative word here as the SPD-SX was lacking in many areas in recent years as it started to get a big long in the tooth. Roland appear to have done a super job updating it to the all-new SX Pro, but it's not cheap at about £900 to £950 in the UK, depending. Also, I personally feel that the Roland SX and SX Pro feel a little cheap and plastic with regard to the build quality, but I'm just a perfectionist when it comes to build quality.

@@tecraven Yes I definitely agree with Alesis especially they seem to be reputable as a brand, I'll look into this one another one I was checking out was the HXW Thanks alot I appreciate you

@@ByCoreyLaury The Alesis come up used on eBay every week in the UK, typically fetching £400 used. But in would avoid them as, I suspect, earlier ones were even more unreliable. I speculate here that the later ones might have improved with quality control on the production line, but this is speculation. Either way I’d rather have a brand new Alesis with a warrantee for back up.

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That App is nice, John. But it would have been nice to have a nicer/larger screen on the unit so you don't have to fire up an iPhone or iPad and bluetooth it all up etc. App feels like an afterthought to fix poor on-board functionality.

Confused by this. In the UK the Alesis is only £50 more than the Yamaha. Personally, I would not bother with either as the Alesis is unreliable and the Yamaha has too many flaws - that I point out. The new Roland is overpriced in my opinion. So, in a nutshell it's a case of take your pick from a bad bunch. Or maybe I'm just a perfectionist. For the record, Mercedes-Benz are unreliable sh•tboxes and a Kia SUV would almost certainly get you the distance, reliably, for a fraction of the price. German cars are not what they were in the 80s, these days they are amongst the most unreliable cars in the world. Bentley, Mini and BMW, probably in that order, of unreliability.

Not quite, Bobo, but almost. Of all the offerings out there the Yamaha M12 has the issues I outline in the video, but these issues are personal to me and they might not bother a lot of people. I still think the Yamaha M12 is one of the better ones out there, it’s just clunky and has a few issues for me, but there are loads of professionals using it on stage and in studios. I know the review does not put the M12 across in a good light, but not all reviews can be sycophantic. I prefer the Alesis Strike MultiPad, everything about it, except the reliability issues, which is a real shame. The Roland SPD SX is along the same lines as the Yamaha in that it is several years old now and I did not like the plastic feel of it, given it cost about £675. I expected the build quality to feel a bit tougher, personally. The Nord Drum 3p was out of the question for me as it has no midi out over USB and no hi-hat capability so limiting. I know the Nord is a synth pad, but I actually like that as I primarily use these small drum pads for triggering Addictive Drums anyway, I don’t use the samples, but with the Nord I’d have great fun with those built in synth sounds I’m sure. So, not everything sucks quite as much as my video suggests. It’s more that the piece of kit I personally want does not really exist, but it could have if Alesis had (or ever do) sorted their reliability issues.