Giving Up

[kdfisch]

Okay - Last night I packed up the Alesis USB Studio Pro and processed it for return.     After a multitude of glitchy issues between the Trigger I/O and a few test laptop computers, the final straw was the mid tom pad failing to trigger correctly after only three days of use.  I feared that if this equipment is failing now, it will become a big disappointment in the future.  The dynamic response and transpondence of my fast double-bounce playing was never satisfactory or acceptable.

Will I have to save big $ to get Roland gear, or would it be advisable to use dDrum triggers on the acoustic and use hardware modules like the DM5 or DM10? 

[Hellfire]

Okay - Last night I packed up the Alesis USB Studio Pro and processed it for return.     After a multitude of glitchy issues between the Trigger I/O and a few test laptop computers, the final straw was the mid tom pad failing to trigger correctly after only three days of use.  I feared that if this equipment is failing now, it will become a big disappointment in the future.  The dynamic response and transpondence of my fast double-bounce playing was never satisfactory or acceptable.

Will I have to save big $ to get Roland gear, or would it be advisable to use dDrum triggers on the acoustic and use hardware modules like the DM5 or DM10? 

I'm sorry to hear that. Unfortunately, I think you are going to have problems (outside of the tom failing) with VST drums in general (No matter if it is Roland, Yamaha, or Alesis). Everybody wants plug and play (I do too). Everybody wants great sounding drums but and want it cheap (or at least what we consider affordable, which is different for everyone). Going VST is not for the faint of heart (Even for experienced people). It takes time to set-up and it isn't really any cheaper to do than a hardware solution. More and more people find that out every day.

Good luck, I hope you find the solution you are looking for.

[DeeDubs]

kdfisch,

I have to agree with HF.. While the idea of VST drumming is great, it does fall into the 'pay it now or pay it later' category. Costs like PC upgrades, software packages, sound hardware (not to mention the time and effort (and beer and liquor costs) to configure these badboys) are often overlooked, and significantly add up.

Perhaps you can look at another kit that can do MIDI out but has internal sounds too, and depending on your budget go with one of those. from there you can get a $25 midi to usb connector and work back into the VST realm, and you'll have some instant gratification that you can jam out and hear something more than pad thud.

All the best,

~D~

[Guinness]

Sorry to hear of your frustrations.
 
I'm curious as to how the mid tom was failing.  Would it just not trigger?  This may sound stupid, but I've had trs jacks work their way out of a plug which would then give me some strange trigger results.  I remember thinking, "WTF is going on?!?"  Then when I realized the TRS jack came out of the plug (or it wasn't all the way in to begin with), all was good.
 
I think Hellfire is correct.. VST can be challenging.  I've had zero experience in that area, but from what I've read here and other forums, the learning curve is fairly steep.  My personal theory on the matter is while it is believed that a drummer create the perfect ekit with VST, there's 3 pieces of equipment...  kit, dumb brain (ie trigger I/O), and PC.  That's one more piece of equipment for error.  Again, take it with a grain of salt, as I have no experience in this arena.
 
anyways...   good luck!

[kdfisch]

Thank you for all of the help and advise.  You are absolutely right about the plug n play approach and that I was assuming the VST route was going to save me money.  I have very little time for my musical interests with family obligations, etc. so I became impatient with tweaking and troubleshooting electronic issues vs. actually playing the durned thing.  Regards.

[Guinness]

Thank you for all of the help and advise.  You are absolutely right about the plug n play approach and that I was assuming the VST route was going to save me money.  I have very little time for my musical interests with family obligations, etc. so I became impatient with tweaking and troubleshooting electronic issues vs. actually playing the durned thing.  Regards.

With that in mind, I think you'd appreciate a DM5, DM6, or DM10.

[kdfisch]

The VST and Midi interface was not to difficult to setup.  It just seemed things like high hat controllers and sound cards would intermittently have new issues.  The first thing I did was check and reset all connections to the pads, etc., reboot the Trigger I/O, and re-establish the USB communication.  The pad started sending both head and rim zone triggers with the pad being struck (even very lightly in the center).  Kind of sent me over the edge.