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Featuring a 10" snare with 13" and 15" rubber cymbals.

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Sound as a pound

And so to the sounds themselves. It seems that Yamaha has indeed upped the ante in terms of quality while lowering the number of tones on offer and, in turn, the DTXpress 4 is significantly better than that which has gone before. Apparantly some of the Motif (flagship Yamaha synth) bods have had some input into the sonic performance of the set-up, and it definitely shows.

Where Roland has always excelled at raiding its back catalogue of classic drum machines for tough, three-dimensional electronic sounds, Yamaha has tended to lean towards the cheesy. No more however- the various electronic kit sounds on offer here stand up well to pretty much anything else that is available, shedding any cabaret image in the process.

Some cheeky relabelling of kit presets sees much-loved 8- and 9-series machine sounds (if you're familiar with electric kits from days gone by, you know the ones) well represented, with heavy kicks, crisp, clean hats and poppy snares very much in evidence. There's a good selection of usable breakbeaty sounds, grungy and dirty, to be found here too, and fans of clean, fusion-style acoustic kits, well-created ethnic percussion and the like are also well-catered for.

The DTXpress 4 doesn't overburden itself with too many of the same types of noises, instead there are a handful of really good kits designed for each particular rhythmic ballpark.

Imitation goods

If you're more interested in acoustic emulation than electronic sounds then I've saved the best for last. The feather in the DTX's cap is a couple of multi-sampled acoustic sets, handily situated at the very top of the unit's menu.

The Oak Custom and Maple Custom preset kits (hmm, wonder where they got the source sounds from) are truly impressive, featuring layered samples at different velocities to come as close as possible to the tonal feel of a real kit. With the acknowledgement that no e-kit will ever feel like an acoustic set, this pair of DTX presets does a fantastic job of providing almost-the-real-thing at any volume, straight from the box.

Especially impressive are the toms and cymbals which are full and multi-dimensional, and zingy and clean respectively. This version of the DTXpress 4 allows you to get the most from the acoustic kits. Its larger ride cymbal and bigger, three-zone snare pad offer that extra sensory experience over the Standard version, and is worth the extra wedge if you can afford it.

Splash the extra cash and you'll find yourself closer to the kind of feel offered by an acoustic set with its different-sized components. No, it's by no means the same and yes, we'd love a hi-hat similar to Roland's V system, but all in all, the DTXpress 4 does more than enough to seriously move the game on.