Electronic drum kits Roland your view?

dav nagle

Just wondering who uses them and what you guys think of them? They were all over the RDS last Saturday? Any views, pro's cons etc? Your input would be great. Thanks, D.

madtheory

They're brilliant. But sometimes they're the lazy engineer's option.

dav nagle

madtheory wrote: »

They're brilliant. But sometimes they're the lazy engineer's option.

Well thats good to know, I was talking to a drummer last night who although he prefers real drums he loves them and says he is going to buy a set himself. I am going to get a kit when I get a chance. I can only imagine how cool they sound hooked into BFD.

eoin5

Ive been learning drums on a td6 and theyre awesome for that but anytime I've set them up with midi it seemed fiddley, the dynamics on the cymbals especially. Maybe the more expensive ones are better.

dav nagle

eoin5 wrote: »

Ive been learning drums on a td6 and theyre awesome for that but anytime I've set them up with midi it seemed fiddley, the dynamics on the cymbals especially. Maybe the more expensive ones are better.

See this is why I am posting, if I spend €1,000 on a kit is it going to be burdened witch cheap glitches that will only infuriate a drummer, do I need to spend €2,000 for a flawless kit? Thanks for the feedback so far.

madtheory

Just opinion, but a few drummers I know reckon they're the best electronic kits, a few use them regularly for gigging because they're light, easy to set up and get a good sound in a much shorter time than an acoustic kit. There are some differences in playing technique, but that's to be expected and it's nothing major. It's no more fiddly than tuning an acoustic kit, if anything it's easier. Non weighted keyboards have the same dynamics issues for pianists.

DamagedTrax

if i had the cash, being in the room im in now, id stump for the roland TD-20KX over a real kit anyday.

simply because of the options available when coupled with my superior drummer kits.

ZV Yoda

dav nagle wrote: »

See this is why I am posting, if I spend €1,000 on a kit is it going to be burdened witch cheap glitches that will only infuriate a drummer, do I need to spend €2,000 for a flawless kit? Thanks for the feedback so far.

From a drummer's perspective, you'll need a kit with mesh heads. They're more lifelike/responsive to play (and won't give you RSI!). Also, they have multiple "zones" for different sounds depending on where you hit the head/rim. To buy this type of kit new (e.g. Roland vrdum TD9/12 series)... they cost from €2-5k (depending where you buy obviously).

Also (to generalise a bit) while most folks agree the drum sounds/playability have really improved a huge amount in the past few years, electronic cymbals are less convincing. Many v-drummers actually use real cymbals/hats with their electronic kits. Also, a lot of them won’t use the sound from the kits themselves, they’ll use BFD / Superior Drummer etc. Also, check the small print on the connectivity - I think you need the top of the range Td12 to get 8 line outs (if you wanted to mix each drum separately in your DAW.

Check out this site for all you ever wanted to know about electronic drums...

slavedave

+1 for www.vdrums.com ( a wealth of info for vdrummers)
also have a look at www.edrumming.com
Gearwise - Roland have some competition now - yamaha dtx have always been there or thereabouts, R.E.T. have an alternative option as do Drumtec.de with their own brand of (quite beautiful) a to e kits. AlternateMode have a different technology altogether which drummers coming into a studio may not love but they make great gear (I have had a Drumkat and a Trapkat). Increasing amount of options compared to 10 years ago. Alesis have just bought out a kit (DM10)that lets you load up your own samples so they may be able to integrate some of the existing libraries out there.
Roland is over priced for sure - but their kits seem pretty robust. You can put together 2nd hand kits from Ebay if you are patient, esp if you have a bunch of hardware already. Go for the mesh head shells though. Cymbals feel a bit dead compared to real cymbals.
module-wise, you have to pay big bucks to get the roland td20 plus expansion card and they still don't get close to BFD or Superior (or addictive drums/ ezdrummer/ Ocean Way etc etc) in terms of quality but (and it is a big but) the modules do not have latency issues. TD 12 is not bad either. I had a td-8 and it had lots of trigger inputs but the sounds, albeit good for the module, do not compare with the TD20 or VSTi's.
I have never played acoustic kits so I don't worry about latency because I have learnt on e-kits but some drummers baulk at the latency issue. To me it is not an issue with my soundcard/ laptop/ drumming experience. There lots of happy customers out there though using both approaches.
track the audio from the drums and record the midi via the triggered pads and then substitute with a decent vsti when mixing. lots of flexibility thereafter when editting. Can multi out channels from vstis to process them individually if you want to, but most have presets that form a starting point.
Need a fat wallet for Roland gear though in the end. That's the killer And that is why I built my own in the end!

dav nagle

Lads thanks a mill, this is exactly the type of info I am after. I have BFD 2 so thats a start. The mesh headed kits are so much more expensive but they sound like the best I'll be keeping that in mind. Cheers for everything, I'll have a good look at all the links you have posted and do some more research. Overall though it sounds like they are awesome. I guy who works in Westland uses them all the time and loves them so maybe now in 09/10 electronic drums are the way forward, especially for my studio, I just dont have the space for a large kit. Regards, D

Ronan Murphy

I have mixed a lot of records recorded with V-drums, and for some reason I always seem to have a tough getting them to blend with the mix. I often end up triggering my own samples instead of the on board ones.

but as the previous poster mentioned real cymbals and hi-hats will help a bunch.

Bluebirdstudios

For cutting imediate demos of tracks they come in dead handy for sure.
I've mixed maybe 8 - 10 songs with them ( bands needed speedy promo material ) I can remember thinking that if you try to mix them into a track as a real kit it just doesn't work but if you approach them as let say an eighties sounding mix - deliberate drum sampler thing going on -they work great.
But let be honest they're never likely to work on a AC/DC mix
-Declan

dav nagle

Bluebirdstudios wrote: »

For cutting imediate demos of tracks they come in dead handy for sure.
I've mixed maybe 8 - 10 songs with them ( bands needed speedy promo material ) I can remember thinking that if you try to mix them into a track as a real kit it just doesn't work but if you approach them as let say an eighties sounding mix - deliberate drum sampler thing going on -they work great.
But let be honest they're never likely to work on a AC/DC mix
-Declan

Yes its for wedding bands primarily, I beilieve they use drum machines all the time. Kewwllllll