Roland V-Drums

[Over The Edge]

Impressions anyone?



FL
www.franklucas.net

[Drusillus]

Our drummer uses them for our practices (we play in the basement of his townhouse), he's got a V-Drums module using Pintech pads, they sound quite good I have to say. The pads are very natural feeling and allow for a lot of expression. For lighter stuff (for example, the intro to Scarred which we play), sometimes they don't offer enough dynamics, but for heavy stuff they're great.

[Over The Edge]

I think everything sounds damn near convincing except for
cymbals. I wonder how it would sound in a mix.



FL
www.franklucas.net

[Drusillus]

Yeah I probably would call the cymbals a weak spot, the never seem to sustain long enough. Theoretically you could hook up the VDrum module to trigger samples from a commercial sample CD though...

[Over The Edge]

Or just mic some real cymbals. I think that if you do that
you simply have an awesome recording kit 'cause everything
else sounds great already.



FL
www.franklucas.net

[Tigerfolly]

Impressions anyone?



FL
www.franklucas.net

They have their uses. They excel in low volume situations, but I think they really come alive when you trigger samples instead of using the Roland V-Drum brain, especially if you're recording.

For rehearsal situations, nothing beats having a V-Drum kit, a mixer with four aux sends, and a four channel headphone amp. Everyone gets their own mix, and you can zero in on your performances through an audio microscope.

I think a lot of the sounds in the V-Drum brain are weak, but with the proper tweaking and EQing, you can get some really manageable sounds.

[maJ estY]

I never got into the details with v-drums, but they're great for rehearsals, indeed! Not everybody can afford a rehearsal room where the musician(s) can be as loud as they want. Others can't afford a real drum kit *lol*.
Even though I think that such things can't beat real drums when it goes for recording or for a gig. :roll:

[Over The Edge]

My God,

For the price of a session kit, you can get a real top of the line
acoustic drum kit with all the bells and whistles.

Let's not forget, however, the plug in and play factor that
comes with the V's. No time spent miking and dialing in
good drum sound. I like them. In fact I like them a lot.
We're not quite there yet with them but really close.
I'd like to see what the next line of technology accomplishes
in the way of improved realism.



FL
www.franklucas.net

[JJ Key]

My band and I once recorded "Limilight" by Rush, with the V/Drums and it sounded clean and poweful as hell.. But the pads tend to break after lots of hard use.. He had to send back numerous pads cause they ceased to trigger correctly after months of hard hitting.. So eventually he got rid of them..

J

[Tigerfolly]

My God,

For the price of a session kit, you can get a real top of the line
acoustic drum kit with all the bells and whistles.

Let's not forget, however, the plug in and play factor that
comes with the V's. No time spent miking and dialing in
good drum sound. I like them. In fact I like them a lot.
We're not quite there yet with them but really close.
I'd like to see what the next line of technology accomplishes
in the way of improved realism.



FL
www.franklucas.net

I spent around $3,000 on my drumkit when I bought it. The kit itself was a simple Tama Rockstar, but I bought a nice hand hammered copper snare, a full Gibraltar rack, a full set of Sabian AAX cymbals (8", 10", 12" splash, 16", 17", 18" crash, 14" hats, 20" ride, 14" and 20" chinese, 6" bell, 14" Wuhan, some percussion, and a full set of mics to record it.

Here are some pics..
http://exit3.i-55.com/~tigerfolly/images/DCP_0232.JPG
http://exit3.i-55.com/~tigerfolly/images/DCP_0235.JPG
http://exit3.i-55.com/~tigerfolly/images/DCP_0749.JPG

A full V-Session kit normally sells for around $5,000. I seriously thought about getting the Roland kit when I bought my drums, but I figured I'd rather have a real kit for the studio, especially for the price difference.

If I would've bought a Roland kit, I definitely would've bought a bunch of cymbals with it, and it would've been even more expensive. I love cymbals, because I'm a real kick-and-snare style drummer, but I love having a lot of colors available with a large selection of cymbals.

But, if cost isn't a concern, Roland kits are one of the most fun toys made in the world today! :)

[Over The Edge]

Dude,

Wow, I can't believe that!
Were those the V-Drums with the reinforced mesh head or the
older ones circa '94-95 with the black rubber pads?



FL
www.franklucas.net