# V-Drums



## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I just dropped into the local music store and just for kicks tried the latest Roland electronic drum kit.


Now, I'm not a drummer (sorry to brag) but as a sound man it's absolutely incomprehensible to me that more drummers aren't using these kits live.

The one I tried felt great and the sounds are amazing. In my opinion it's like bringing 30 different kits to a show. You can even program the high hat pedal to act as a second kick for the double kick thing.

Enormous kick sounds, big toms with musical envelopes (ADSR) and every snare from a piccolo to a deep marching snare make this technology a no-brainer in my opinion.

No mics required (no bleeding). Never worry about tuning or nasty overtones.

And it all fits in a small road case.


I love it.

Anyone else tried these?


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## Guest (Jun 27, 2009)

I played in an office cover band some 9 years ago and the drummer used a V-Drum kit at the time. With the mesh heads and the suspend cymbals. The sound was good then, but there was still a missing piece. But the feel was great. And then just after relocating to Ottawa I jammed with a bass player and a drummer for a few months. The drummer had the latest incarnation of the brain unit. Oh my. It has come a long way. The sound was very good. To a little old guitar player like me I wouldn't have known it wasn't a full it. Except it had a volume knob. Who doesn't want a drummer with a volume knob? And a drum kit that he can lift all by himself? :smile:


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

The only down side as I see/hear it is the amplification. If there are speakers and amps to carry the load, they can sound wonderful. One of the most convincing Bonham bass drum tones (think When The Levee Breaks) I've heard was with electric drums. Overall, they're smaller and lighter too, great for small venues and stages.

In a perfect world give me acoustic drums, but since when has it been a perfect world?

Peace, Mooh.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Mooh said:


> The only down side as I see/hear it is the amplification. If there are speakers and amps to carry the load, they can sound wonderful. One of the most convincing Bonham bass drum tones (think When The Levee Breaks) I've heard was with electric drums. Overall, they're smaller and lighter too, great for small venues and stages.
> 
> In a perfect world give me acoustic drums, but since when has it been a perfect world?
> 
> Peace, Mooh.



The world is what we make of it.

One small powered monitor (or a set of IEMs) is enough for the player to hear himself.

Yes, you need a decent PA to use an electronic kit live. I made that assumption. 


I was trying this particular kit with headphones. I KNOW I could get a killer sound through my PA with such a source.


The problem here as with most new(ish) technology is getting acceptance from musicians who in spite of their inclination toward being gear heads, are decidedly retro by nature.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Milkman said:


> The world is what we make of it.
> 
> One small powered monitor (or a set of IEMs) is enough for the player to hear himself.
> 
> ...


"The world is what we make of it." Absolutely agreed. Words I live by.

I agree with the rest of your post too.

Peace, Mooh.


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## noobcake (Mar 8, 2006)

I'm not a drummer either, but my drummer friends tell me that a lot of dynamics are lost with electronic kits. I think e-kits are fine for rock cover bands and such, but they're not the real deal, much like digitial pianos (eg. a digitial piano will never sound as good as a real grand piano).

P.S. Drummers preferring acoustic drums over e-kits is basically the same thing as guitarists sticking to big heavy tube amps rather than getting a modeler like a POD. I know that milkman is a huge modeler fan, but let's face it, most of the people on this forum are die hard tube heads. The drummers will never understand why we lug big heavy tube amps and we will never understand why they lug around their massive kits with a bajillion toms and cymbals.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

noobcake said:


> I'm not a drummer either, but my drummer friends tell me that a lot of dynamics are lost with electronic kits. I think e-kits are fine for rock cover bands and such, but they're not the real deal, much like digitial pianos (eg. a digitial piano will never sound as good as a real grand piano).
> 
> P.S. Drummers preferring acoustic drums over e-kits is basically the same thing as guitarists sticking to big heavy tube amps rather than getting a modeler like a POD. I know that milkman is a huge modeler fan, but let's face it, most of the people on this forum are die hard tube heads. The drummers will never understand why we lug big heavy tube amps and we will never understand why they lug around their massive kits with a bajillion toms and cymbals.



Yup, I'm guilty of embracing the horror, LOL.

The dynamics are there in my opinion, however I must concede that I'm not a drummer so...... The heads are velocity and pressure sensitive and the technology has pregressed in those areas. Hit it soft and the drum is not only quieter, the tone is less sharp. Hit it harder and you can hear the drum resonate. The envelope changes.

Yes I like modelers. Going direct yields a really great live sound with a decent PA. 

I think a lot of people get mired down in the "nuts and bolts" and forget that the goal is to make the music sound as good as possible to the audience.

In my opinion, all other factors being equal, a band with less ambient sound flying off the stage will sound better than one with a loud and open stage sound.

I've heard the results of a band playing with a lot of DIs and it's very clean and defined.


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## Lemmy Hangslong (May 11, 2006)

We use Roland V Drums TD-12 Fusion kit c/w Roland PM 30 monitors at our rehearsal space. I built the rehearsal space about 3 years ago and after hearing a local band live using Roland V Drums I was SOLD.

The benifits are obvious... no mics, no bleed through, easy to transport and set up/tear down, respectable tone a plenty. Before we got the PM 30 monitors we simply ran into two channels of our PA. Now we run into the PM 30 then into the PA. The PM 30 makes things that much better as it come real close to an acoustic "feel".

There are some set backs as with any electronic simulations... loss of articulation especially on the Hi Hats is one big complaint. At the same time it's not something that everyone is going to hear/percieve. What you gain far outweighs what you loose IMHO.

I've yet to hear a local band using this system that did not sound way better because of it. 

Our drummer uses a hybrid kit live where he has "real" hi hats mic'd and a "real" snare with a trigger so we get a layered acoustic/sim tone.
Works well for us so far.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

KHINGPYNN said:


> We use Roland V Drums TD-12 Fusion kit c/w Roland PM 30 monitors at our rehearsal space. I built the rehearsal space about 3 years ago and after hearing a local band live using Roland V Drums I was SOLD.
> 
> The benifits are obvious... no mics, no bleed through, easy to transport and set up/tear down, respectable tone a plenty. Before we got the PM 30 monitors we simply ran into two channels of our PA. Now we run into the PM 30 then into the PA. The PM 30 makes things that much better as it come real close to an acoustic "feel".
> 
> ...



Pass the koolaid eh?


I agree, the pros outweigh the cons.

Glad to hear it works for you. I'd love to mix a band using them.


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## Lemmy Hangslong (May 11, 2006)

speaking of koolaid... have you tried Black Cherry Cider?

The one we get here in the Calgary area is from Okanagan Breweeries.

Since it's a cider it's not very sweet... it'sort of like a really good tasting cherry slushie at 7%... it makes a pretty great hot summer day refreshment.

Cheers


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

I know drummers that want these--I've also tried them out at stores, and I'm probably a worse drummer than Milkman--my whole sense of rhythm seems to disappear behind a drum set.

But the newer one sound great-I think some of the perception against them is based on older sets that weren't as good.

It's like that with most things--the early examples may not always be great--but they're on the right track & eventually they get very, very good.

I think we're there.

I was once asked what my "Dream Home" would include--and most of it's fairly generic, but I have more specific ideas for my music room in such a house--it would include an acoustic drum set & an electronic one as well-for visiting drummers to use.


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## GP_Hawk (Feb 23, 2007)

You should hear them with Steven Slate Drums loadedkksjur


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