Roland TD-20 ?

[Jeremy Bender]

Who owns the kit and (or) what are your opinions of them ?
I'm considering purchasing them for my home use...Thanks !

[bakerboy]

We use one at our church and as far as electronic drums go, they're the cream of the crop. You'll be very happy with them, I believe.

And if you wanna record, I recommend using the MIDI out of the module into an audio interface on your computer and triggering samples, such as Toontrack's Superior Drummer 2.0 or Fxpansion's BFD2 instead of recording with the module sounds. The module sounds are fine to practice with, but they definitely don't sound like real recorded drums. But the response and feel of the TD-20 kit is the best there is, IMO.

[Davo-London]

You might want to look at the TD12 as well. The Td20 is a lot of extra money over the TD12 and I'm not sure this translates into a lot of difference around the kit. You will need a bass pedal and hihat stand. Have you tried the top of the range Yamahas as well?

Davo

[slingerlandfreak]

Better option and far cheaper is to wait few weeks on 2Box drumit five, www.2box.se

[aydee]

Jeremy, I own a TD-9 which i use mostly for practice, but I checked out the TD-20 at a GC recently and was totally wowed by it .
The brain was about $1000 or so ( minus frame/pads which I already have ) , expensive.

... but what I loved most about it was that the drums sounds are much richer, less synthetic sounding. Also, the TD-20 has some incredible triggering functions which play other instruments as layers to the drums. Lots of fun and tons creative possibilities.

I love it, BUT its expensive.

[Garvin]

We use one at our church and as far as electronic drums go, they're the cream of the crop. You'll be very happy with them, I believe.

And if you wanna record, I recommend using the MIDI out of the module into an audio interface on your computer and triggering samples, such as Toontrack's Superior Drummer 2.0 or Fxpansion's BFD2 instead of recording with the module sounds. The module sounds are fine to practice with, but they definitely don't sound like real recorded drums. But the response and feel of the TD-20 kit is the best there is, IMO.

AMEN!!! Toontrack samples are incredible... Really, at a certain point all of the onboard sounds for these kits sound electronically modeled. Triggering high-quality (Superior 2.0) samples on a high end kit like the TD-20 would be as close to the ideal e-kit as I can imagine.

[ChrisCirino]

I have owned a TD-20 for almost 4 years and it is the best drum related purchase I have ever made. I live in a townhouse, where my real drums are not welcome, and generally use it for practice. I have modified and added to mine so that it mimics my real kit exactly. I have occassionally played it at gigs and recorded some tracks with it and it has always performed admirably. If price is not a determining factor than I could not recommend the TD-20 enough.

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

The main problem with the TD-20 (and 12) is actually the person behind the kit. As Garvin and others have alluded to, these kits are almost infinitely tweakable. Although the cymbal feel will never be perfect, everything else can be made to react very, very similarly to an acoustic kit with enough time and effort. Most people when they buy these kits do not do that, they just plug straight into the presets and are then disappointed.

You would buy new heads for your acoustic kit, why not a sample pack for your electric kit?

[LinearDrummer]

IMO the TD-20 is the best E-kit on the market.

Something I really like about them besides the sounds are the pad sizes and configuration. Because of the setup your motions around the kit will translate well when you go to an acoustic.

Unfortunately I couldn't justify dropping 6 grand so I bought a TD-9 for 2K.

[freebirdgdw]

The main problem with the TD-20 (and 12) is actually the person behind the kit. As Garvin and others have alluded to, these kits are almost infinitely tweakable. Although the cymbal feel will never be perfect, everything else can be made to react very, very similarly to an acoustic kit with enough time and effort. Most people when they buy these kits do not do that, they just plug straight into the presets and are then disappointed.

You would buy new heads for your acoustic kit, why not a sample pack for your electric kit?

Never thought of that before. Very good point. When Ive played them in shops I've thought they were great, just not 4 grand great.

[Jeremy Bender]

Thanks for the help guys... I really like the idea of the "almost a drum kit feel" with those pads and stands, and I love the idea of running them through a computer to jam live or record drum parts to demos. I'm waiting until next-spring because of the large expense involved.

Incidentally, if anyone has some tips or tricks to using the V drums with a computer, please feel free to share your knowledge. Thanks !!

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

The best advice I can give you is to just go for it. No advice can help you more than just saying get stuck in and find out what works!

[aydee]

ALL EKITS HI HATS ARE EQUALLY AWFUL!!!!!!!!!

[Garvin]

ALL EKITS HI HATS ARE EQUALLY AWFUL!!!!!!!!!

HAHAHA! God help us if Roland ever finds out how to solve that problem. The TD-20 would probably cost $8000!

[DamoSyzygy]

If you are looking at buying a TD20, Id hold off until their new version is released at the end of this year. If you prefer the new features, get the new model. If you dont see the justification, the original TD-20 would likely be clearing out on sale by then.

[Jeremy Bender]

New version ? Do you have a link to the release info? Thanks.

[DamoSyzygy]

Nothing is officially released yet.

[Rich]

Hi

Just a few thoughts - I use exclusively the TD12 (both for practice and for live gigs - unless there is another kit available) To be honest, I am just about getting to the end of the road with the TD12 and am looking for a "proper" kit... Having said that, I love the TD12, the mesh heads etc. and the hi-hat isn't tooooo bad. The cymbal sounds are the most difficult to set up correctly and I still cringe when I hit them.

There is very little difference in sound between the TD12 and TD12 if any. There is a midi interface on the 12 like the 20 and can send to a PC etc. It is expandable (1 extra crash and 2x Auxiliary cables already wired into the stand)

I tried the TD9 not long ago and to be fair, I didn't get a chance to try and set it up like my own as i didn't have the time in the shop, but I did notice that the kits in general didn't sound quite as good as the TD12, apart from the snare it is MUCH improved... You can get the TD9 with mesh heads. Watch out for the connectivity on the TD9 (or lack thereof) I can't remember what it has / hasn't compared to the TD12 or 20

Hope this helps...

Cheers

Rich

[Garvin]

New version ? Do you have a link to the release info? Thanks.

I saw an add in the new issue of DRUM magazine. Looked very cool, very beefy. It was just a one page picture add though, no review, no prices.

[paradiddle]

I had a TD-20. I pretty much stole it from some guy who needed quick cash. I paid $3,000 for it and sold it for $3,200 a few months later, lol. Great kit, but I needed it for gigging and it was not mobile friendly! Do not get this kit if your intentions are to easily move it around. On the flip side, I can load/unload my old TD-8 V-custom in about 4 trips to the truck.

As mentioned, the hi-hat is the weak link here. I actually prefer the separate hi-hat foot pedal of the lower end kits to the hats on the TD20. They just didn't react quick enough and seemed clunky.

[Jeremy Bender]

No my intentions are to keep it in my home as a way to practice/record at any time of the day or night. I want to be able to send drum tracks back to friends online. I'd love to be able to find a deal like that one !

I like this setup he has with the laptop... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsT3Puqu0fY&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eplaydrumswithgordymarshall %2Ecom%2Ffreelessons%2Ehtml&feature=player_embedded

[Davo-London]

Yeah - I manage to get the TD12 in two holdall bags, except the frame. So this is a three trip to the car event. I prefer the slightly smaller frame of the TD12 for this reason.

I've looked out for new models and Roland are keeping things very close to their chest.

I've used vexpressionsltd.com to download kits and this is great fun. I've also played the TD12 through a PA recently and noticed that the kits sound quite different when loud. My drum-mate, who is phenomenal, sounded totally killer doing drum n bass stuff that he couldn't do on his acoustic kit. So hold off your criticisms ,aybe, as others have said, it's better to think of the e-drums as another instrument.

Anyway - any USB or firewire interface should get you recording your e-kit to your laptop in audio or midi.

Peace
Davo

[Jeremy Bender]

Well I see the new version on the Roland web site. It appears there is a new finish and hardware. If that's all that's offered for a new model, then I'll search for an older model. I can't see spending hundreds of dollars more for cosmetics.