Roland TD-7 - Worth the buy?

I am thinking about purchasing a Roland electronic drum kit. Besides playing one at a music store, I don't have any past experience with these sets. In my earlier years playing in the 90's and back again in the past three years I have always played acoustic kits. Given that most of my free time in now in the late evening, practicing on an electronic set seems like a good move (don't want to keep the kids up, or wake the neighbors). Also, my drumming skills are average, so I don't want to make a large investment.

I have been looking at several e-kits, as well as reading a couple of the threads in this forum. I seams like the most reliable band is Roland (no offense to owners of other brands). New Roland sets, however have relatively high price tags (I guess this comes with the reliability). Thus, I have been looking at used Roland sets. If I had the option to buy new, I would likely go for the TD-4S v-drums.

I recently came across a TD-7 kit for sale. I looks to be complete and in good condition. They are asking $500. All the pads on the TD-7 kit look like they are PD-7 (no mesh or cymbol shaped pads). The kit does include a bass drum pedal, throne and amplifier.

So, is this worth it? Or should I hold off, save more and invest in a newer kit?

(BTW, I still plan on keeping my Fibes set)

Thanks,
Ron

i had a hart dynamics 6.4 kit, a roland td-12 based kit, and i currently have an e-kit comprised of only pd-8 pads for everything and a td-6 brain. first off, the sounds in anything, up to and including the td-20 sound just like an electronic drum kit. . . mediocre at best. but if you have a td-6 or better and can trigger bfd2, addictive drums, or steven slate 3.0 with them, then you have a gratifying e-drum experience. is it like playing an acoustic kit? of course not. but its very gratifying and you can get in some great practice.

I'm just getting back into edrums a little and I'm looking at running Superior 2.0 with my TD3. I say go for it. Oh, not tomention, thats an awesome price for that module, pads AND an amp... Quite a bargain if everything works okay.

Hey Shawn, what do you think of Hart drumpads? I've thought about adding a Hart snare. They look pretty solid, and not as expensive as Roland. I plan on triggering all the sounds with MIDI signals to my mac anyway so the actual module doesn't matter to me.

The rubber pads of the TD-7 really don't compare to the more modern mesh Roland heads.

I had (er, still have in the closet) a TD-7 when they were brand new, and they were cool at the time, but they seem antique compared to the newer kits.

yeah, but for that price that would still be a great deal just for the module alone! Roland rubber pads are still some of the most durable of the e-drum pads out there...

Thanks for the info. One other question. I assume that I could upgrade this set and use newer pads, correct?

Garvin said:

I'm just getting back into edrums a little and I'm looking at running Superior 2.0 with my TD3. I say go for it. Oh, not tomention, thats an awesome price for that module, pads AND an amp... Quite a bargain if everything works okay.

Hey Shawn, what do you think of Hart drumpads? I've thought about adding a Hart snare. They look pretty solid, and not as expensive as Roland. I plan on triggering all the sounds with MIDI signals to my mac anyway so the actual module doesn't matter to me.

Click to expand...

i really liked the hart pads, more than the rolands (mesh pads) actually. they didnt have the trampoline sort of feel, a little more like a real drum.

npeartwant2b said:

Thanks for the info. One other question. I assume that I could upgrade this set and use newer pads, correct?

Click to expand...

Correct.

Which is how I did it.

I bought the full Td-7 kit.

Then I replaced many of the pads with Pintech mesh pads.

Then I replaced the TD-7 module with the TD-10.

And then upgraded a few more pads.

If you really want a TD-7 brain (no pads), I'd gladly sell you mine for cheap! LOL.

How do you like the Pintech pads? Could you compare them to any of these other ones in terms of feel?

Garvin said:

How do you like the Pintech pads? Could you compare them to any of these other ones in terms of feel?

Click to expand...

I still think the Roland Mesh pads are slightly superior to the Pintech Mesh pads (at least when using them with a Roland module), but the Pintech pads are about 1/3 of the cost.

Also, when I've had issues with a pad, I can email/call Pintech, and someone will get right back to me. Roland, not so much.

I've done a little more digging online and yeah, the costs of these pads are all so high relative to the actual process which is taking place in them. I found several "build your own mesh-head drum pad" sites and the transducers and other supplies are so cheap, it really makes me want to try converting some of my old random shells into e-drum pads.

Not to keep straying from the purpose of this thread which is ultimately whether or not to purchase a TD-7. I still stand by my opinion that at that price, you are getting a hell of a lot of e-kit which can be added onto, or otherwise modified.