Recording Roland V-Drums.

ssdaven

Member
Hey all,

I'll keep this simple and to the point.. I've been playing on a Roland TD4KX (the one with all mesh heads) for 4 months now and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. What I'd like to do, is to record the tracks I'm playing in file format on my PC (I'm not too concerned about the format for now). While the quick record feature on the kit module is nice, I need to be able to get the sound off of the module and into a file format on my computer.

Keeping in mind I'm quite ignorant to how MIDI works (or what it is, really) - can any one point me to a web page / source of information where I can learn how to record my V-Drums? Some of the questions I have specifically would be:

-The drum module has a headphone port, and MIDI out (I think it's out?). Which of these can be used for recording? Which should be used?

-Based on the answer to the question above, what kind of cable would I need to hook the drum module to the sound card on my PC?

-Based on the above answer, I suppose I may or may not need a new sound card (depends on the type of cable).

-Once I've got the "physical layer" addressed, what software can I use to record with?

I know this is asking a lot! Any direction to existing resources would be appreciated.
 
I have a similar kit, and oddly enough, similar questions. Thanks for asking.

I will also be patiently waiting for answers.
 
Re: Recording Roldand V-Drums.

I use a 1/4-1/8 adapter, and run a 1/8 male-male plug form my headphone port to my imac and use garage band for the recording. IT actually works quite well, even allows me to put songs or other riffs over top of it.

The only down side is that the drums are all one track and cannot be changed individually.

All in all the setup cost me about $4.00 CDN.

EDIT: forgot to say that i use a roland TD-9 Drum kit
 
Re: Recording Roldand V-Drums.

Do you have a mac or a pc? If you have a mac, its perfectly fine (and incredibly easy) to do what pimento does. In fact i recommend it for its simplicity. If you have a pc, it's likely you could do something similar using a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter and running it into your line in port (assuming you have one, most pc's do) but then you'll need a DAW (Digital audio workstation) program or other recording application. One i've heard a lot of talk about is sony's "Acid" program. Acid Xpress is available for free download on this website: http://www.acidplanet.com/downloads/xpress/
hope that helps and write back if you have any questions!
(also if any pc users out there have a better suggestion for the program, please post it, acid was just the first thing that came to mind)
 
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Re: Recording Roldand V-Drums.

Thanks very much for the helpful replies Pimento, bamdrummer.

I am indeed a Windows user. I'm farily confident that my PC will have line out, as it's a newly built machine with a motherboard using the corei7 socket. I'm really glad to hear it's this simple to record from the V-Drums.

To add further discussion to the topic; if anyone who's done this (Pimento?) cares to provide a quick overview of what needs to be done within the DAW you use (Digital Audio Workstation - in Pimento's case, Garage Band) to actually access the drum track, that would be great! I'm sure when I go out and get my cable, install my DAW and connect the V-Drums and PC, I'll have no idea what to do..I assume the software will likely have a menu to detect the drums?
 
Re: Recording Roldand V-Drums.

I use Sony Acid on my laptop with my E-drums, just plug it into your mic/line port, most programs will allow you to select line in or mic devices.
 
Re: Recording Roldand V-Drums.

I use Sony Acid on my laptop with my E-drums, just plug it into your mic/line port, most programs will allow you to select line in or mic devices.



Do you plug into the headphone jack or the line out mono jack on the Roland?
 
Re: Recording Roldand V-Drums.

Keeping in mind I'm quite ignorant to how MIDI works (or what it is, really) - can any one point me to a web page / source of information where I can learn how to record my V-Drums? Some of the questions I have specifically would be:

http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm


-The drum module has a headphone port, and MIDI out (I think it's out?). Which of these can be used for recording? Which should be used?

Both, but the TD-4 should also have L/R output jacks and these are better to use.

-Based on the answer to the question above, what kind of cable would I need to hook the drum module to the sound card on my PC?

Probably a splitter cable (TRS to 2 x TS) and a stepdown adaptor from 6.5mm (F) to 3.5mm (M)

-Based on the above answer, I suppose I may or may not need a new sound card (depends on the type of cable).

Your inbuilt soundcard will probably do 44.1KHz/24bit at best and 16 bit most likely. A better quality I/O device would cost you a couple of hundred at the most.

-Once I've got the "physical layer" addressed, what software can I use to record with?

Reaper - about $50 and fully featured.

I know this is asking a lot! Any direction to existing resources would be appreciated.[/QUOTE]
 
Re: Recording Roldand V-Drums.

A free program you can use for recording on your PC is Audacity. You can download it at www.download.com. There is a search feature there, and you just type in "Audacity." It uses the existing sound card in your computer.

All you will need to BUY is a cable to connect the 1/4" mono "out" jack on your Roland to the 1/8" mic/line input on your computer (or a 1/8 to 1/8 with a 1/4 adapter).
 
Re: Recording Roldand V-Drums.

Hi Guys,

I used a 3.5 adapter for recording straight into the Mic jack on my laptop and then used audacity.

It worked easily...but everything had to be turned down and I had to use come convoluted speaker set to hear what I was playing live whilst audacity recorded.

The software would play back other tracks, but not what was being recorded.

Second problem was if sound was down; the contrast in tones etc was lost, but if turned up; distortion/static invaded sporadically.

Is there any suggestions to fixing these?

is fine for recording ideas quickly and very rough demos, but not for anything of decent quality.
 
Re: Recording Roldand V-Drums.

smalltooledfool, the lack of any headroom with the line in input of consumer soundcards is what causes the distortion if you raise the volume too high. The signal being received is too hot and I don't think there's a work around other than lowering the output from the module as far as possible before feeding it into the PC, then routing the sound through powered speaker that can go to 11.

An investment in an audio interface will serve you well in the long run. Besides increased fidelity from your recordings, you will also witness less latency (ie delay between the time when you strike the drumpad, the signal is recorded and the sound is output from your speakers).

- Reggae Mangle
 
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