Roland TD10 buying advice

Colorado_scott

Junior Member
Hi all, this is my first post in this forum. I'd like some advise on purchasing some 13 year old Roland TD10 drums. I have not played for 20 years although my Car steering wheel takes a daily beating as does most anything that's near me when I hear a song I like. A few days back I decided to start looking for some electric drums, which I have had before - 20 years ago. These were the rubber pad type with a reasonable electronic head, I think Yamaha, but not positive.

There are several for sale on Craig's list in my area. My question is this; one set is a 13 year old Roland TD10 kit. It's way better than I had, yet very outdated. If I were to buy and decide to sell again down the road I'm sure it would be worth very little. The seller is asking $1500 and tells me he's willing to listen to any offer. We both know they are not worth $1500. I am thinking to offer $900. I have played them and all seems in working order. Should I look for a more recent set and pay $1500 - $2000 or do you think this just might be worth $900 if he accepts that offer?

Thanks for any comments.
Scott
 
I purchased a TD-10 kit around the end of 2008 for about $2500.
I'm in Australia though where we have to tack on ridiculously high delivery fees to everything, plus the TD-10 wasn't quite as outdated then as it is today.
My two main questions for you before I can offer any other comment would be:
1. Which country are you in?
2. What exactly is being offered with the kit (ie how many pads/ cymbals, which hi-hat comes with it)? A link to the ad would be great if you have it.
 
I am in the USA, Boulder Colorado area.

The kit comes with the snare, 2 tom's, 2 floor toms, the base drum, 3 symbols (rubber type) and 3 other pads (round rubber, about 10" diameter" - one of these is the HH pad (round rubber).

Hope this helps.

Thanks

Scott
 
I had a TD-10 kit a few years ago I bought used from a friend, I didn't keep it long. And now I just bought another TD-10 module to use with my Zendrum.

Question: What makes it so outdated? I've been jumping and tweaking sounds, and really fell in love with the "SnareBuzz" patch, that I'm using that kit almost exclusively as it gets really close to sounding like a real kit. 20 years ago I used a Roland R5 and R8 as a sound module and those sounds are still useable.

So, not to derail the thread, but when people say these things are outdated, what do they mean? Is it because the sounds aren't part of any new hit records today?
 
Why are they outdated? the electronics, the pads, the top hat, to name a few. Notice I'm NOT saying each its bad, or its a bad kit, just not the latest technology on all fronts. If you believe technology moves forward and gets better, and most might agree with this, then newer kits have more to offer and sound better. You can also read from this newer kits offer more features. There is clearly a trade off between price and performance as there is in most things.
 
Why are they outdated? the electronics, the pads, the top hat, to name a few. Notice I'm NOT saying each its bad, or its a bad kit, just not the latest technology on all fronts. If you believe technology moves forward and gets better, and most might agree with this, then newer kits have more to offer and sound better. You can also read from this newer kits offer more features. There is clearly a trade off between price and performance as there is in most things.

I hear what you're saying. And I'm aware that technology moves forward all the time. However, we're talking drums here. Why is an acoustic drumset never outdated, and electronic ones are? (In fact, that could be said for everything electronic product). I'm not using any of the pads as I trigger my TD-10 with a zendrum, so pads getting beaten and eventually dying is not an issue I ever deal with. But in terms of sound I find it curious that having hundreds or thousands of sounds at your fingertips (that can be tweaked to a degree) would be considered outdated within ten years when guys who play acoustic drumsets and cymbals remain timeless (not that the players themselves should be timeless, if you know what I mean), and with acoustics, you have this one sound being used all the time. Definitely a different head-space to be in when you jump on the electronics bandwagon I suppose.
 
Personally I think $900 is about right. Does this one have the "expanded" module?
$1500 is way off base.
Once you've got back to playing for a few months, you'll be looking to expand or upgrade any way and you should be able to recover most of what you paid for it at $900 if you sell it.
 
I hear what you're saying. And I'm aware that technology moves forward all the time. However, we're talking drums here. Why is an acoustic drumset never outdated, and electronic ones are? (In fact, that could be said for everything electronic product). I'm not using any of the pads as I trigger my TD-10 with a zendrum, so pads getting beaten and eventually dying is not an issue I ever deal with. But in terms of sound I find it curious that having hundreds or thousands of sounds at your fingertips (that can be tweaked to a degree) would be considered outdated within ten years when guys who play acoustic drumsets and cymbals remain timeless (not that the players themselves should be timeless, if you know what I mean), and with acoustics, you have this one sound being used all the time. Definitely a different head-space to be in when you jump on the electronics bandwagon I suppose.
Bo, it's not so much about the QUANTITY of sounds one can fit onto a module but the QUALITY of said sounds plus their ability to emulate A-kits.
No-one would spend thousands of dollars on a brand new TD-30 module just because it had a couple of new sounds on it that previous models lacked would they?
However they would shell out their hard-earned if the new module promised better functionality in all aspects (ie better triggering, more realistic sounds, etc).
Generally speaking, most e-drummers want their E-kits to sound (and feel) as close as possible to A-kits, so as the technology improves to reach this goal, we feel the need to update.
A-kits are already A-kits (duh) and the basic shell/ head design has remained the same for hundreds (??) of years. There's not a thing that can be done to them to "update" the sound (yes, I know you can change heads/ shells/ etc but generally speaking) so A-drummers don't have that need to keep up with the latest technology.
 
Bo, it's not so much about the QUANTITY of sounds one can fit onto a module but the QUALITY of said sounds plus their ability to emulate A-kits.
No-one would spend thousands of dollars on a brand new TD-30 module just because it had a couple of new sounds on it that previous models lacked would they?
However they would shell out their hard-earned if the new module promised better functionality in all aspects (ie better triggering, more realistic sounds, etc).
Generally speaking, most e-drummers want their E-kits to sound (and feel) as close as possible to A-kits, so as the technology improves to reach this goal, we feel the need to update.
A-kits are already A-kits (duh) and the basic shell/ head design has remained the same for hundreds (??) of years. There's not a thing that can be done to them to "update" the sound (yes, I know you can change heads/ shells/ etc but generally speaking) so A-drummers don't have that need to keep up with the latest technology.

I get it, I really do. I suppose I'm coming around with a back-handed way of arguing for acoustic drums again.

On the one hand, I like my TD10 module linked with my Zendrum. I suppose my thought process behind it is that it isn't real, so although I can get close to an acoustic drum sound, I don't care that much about it being the latest-greatest acoustic drum sound, because it isn't a real acoustic instrument anyway. I was more than willing to stick with an even more ancient Roland R8 machine but once I tried this TD10, it opened some more doors, sonically. But at the end of the day, they're not real drums, so it's ok if they don't exactly replicate acoustic drums.

And I understand the argument that not everybody can practice and make as much noise as they want like I (and many others) do, so the eKit has its place. But when you're in Roland V-drum territory and you're on the constant upgrade path, one wonders if you couldn't have done the Shawn Pelton thing and sound-proofed your apartment, or built a soundproof room onto your house, for the same amount of money. I think by the time you've moved into your third V-drum kit (providing you stayed on the flagship models) you could've spent that money on acoustically treating your walls and ceilings and maybe even sand-loading the floor ;)

I realize that's not always an option however. But how cool would that be? To have a sound proofed room to be able to play real drums any time of the day or night? Maybe 15K is low-balling a job like that, but I think that would be a good investment that you do once, and you're always playing real drums, living with no compromises. I think that would be very cool. Again, my apologies to the OP for sorta de-railing the thread ;)
 
Thanks for the comments. The TD10 does not have the module, and I priced at $450+! (Ouch). I have offered $800 and the person wants $900. This is tough, as I could come back with $850 and it would be done, but I could use the $850 on a newer kit and perhaps be happier. I usually have no trouble making decisions but this one is difficult.
 
I realize that's not always an option however. But how cool would that be? To have a sound proofed room to be able to play real drums any time of the day or night? Maybe 15K is low-balling a job like that, but I think that would be a good investment that you do once, and you're always playing real drums, living with no compromises. I think that would be very cool. Again, my apologies to the OP for sorta de-railing the thread ;)

That would be the dream alright but I think 15K might indeed be low-balling to completely/ utterly sound-proof a decent-sized space. Plus it's only feasible if you own your own home and plan on staying for a good number of years (most people only consider e-drums because they're renting a flat/ apartment/ duplex or whatever).
And don't forget, after you've splashed out for this wonderful space, you then need to start building your dream A-kit (only to find you've run out of cash)! : )

Thanks for the comments. The TD10 does not have the module, and I priced at $450+! (Ouch). I have offered $800 and the person wants $900. This is tough, as I could come back with $850 and it would be done, but I could use the $850 on a newer kit and perhaps be happier. I usually have no trouble making decisions but this one is difficult.

I think you'll be happy enough with the TD-10 and associated kit Scott but of course the TD-20 is better and the TD-30 is better again (but of course the price goes up exponentially).
You may find you hate e-drums altogether and would be kicking yourself if you shelled out for a flagship model so I think the TD-10 is a good "starter kit" for you.
 
That would be the dream alright but I think 15K might indeed be low-balling to completely/ utterly sound-proof a decent-sized space. Plus it's only feasible if you own your own home and plan on staying for a good number of years (most people only consider e-drums because they're renting a flat/ apartment/ duplex or whatever).
And don't forget, after you've splashed out for this wonderful space, you then need to start building your dream A-kit (only to find you've run out of cash)! : )



I think you'll be happy enough with the TD-10 and associated kit Scott but of course the TD-20 is better and the TD-30 is better again (but of course the price goes up exponentially).
You may find you hate e-drums altogether and would be kicking yourself if you shelled out for a flagship model so I think the TD-10 is a good "starter kit" for you.

I paid $450 for my TD-10 without the expansion card and love it. I think alot of people are happy with them and wouldn't necessarily need to upgrade any time soon anyway. I'd budget for a new set of heads if you get the whole kit, and maybe have the little cone pickups looked at - those are an expensive fix (and I live near Roland in Los Angeles).

And the cool thing about the acoustic drums, ToddMC, is that your dream kit needn't be an outrageously high-priced instrument (like Craviottos or over-priced DW's). It just has to sound good - which is more dependent on heads and tuning skills and technique more than anything else ;)
 
Back
Top