Just got a Roland TD-11K-S. What do I need to know?

HipshotPercussion

Senior Member
Just made what I think is a good trade and got a 3 month old Roland TD-11K-S Compact kit in exchange for a 4 and a half year old PDP X7 kit.

Did as much due diligence as I had time for, including downloading the manuals, but no one knows about these things like you guys here. As the kind of guy who likes to know the ending before starting to read a book (I know, I know), I'd like to get a user's idea of what I'll love and what I, um, won't love. What to watch out for. What problems I'm likely to have putting it together, all that kind of thing.

I'll definitely appreciate any and all additional info I can get.
 
Hiya Hipshot:

Nothing not to love here. Highly capable module with good sounds. Play the heck out of it I say!
 
Right now I've got the brain and tom and bass pads integrated with my DW Collectors kit and am playing around with them as auxiliary sounds.

Having never played e-drums before, the hardest thing for me to get used to is not hearing the pads' sounds from their source but only from the speaker I'm using, even though it's only a few feet away. It makes for an eerie sense of drumming detachment.

But - a new drum feeling? After over 50 years of playing? Aren't many things better than that!
 
Hello,
I started playing drums 30 years ago on acoustic kits, of course and now I'm an owner of a Td-11KV and I feel good with it. The most noticeable differences are the increased rebound of the mesh heads and the source of the sound as you mentioned. The higher rebound is a good thing in my opinion but the lack of "acoustic vibrations" isn't that cool.
Another lack of the TD-11 module are its default sounds: that's why I realized my personal setting trying to get better sounding kits. You can find some example and some free kit on my site: http://pieropeluche.yolasite.com/pp-drums-freebies.php
 
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Having never played e-drums before, the hardest thing for me to get used to is not hearing the pads' sounds from their source but only from the speaker I'm using, even though it's only a few feet away. It makes for an eerie sense of drumming detachment.

I am about 20' from my PA and, although I have gotten used to it, it is an adjustment, especially if you are playing your acoustics along with it.

I tried to record with the e kit using the PA as my monitor and, although the distance was only 20', I could hear the lag enough to make me go WTF? I looked at it colsely and sure enough, everything was a tiny bit behind. I went to headphones for recording and it's no problem.
 
This morning I used the TD-11 K in conjunction with my acoustic kit while playing with my jazz trio. Had the experience you're talking about. Everything was fine in the phones, but listening to the amp would throw off my timing because of the minuscule but still very present lag.

Glad to know it's not just my imagination!
 
Yes, another vote for the 30 VEX kits for $30.

See what you think of the rubber pads. I have been using mine for a year, and now have upgraded to mesh:

Snare: PD-105 $300 'almost' new at my local music store
Tom 1: PDX-8 (moved here from original position as snare)
Tom 2: PDX-8 $100 'almost' new at my local music store
Tom 3: PDX-100 $219 new
Tom 4: PDX-100 $219 new (I added this fourth pad to the kit after I bought it)

All prices in Canadian dollars.

Seems like a good way of getting a decent kit without going over $2000, into TD15 range (I end up with five better pads than the TDKV for less outlay).

What do you think?
 
Or, instead of buying OEM pads, you can convert a cheap acoustic kit to electronic. Very easy and more affordable!
But...but...I traded the one acoustic kit I could've done this with just to GET the TD-11.

There's always a catch...
 
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You might want to check out www.vdrums.com One of the admin guys there (Alan) owns/operates V Expressions.

Good headphones are a must for e-drums. I've used several different ones over the years. I like the Audio Technica ATH50. A very popular unit among e-drummers.

Also, there are a lot of drummers doing DIY kits at vdrums. It's a great resource. Here's a pic of my large e-kit. The shells are Keller. The snare is a converted Pearl Firecracker.
 

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Hey Jim - there's plenty to like about your hybrid setup. The position of your hi-hat on the central cymbal pad (I assume) would be very convenient.
I'm curious about the arc attachments on the back edge of each tom - if they are extra triggers I would have expected a rubber surface on them.
Also enjoyed reading about your e-drums evolution - it puts some perspective on how much they've improved, especially for realistic sounding cymbals.
 
But...but...I traded the one acoustic kit I could've done with this just to GET the TD-11.

There's always a catch...

Don't want to get all "coulda, woulda, shoulda" on you but that may have been the way to go (especially if you were particularly attached to your A-kit).
I actually went the opposite way from you and bought an acoustic shell pack for the express purpose of creating an A2E kit, then selling off the Roland pads.
 
You might want to check out www.vdrums.com One of the admin guys there (Alan) owns/operates V Expressions.

Good headphones are a must for e-drums. I've used several different ones over the years. I like the Audio Technica ATH50. A very popular unit among e-drummers.

Also, there are a lot of drummers doing DIY kits at vdrums. It's a great resource. Here's a pic of my large e-kit. The shells are Keller. The snare is a converted Pearl Firecracker.
Beautiful kid, Jim. I'm in awe.
 
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